THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY, FROM ITS EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME, HISTORICALLY DEVELOPED. BY FRANZ L. J. THIMM. EDITED BY WILLIAM HENRY FARN. LONDON: D. NUTT, 158, FLEET STREET. BERLIN : A. ASHER & Co. DUBLIN, HILLIKEN ; EDINBURGH, C. SMITH. 1844. LONDON: KICHARDS, PRINTER, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LAN!.. SEINEN IN NIGSTGELIEBTEN ELTERN DAHEIM, WIDMET DIESE ARBEIT AUS DANKBARKEIT UND HERZLICHER TREUE FRANZ THIMM. LONDON IM JANUAR. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN. HIS EXCELLENCY MONSIEUR VAN DE WEYER, Bel- gian Ambassador. J. G. Abeltshauser, Esq., 3 copies E. Albrecht, Esq. — Allen, Esq. Heinrich Apel, Esq. Rev. Dr. Beard J. W. Beckwith, Esq. Dr. A. Bernays H. D. Boddy, Esq. James Bonn, Esq. — Bohnstedt, Esq. Thomas Brook sbank,Jun.Esq. John Brydges, Esq. — Burnley, Esq. Rev. S. Butcher Miss Butterworth The Hon. Richard Cavendish George Cheetham, Esq. Thomas Clark, Esq., 3 copies R. J. Cohen, Esq. John Davies, Esq. J. Deighton, Jun. Esq. John Dodson, Esq. R. Dunn, Esq. Rev. Dr. Edwards Thomas Evans, Esq. Miss Elkin W. James Empson, Esq., 3 copies Edward Earn, Esq. C. A. Feiling, Esq. — Eisken, Esq. Madame A. Elohr H. R. Forrest, Esq. Richard Forrester, Esq. Rev. P. Parker Gilbert Rev. Charles Graves, F.T.C. Dublin J. H. Green, Esq. F.R.S. Spencer Hall, Esq. Charles W. Hamilton, Esq. M.R.I.A. Hamwood — Hansen, Esq. D. H. Hastings, Esq. Dr. A. Heimann W. C. Hussey Jones, Esq., 2 copies Thomas Keightley, Esq. Walter K. Kelly, Esq. Klauer Klatowsky, Esq. Peter La Vallee, Esq. Rev. W. Lee, F.T.C. Dublin G. H. Lewes, Esq. W. Lewis, Esq. A. Lodge, Esq. Rees L. Lloyd, Esq. Rev. Dr. Lloyd, S.F.T.C.D., V.P.R.J.A. LIST OF SU 'BSCRIBERS. N. Loewenthal, Esq. Rev. A. Loewy Rev. Dr. Luby, F.T.C. Dublin W. S. Lucas, Esq. — Lutomirsky, Esq. W. Tudor Mabley, Esq. Rev.Mr.McNeece,King'sProf. of Div. Dublin John Macray, Esq. J. Mahon, Esq. Thomas Masterson, Esq. — May, Esq. Alexander Mensbier, Esq. H. Merivall, Esq. Horatio Michols, Esq. Mr. A. Milliken, 6 copies Miss Mocatta Moses Montihore, Esq. Joseph Netherclift, Esq. Erancis W. Newman, Esq. J. W. Nichelson, Esq. John Ashton Nicholls, Esq. C. W. O'Reilly, Esq. Rev. R. B. Paul J. Perrier, Esq. James Perrin, Esq. Hermann Poetter,Esq., 2 copies Miss Powell Dr. Pretorius Or. Radford P. Rolandi, Esq. Daniel Ross, Esq. T. Rothpletz, Esq. Miss Russell J. E. Ryland, Esq. Charles Salaman, Esq. George Salmon, Esq., F.T.C. Dublin Miss Samuda — Schapper, Esq. Dr. W. Smith H. Smith, Esq., 2 copies Dr. Leonhard Schmitz — Schultz, Esq. L. Schwabe, Esq. John E. Scriven, Esq., 2 copies B. Spindler, Esq. W. Strong, Esq. John E. Taylor, Esq. Robert Tighe, Esq., M.R.I.A. Dublin Rev. Mr. Trollope — Underwood, Esq. W. Upton, Esq. E. West, Esq. B. Wertheim, Esq. E. W. Whistler, Esq. James North White, Esq., 3 copies James Williams, Esq. Rudolph Wolff, Esq. John Wright, Esq. Thomas Wyse, Esq., M.P. PEEFACE. The present work is designed to exhibit a succinct view of the whole body of German Literature. This is effected by a series of biographical notices of the German authors, from the earliest period down- ward — separated into their respective classes, and by a general chronological arrangement, intended to mark the progress of the national mind in each de- partment of letters, and to be used as references by the inquiring reader. This volume being, in fact, a commentary upon those German writers, who have figured in the literary history of their country, indicates, in every instance, those works of an author, which are the most worthy of attention for their artistic worth or moral excellence ; it thus presents, at a glance, those principal efforts, whether of imagination or of severer thought, that have won repute or popularity. Every accredited authority has been consulted ; and wherever a bibliographical precedent was ne- cessary to substantiate an assertion, or to point out to the student a desirable book of reference, a note, indicative thereof, has been supplied. No notice, however, has been taken of those writers, whose claims to be chronicled repose only upon doubtful foundations, and whose compositions have long since fallen into disuse. PREFACE. In addition to the above-mentioned biographical memoirs, and the other literary topics, the author has endeavoured to exhibit a concise estimate of the characteristics of each writer's genius, talents, and personal influence, and to discuss incidentally the manner and degree, in which his intellectual qualities were operated upon by external contempo- raneous causes. Several works upon the national literature have already been published in Germany. A list of these will be found at pp. 297 and 298, of this volume. Some few among them are of high excel- lence and repute; but the majority are either too extended and too critical, or too limited in their pro- fessed design; and none of them would altogether justify an English translation. No book on this subject has yet appeared in Eng- land, excepting a version of "Menzel's Deutsche Literatur." This production is much too biassed in its judgments, and is generally ill-adapted to the English student. Accordingly, it has been the aim of the author, to prepare his work upon a plan that should combine comprehensiveness with brevity ; and he ventures to hope, that, as the want of some such manual as the present, has long been a source of much inconve- nience to the English student of the German lan- guage and literature, that inconvenience will not now be felt to any thing like the same extent. He begs here to express his obligations to his friend, the Editor. CONTENTS. PAGE Section I. — Ancient German Literature - - - 1 . H. — Modern German Literature - - - 17 First Period, from 1700 to 1770. i. The second Saxonic School. — Rabener, Gellert,Kastner, J. E. Schlegel, J. A. Schlegel, Zachariae - - 20 ii. Friedrich von Hagedorn and Haller - - 24 in. Gleim and Uz - - - - 2S iv. Klopstock - - - - - 31 v. Lessing - - - - - 36 vi. Wieland - - - - 41 vii. Berlin and the North of Germany. — E. Kleist, Ramler, Nicolai - - - - - - 44 viii. Philosophers — Wolff, Crusius, Baumgarten, Mendels- sohn, Sulzer, Engel, Abbt, Garve, Zimmermann, etc. 48 ix. Herder - - - - - 51 Gessner, Lichtwer, Gerstenberg - - - 5S Prose Writers, " Volksmahrchen" - - - 59 Novelists and Tale Writers - - - 61 Antiquarians - - - - - 65 Historians and Geographers - - - 68 Biographers and Grammarians - - - 72 Philosophers —Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Jacobi, Krug, etc . 74 Die Sturm und Drang Periode - - So CONTENIS. PAG E Second Period, from 1770 to 1800. Das Zeitalter tier Classischen Poesie - 88 Sect. i. Der Gbttinger Bardenbund — Burger, Stolberg, Voss, Hblty, Claudius, Leisewitz - - 00 ii. Johann Wolfgang von Goetlie - - 103 in. Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller - 142 iv. 1. Lyrical Poets - - - - 156 2. Dramatic Writers - - - -162 3. Die Humoristen — Langbein, Thummel, Hippel, Jean Paul, Hoflmann, Benzel-Sternau, etc. - 170 Third Period, from 1800 to 1813. Sect, l Die Romantische Schule— A. W. and W. F. Schle- gel, Wackenroder, Tieck, Fouque, Arnim, Bren- tano, Chamisso, Novalis, Eichendorff, Maler Miiller - - - - - 180 Poetical Writers - - - - 203 Dramatic and Prose Writers ... 206 Modern Time, 1813-1820 - - - - 215 1813 : Korner, Schenk v. Schenkendorf, Staegemann, Arndt - - - - - 216 Epic and Lyric Poets - - - 218 Raael, Bettina, Charlotte Stieglitz - - 223 Tale Writers and Novelists - - - 227 Historians ..... 230 Grammarians, Critics, etc. - - - 233 The Present Age, 1820-1843 - - - - 238 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - - 244 Sect. i. Lyrical Poets (the Suabian School) - - 250 IT. Das junge Deutschland - - - 260 Dramatists ..... 267 Tale Writers and Novelists - - - 272 Biographers and Critics - - - 280 Native Translators .... 282 Writers for the Young - - - 283 Historians and Geographers - - - 284 Zeitschriften and Journale - - - 288 Important Woiks on German Literature - 297 SECTION I. ANCIENT GERMAN LITERATURE. SECTION I. INTRODUCTION. To write the history of the literature of any particular people, necessarily requires a glance at that nation itself, and at the era also of its formation, out of the most bar- barous state. Its archives have to be unlocked ; while the tone of thought and the complexion of feeling, evinced by a com- munity, cannot but be accepted as the index, in some degree at least, of its measure of intellectual progress, at the same time that it leads us into the most secret fountains of natural thought, and passes under our review the earliest operations of the human understanding. The field which such an enquiry opens is very extensive ; and many writers of acknowledged ability have already laid their researches before the world, in works at once voluminous and im- portant :* the dealing, therefore, with the subject thus in extenso, we shall at once decline ; and it shall suffice to our present purpose to survey the general features of the German literature, as that literature has grown up from * Adelung (J. C.) die alteste Geschichte der Deutschen, ihre Sprache und Literatur. 1806. Bouterweck (F.) Geschichte der Poesie und Beredsamkeit. 12 vols. 8vo. 1819. Eichhorn (J. G.) Geschichte der Literatur, von ihrem Ursprung bis auf die neuesten Zeiten. 6 vols. 1828. Gervinus, in his " Poetische National Literatur der Deut- schen," a work that has been pronounced classical. b 2 4 THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. century to century, and to allude indirectly, as we go along, to that stock and circle of polite letters, which has been amassed in the lapse of ages, and the profit and produce of which are, in fact, the great and sterling supererainence of the present intellectual condition of the German people. Prior to the introduction of Christianity, the Germans had nothing worthy of the name of literature. The Goths, a nation originally of the pure Germanic origin, embraced an imperfect form of our religion ; and the first monument of the Mcesogothic tongue, that has come down to us, is a part-translation of the Bible, executed by bishop Ulphilas (a.d. 360-380). Only a very few literary memorials have been preserved of those times ; nor is it until the rise of the Minnesanger, that we can take up the thread of the Ger- man vernacular composition with a feeling at all approach- ing to certainty. A splendid epoch of belles lettres dates from the year 1138, when Conrad III, of the Hohenstauffen dynasty, ascended the throne of the German empire. It was a practice, founded upon olden usage, for the emperor's court to retain minstrels, or wandering bards, in its pay, who performed on the guitar or the harp, and who sang, in the presence of the flower of chivalry, — before mailed knights and dames of high degree, — their Minne- sang (or love song). These musicians were, in not a few instances, men of an original genius, who were able to compose the lays they chaunted, although these metrical efforts were, more fre- quently, and indeed generally, the work of those distin- guished poets, to whom the title of "Minnesanger" has been assigned. The sweet bards of our fatherland, Hart- MANN YONDER AUE (Owe), 1201 ; WOLFRAM VON EsCHEN- ba.ch, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, Walther von der VOGELWEIDE, HeRR OtTO VON THURNE, MeISTER CoN- rad von Wurtzburg, 1276 ; Heinrich Frauenlob, Rudiger von Manesse, 1301, put forth all their talents SECTION t. 5 at this period, and wrote those magnificent compositions, known to the German student by the name of " the Minne- poems." Deeds of high emprize speedily manifested themselves, whereunto the inventive power of authors was wont to cleave, and to magnify the same in poems. And then it was that poetical works of a high character were composed. The date of that wonderful and splendid metrical perform- ance, known as the " Heldenbuch," was somewhere be- tween the years 1180 and 1200. This celebrated "Helden- buch"* (i. e. the Book of Heroes), the genuine heroic legends of our nation, embodies, in a form at once most romantic and poetical, a collection of fanciful papers by the far- famed Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heineich von Ofter- dingen, Walther der Vogler, and by many other writers, whose names have not come down to us. Among the noble traditionary chronicles to be found in this work, are, — " Der kleine Rosengarte," " Der gehornte Siegfried," " Godrun," etc. etc. : the last-mentioned composition v. d. Hagen styles " Die wunderbare Nebensonne der Niebe- lungen." " Das Niebelungenlied,"f a contemporary of the former work, is the grandest production of the middle ages, — it is indeed popular all over the world. Its reputation is now, from the costly and splendid manner of its republication, secured upon an immoveable basis. This literary monu- * Der Helden Buch in der Ursprache herausg. von F. H. v. d. Hagen und A. Primisser. 2 vols. 1824. f Lachmann, Der Niebelungen Not mit der Klage, und Erlaeuterungen hiezu. 1842. Ueber die ursprungliche Gestalt des Gedichtsvon der Niebelungen Noth. von Lachmann. 1816. F. H. v. d. Hagen, Die Nibelungen und ihre Bedeutung. 1819. A. Cruger, Der Ursprung des Niebelungenliedes ; oder Sage von den Volsungen und von Sigurd dem Tafnis Todter. 1812. 6 THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. ment consists of a series of sublime old legends of chivalry, — the Iliad, it might be called, of the Germans, — while it is delivered in a wonderful cast of language, and crowded with poetical beauties. Who does not know, and knowing, does not admire, the story of the love and the revenge of Chrimhild, not forgetting also the Complaint? It would, certainly, supply an important hiatus in antiquarian re- search, were we able to say decidedly who was the author of this capital production ;* but on this point we have not been informed : any more than we know all the names of those poets — evidently of a high order of genius — who have left behind them the costly " Volkslieder." Strange enough, that we seldom know, for an absolute certainty at least, the originators of some of our greatest prose works, of poems, and of other monuments of art. Still, we have reason to rejoice over those large treasures of inventive metrical genius yet at our command, and we cannot but feel delighted to find them handed down to us in such a state of preservation. Respecting the " Niebelungenlied," we are only aware that it was written about the time when Attila warred with the Burgundians in the Rhine country. Many other capital legends show the grandeur of the poetic vein in that period; while even the trite history of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, has been transplanted to a German soil, for a fine old poem is extant, bearing the title of " Konig Artus und die mnde Tafel." Wolfram von Eschenbach was an industrious writer, whose principal works are the magnificent but abstruse " ParcivaFf and " Titurel." Of Hartmann von der Ale * A. W. Schlegel entertained, for various reasons, the idea that Meister Klingsohr, or Heinrich von Ofterdingen, was the author. f Lachmann, iiber den Eingang des Parcival (Abhandl. der Berliner Akademie) 1835. SECTION 1. 7 we possess, " Ritter Jwein," and " der arme Heinrich" etc. Meister Johann Hadlaub* (1350), composed several fine and graceful poems. Most of the legends, applicable to this date, turn upon the era of the migration of the Ger- man tribes; in the centre of which point of time arises Attila, the great leader of the Huns, and, at a lower step in the chronology, the Emperor Charlemagne.f To this period also belongs the satirico-romantic poem, " Salomon und Markolf ;" several works on history next, (Chronica, to wit) among which the " Kaiserkronik" most deserves to be mentioned. The legend styled " Die heiligen drei Konige,'' was the chosen topic of several writers of that age, while it was handled in a masterly manner by Johann von Hildesheim. Books upon Law and Jurisprudence were also put forth, of which "Der Schwabenspiegel," and "Der Sachsenspiegel," are samples. In the highly celebrated Johann Guttenberg, who invented that most noble of all arts, the art of printing, a new star arose upon the horizon of literature. By his acumen and untiring industry, we received a multiplication of those grand conceptions, which hitherto were only now and then acquired, through the laborious process of tran- scription, and at great expense. The establishment of Universities (1350) at Prague, Vienna, Heidelberg, Cologne and Leipzic, was another great source of influence upon the general character of the German literature. In that day, societies were formed, styling themselves " Meistersanger,"^ who sent a vast quan- * Hadlaubes Gedichte, herausgegeben von Ettmiiller. 1841. f Von der Hagen, Heldenbilder aus den Sagenkreisen Karls, Arthurs, der Tafelrunde u. s. w. 2 vols. 1823. % Jakob Grimm, iiber den altdeutschen Meistergesang. 1811. D. E. Beyschlag, Beitrage zur Geschichte der Meister- sanger. 1787. 8 THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. tity of poetry forth to the world, in which, however, the real soul of poetry was wanting ; for they began to plagia- rize both the fame and the models of the great " Minne- sanger." Several important works which appeared in the course of the following century, from 1400 to 1500, should not be passed over. The most capital productions of this era are : " Geuerlichkeiten des Helden und Ritters Teuer- dank." This work is valued, not so much for what it con- tains, as for the high rank and celebrity of its author, who was rumoured to be no other than the Emperor Maximilian I himself,* although it has subsequently been proved, be- yond doubt, to have been the performance of his secretary Melchior Pfinzig (1481 to 1535). " Reinecke Fuchs" now made its appearance ; the first edition of which was struck off in 1498. This work has become the " Volksbuch" of the Germans, and has passed through an almost countless number of editions.f Another book whose reputation is permanent, and indeed universal, is the humorous production entitled " Tyl Eulenspiegel,'' 1483, long known as a treatise for the German people; the curious and witty expressions in which could not fail to strike the million ; add to which, that its leading character is said to have really lived. To this date also we ought to refer the " Life and Adven- tures of Doctor Faustus," the first work on which subject was " Luciferus mit seiner Gesellschaft," printed at Bam- berg, 1493, in 4to. The Volksbiicher of " Tristran und Isalde," — " Fortunatus, von seinem Seckel und Wiinsch- hiitlein," — " Kaiser Friedrich mit dem rothen Bart," also belong to this period. Although we may have incidentally mentioned several of the " Volksbiicher," we have never yet considered them * J. G. Bohmii de favore Maximiliani I in poesin diss. Lipsiae, 1756, 4to. f Goethe's Reinecke Fuchs. SECTION I. 9 as a whole. A most original and peculiar spirit pervades these old productions, which, by their freshness and sim- plicity, almost seem to place us in the regions of fairy-land. We are brought back to the old times of chivalry and knight-en antry, when lances were splintered in the tourney, and the successful champion received, at the fair hands of the Queen of Beauty and of Love, the jousting crown, or else, as the prize of his conquering spear, and for his knightly acquittance of himself in the lists, some damsel of high birth and noble presence, he had thus made his own. These " Volksbucher," indeed, are popular draughts of noble, original poems, in which we encounter the most powerful delineation of by-gone society ; nay, we feel al- most inclined to call them, the first Romantic School of the Germans ; while there is not in the whole range of the early literature of our country such a rich mine of poetry and romance. Now, the " Volksbucher" have one pecu- liarity, quite characteristic, or, at any rate, not found in many other writings of those early times : a strain of un- common simplicity is the outward mantle in which they are invested, but an inexpressible fund of satisfaction and delight lies veiled in the language, in the entertaining, old, wonder-teeming words. Again, these " Volksbiicher'' are peculiarly interesting, from the consideration, that into them we have to search for the German vernacularly- poetical mind ; these constituting the historic shrines of ancestral breathings, and being, on that very account, worthy of all veneration ; at the same time, that we stand in absolute need of them, whenever we would elaborate and bring to view the deeply-hidden kernel of our national poetry. The epic and lyric schools of poetry, prior to the appear- ance of " Reinecke Fuchs" and " Eulenspiegel," with other cognate works, had been a good deal on the decline ; but the pointed wit and pungent satire observable in these cele- 10 THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. brated productions, quickly restored them, and raised them, in fact, to a very high degree of perfection. Other pieces of the same class (which we cannot, however, mention here, on account of the brevity that we have enforced on ourselves) sufficiently attest the taste for wit and satire prevalent in that age. Prose composition raised itself in the same ratio as the poetry declined, and was cultivated chiefly by minstrel or bardic writers. There was Johanx Tal ler (1294-1361), who has left us a valuable collection of sermons; Geiler von Kaisersberg (1445-1510), also a sermon-writer, whose discourses are WTitten in a powerful style, and published under the title of " Das Narrenschiff," and " Das SchifT cles Heils." The historiographers also of the period took great pains in bringing up this order of composition to a more elaborate finish, and in expressing themselves with more ease and grace. The era of the Reformation is naturally looked upon as a new period in the German literature. In the year 1523, Luther (1483-1546) appeared with his powerful eloquence, and with a translation of the entire Bible. Now, Luther ought to be regarded as the great Reformer, not merely of the religion of Germany, but also of the German language ; for he contributed, and that in no small degree, towards refining and perfecting the idiom of our fatherland, and rendered his Bible into such wonder- fully fine German, into words so harmonious and beautiful, that it may serve, even at the present day, as a sample of elegant and old classical expressions ; and such, in fact, it is considered to be.* Lyric poetry decayed more and * Panzer's Geschichte der deutschen Bibelubersetzung Luthers. 1783. Teller's vollstandige Darstellung und Beurtheilung der deutschen Sprache in Luthers Bibelubersetzung. 2 vols. 1794. Marheineke, iiber den religiosen Werth der Bibeluberset- zung Luthers. 1815. SECTION I. 1 I more; the Reformation raged through the whole of Ger- many. Hymns and psalmody, however, were brought by it to a state of masterly perfection, — in which order of literature Martin Luther shone again as a star of the first magnitude. Many of his finest hymns, — as, for instance, " Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her," " Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott " (one of the most splendid things he ever wrote), " Gelobet seyst du Jesu Christ," " Herr Gott dich loben wir," have become classical " Kirchenlieder."* The poets of that day were divided into the two classes of " geistliche " and " weltliche " Liederdichter. Among the "geistlichen Liederdichter," Luther, Musculus (1497- 1 563), and Aendt, chiefly distinguished themselves. Jo- hann Arndt (1555-1621) was a mystical writer who gave to the world his "Vier Biicher vom wahren Christenthume," a work of great eminence, which has been in high repute among all pious and religious persons from that day to this. The author most known of those poets we have styled " weltliche-Dichter " was Hans Sachs (1494-1576), the learned shoemaker, who has bequeathed us many an amusing and excellent "Fastnachtsspiel" and " Schwanke." Who does not remember the curious couplet beginning, — " Hans Sachse war ein Schuh- Macher und Poet dazu," etc. Hans Sachs was, unquestionably, the cleverest of the numerous body of the " Meistersanger " (Herder calls him "den Meistersanger Meister"), who, fired with a poetic genius, wrote many a clever joke and striking coup d'esprit. Johann Fjschart (1530-1590) was another satirical * Rambach, iiber Luthers Verdienste um den Kirchenge- sang. 1813. Gebauer, Luther und seine Zeitgenossen, als Liederdichter. 1827. 12 THE LITEBATtEE OF GERMANY. writer, who marked the epoch when he flourished, by put- ting forth a series of pasquinades. One of his most received productions has the following very curious title,—" Affen- theurlich Raupengeheurliche Geschichtklitterung, Von Thaten unci Rah ten, von kurzen langen weitem Vollen beschreiten Helden und Herren Grandgusier Gargantua und Pantagruel. Printed 1552." Fischart was a writer whose works discover a vein of powerful satire, as well as of originality. Georg Rollexhagen, who flourished between the years 1542 and 1609, is to be ranked in the same class of writers; he was, moreover, endowed with a fine cast of wit, and he produced that very original and humorous poem, entitled " Der Froschmeusler." The authors current in this period were chiefly theolo- gians, who followed the didactic walk in literature, in a most powerful strain of language and of argument : such were Ulrich Zwinglt (1484-1531), Johaxx Bugenhagen (1485-1558), J oh ann Agricola (1492-1566), Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), and Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523) ; and although these great and celebrated men wrote most of their works in Latin, which was the language of the learned, they still contributed not a little to the ameli- oration and refinement of the vernacular style and tongue. Martin Luther, however, had broken through the rules (the trammels, we had almost said), of the old school of composition, and thus became the founder of the new. He put off from him the antiquated manners, so to speak, of the old masters of letters, and the body of German liter- ature gains an entirely new and original-minded member from the date of his appearance. The labours of Luther were not barren ; on the contrary, they exerted a vast in- fluence over the onward progress of his own language ; and as one of the first fruits of the same, we must greet the poetry of the first Silesian School, the leader of which was that great reformer of our language, Martin Opitz von Boberfeld (1597-1639). He it was that regenerated the SECTION I. 13 whole art of poetry, and banished all the various and anomalous dialects of the German tongue from the literary world ; selecting the idiom now known as the " Hoch- deutsch " (high German) as the sole language for books. Others of his contemporaries, as J. W. Zinkgraef (1591- 1635), Paul Flemming* (1609-1640), by whom is the beau- tiful hymn, " In alien meiner Thaten, lass ich den Hochsten rathen," &c, cultivated poetry ; while again, a different order of writers, such as J. M. Moscherosch (1600- 1669), A. Oleaeius (1600-1671), set themselves to improve and enrich the dialectic form to which Opitz had given in his adhesion. • Paul Geehaed| (1606-1676) now gave to the world his " Haus unci Kirchenlieder," a work that not one of his con- temporaries could rival, — taking into account the elegance and the lyric tones in which he made known his feelings. Many of his poems are quite standard compositions, espe- cially his celebrated and moving hymn, " Befiehl du deine Wege," which he composed on his way from Berlin, from which town he was ostracised, and cast forth a houseless wanderer. The thirty years' war which had desolated the whole of Germany, coupled with the accumulated power and influ- ence which the house of Bourbon still retained in its hands, could not fail to produce great results upon that empire, to which that royal branch was approximate. At this epoch it was that poetry of every kind vanished at once from the arena of letters ; nay, it seemed as though the obsequies of all true poetical thought and feeling had been already solemnized. A new period, however, speedily opened, but one that discovered no greater nationality of literature than * Varnhagen von Ense Biographische Denkmale. 1826. f Paul Gerhard nach seinem Leben und Wirken von E. G. Eoth. 1829. P. Gerhard's Leben unci Lieder herausgb. von Langbeckcr. 1810. 14 THE LITERATURE OF GERMANY. the foregoing. The views of Opitz were no longer ac- counted correct ; and the taking the classical writers for models, soon became, by reason of the supposed hardness of their style, a lost and discarded custom: for all the authors of this date cast their eyes towards France, and began to follow the taste of that country. Thus, the poetry extant in this age was inflated, crowded with sounds with- out sense, the ars scribendi being accurately modelled and ruled according to prevailing French fashions. Hoffmann von Hoffmanns waldau (1618-1679), and D. Kasper von Lohenstein (1635-1683), are to be looked upon as the heads and chief promoters of this literary Sect, which styled itself the "second Silesian School of poetry." Franz Horn characterizes these poets very cleverly : — " Sie wollten die Farbe noch farbiger, den Ton noch tonender, das Schone noch schoner haben als schon. Darum entschwand ihnen das Schone, das sich nur dem einfach-frommen und be- scheidenen Gemiithe kund thut, und sie schrieben schlecht, weil sie besser schreiben wollten als gut." Taking a survey of this division of time, we meet, it must be owned, with no minds of large calibre, who fa- voured, in any degree, the labours or vocation of the poet ; and this fact then was the great cause of that beau- tiful department of letters lapsing into weakness and disuse. H OFFM AN N S WALDAU, LOHENSTEIN, GilNTHER, and Wernecke, were certainly the writers most known and approved ; nevertheless, not one of the four is worthy of being called a poet. The entire German nation, at this time, was so infected, or rather overlaid, with French terms of expression and habits of thought, that even that illustrious founder ot a new school of philosophy — we mean Leibnitz — (1646- 1716) composed several of his works in that language. The meed of unsought-for praise is due to the philosopher Christian von Wolf (1679-1754), who did much for his own vernacular tongue, while he enriched the philoso- SECTION I. 1-3 pineal department of it with many new technical ex- pressions. There was a declamatory and very eccentric writer, named Abraham a Sancta Clara (Ulrich Megerle, 1642- 1709), a clergyman, who produced a body of humorous and excellent satirical works, under very curious titles, as for instance : "Eeim dich, oder ich liess dich. Koln, 1702. — Heilsames Gemisch Gemasch. 1704. — Wohlange- fiillter Weinkeller nebst Huy unci Pfuy der Welt. 1710. — Geistiges Waarenlager mit apostolischen Waaren. 1714. — Neu ausgehecktes Narrennest, 1737," &c. &c. But now it is high time for us to find the poetry of our land enfranchised from that flagrant servility of imitation into which it had fallen ; and, at last, there did actually arise, at this time, two men who may well challenge our wannest admiration, inasmuch as, directed by their own talents, they diffused over that section of literature the force of their original conceptions. These men were Bod- 3ier and Gottsched, a notice of whose works will open our second section upon " Modern German Literature." The best collections of, and works relating to, the Minne- singer, and those poets of the preceding period, are : Yon der Hagex, die deutschen Minnesanger. 4 vols. 4to. — Rudiger vox Maxessex, Sammlung von Minne- sangern, herausg. von Bodmer. 2 vols. 8vo. — Altdeutsche Gedichte des Mittelalters, herausg. von F. H. v. d. Hagen und G. Biisching. 2 vols. 4to. 1808.— W. G. Wacker- xagel, Poesie und Prosa vom IV ten bis zum XVten J a hr- hundert ; ein zweiter Band enthalt die Poesie und Prosa seit dem Jahre 1500. — F. A. Pischox, Denkmaler der deutschen Sprache von den friihesten Zeiten bis jetzt. 2 vols. 8vo, 1838. — Bibliothek der gesammten deutschen National-Literatur, von den altesten bis auf die neuere Zeit. 25 vols. 8vo. 1835-40. — Glebi's Gedichte nach 16 THE LITEEATUEE OF GEE MANY. deu Minnesangern.— Tieck's Mimielieder aus dern sckwa- bischen Zeitalter. — A. v. Aenim and Beextano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, 3 Bande. — Eelach (Fr. K.) Die Volkslieder der Deutschen. Eine vollstandige Samm- lungder vorziiglichsten Volkslieder von der Mitte des 15 ten bis zur l ten Halfte des 19 ten Jahrhunderts. 5 vols. 8v<>. 1834. SECTION II. MODERN GERMAN LITERATURE. C SECTION II. MODERN GERMAN LITERATURE. FIRST PERIOD. — (From 1700 to 1770.) POETRY. We mentioned, in the preceding section, that Lohenstein and Hofmannswaldau stood forth as leaders of the Ger- man poetry. This sect, however second-rate in point of talent, stood without a rival, until Gottsched arose at Leipzig- and Bodmer at Zurich ; and in good time it was that these two came forward, the poetry of Germany being then in a most deplorable state. In fact, the literature in general was, at this period, rather imitative than original. Those calling themselves poets had in them a vein of un- naturalness, which had been carried to the very acme of pos- sibility. However, a step was at last made in the right direction, and Germany became more intellectually active than it was before. Its great king, Frederick II, himself a philosopher and poet too, seconded by his own wise insti- tutions, and by the fair development of the arts and sciences, raised the national mind and character to a height, which indeed cannot fail to astonish every one, who takes into account the feeble and prostrate condition in which the greatest part of Germany then was. Gottsched of Leipzig and Bodmer of Zurich severally succeeded in establishing schools of their own, and a great literary war was fought between the discipulary writers of each. Gottsched and his school were altogether copyists of the French style of com- position, whilst Bodmer and his party turned more to the 20 BABENEB. English for the formation of their literary taste and cha- racter. A paper war was carried on in their respective journals, which at length ended favourably to the Swiss school, which, although the smaller party, obtained a splen- did victory over her antagonist. The characteristic of this period is a prevalent imitation of French literature. The vernacular tongue became cleared and sifted from the rubbish that had weighed it clown, growing gradually more and more refined, until at last the dialect known as the " Hochdeutsch " was the sole medium of books and of correspondence, all other idioms being banished from the stage of literature, or, if used at all, employed merely in the construction of jeux-d' 'esprit and bon-mots, or as a study of dialects. OUT OF THE GOTTSCHED SCHOOL ARISES THE POETRY OF THE SECOND SAXONIC SCHOOL. (1741.) This school is developed by a body of men of a marked poetical talent. A periodical magazine, which they put forth under the title of " Beitrage zum Vergniigen des Verstandes und Witzes," was at once the channel of their communications, and the point around which they centered. In this body of men, and in the school they founded, we find, individually and collectively, the type of another order of writing, all tending to raise the literature, and favorable to a consentaneous operation. Rabener undertakes the didactic, supplying prose-satire, Zacharle gives heroics and satires, Gellert is the fabulator, Giseke devotes his talents to song, G.ertner does his best in criticism, J. A. Schlegel favours the ode, while the dramatic elements are advocated by J. El. Schlegel. GOTTLIEB WILHELM RABENER, (1714-1771.) Once the favorite of the German public, was born the 17th of September 1714, at Wachau, a country seat near Leipzig, the property of his father, a lawyer of wealth and eminence. GELLERT. 21 He studied the law at Leipzig, where he became intimately acquainted with Gellert. By his productions, which were printed in a periodical entitled, " Beitriige zu den Belusti- gungen des Verstandes und Witzes," the public became acquainted with his powers in satire. He died holding a high rank in the Customs, the 22nd of March, 1771, at Dresden. The " Satiren" of this writer, wherein was evinced a rich fund of wit, as well as a strong power of observation and a tact and facility in describing things, is a capital production. The cheerful strain of wit that runs through his works, and the correctness of his language and style, succeeded in ren- dering him very popular. The following are very entertaining to read : — " Das Schwiftsche Testament," " Das Madchen vom lfen April," " Das deutsche Worterbuch,'' Klims Tod- tenliste," " Die Spriehworter des Pansa," " Die Chronik des Dorfleins Querlequitsch," and the " Satyrischen Briefe." CHRISTIAN FUERCHTEGOTT GELLERT (1715-1769) Was born on the 4th of July, 1715, at Heinichen, a little town in the Saxon mountains. He was the son of a vicar of small fortune, and at his outset was forced to earn a livelihood by copying, &c. He studied theology and philosophy at Leipzic, and became in 1751 Professor at the same University. He died on the 13th December, 1769.* This again is one of our most esteemed writers of this pe- riod. His fame is neither founded on his genius nor on his philosophical qualifications ; his literary reputation will there- fore always be considered to depend upon the highly moral tone of his productions, the grand, religious fervour which prevails in his hymns and poems. Almost every thing that he wrote is more or less adapted for the generality of the people. He wrote in a language so simple and correct, that no body could fail to understand him. Gellert was indeed such a general favourite, that, when he died in 1769, the populace made pilgrimages, by hun- * Dr. H. Doring, Gellert's Leben. 2 vols. 1833. 22 K^STNER. dreds to the place of his sepulchre, so that the Leipzic senate felt at last bound to interfere, and to put a stop to it altogether. It is not too much to assert that nearly the whole of Germany mourned his loss. Gellert's " Fabeln" have become the " real-work" of the German nation. They contain undoubtedly great moral truth and appropriateness of philosophy, with comments upon men and manners, and wise rules for their correction. The pictures of life are vivid, full of sprightliness and taking humour, and are expressed in a style of extraordinary ease and clearness, so that no one indeed need be at much pains at conceiving his meaning. The greater number of them are exceedingly amusing, while the most popular are : " Die Geschichte vom Hute,"' " Der Blinde und der Lahme," "Die beiden Wachter," " Der grime Esel," " Der Kranke." Some of his hymns are remarkably fine, and have even become Kirchenlieder. His morning hymn, " Mein erst Gefuhl sei Preis und Dank," his Christmas hymn, " Dies ist der Tag den Gott gemacht," with " Die Giite Gottes," and " Erforsche mich, erfahr mein Herz," " Herr der du mir das Leben," " Gottes Macht und Vorsehung," &c. &c. are standard compositions, and, to sum up all, his " Auf Gott und nicht auf meinen Kath," is quite a favourite hymn throughout the whole of Germany. In the department of novel writing, however, Gellert cannot be said to have possessed any talent ; his " Schwe- dische Grafin," although translated into several languages, being a very inferior production. Of even less value are the comedies of this writer, w hich, to say the truth, are abso- lute failures. ABRAHAM GOTTHELF IwESTNER (1719-1800) Was born at Leipzic, on the 27th of September, 1719, was Pro- fessor of Mathematics at Gottingen, and died 20th June, 1800. KvEstner was a celebrated and acute mathematician, the J. E. AND J. A. SCHLEGEL. 2.\ author also of a great many epigrams, never likely to grow out of date. And even those pieces in this Collection which refer to local and personal occasions, and are scarcely to be understood without a key, are more caustic than almost any other production in the whole circle of German litera- ture. His elegies, odes, and songs are not without merit. " Pondere non nervis, corpora nostra carent" is the motto from Ovid, which he has prefixed to his epigrams. JOHANN ELIAS SCHLEGEL. (1718-1749.) Born at Meissen, 28th January, 1718. He showed very early talents for poetry, and translated while at college the " Electra" of Sophocles. The " Iphigenia" of Euripides he published under the title of " Die Geschwister in Taurien," which was acted with applause on the Leipzic stage, at the time he studied Jurisprudence at that University. He died as Doctor of History at Soroe, the 13th August, 1749. Schlegel had unquestionably great talents for dramatic composition, and a considerable force and variety of ex- pression. His dramas approach, as may be easily supposed, the style of Gottsched ; nor can Schlegel himself be consi- dered as at all in fault, that his works have at last been, in a great degree, passed by ; for in them a strong vein of imagination is discoverable, added to a poetical habit of mind, of which, indeed, the other writers of that age are much in want. We may style him almost the only play- wright deserving of our mention in this, the new birth of German literature. The best of Schlegel's dramas are, " Hermann" and " Canut ;" while he also evinced some talent for comedy : " Der Triumph der guten Frau," and " Die stumme Schonheit," were the only good comedies of that day, which were repeatedly acted, and were revived by Mendelssohn and Lessing with considerable applause. His younger brother, JOHANN ADOLPH SCHLEGEL (1721-1793) Was born 18th September, 1721, at Meissen, and died as 24 ZACHABIJE. Doctor of Theology and Counsellor of the Consistory on the 16th September, 1793. He addressed himself more particularly to the composition of fables and hymns. His choice at the time was com- mendable, certainly, however indifferently he may have been remunerated for his literary labours. It is but fair to add, that he discovered a dearth of poetical talent, while, again, his " Ode to Klopstock," and his poem entitled " Die Un- zufriedene," may be accounted his most perfect productions. JUST FRD3DRICH WILHELM ZACHARLE. (1726-1777.) Born the 1st May, 1726, at Frankenhausen, where he studied the science of Jurisprudence. He is the last author we have to mention as a member of this school. Zacharia was endowed with a poetical and witty invention, which confluence of intellectual gifts he put certainly to the most advantageous use. His comic epopees of " Der Renomist 1 ' (The Roisterer), " Das Schnupftuch," " Murner in der Holle," and particularly his " Phoeton," earned him that meed of praise which was really his due. Then again his descriptive poems entitled : " Die Tages- zeiten,'' and " Die vier Stufen des weiblichen Alters" (the four eras of woman's life), from their exquisite delineations and numerous beautiful passages, were very generally asked for and admired. Zacharia also translated into German Milton's " Paradise Lost," in which, however, he may be considered to have failed. Zacharia died at Braunschweig, when holding the office of Professor of Poetry, on the 30th of January, 1777. II. FRIEDRICH VON HAGEDORN (1708-1754) Was born at Hamburg, on the 23rd of April, 1708. In the division of German poetry now under review, this writer, it is not too much to assert, occupies rather a high HAGEDORN. 25 place ; and even if he should not be esteemed a poet of the first calibre, he wrote, nevertheless, with considerable ease and grace. The language of Hagedorn is simple and cor- rect in the highest degree. It is on this account that Wieland styles him, — " the poet, who, in the single article of refinement of style, has no worthy successor in the litera- ture of any country ; the author, who has wrought up his productions to the highest degree of finish ; the man, whom few, if any, writers will ever equal in the matter of industry.'' Now the " Fables " of Hagedorn are easily distinguishable by their style, by their pleasant fancies, and witty ideas, from the efforts of anterior fabulists. They are told with a liveliness and vigour truly characteristic. His " Seifensie- der" (soap-boiler) is an excellent poem, few even of his own works having been so successful and popular. In- deed we must, in historic justice, allow, that Hagedorn, acting in concert with a kindred spirit, named Haller, did more for the amelioration of the style of this period, than all the other writers put together. What is the exact dis- tinction between these two writers ? Hagedorn is the poet of men and manners ; Haller, of nature and her scenes. The songs of the former are full of spirit, — in fact, they are exultation combined with jocularity in a most amusing manner. Hagedorn's " Lehrgedichte " are valuable frag- ments of moral truth, but he had more talents, certainly, for simple lyric poetry. Some epigrams, however, by this writer, are scrupulously correct ; so much so, as to be para- digms in those times. In more extended metrical compo- sition, — the long ode, for example, — he was not so success- ful. Indeed, Hagedorn's inspiration, if we may so speak, was scarcely equal to this class of composition ; he was unable to exert a sufficient sway over his subject. But in smaller efforts, — in little tales, for instance, — he works with great clearness and skill : indeed, his chief merits are here to be found. He was a great lover of art, and, in fact, something of an artist himself, as several of his etchings 26 HALLEP.. show. There is extant a work by him, entitled, " Betrach- tungen iiber Malerei," which is considered to possess con- siderable value. Hagedorn died on the 28th of October, 1754. ALBRECIIT VON HALLER (1708-1777) AVas born on the 16th of October 1708, at Bern. In the year 1736, Haller responded to an invitation that was made him to accept the office of professor of medicine at Goettingen, where he eventually became established, and the president also of the academy of science. So great was Haller's fame at this time, that the emperor Francis I ennobled him (adelte ihn). He died on thel2th of December 1777. It is no easy matter to define, accurately, the boimds of j human attainment, in a person of such varied endowments as the author now under review ; he certainly was one of the most accomplished and original-minded men of this era. Immortal at once as a poet, anatomist, physiologist, botanist, and man of letters, he seemed to be an adept in almost all the different branches of human enquiry. The epoch in which Haller first started as a poet, was both a trying and a critical one to the resources of his genius ; for he had to steer clear, on the one hand, of the false taste in literature, introduced by Lohenstein, and to beware, on the other, of falling into the error of emulating the un- intellectual, nay, unmeaning versification, then so much in fashion. Accordingly, under circumstances so inauspi- cious, Haller commenced his poetical career, and in him a new period was opened in the annals of our vernacular learning. Haller's poetry is, no doubt, raised upon a didactic foun- dation. The religious feelings and pious sentiments which attended him at all times, in his studies of nature, conspired to invest his descriptions with an unstudied solemnity and artless splendour. All his poems abound with ideas, all possess a notable prosodaic harmony ; while the moral interest is so habitually predominant, as to take off, in no HALLER. 27 small degree, from the cesthetical beauty of the main de- sign. " Die Alpen " is Haller's most celebrated production. It was written during a progress over the Alps ; so that nature herself must needs have suggested to our poet the scenery he so justly and so eloquently describes. " The poetry of Haller," says Schiller, " is characterised by power, depth, and a simplicity of pathos. His soul is inspired by a love for the ideal, and his glowing appreciation of what- ever is true, assists him to pourtray, in the quiet valleys of the Alps, that primeval innocence, which has long since vanished from the busy, bustling world. Profound, yet touching, are his sorrows ; he sets forth the errors of the mind and heart in a strain of vigorous and almost bitter satire : but nature he copies with great zeal and with an unaffected grace. Haller is great, bold, impetuous, and sublime ; but that which constitutes the essence and reality of beauty, it has not, in his poems, been his fortune to attain." His elegiac poetry ranks highest, — the funereal piece, entitled, " Auf den Tod Marianens" " being very good." — This is the amount of the opinion of Schiller. Haller's "Song to Doris" is a heartfelt and beautiful poem. Haller himself considered his didactic paper, " Vom Ursprung des Ubels" as his masterpiece, and liked it the best of all he ever did. It is, in fact, that exalted theme, about which the philosophy of that age perplexed itself in vain. His unfinished poem, "An die Ewigkeit" contains some grand and truly poetical conceptions. In one of his letters to Bodmer, Haller volunteers the admission, that, " in himself, he is no poet at all ; but that great quickness of observation, when a youth, had, to a certain extent, made him one": with the truth of which assertion we also feel bound to coincide. " Die Alpen," though not without its faults, is certainly a very meritorious 28 GLEIM. production. The most striking scenery that mountain regions afford, is given by him, while actually traversing their vasty, cloud-compelling steeps, with great fidelity and skill ; still more finely, and with even a larger measure of success, does Haller pourtray the manners and customs of those races, who dwell in the Alpine district. This poem has, upon the whole, "made" the name of its author, and will always be read with the greatest pleasure and advantage. III. GLEIM AND UZ. Coincidently, almost, with the above date (in 1739), two writers appeared in the university-town of Halle, — Gleim and Uz we mean, who worked their way up into notice ; the former acquiring such a measure of popularity as, in fact, no Gennan author ever obtained before. JOHANN WILHELM LUDWIG GLEIM (1719-1803) Was born on the 2nd of April 1719, at Emsleben, a small town near Halberstadt. He was educated at the Leipzic university, where, in conjunction with Goetz and Uz, he became a follower of the muses. Gleim attended the Prince Leopold of Dessau, in the second Silesian war, in the quality of his secretary. Shortly afterwards, Gleim was so for- tunate as to obtain the secretaryship of the cathedral of Halberstadt, which office he continued to fill for the space of fifty years, until the period of his demise, February 18, 1803.. Gleim w T as the man upon whom the German nation bestowed, communi consensu, the appellation of " Vater," — " Vater Gleim," he is generally called ; a title that shews, at once, how high he ranked, and how much he was esteemed and noticed. Now, it used to be the fashion to extol the poetical gifts of this writer above, no doubt, the GLEIM. 29 real standard of their merits; although we are bound to add, that they have also been too lightly thought of in our own day. Gleim is a man who almost seems to invite us to draw a comparison betwixt him and Gellert Both authors earned and secured their reputation rather from their amiable private characters than from anything they wrote. And is it not a choice and goodly pranomen, and one that has some heart in it, this notable and noble denomination of " Vater"? The most known of Gleim 's literary products are his " Fabeln," which are, nevertheless, of very various pretensions ; some of them may be fairly accounted elegant realizations of poetry, while others, we must in critical justice allow, may be styled, " weary, stale, flat, and unpro- fitable," on account of the monotony of the political bias, or theological aims, with which they are invested. The cleverest of his fables are, — " Die Gartnerinn und die Biene," " Der Esel," " Die Nachtigall," " Der Staar," " Die Grille und die Ameise," "Das Pl'erd und der Esel." We instance the best of his productions when we name his " Preussische Kriegslieder eines Grenadiers ;" amongst them more particularly, " Siegeslied nach der Schlacht bei Lowositz," " Siegeslied nach der Schlacht bei Prag," and his most celebrated "Siegeslied nach der Schlacht bei Rossbach," which sufficiently declare the reason of the endearing term above specified having been applied to him ; for there is a vein of patriotism throughout the whole, which stands quite unrivalled. "Vater Gleim" opens them with the following verses : — " Krieg ist mein Lied ! weil alle Welt Krieg will, so sei es Krieg ! Berlin sei Sparta ! Preussens Held Gekrbnt mit Ruhm und Sieg ! " Nun singe Gott und Friederich, Nichts kleiner's, stolzes Lied ! Dem Adler gleich erhebe dich, Der in die Sonne sieht !" 80 uz. So he began, and went on, with the whole powers of his mind, pealing the war note and singing the songs of free- dom. Lessing greets these " Kriegslieder " with the hono- rable affixture of " Bardengesang," — no mean proof, this, of the high value that these productions had won in his eyes. Here we will introduce a small parallel we met with in Gervinus' " Deutsche Literatur," characteristic of the various writers of apologues, which have appeared from time to time. Gleim discriminates between their pro- ductions in the following way : — " iEsop's fables are poor, yet plain ; Phfedrus' pithy, but inornate ; Lafontaine's mytkics, — like a fine lady." Gervinus carries on the idea : — "Gellert's figments were like a vacant, though garrulous duenna ; Gleini's, like a pert and merry lady's maid." JOHANN PETER UZ (1720-1796) Was born on the 3rd of October 1720, at Anspach. He died when president of the provincial courts of justice, on the 12th of May, 1796. Uz produced a collection of odes and songs, which, although they rank among the higher compositions of his day, contain but little that would be satisfactory to us now. He took Horace for his model, and imitated the Roman lyrist as far as his abilities allowed him to do. That Uz was possessed of a certain degree of talent, no competent judge will ever think of disputing ; he evinced a turn for poetry, of which his " Theodicee " may be alleged as a sample, only he did not work up his powers to any point of even comparative perfection. Our author was a warm admirer and strenuous advocate of the duties of morality, while his love of his country declared itself in a train of KLOPSTOCK. 3] patriotic feelings, which make us entertain his works with satisfaction and delight. His descriptive poem, "Sieg des Liebesgottes " (the Conquest of Cupid), has been always looked upon as something peculiarly happy and clever. Two odes by Uz, severally entitled, "Das bedrangte Deutschland" and "An die Deutschen," are, certainly, among the most successful efforts of his ethical pen. IV. KLOPSTOCK, In that memorable and glorious epoch, when Frederick the Great ascended the Prussian throne, there was born, in the good city of Quedlinburg, a poet of a most original cast, who, surpassing in eloquence and in acumen all the bards, epic-writers, and master-spirits of foregoing times, had also sufficient genius to set rythmical fashions, alto- gether new and unessayed, while he wrote in a most un- wonted foundry of words, and incited intellectual endeavour to grasp at the highest topics that can, by any possibility, fall within the contemplation of the human mind. Need we say that we mean here that leading genius, FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK (1724-1803) who was born the 2nd of July 1724. His father was a " Kom- missionsrath." After young Klopstock came of age, he entered upon the study of theology at Jena (1745), and it was here, it is said, that he conceived the grand idea of glorifying our Saviour, in a poem of suitable argument and tone. Accordingly, he left Jena for Leipzic, where we find him making one in the metrical confederation organized by Zacharia, Rabener, and the two Schlegels, — all of whom we have already reviewed. Here he laid the foundation-stone of his high-reaching sacred epic design— (it is worthy of 32 KLOPSTOCK. observation, that the first master-piece of modern German literature was a religious one),— the first three cantos of his "Messiad" appearing in 1748, in a Bremish periodical. They were received with enthusiasm. Klopstock's " Mes- sias" appears, indeed, to be the very baptism of our national poetry, — the greatest and worthiest of our men of letters attending as scholarly sponsors around the consecrating-font of this new and beautiful style.* Klopstock was the literary exponent of his day: the creator of an illustrious work, which stands as "a burning and a shining light" at the head of the sacred poetry of that period. But before considering this magnificent pro- duction somewhat more at large, we must be permitted to digress shortly into some interesting particulars of its author's life. Our poet, at the outset of his career, had no means of triumphing over the obstacle of narrow cir- cumstances ; but a great admirer of poetry, Count Berns- torf, made himself acquainted with the " Messiad," and hearing of Klopstock's poor estate, recommended him very strongly to the notice of the king Frederick V, who forth- with granted him an annual pension of four hundred dol- lars. His latter days were passed at Hamburg, where he died, when holding the office of councellor of legation, on the 14th of March, 1803. The funeral obsequies of the author of the "Messias" might justly rank amongst the most splendid pageants of the kind, that have ever been awarded to any poet of our fatherland. The German nation, the standard of whose literature he had so undeniably raised, and raising, had adorned it with the beauty of holi- ness, mourned, in Klopstock's demise, the loss of one of the most pious, the most humble-minded, and the most gifted of her virtuous children. Amidst all that fascinates, while it solemns the mind, all that might hallow the outer token, * Gelzer. Die deutsche poetische Literatur seit Klopstock und Lessing. 1840. KLOPSTOCK. 33 arrest the public sympathy, foreshadow the unspoken sorrow, and insinuate the solicitudes of affection, Klop- stock's coffin, draperied with laurel wreaths, and crowned with a copy of his own " Messias," was slowly borne towards its last sad resting-place. In the little village of Ottensen, near Hamburg, unpretending enough on the page of history, yet memorable ever after from this one circumstance, amidst the chaunting of that most beautiful and touching of his own hymns, beginning : " Auferstehen, ja auferstehen wirst du, Mein Staub, nach kurzer Huh !" Klopstock's mortal remains were slowly lowered into the flower-fraught grave, — to sleep the Christian's long, though guarded sleep, by the side of his affectionate helpmate Meta, upon whose bosom, in life, he had so loved to lie.* To return to his cardinal and mighty poem. Merely from his salient genius, his unimpeachable character, his zeal in the cause of religion, and the pure and noble quality of his mind, we may easily recognize in Klopstock the poet who hymned the reverential stanzas of the " Messiad."f This illustrious epic, winning our attention by the richness of fancy, as well as the tenderness of feeling, and the fine, manly thoughts with which it abounds, is also a work per- vaded by those tropes, choice ornaments, and elegant allu- sions, which fall more generally within the province of classic verse. The idea of this poem was evidently suggested to Klop- stock by the Holy Scriptures, where indeed he found his whole scheme unfolded. All he had to do, was to overpass, as it were, the evangelic records, so far at least, as to ex- hibit in his transcript a more startling consecution of events, * Doring, Klopstock's Leben. f The first English translation by G. Egerstorf, Esq. ; the second by the Rev. Mr. Milman. D 34 KLOPSTOCK. a greater diversity of characters, and complicity of situa- tions, so as to be enabled to fashion the whole into one glorious and homogeneous epopee. England can certainly boast of a " Messiad" of another sort, yet of a poem no less sterling and valuable, in Milton's " Paradise Lost," and we are naturally led by our subject to institute a comparison be- tween the two works. Klopstock found in Milton the way prepared and the paths made straight for the delineation (indispensable to both plots) of heaven and of hell ; but the incidents attaching to his human personages, it was left for him either to invent or to alter. In these, the human parts, Klopstock' s poetry displayed its highest beauties. The cha- racters of the apostles and of the rulers of the Jewish san- hedrim, with many others, are delivered in a few pithy but masterly words. In the portraiture of the demons in hell, Klopstock has not equalled Milton, but the angels of the latter, compared with those of the former, are but meagre outlines. Should any of our readers be desirous of forming an estimate of the " Messias," we would recommend those parts in especial, wherein the distinctive quality of Klop- stock's muse is evidenced with peculiar success, and where the great force of this writer is the most conspicuous. Such specimentary portions are : " The Convocation before the High Priest," in the 4th Canto ; the description of the early Christians in the 10th ; the death of Mary in the 12th ; the miracle of the Resurrection in the 14th ; and the period of forty days intervening between that and the Ascension in the 19th Canto. The way in which Klop- stock wrote, and what he himself thought of the " Messias," as well as the tone of mind at which he had arrived upon the completion of this wonderful performance, are all finely shown in that Ode by him entitled : " An den Erloser," which he annexed to his poems. The cast of language in this magnificent epopee is emi- nently well chosen and select, and wrought up more and more to the highest point of literary finish. Our author worked at KLOPSTOCK. 35 it long and assiduously ; it was almost a life's labour ; and from this reason it is that we find the second part (which was not completed until 1773) more exquisite and elaborate still, in the amelioration both of diction and style. Klop- stock was a devoted admirer of the German language ; he was not insensible of its great and manifold beauties, and was, in fact, so proud of it, that we are indebted to him for many a fine Ode, which he has written in its behalf, replete with that warmth of feeling, he ever evinced towards his mother-tongue. Klopstock was also a sublime odiac poet, and classical therewithal, blending, in his first odes especially, the genius and habitudes of antiquity with the spirit of the modern time. In this description of literature, Klopstock is certainly without a rival ; in fact, he is the greatest ode-writer that any age can show, and may be styled the Pindar of modern lyric verse. But in richness and in depth of feeling he surpasses the harmonious Theban. Klopstock is so genuinely German, so faithful, yet so profound, as, perhaps, no bard of our fatherland ever was before. Sulzer, one of the earliest of German critics, says of him with great truth : " Klop- stock's serious ode, under whatever guise it may be found, is, of all orders of metrical composition, the one that admits of the most unusual inflections of phrase, the boldest tropes, and the most dazzling imagery/' His odes, commencing, " Willkommen o silberner Mond," and " Am Zii richer See," are eminently accurate portraitures of nature ; but his hymn, particularized above," Auferstehn, ja auferstehn," is among the most touching anci beautiful things he ever wrote. Other fine sacred pieces by him, such as his " Ach, wie hat mem Herz gerangen," " Wenn ich einst von jenem Schlummer," may also rank among the most creditable efforts of his pen. Klopstock's " Gelehrtenrepublik," which came out in 1774, was considered by Goethe and his friends the only genuine a^sthetical work extant: new ground was broken 36 LESSING. in the department of nature-derived poetry ; the learned, or scholastic vein, in this cast of literature, was no longer in vogue ; " the simple but impressive Claudius," observes Ger- vinus, " arose as a specimen, and Voss himself began to esteem Ossian rather than Homer." The same general beauties, that distinguish the poetry of this author, manifest themselves also in his dramatic compositions ; nevertheless, we are bound to regard these as the least striking of all his productions : a dearth of in- cident, joined to a poverty of expedient in the conduct of the action, and a hardness of diction, are very observable through the whole of them, and constitute, indeed, the peculiar defect in Klopstock's dramatic literature.* V. LESSING. By the side of the foregoing bards we must place that famous critic, who had in his day an extraordinary in- fluence, and who may be hailed as the co-reformer of the style and character of the German muse, the originator of a certain class of mellifluous prose, and likewise of sterling vernacular poetry, — we mean JOHANN GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM LESSING* (1729-1781) Who was the son of a clergyman, and was bom at Camenz, the 22nd of January, 1729. He studied theology at Leipzic, in 1746, but the theatre in that town awakening in him a leaning towards dramatic lore, he forthwith addressed him- self to this department of letters. Lessing, when in Berlin, lived in intimate friendship with Mcolai and Mendelsohn. The date 1767 finds him established as dramatic critic in * Klopstock und seine Freunde, herausgb. von Klamer Schmidt. 1810. f Sachs, L. W. Einiges zur Erinnerung an Lessing. 1839. LESSING. 37 Hamburg, until he was summoned, in 1769, to fill the ho- nourable offices of court counsellor and librarian at Wolffen- biittel, where he died on the 15th of February 1781. Lessing was the man who set himself to abolish all those mannerisms, at once artificial and without sou], which had risen up in the writings of former poets. He was the first of the modern versemen who combined the poetical Ideal with the poetry of real life : he cleared his ground as he went on, and weeded out antiquated moulds of thought with a skilful hand. In this labour, which we can easily imagine was a very difficult one, his genius proved his best assistance : on one side, he effected this by his critiques, which were perfect models in their way ; on the other side, he secured it by his own writings, which were types of poetical and prose art. Lessing also united in his own person the three leading qualifications of poet, philosopher, and critic. All the varieties of his writings are highly finished, while in every one of them we can discover an onward progress. He threw down the gauntlet to his an- tagonists ; and triumphed over inveterate habits, creating, at the same time, something new and better. In Lessing' s argumentative works, an investigating power and philoso- phical spirit is evident ; while in his essays upon poetry, an artistic structure and aesthetical knowledge is striking. Under the head of Lessing's dramatic compositions we must first mention his earlier productions, such as his " Der junge Gelehrte," " Die Juden," " Der Freigeist," &c. which are, however, of no great value, and, compared with his later compositions, appear to be only early juvenile attempts. His " Miss Sarah Sampson " is a lachrymose and heavy drama ; but the leading dramatic pieces by his pen are, — " Minna von Barnhelm," " Emilia Galotti," and " Nathan der Weise." The comedy of " Minna von Barnhelm," completed about 1761, is the most celebrated of that era. It is a most spirited and impressive production, no less characteristic 38 LESSING. than national, and at its first appearance on the German stage, was reckoned, upon the whole, a perfect phenome- non. By its dolorose scenes, which excel the comic ones, it ought, perhaps, rather to be classed with the tragic drama than with comedy. The character in it of Major Tellenheim, is generally taken to be an ethical portrait of the poet Kleist. Lessing's tragedy, again, of " Emilia Galotti," finished in the year 1771, charmed the public voice into a tone of general admiration. The human passions are exposed in this play with an extraordinary measure of sagacity ; there is not a single scene that could be pointed out as uninte- resting or sluggish ; no over-expanded dialogue ever pro- tracts the rapid progress of the dramatic action ; but the characters are thrown into masterly relief, and graced with the highest degree of artistic finish. Borne remarks of it : " How faithfully are the interlocutors sketched, — with what force of nature, with what freshness of acumen ! what a boldness, yet what a propriety, is extant in all the des- criptions,' and how much delicacy of shadowing can we discover ! and oh ! what a charming vein of language is it altogether !" The next production by this writer that we have to con- sider, is the grand drama of " Nathan der Weise."* This curious plot of Bocaccio's (the story of the three rings), is adapted with wonderful ingenuity, but not, however, in defi- ance of probability, — if, indeed, we have respect to the cir- cumstances of those times. " Nathan der Weise " is an imperishable poem, with the finest, and, so to speak, sweet- est moral attached to it ; it is altogether unique, and ranks as the model of a new order of dramatic poetry, invented by Lessing. The sketches of character, as well as its famous vein of dialogue, are above all praise. The drama * Mr. William Taylor has given, in his " Survey of German Poetry," a copious translation of " Nathan der Weise," and a full account of Lessing's life and works. LESSING. 39 under review was not without its weight also upon the general body of the German literature, becoming, in point of metrical form, the father of an immense mass of iambic tragedies, which have appeared subsequently, and to which it served as a prototype. Lessing's correct taste and profound skill in the elegant sciences, are manifested by his " Laokoon," remarkable for the beauty of its style. This is a noble monument of Les- sing's philosophy and erudition, possessing an equal value to the mere poetical aesthetician, to the antiquary, the phi- losopher, and to the connoisseur of Art. The composition of this extraordinary disquisition arose out of an expression of Winckelmann, that the priest " Laokoon," in that celebrated group, cried aloud with pain, like the " Philoctetes " of Sophocles. Lessing held, however, that Laokoon ought to be taken for a idealisation of suppressed human agony, and that the sculptor works by rules altogether different from those regulating the classical poet. Our author then proceeds to institute a comparison between fine statuary and fine poetry, in the treatment of one and the same subject. " Laokoon" is a work of first-rate value and merit.* With the publication of this paper, coupled with Herder's frag- ments, in the same school, there began to be diffused over Germany an entirely new theory of the Beautiful in Poetry and in Art. But, after all, Lessing's true greatness is to be found in the fact of his having created an entirely new path of criti- cism. And this, his '* Kritik," became the basis upon which was to be established the palladium of our national literature. It can scarcely be expected that Lessing should, at the first outset, promulgate an sesthetical system, perfect and complete in all its minute features. Indeed, his own assertion, in the Introduction to his Laokoon, — " Die Auf- satze sind zufalliger Weise entstanden, und mehr nach der + Herder's Kritische Walder, Vol. i. ; examine Lessing's " Laokoon." 40 LESSIXG. Folge meiner Lektiire, als durch die methodische Entwi- ekelung allgemeiner Grundsatze angewachsen. Es sind also niehr unordentliche Collectanea zu einem Buche, als ein Buch," shows us all he pretends to effect. Lessing was, no doubt, the greatest and most sagacious intellectual ruler of his day ; he had, in fact, studied with great zeal and perseverance whatever was to be known, and had acquitted himself so stalwarthily in consequence, that the whole circle of German critics, — who, at the outset of his career, were in an exceedingly depressed condition, — forth- with recognized in him that greater light, which was to eclipse whatever abilities they might themselves possess. It is hardly necessary to add, that, under these circum- stances, our author came in for quite his full share of party- attack; howbeit, his acutely-polemical, and yet elegant pen, speedily put all his antagonists to silence. Lessing's " Dramaturgic" is an abounding golden mine of sterling criticism on the drama of his own day, includ- ing excellent and valuable comparisons of dramatic com- positions in general, which tended to refine the public taste, to favour the formation of a competent judgment, and, by an erudite examination, and by far-reaching insights into the classical and national drama, to ameliorate the style of the Comedist. In this work it is, therefore, that Lessing's ire against the French drama is completely unmasked ; while it was to this production, perhaps, that Germany, at that period, owed her enfranchisement from the thrall of a servile imitation of the literary style of that kingdom. Lessing's " Fabeln " are mostly in prose, yet in the choicest and cleverest prose imaginable ; being all of them artistical, and replete with acumen and significance. As a very spirited inkling, or fragment of Lessing's thoughts in philosophy, we may also instance his " Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts."* * Schiitz, C. G. Ueber Lessing's Genie und Schriften. WIELAND. 41 VI. WIELAND. This was one of our classical poets, and, accordingly, ought to be mentioned in a parallelism with Klopstock and Lessing. CHRISTOPH MAETIN WIELAND (1733 1813) Was born the 5th of September 1733, at Oberholzheim, near Biberach, in which place his father exercised holy orders. The embryo bard of " Oberon " received, from the wise solicitude of a parent's love, the advantages of an excel- lent religious education, and being, moreover, gifted with a feeling heart, his thoughts were early directed to the study of divine things. His first essay at versifying, made when only ten years old, was to this effect : — " Fromme Kinder die gern beten Miissen vor den Herrn treten."* Wieland's studies were completed at Erfurt and Tubingen. In 1772, our poet responded to the invitation of the duchess Anna Amalia von Weimar, to fulfil the office of preceptor to the young Princes. Here he lived in intimate connexion with Goethe, Herder, and Schiller, until the period of his demise, which event took place on the 20th of January 1813. Wielaxd may be reckoned one of the greatest names in the whole circle of German literature. He wrote all kinds of poetry : hymns, dramas, and even novels ; effected a German version of Shakspeare and Horace, as well as a translation of the letters of Cicero and Lucian, — and was in most of them eminently successful. Wieland's Muse is a creature of extraordinary ease and grace, both in Her tones and in Her numbers. His fancy is most luxuriant. In his prose works he is natural and vivacious, and exhibits a good store of wit ; only a kind of Gallic attitudinism is Bbtticher's Literarische Zustande. 42 WIELAND. occasionally discernible in these compositions. But then his idiom is so ornate, and his expressions so nobly-aspiring, that we must fain lose our demurring surprise in a jubilee of admiration. Wieland's delineations are replete with the power of pleasing. Goethe observes, that "the whole of northern Germany is indebted to Wieland for its literary style." Wolfgang Menzel terms him, — " a genius that overflows with fascinations, with jests, dashes of humour, and sallies of wit, in an inexhaustible measure." Wieland has written with an iron-like industry; his works form a vast brotherhood of books, — while it is agreeable to the limits we have prescribed ourselves, to refer to only the most valuable of them. His " Oberon," completed in 1780, is his chef-d'oeuvre, there being in this poem a beauty that may be felt, rather than described. The whole thing revels in a phasis of poetic fancy, and is coloured with the most strikingly-romantic hues. In its draught and execution it is redundant in classic grace, while it is so very perfect and complete in itself, that this one accomplishment of Wieland's genius-directed pen, will render his name immortal. Can we say more than Goethe did, in the lines that here- inafter follow ? or can we, indeed, do more than Goethe did ? What, then, did Goethe say and do ? Let us hear: — He wrote, on the 7th of April 1780, to Merk from Weimar : " Den Oberon wirst Du nun gelesen und Dich daran erfreut haben. Ich habe Wielanden dafur einen Lorbeerkranz geschickt, der ihn sehr gefreut hat." Then again, on the 3rd July 1780, Goethe writes to J. C. Lavater, to the following effect : " Wieland's Oberon wird, so lange Poesie Poesie, Gold Gold, und Crystall Crystall bleiben wird, als era Meisterstiick poetischer Kunst geliebt und bewundert werden." The chief work which he con- sulted and adopted in the framing of his plot, was an old novel, entitled, " Huon de Bordeaux." Wieland's "Musarion," published in 1768, and "Die WIELAXD. 43 Grazien," (1770) are penned, the former more particularly, with elegant simplicity, whilst a consonance truly wonderful pervades the delineation of the whole. Our author has, perhaps, been most successful in this order of didactic poetry ; his manner therein is easy, and his satire, with which it is not sparingly mixed, is, nevertheless, always good-tempered. A specimen of an almost unrivalled flu- ency (chartered, likewise, with the grace of classic lore) is uniformly discernible in these compositions. Howbeit, we feel constrained to add our testimony to what was alleged at the beginning, viz.: that many of them discover " a French licence," as it has been sometimes called, so as to be, occasionally, loose and over-florid. Among Wieland's " Komische Erzahlungen" may be mentioned, — " Endymion," " Aurora und Cephalus," and " Der Kombabus " ; these are the most celebrated : while not less entertaining are his " Schach Lolo," and " Der Vogelfang." His "Idris und Zenide" is one of the most over-elaborated chefs-cVceuvre in the whole circle of German letters. *' Der neue Amadis " is certainly the most humorous and eccentric of all the productions of Wieland's great genius, abounding in the strangest poetry, but in stanzas, at the same time, of the most singular beauty. As one of the most charming novels in verse, we ought to account his poem of " Clelia und Sinibald "; as the two merriest pos- sible twin tales, his fairy tales of " Das Winterrnahrchen," and " Das Sommermahrchen." In the list of Wieland's prose works we must first record his " Don Silvio von Rosalva," finished in 1764, in which all the miraculous circumstances appear to be perfectly in keeping, and natural. This tale is an imitation of the " Don Quixote" of Cervantes, and one of its most amusing portions will ever be accounted the story — episodical to the main design — of the " Prinz Biribinker." " Die Geschichte des Agathon," which appeared in 1766, 44 WIELAND. is Wieland's principal, and, at the same time, unquestion- ably his most successful, novel. In this work he deter- mines, with all the finesse of the French, the line of demarcation between wisdom and virtue. The truth, how- ever, of this novel of " Agathon " is, that it is Wieland's own history in a Greek dress. This is, in point of style, one of the most facile, polished, and fluent novels imagi- nable, and it ranks as the best fiction of his time. Again, his " Abderiten," an urbane satire on the folly in manners indigenous to small country towns, is a first-rate production. In his " Goldenen Spiegel," and " Geschichte des Da- nischmed," Wieland has enunciated his principles of poetry. " Der goldene Spiegel " appears in the form of an oriental tale, in which a kind of historico-political phi- losophy is laid down. The most successful of the transla- tions by this author is his German version of " Horace," which is, in fact, a masterpiece. This rendering of the old Roman lyric we may, not inaccurately, pronounce " Horatius Redivivus," so closely does Wieland approach his great prototype. The translation of " Cicero's Letters" is not less excellent. In his German promulgation of " Shakspeare," Wieland was scarcely as happy ; still, there is great merit due to him, on the whole, as he was one of the first who made our fatherland acquainted with the writings of that imperishable genius. VII. BERLIN, AND THE NORTH OF GERMANY. The northern parts of Germany have been the nursing- mothers of master-spirits. The warlike era in the middle of the eighteenth century, and the hero and king of that time, Frederick the Great, furnished the poetry of the day with new subject-matter, while he furthered the arts and KLEIST. 45 sciences by all the influence of his royal patronage. The study of the ancient classics, and of the English and French literature, made a great impression upon the com- positions of that day ; and the style adopted by such lead- ing authors as Klopstock and Lessing, induced a progress altogether unusual and unknown in any other tongue. The ode now assumes a classical form, and the interests of didactic poetry are advanced. Halle and Berlin applied themselves principally to poetry, philosophy, and criticism. Gleim and Uz sprang up in the university town of Halle ; whilst at Berlin: Kleist, Rainier, Mendelsohn, Nicolai, and Lessing, flourished ; at Hamburg : Klopstock and Hage- dorn assisted with great zeal in the organization of bardic unions. Of Hagedorn we have already spoken ; it remains for us now to consider the others. ETVALD CHRISTIAN VON KLEIST (1715-1759) Was born on the 3rd of March at Zeblin, near Cbslin, in Pomerania. He became in 1736 an officer in the Danish army, from which, however, he seceded, when Frederick H recalled all his subjects from foreign sendees. Kleist fought in 1759 as a colonel under General Eink at the battle of Kunersdorf, where he stormed the last battery of the Rus- sians ; in this sortie his right arm was disabled, so that he could only wield his sword with the left hand. The in- stant after a cannon-ball had shattered his leg, he shouted, sinking from his seat in the saddle : "Kinder verlasst euren Konig nicht!" The savage Cossacks threw him, maimed as he was, into a slough, where he was found on the day following, and straightway conveyed to Frankfort on the Oder, in which town he died of his wounds on the 24th August 1759. The epitaph, that Kleist composed on one of his com- rades, is to no one more appropriate than to himself : ;(> KLEIST. " Witz, Einsicht, Wissenschaft, Geschmack, Bescheidenheit, Und Menschenlieb' und Tapferkeit, Und alle Tugenden, vereint mit alien Gaben, Besass der, den man hier begraben. Er starb fur's Vaterland, er starb voll Heldenmuth. Ihr Winde, wehet sanft! die heilige Asche ruht." Kleist occupies a leading position among those poets, to whom Germany is indebted for the amelioration of her language, and the elevation of the standard of the national taste. His works are characterised by pleasant portrait- ures, hannonious numbers, great appearance of ease, a richness of thought, with succinctness of expression and a noble morality. Occasionally, however, we meet with an abandonment of style, and a hardness of versification. Nevertheless, Kleist's " Fruhling" is undoubtedly a very beautiful piece of poetry. Nor ought we to omit, that this poet certainly displayed considerable tact and talent in describing natural scenery, in laying out sweet country- parts, and in depicting the amenities of a rural life. In his " Fruhling," Kleist has put forth all his bardic powers, and it occupies one of the first niches in the pictu- resque and descriptive poetry of Germany. Kleist takes up his position on a scent-breathing hill or mount, and thence refracts the beauties of the landscape. He gives us the history of a genial day in spring. Kleist's hexa- meters constitute, in Klopstock's opinion, a fine anapaestic verse, which would be even finer, if the iambus oftener in- terrupted the action of the anapaest. Kleist was also successful in other orders of poetry, the elegiac for example. His pieces, " An Doris," " Sehn- sucht nach Kuhe," " Amynt," " Grablied," will always retain their value. The most celebrated of his odes are : " An die preussische Armee," " Das Landleben," " Der Vorsatz." Among his songs we ought to notice his " Phyl- lis an Damon," " Trinklied," " Geburtslied." Among Kleist's hymns there is his " Lob der Gottheit" deserving our praise. liAMLEB. 47 The first biography of our soldier-bard that can be con- sidered well written, is from the pen of Nicolai, entitled " Ehrengedachtniss Kleist's." CARL WILHELM RAMLER (1725-1798) Was born on the 25th of February 1725, at Colberg. In 1748, he accepted the office of professor of aesthetics at the Military Academy of Berlin, and subsequently he became the director of the national theatre. He died on the 11th April 1798. Ramler was gifted with poetical talents and a notable appreciation of the Beautiful, — as far, at least, as the embo- diment of thought in words and landscape sketches would seem to indicate. Notwithstanding that in his odes and poems he was continually polishing, Ramler may be justly accounted stiff in some parts of his style. He was, after Klopstock, the greatest odiac poet of that age. Horace was his prototype, and accordingly he wrote panegyrics upon Frederick the Great, his sovereign, exactly in the same way as Horace had done in the case of Augustus Caesar. Hence he has been styled " the German Horace ;" only Ramler did not come up to his great original in point of lyrical power and liveliness of fancy. His best odes are : " An die Stadt Berlin, 1 ' " An den Frieden,' 1 " An die Konige." Ramler was also the author of several can- tatas, of which his " Tod Jesu," set to music by Graun, is well-known from its classical modulation. Ramler's trans- lation of fifteen odes of Horace was considered by his con- temporaries the very best thing of the kind. FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH NICOLAI (1733-1811) Was born on the 18th of March 1733, at Berlin. He was a bookseller there. He was also a doctor of philosophy, and a member of the academies of Munich and Berlin. He died on the 8th of January 1811. Nicolai has undoubtedly acquired considerable fame, both for German literature and for the correction of German 48 NIC LAI. taste. His critical Reviews, of which he usually was the editor, from the " Bibliothek der schonen Wissenschaften," down to the " Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek," had, for their principal object, the enfranchisement of human thought, combined with instruction in theology and philo- sophy, and the promotion of a finer taste in the " belles lettres" of German authorship. In himself, Nicolai was possessed of good sound sense, a cultivated taste, and of a fund of information. He was also the author of several philosophical tracts, of a Tour through Switzerland, and a number of clever criticisms and pamphlets. The novels of Nicolai have no poetical value ; still they must be taken into the account, when we are detailing the literary cir- cumstances of that epoch. They are cleverly written. The " Sebaldus Nothanker" of Nicolai is a tale in imi- tation of Goldsmith's Yicar of Wakefield, in which he depicts the life of an incumbent of limited means, and exhibits, it must be owned, very considerable knowledge of men and things. PHILOSOPHERS. Whilst Poetry and Criticism were making a progress that tended to exalt the standard of the national literature, and were fast towering to a height, whence they could in- fluence and command by their own self-created strength, Philosophy also appeared in greater power than it had ever done before. C. Wolf was active in diffusing his ma- thematically-structured scheme, which pretended to be able to demonstrate and to define synthetically the entire circle of German learning. Wolfs doctrine was chiefly promulgated from the University chairs, and was even ad- vocated, in connexion with the dogmatism, from the pulpit itself. At that day, our philosopher could boast of having only one opponent of any mark or consideration, — we mean PHILOSOPHERS. 49 Ch. A. Crusius (1715-1775) of Leipzic, — a man who rather leant towards the olden Scholasticism. The brothers Baumgarten, both professors of philo- sophy, combined the two systems of Wolf and Leibnitz. The one was established as the expositor of this duplex thesis in the university of Halle, where he had Crusius for his antagonist. The other brother, Alex. G. Baumgarten (1714-1762), an excellent orator, occupied the post of pro- fessor of ^Esthetics in the "Alma Mater" of Frankfort on the Oder. He became the founder of quite a new theory. It strikes us but too clearly, whenever we take a re- trospect of the historical progress of the national mind, that subsequently to the era of the Seven Years' War, phi- losophy was taken up rather in a dilettanti, amateur-like spirit, than in a temper of fair, scientific appreciation. For a time, Jacobi and Herder essayed their utmost to raise philosophy out of its then prostrate condition. They were seconded by the contributions of two such pro- found thinkers as Lessing and Mendelssohn, the latter of whom ventured with his " Phaedon" within the precincts of religious inquiry. With Mendelssohn, the " Wolfianis- mus" was transferred into the popular philosophy, the representatives of which were himself and Engel ; whilst J. G. Sulzer (1720-1779), justly deserving of attention as an orator and aesthetical philosopher, endeavoured to prove and simplify practical truth, the belief in God and immortality, and to render them acceptable to the commu- nity. Mendelssohn, no doubt, had the worthiest idea of philosophy ; its highest aim was, in his eyes, to serve as the mightiest cultivation and elevation of the human mind, and to exalt it into the highest science. But En- gel's " Philosoph fur die Welt " characterises this first educational epoch of philosophy in Germany, rather than perhaps anything else : the form adopted in this work is certainly one of high perfection, and of a Socratical artistic E 50 MENDELSSOHN. east : whilst in the contents of its pages a penuriousness is visible, which degenerates into a rhapsodic arbitrariness. We must further indicate as a popular philosopher Th. Abbt (1738-176(>), a sagacious, learned inquirer, of great ingenuity, whose works, — particularly " Vom Tode fur das Yatcrland," and "Vom Verdienst" — are full of fine thoughts, and are written in pure and commendable lan- guage. GARVE,NicoLAi,and Zimmbbmann, may be added to this class. MOSES MENDELSSOHN (1729-1786) Was born on the 9th of September 1729, in the town ot Dessau. He was in very narrow circumstances when he removed to Berlin in 1742 ; he, however, got on as a tutor, and studied very hard. Latterly he became very intimately connected with Lessing and Nieolai. He died on the 4th of January 1786. Boutebweck says of him : " Mendelssohn may well be classed among the profoundest philosophers of his day. He knew how to combine, in a most charming man- ner and exquisite degree, the philosophical with the avsthetical. Mendelssohn's ' Eclecticism,' which was the means of guarding his judgment from undue partialities, kept him also a long way from affecting the manners of the different schools of philosophy. He was a great critic as well as a thoughtful writer. By the publication of his ' Phae- don, oder viber die Unsterblichkeit der Seele,' in which he deduced from the kingdom of morals, arguments for the soul's indestructibility, — keeping in view chiefly the doctrine of Socrates on this head, — he established his reputation ; and without being a strictly original philosopher, Mendels- sohn belongs to the greatest thinkers of his time. JOHANN JACOB EXGEL (1741-1802) Was born at Parchim, in Mecklenburg, on the 11th of September 1741. By the particular request of Frederick ENGF.L. 51 William III, king of Prussia, he removed in 1798 to Berlin, where he was made a member of the Academy of Science, and a considerable pension was granted to him. Thus set at ease in his circumstances, Engel was enabled to live solely for the engagements of philosophy and the lighter interests of the muses. He died on the 28th of June 1802, in the town in which he was born. Engel was a writer of great penetration, and won reputa- tion in every class of composition to which he addressed himself. To him Germany has been deeply indebted in her intellectual advances, for critical inquiries concerning taste and the fine arts, not forgetting also his highly-wrought dissertations upon topics connected with speculative, prac- tical, and popular philosophy. Engel's " Philosoph fur die Welt," together with his " Fiirstenspiegel" — wherein his fine observations on men and morals assume a noble and exemplary form, supported, as they are, by some very lucid and tasteful descriptions — were the means of "making his name." His prose is brilliant, unaffected, witty, correct, and peculiarly graceful and refined. " Herr Lorenz Stark " is a capital portraiture of the manners of his time, and is written in a cast of language at once dignified and simple. This is universally allowed to be Engel's master-piece. Engel likewise wrote comedies, which for a long while retained possession of the stage ; the more so indeed, as the characters in them were drawn with nice judgment, and the dialogue was markedly elegant. VIII. JOHANN GOTTFRIED VON HERDER (1744 to 1803) Was born the 5th of August 1744, at Mohrungen, in East Prussia, where his father was a schoolmaster. Herder studied theology at Konigsberg, and was a great admirer of the writings of Kant, who was reading philosophy in that 52 HEEDEE. university, and with whom he became very intimately acquainted. In the year 1775, our author was appointed professor of theology at Gottingen ; but he had to undergo so many disagreeables on his arrival there, that he was not slow in accepting the post of superintendent-general and court-preacher which was open at Weimar. In 1801, Herder was promoted to the dignity of vice-consul, and was raised to the class of nobility (" geadelt") the same year. He breathed his last on the 18th of December 1803, in the sixtieth year of his age. Heedee ranks, undoubtedly, in the number of the greatest geniuses of which our fatherland can boast. Ac- quainted, or rather deeply versed in almost the entire circle of the sciences, he exercised a considerable influence, as a poet, no less than as a theologian, student of the humani- ties, philosopher, aesthetician, antiquary, and historiogra- pher. Herder's thoroughly-poetical mind conceived all that entered it in an imaging sense ; wherefore he always wrote like a poet, even when not numbering his syllables, and while his words were streaming on in a unfettered manner. Even in his prose we acknowledge him to be a poet, and not merely, indeed, touching graphic expressions, unusual inflexions of phraseology, and arrangement of the words, but also in the exhibition of bold and brilliant metaphor. His friend Jean Paul said of him : — " Herder war kein Dichter, er war etwas weit erhabeneres und besseres als ein Poet, er war selbst ein Gedicht, ein indisch, griechisches Epos, von einem der reinsten Goetter erschaffen."* By his " Fragmente iiber die deutsche Literatur," and his " Kritische Walder, oder Wissenschaft und Kunst des Schonen betreffend," Herder acquired a large meed of * Herder was no poet. — he was something far more sublime and better than a poet; he was himself a poem, — an Indian Greek epic, composed by one of the purest gods. HERDER. 53 reputation. These " Walder " are written in a luscious vein, and in an ornate style. The first " Waldchen " exa- i mines Lessing's " Laokoon." Among Herder's philosophical works — and they are many in number — we will only particularize his " Ideen zur Philosophic der Geschichte der Menschheit." Was there ever a beautiful work written, were there ever the most pre- cious thoughts of men, reproduced in an elevated and won- der-teeming tone of language, if there were, we surely find them in the book now under notice, " Die Ideen." Inesti- mably great is the force of Herder's pure morality ! his sen- sibilities, how heart-touching ! A flower blooms through- out the whole of this work, structured out of man's inner nobilities ; and this exalting quality of its language is in- stantly thrown back into the theines of the heart, inasmuch as Herder's muse exercises no little influence over the ideal of man; it develops the exalted character of the human mind in a way altogether indescribable and peculiar. Herder's " Ideen " is, no doubt, a work well calculated to incline a man to habits of reflection, to set him in the track of discovery, and to engage his warmest admiration. And, lastly, all men can scarcely fail to become deeply conscious of their high original and destiny, when these topics are re* commended to their notice, by a writer of such elevated powers as Herder. Viewed as a philosopher, Herder was a follower of Kant, until, eventually, he went over to eclecticism. For his knowledge of criticism and aesthetics, Herder was, evi- dently, indebted to the compositions of Winckelmann and Lessing. As a theologian, we find him chiming in with the spirit of Christianity ; his work, " Vom Geist der hebraischen Poesie" is a very valuable performance. Consider Herder as a poet, and you find him great in the epic. " Der Cid " is one of his most successful efforts in this department of letters. It consists of a series of seventy romances, in various styles of metre and verse, and at the 54 HERDER. same time of a heterogeneous character. Herder turned to account whatever romances he could find, that were handed dow n by the old chroniclers, and had reference to the for- tunes of the Spanish hero. Yet, to what use did he put these annals ? why, only to fashion and construct them into a splendid, original-minded poem. The tone he assumes, bears (as is most fitting) quite the genuine stamp of the old Spanish romance writers ; and, taken as a whole, this is a most wonderful achievement in verse : it is elegant, and most pleasing. Herder's " Legends " are also excel- lent. He fonned an anthology, too, of all the most popular traditions and national rhymes, — the aggregate symposia of all nations, — which he gave to the world under the title of" Volkslieder. " This is, certainly, a very line collection of traditional compositions, translated in a very impressive and graceful manner. We meet with songs of the Greeks Romans, Italians, Spanish, French, Greenlanders, Wendish (a Germanic tribe), Tartars, &c. &c. The poetical productions of Herder's latter years are almost all of a philosophic and speculative kind, arrayed in allegorical drapery ; thus may also his religious poems be classed,— they are even at times mystical ; there is, as we said before, an allegorical, melancholic breath upon them which occasionally lapses into a real dream. Let us now bestow a glance upon Herder's con- ception, execution, and language, and what his genius contrived to place quite palpably before the eyes of his readers. His ideas are multifarious, and were often sug- gested by his own studies, often by the promptings of exter mil circumstances. We see how enamoured he became of his own contemplativeness, and of his own clear way of think ing : in every path of philosophy and knowledge we en counter the poet Herder, — now as critic, now as specific inquirer, and anon, as an inspiring poet. Language an( its oesthetical bearings have taken up a good deal of his time upon that most sacred concernment of the human race — GESSNER. 55 religion — Herder Las enunciated much in his numerous writings entitled, " Zur Keligion und Theologie," and has, in the end, offered something important also, as a thinker and a poet. With what delicacy of spirit has he not writ- ten throughout ! Herder felt incited to make his fellow- men attentive to the highest works of the creation, of God, and of the noble structure of the human mind, and even to serve as a guide thereunto. His " Ideen zur Geschichte der Menschheit " is certainly such a striking work, that, although not without faults, it bears witness to the great mind of its author. Herder has supported his propositions with the force of his own attainments, and brought a philo- sophic depth to the carrying of them out. His reflections are lucid, and although his results are often encumbered by poetical imagery, they, nevertheless, resolve themselves just as frequently in a masterly manner. The amenity of his language is hardly to be described ; he is so easy, so agree- able, and artistic : and then again, so elegant and so poetically beautiful. SALOMON GESSNER (1730-1787) Was born at Zurich, on the first of April 1730. His father being a bookseller, young Gessner was sent to Berlin to learn the same trade. This occupation, however, was but little suited to his taste : in the end he broke his connexion with commerce, and began to draw, to paint, and to write poems. Shortly after this, he left Berlin and returned to Zurich, where he was much beloved and respected. He was a member of the grand council, in the offices of a painter, en- graver, and poet. He died on the 2nd of March 1787. Gessner is one of those few German bards who gained a great reputation in the " Idyl." Not that he was what might be called a great poet, but he had a pleasant knack of relishing and expressing his own thoughts in a soft and ele- gant flow of language. It is to him that we may apply 56 GESSXEK. that pithy French phrase, — " II est grand dans son genre, mais son genre est infiniment petit."* One of his first attempts was his picture, " Die Nacht," which came out in 1753. Another greater poem appeared in the following year, viz. : his " Daphnis," which was sug- gested to him by reading Amiot's translation of Longus. " Der erste Schiffer" is a charming piece of poetry : in it is shewn, how Love gave rise, in the first instance, to the invention of shipping. His first volume of " Idyllen " was given to the world in 1756. This work won for its author European fame, and, making allowance for its monotonous air, is written in an amiable spirit, with a graceful naivete, with many sal- lies of refined wit, and with a native elegance of allusion. It abounds also in picturesque colouring, and the costume of the tales is strictly appropriate. A companion-volume oJ " Idyls" came out in 1772, together with " Briefe iiber die Landschaftsmalerei." These latter " Idyls" possess, besides the poetical value that they share in common with the first volume, another peculiar advantage, viz. : that the ground- work of a great many of them is to be sought in the per- sonal enjoyments and comforts of the author's own domestic life, and in the incidents of his own career. Gessner's "Tod Abel's" first appeared in 1758, and was received with great favour by the religious world. The " Death of Abel " is a beautifully-executed little story, founded alto- gether upon the narrative in the Bible. The whole piece ought, indeed, to be looked upon as an epic poem, which pleases us by the delicacy with which it is done, and by vast numbers of well-conceived pictures, which are coloured (il we may so speak), with the greatest taste and talent. Nevertheless, a certain degree of monotony is discernible in it, — still it acquired considerable reputation, and was translated into a variety of languages : into English by * 0. L. B. Wolff's National Literatur. LICHTWER. .37 Mrs. Collyer, as well as into the French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Kussian, and Hungarian tongues. The following little verse is very descriptive of Gessner's character: — " Als einst urn seine Kunst Die Muse des Gesangs und die der Zeichenkunst Sich stritten, hiess Apoll, um ihren Streit zu schlichten, Inn malen im Gesang, und im Gesange dichten." A fable-writer of this period is MAGNUS GOTTFRIED LICHTWER (1719-1783), Who was born on the 30th of January 1719, at Wurzen. He became, in 1752, doctor of laws and counsellor of the government at the city of Leipzic. He died on the 7th of July 1783. The fables of this author secured him a great popularity in Germany, and are read even at the present day. Their chief recommendations are, excellent moral feeling and a powerful invention. Lessing said of them : " The in- equality that strikes us in the compositions of Lichtwer, is of quite a peculiar kind. We cannot say that we detect in them genius without taste, for genius alone will create great, though disproportionate beauties ; and a noble work of art has seldom proceeded from the brain of genius, which a masterly hand might not have altered or improved. But you will have observed," proceeds Lessing, " that many of Lichtwer's fables, as they came fresh from his hand, wear such a finished appearance, as to defy the most sagacious critic." They are not to be bettered in conception, arrange- ment, and portraiture. They would seem to bespeak a man in whom the Ideal, and the best rules for realizing it, lie enshrined and deeply-seated. Lichtwer, at the same time, falls off in the majority of his fables, so that he is hardly to be recognized as one and the same writer. The most approved of Lichtwer's poetical " Erzahlungen " are, ^undoubtedly, his "Der Vater und die drei Sohne," "Die 58 GERSTEKBERG. seltsamen Menschen," " Der kleine Toffel," " Der Ko- bold," Sec. &c* HEINKICH WLLHELM VOX GERSTEXBEKG (1737-1823) Was born the 3rd of January 1737, at Tondern, in Sleswick, studied jurisprudence at Jena, but afterwards became a member of the Danish army, where he rose to the rank of captain. He retired from service in 1766, and accepted, in 1775, the Danish consulship at Lubec, where he died on the 1st of November 1823. This follower of literature has distinguished himself both as a lyric and dramatic writer, having under his control not only the most highly-wrought and passionate represent- ative power, but also all the refined amenities of poetry. His famous tragedy of " Ugolino," which came out in 1786, was taken from the " Purgatory " of Dante. It is not a piece adapted to the stage, but of very considerable merit, notwithstanding. Its characters are most forcibly brought out, and the style — which is among Melpomene's highest walks, although, no doubt, overstrained at times — still proclaims a poet of the highest degree. Numerous portions may he selected, that are emphatically poetical and good ; while it may not be uninteresting to know, that " Ugolino " was one of the favourite works of Schiller, when a young man. The year 1766 gave us a lyric poem from the pen of our author, which bore the title of " Das Gedicht eines Skalclen." This is, in truth, a noble composition ; replete with the peculiar graces of the barbiton and its fascinating modes ; it abounds in pleasant portraitures and agreeable situa- tions. It is necessary, however, to be somewhat versed in the phraseology of the " Edda," in order to enjoy, in its full force, the poem in question. " Tandeleien," written in 1765, is a work after the manner of Anacreon, and con- tains sundry charming little fancies. * Eichholz, iiber Lichtwer's Leben und Verdienste. GOTTEK. 59 FRIEDRICH WELHELM GOTTER (1746-1797) Born on the 3rd of September 1746, at Gotha. He was brought up at the Gottingen University. He expired on the 18th of March 1797, when secretary and counsellor of the Gothan legation. This writer was rather gifted with good common-sense, and a shrewd wit, than with a poetical turn of mind. For this reason, the most valuable of his works will be his prose didactic epistles, — ranking, as they do, much higher than the remainder of his compositions, which are more or less imitations of the French style. In a manner at once easy and mellifluous, and with a most persuasive eloquence, Gotter knows how to lay down the most useful advice, and to deliver the lessons of wisdom and prudence. " An ein Brautpaar," " Der Trost " (in a most touching tone of language), " Ueber die Starkgeis- terei," are classically-constructed pieces, and real master- pieces, at the same time, of instructive poetry. The re- mainder of his efforts in verse, comprising elegies, epistles, and songs, are very correctly and neatly written ; but they betray a dearth of invention, have too much of a plagiar- istic air, and are wanting in poetical idea. The correct- ness of his style has been always a merit in this writer. Gotter also published several comedies. His " Erb- schleicher," " Der schwarze Mann," " Marianna," " Die Dorfgala," were all of them much admired at the time, for the powerful way in which they are conceived and executed. His tragedies of " Electra " and " Merope " are imitations of Voltaire. B. — PROSE WRITERS. " Volksm'dhrchen." JOHANN KARL AUGUST MUS.EUS (1735-1787) Was born at Jena, in 1735. He died when professor of the College at Weimar, on the 28th of October 1787. Mus.eus was very successful in novels of a satirical MUSjEUS. strain, and in legendary tales. He is reported to have been amiable and exemplary in his private character, — a circumstance that his writings sufficiently attest. A most agreeable humour and a fine order of sarcasm meet us prima facie in the writings of Musaeus. The association of his ideas is remarkably grand, his delineations spirited, and his language choice and graphic. The design of Musaeus, in bringing out his " Physiogno- mische Reisen," was to ridicule the system of Lavater, and to throw over it a mantle of satire. His " Volksmahrchen der Deutschen " is his most popular production ; and even if it may have lost not a little of its nationality, and have suffered occasionally from a tendency to gossip and ego- tism, it still occupies one of the highest positions in litera- ture, and has, in fact, become quite a standard publication. Even the most seemingly unprofitable matter, gathered from the current of popular tradition, grows up, under the nursing of Musaeus, into most charming and entertaining reading. How magnificently told are his " Rolandsknap- pen," " Rubezahl," " Liebestreue," " Stumme Liebe," " Me- lechsala," &c. &c. A sagacious humour, mingled with much reflectiveness, is discernible in his " Freund Heins Erscheinungen." The satire of Musaeus has always an approximation to truth and reality, and, in consequence, the reader can al- ways enter into and enjoy it, — no bitterness or hatred, which so often takes off from the effect of this class of com- position, being at all visible therein. The whole works of Musaeus are, therefore, not only very entertaining, instructive and lively, but also very refreshing reading. BENEDICTE NAUBERT (1756-1819) Was born in the year 1756, at Leipzic, where she died on the 12th of January 1819. We mention this authoress in the same breath with NAtJBEKT. 61 Musaeus, as she has also written legends, or traditional com- positions, very pleasant to read, from her fascinating vein of narrative and description. In a lady-like and elegant tone of mind she has also penned " Volksmahrchen " and historical novels. Her style is agreeable, and the tales are praiseworthy, from the train of refined sentiments with which they are garnished. The best and most successful of her novels is " Thekla von Thurn." NOVELISTS AND TALE-WK ITERS. That order of composition we designate a novel, and which had been more or less neglected during the preceding period, or if at all taken up, was carried to no point of even compa- rative perfection, was now seriously adopted by many writers — among whom were Jung, Lafontaine, and Meisner — with a view to its further amelioration. They usually derived their subjects from scenes in domestic life, and originated an entirely new class of fictitious works, to which the name of " Familienromane " was given. Some of their produc- tions are very highly thought of, and we may particularly adduce Jung's as an example. JOHANN HEINRICH JUNG (1740-1817) Generally known under the name of "Jung Stilling," was born on the 12th of September 1740, near Nassau. He was the son of a poor tailor, who had not the means of giving him a liberal education, but brought him up to his own business. But the needle had naturally few charms for him ; and a person in a higher station, fortu- nately discovering the abilities of the youth, adopted him, and became answerable for the completion of his education. Jung Stilling studied medicine, and became a very famous oculist. He died at Karlsruhe, on the 23rd of March 1817. The amiable private character of Jung may be easily in- ferred from his writings, wherein, although showing himself 62 JUNG STILLING. rather a meagre thinker, he evinces a kind nature and con- siderable talents in description. Jung Stilling wrote his own life, which he entitled " Jugend," " Jiinglingsjahre," "Wan- derschaft," " Hausliches Leben," " Alter," and this auto- biography is a very precious and rare composition. In the whole circle of German literature, there is scarcely a book to be found, written in such simplicity of style, in such a tone of reality and truth, as this same life ; it always has borne, and always will bear, the credit of possessing these qualities in an eminent degree. Jung Stilling was a very peculiar phenomenon to poets like Herder and Goethe ; — the manner in which this man contemplated Life,— the way in which he related his fortunes and misfortunes, — how he conceived the ways of Providence — appeared to our poets as an idyl, and a poetry of a nature of a very peculiar cast, because it was not modelled, nor did it fascinate them by the artistic composition of the form, but by its peculiarity throughout. After Jung Stilling had written his life, he was incorpo- rated among the learned professors of the university, and he then founded a book-making establishment, and the manufactures he produced were his religious-mystical novels, such as " Theobald," " Das Heimweh," " Ge- schichte des Herra von Morgenthau," and a goodly num- ber of the same class. AUGUST HEINRICH JULIUS LAFONTAINE (1759-1831) Was born the 10th of October 1759, at Brunswick. He was the son of an artist. He applied himself to the study of theology, and became Doctor of Philosophy and " Cano- nicus" at Halle, where he died, on the 20th of April 1831.* All the novels by this writer are in the same strain, and * August Lafontaine's Leben und Wirken von J. G. Gru- ber. 1833. MEISSNEB. 63 turn upon either domestic happiness or its reverse. For a number of years, these works were quite the fashion, and pleased by their naturalness and by their amusing style. Lafontaine was the author of an immense number of works of fiction, among which his " Budolph von Werdenberg," " Die beiden Braute," " Sittengemalde," " Der Sonder- ling," " Die Pfarre an der See," may be considered his best. AUGUST GOTTLIEB MEISSNEB, (1753-1807) Was born on the 3rd of November 1753, at Bautzen ; pursued his studies at Leipzig; and accepted, in 1785, the invitation to become professor of aesthetics and the humanities to the university of Prague. He expired on the 20th of February 1807, when master of the high school at Fulda. Meissner was the author of a long series of historical novels. The style he adopted was markedly polished and ornate, while his language was fine, and for the most part solemn. Meissner was not deficient in the imaginative faculty, yet his delineations were often affected, and his expressions in want of verisimilitude. His " Skizzen " were, at the time, a favourite with the public. " Alcibi- ades," " Masaniello," " Bianca Capello," are among the most successful of his productions, the majority of which, however, have long since been laid on the shelf. ADOLPH F. F. L. VON KNIGGE (1752-1796) This much-esteemed practical philosopher was born on the 16th of October 1752, at Bredenbeck, near Hanover. He studied at Gbttingen. He died on the 6th of March 1796, as Hanoverian inspector of the Doom School. Knigge ranks far higher in our literature than the two preceding authors. He was endowed with great talents" for the comic vein of letters. " Die Beise nach Braun- schweig" is a richly humorous and racy narrative, that is even now read with pleasure and profit. He mingled with nearly all his works a tone of every-day philosophy, capable KXIGGE AND JACOBS. of being understood by all ; a topic that refines the human mind, while it refreshes and instructs it. His essay " Ueber den Umgang mil den Menschen" was once much admired ; but, taken as a whole, we can hardly venture to coincide with it, as it enunciates a kind of social Machiavelism, which enshrines egotism in a pleasant and elegant garb. KARL Kl. A. MUENCHHAUSEN. (1759-1836.) This celebrated lieutenant- colonel w as born on the 11th of February 1759, at Weserinsel, near Oldendorf, and died on the 26th of December, 1836. Muxchhafsen ought not to be discarded from this class of authors, were it merely on account of his " Abentheuer," which, although they happen not to have been written by himself, have, nevertheless, made their way among all nations. Munchhausen recounted them in company and among his particular friends, who willingly undertook the task of their publication. Surely there is no reader, in almost any nation, who does not know and appreciate the great and singular excellences of these " Abentheuer." ERIEDRICH CHRISTIAN WTLHELM JACOBS. (1764.) This veteran was born at Gotha, on the 6th of October 1764. Twenty years afterwards, we find him prosecuting his studies at Jena, though all his time subsequent to 1810 was passed in his native town, where he had the good fortune to be promoted to the honourable office of librarian-in-chief and president of the ducal numismatic cabinet. Jacobs stands very high as a novel writer. He is, at the same time, a sagacious philosopher, and had a correct taste as a connoisseur of antiquities; being, in addition to this, extremely clever as a tale-teller. His novel entitled " Rosaliens Nachlass," is his principal work of fiction : " Die beiden Marien" is also one of his chief productions. These efforts of his pen were speedily followed by " Allwin JACOBS. — WINKELMANN. 65 und Theodor," " Die Feierabende in Meinau," &c. &c, both of them written in a highly classical style. The action in these pieces is generally rapid, the descriptions are man- aged with great skill, and the treatment is tridy poetic. They are all of them novels especially adapted for the perusal of the fair sex, — all the personages embodying a deep-seated piety, combined with great warmth of feeling and love of truth. They belong to the most distinguished attainments in modern German literature. ANTIQUARIANS. JOHANN JOACHIM WINKELMANN* (1717-1768) The son of a poor shoemaker, was born on the 9 th of Decem- ber 1717, at Stendal, and studied theology, with very limit- ed means, in the university-town of Halle. While filling the office of librarian in the family of the minister von Brunau, a most ardent love of the fine arts appears to have taken possession of his soul, kindled, probably, by the trea- sure of ancient curiosities enshrined in the repository at Dresden. All his thoughts, therefore, now ran on Italy. Not very long afterwards, we find Winkelmann become a convert to Roman Catholicism, and duly installed in the dignified posts of president of antiquities and secretary to the Vatican library. His end was tragical : while travelling to his native country, chance threw him, at Trieste, into the company of an Italian, one Erancesco Archangeli, who, affecting to be seized with a numismatic mania, Winkel- mann displayed to him very readily his whole store of gold coins. During this employment, his seeming friend, under the hope, probably, of appropriating the glittering hoard he saw before him, treacherously assassinated the president, on the 8th of June 1768. Winkelmann set up, in Rome, the torch, by whose light * Goethe, Winkelmann unci sein Jahrhundert. F 66 WINKELMANN. we were to arrive at the reasonable interpretation of antiqui- ties. Winkelmann was embued with the spirit of the olden times, practised in criticism, and conversant with the Greek and Roman poets; he discovered and explained afterwards the treasures of art. His " Geschichte der Kunst und des Alterthums" is not only a sample of beautiful prose, but exhibits a wonderful treasure and connexion of archaics. Winkelmann's book and Klopstock's " Messias " have been the means and the origination of an entirely new epoch in our vernacular literature. Winkelmann may be safely regarded as one of the rarest examples of aesthetical study and research. He it was who first began to examine minutely those magnificent remains of ancient art, which have been handed down to us from the classical age, to serve the present generation as the most perfect models of artistical design and execution. His life and soul, we may truly say, were in the Vatican ; he was to be seen there from morning till night, exploring and scrutinizing the hoards of human invention, and not unfrequently explaining, very graciously, to the aesthe- tical visitor, the genius and spirit of those sculptures, amongst which he may almost be said to have lived. By these means he was gradually laying up materials for the accomplishment of that memorable labour, the giving to the world, we mean, his grand aesthetical work, wherein he explains and comments upon the illustrious monuments of classical statuary, with deep feeling, profound enthusiasm, and, at the same time, with a measure of Platonic sagacity. Who can read those wondrous words of Winkelmann, in which he expounds the " Group of Laocoon," the " Torso in Belvedere," and other subjects, and not be touched by the elegant structure and the profundity of his lofty-toned mind ? Who is there, that is not transported with admi- ration, when following the flood of his ideas, in which he unmasks those grand artistic creations of classical art? The effect that his descriptions produce, the sublimity of WINKELMANN — BOTTIGER. 67 his style, the harmony of those modulations that his genius knew how to call forth from the harp-sculpture of the age of Alexander the Great, entirely baffle all our powers of narrative: they can only be felt by the understanding- mind. The fidelity of Winkelmann's conception, and the astonishing depth of his classical vision, have combined to bestow an infinite value on whatever he wrote, and have raised a monument to his fame, that will abide and be admired in remote ages, just the same as the relics of old Greece are now. We must say, with Goethe : — " Winkelmann's Werke sind ein Lebencliges, fur die Lebendigen geschrieben, ein Leben selbst ! " KARL AUGUST BCETTIGER* (1760-1836) Was born at Reichenbach, on the 8th of January 1760. He became the head-director of the Dresden museum of an- cient marbles, and of the celebrated stucco works of Mengs. He died in 1836. Bottiger gave to the world several archaeological works. His " Vortrage iiber Archaeologie," " Archaeologie der Ma- lerei," and " Amalthea, oder Museum der Kunstmythologie und bildl. Alterthumskunde," possess a great value in the kingdom of art. He also published a work called " Sabina, Morgenscenen im Putzkimmer einer Romerin," giving an account of the domestic life and manners of the Romans, — and conducive, in a certain extent at least, to the real appreciation and understanding of the Latin classics. Bottiger's Eesthetical criticisms are profoundly conceived and skilfully constructed. * Dr. Karl W. Bottiger. Karl August Bottiger, eine biographische Skizze. 1837. 68 HISTORIANS AND GEOGRAPHERS. The quality of historic prose had declined as much in depth and in elegance, as had the vein of metrical com- position, before the epoch of the regeneration of poetry, and we have therefore (as far as the annals and develop- ment of historiography itself are concerned) to look upon J. C.Gatteeer (1727-1799) as one of the first, who, with a store of learning, wrote his works with an historico-critical depth, becoming, at the same time, the founder of the school of historians at Gottingen. Then arose L. T. Spittler (1752-1810), one of the most talented writers, whose works have the high praise of being composed in the liberal-minded spirit of the European nation. His lan- guage is concise, whilst a remarkable clearness of represen- tation reminds us of Tacitus and Thucydides, whom he evidently adopted as models. Spittler enchanted his hearers at the University, by his deep and psychological glances into history and by the magic of his speech ; but since he ceased being a free man (he became a minister), he gave up writing. Whilst J ena entirely took upon itself the idealistic and aesthetic paths of the science, Gottingen became the seat of real and materialistic inquiries, and produced more his- torians than any other University. Some of them, cer- tainly, — such as C . Me iners (1747- 181 0), — never rose above mediocrity. Meiners was a foe to ail liberty, opposed to all civilization of nations, and dwarfed down into a mere bookmaker ; — his " Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Griechenland und Rom " will rank as his best work. Ch. W. Dohm (1751-1820) was of a superior cast ; he was at first professor at the Karolinum at Cassel, and lat- terly ambassador. His narratives of history and statist- ical surveys are distinguished by a marked simplicity ; no affected geneality or philosophy is discernible therein: MULLER. 60 this adds to the value of his excellent works, amongst which we may particularly mention " Staatsgeschichte Preussens, Oesterreichs," etc. But at this time, Johannes v. Muller's great talents, in this vein, were developed, and historiogra- phy uplifted into pure classicality; the vast objects in Muller's works being achieved with much power. Friedrich von Gentz (1764 -1832), one of the most talented politi- cal writers, and one of the most ingenious diplomatists of his time, may fitly find his place here. JOHANNES VON MUELLER* (1752-1809) Was the son of a clergyman, and was born at ScharYhausen, on the 3d of June 1752. He applied himself to the study of history, in the city of G ottingen, and followed up those in- vestigations in which he afterwards so much excelled, until his fife's end. When he died, he was director-general of the public institutions at Cassel. The date of his death is the 29th of May 1809. MiiLLER belongs to the classical historiographers of Ger- many. Thucydides and Tacitus were his models ; and in dealing with his subject, he has, unquestionably, made the noble style of composition, peculiar to the standard writers of the olden times, altogether his own. His language is characterized by an aesthetical beauty, and his mode of giving shape to his thoughts is exceedingly fine. Even if he be now and then wanting in urbanity, he is never with- out a certain degree of elegance and grace ; and if fre- quently elaborated into obscurity, is, nevertheless, always vigorous and energetic. Muller's most celebrated, and indeed imperishable, works are : " Die Geschichte der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft," and " Vierundzwanzig Biicher, allgemeiner Weltgeschichte."* * Doring, H. Leben Johannes von Miiller, 1835. f L. Heeren, Johannes von Miiller, 1809. 70 AECHEXHOLZ. — MO SEE. JOHANN WILHELM VON AECHENHOLZ (1745-1812) Was born on the 3d of September 1745, at Langenfurth, near Dantzic. He was an officer in the Prussian army, an' present at the seven years' war. He breathed his last ' his villa of Oyendorf, near Hamburg, on the 28th of F bruary 1812. The " Siebenjahrige Krieg," by this author, is a wor that has never been surpassed by any one, whether we regard it as a copious and accurate exposition of facts, oi as a specimen of masterly arrangement, and of an easy natural style. Archenholz also put forth a publication bearing the title of " England und Italien ;" the result of tour in these two countries. It must, however, be con fessed, that in this instance he takes far too partial an biassed a view of matters. JUSTUS MGESER (1720-1794) Was born at Osnabriick, on the 14th of December 1720 ; stu died jurisprudence at Jena, and in 1747 became " Advocatus patriae," and subsequently " Justitzrath." Moser died on the 8th of January 1794. Moser has justly been denominated the German Franklin. His popular, yet philosophical style, his clear, unassuming, and withal powerful and vigorous vein, his genuine simplicity and elegance — characteristics, all of them, of the great American-English essayist — imperatively bespeak our admiration. A visit to this country, which Moser paid in his official capacity, towards the close of the seven years' war, and where he remained nearly eight months, would seem to have exercised no inconsiderable influence over his philo- sophical and political principles — over the latter especially — while it also did much for the enlargement and per- fection of his aesthetical notions. The " Patriotischen Phan- tasies" of this author, are sundry fugitive papers on sub- jects suggested by the features of the time, which were furnished by him to certain periodical publications. These MOSER. N IEBUHR. 71 " Phantasien " are evidently thrown off under a noble prompting of patriotism, besides being well suited to the taste of the million. It was the design of Moser to en- lighten thereby the minds of his countrymen upon political questions, — a service, it must be confessed, of the last im- portance at that era of political degradation. But, after all, Moser's most sterling production, — the work in which he manifested a peculiar strength and felicity as a popular historian and didactic writer, — will ever be accounted to be his " Osnabriicksche Geschichte." In this performance we recognize numerous lucid glances into the texture and progress, as well of German, as of general history. This Justus Moser, a tried patriot in all points, richly deserves the splendid monument which has lately been erected to his memory in Osnabriick, by his grateful and admiring fellow- citizens. KARSTEN NIEBUHR (1733-1815) Was born at Ludingworth im Land Hadeln, on the 17th of March 1733, and died the 30th of April 1815. Niebuhr was attached, in 1761, to an expedition to Arabia, projected by King Frederick V, for the purpose of making discoveries in that country. All his companions died within a year after they set out, yet he continued to go on fearlessly, and came home again in 1767. His " Be- schreibung von Arabien," was the produce of his travels ; a work of considerable value, by reason of its general cor- rectness, and filled with striking descriptions and details (taking into account the natural disadvantages under which he laboured), combined with clear and comprehensive state- ments. 72 STUEZ. — ADEU'NG. BIOGRAPHER. HELFRICH PETER STURZ (1736-1779) Was born on the 16th of February 1736, in the town of Darmstadt. He studied the law at Gottingen, and was the private secretary of the minister Bernsdorf. Sturz died at Bremen, on the 12th of November 1779. Our author may rank among the best and most elegant German prose writers referable to this division of time. His style is unaffected, inartificial, and stirring. " Die Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Grafen von Bernsdorff," is his most successful performance. Actuated by a deeply- seated regard for this great diplomatist, Sturz has por- trayed him in fine colours ; his diction is exalted and grand, and the enthusiasm supplied from an inexhaustible fountain, relieves, while it impresses, the reader ; he is cer- tainly excellent and original, both in conception and treat- ment, and is worthy of all imitation. With regard to Sturz's essays in poetry, " Die Konigs- wahl " shows that he was not without some talent for this description of metrical epigrammatic writing. His " Briefe aus England und Frankreich," notwithstanding that their local interest may be no more, are such lively pictures of manners and customs, that they may still be read with great entertainment and advantage. GRAMMARIANS. JOHANN CHRISTOPH ADELUNG. (1732-1806.) This illustrious character was born on the 8th of August 1732, near Anklam, in Pomerania. In 1787 he was ap- pointed head-librarian in the city of Dresden, where he died, on the 10th of September 1806. Adeltjng was the first grammarian of his age. Pro- vided with a sufficient store of philosophical and historical knowledge, he succeeded in erecting the first complete ADELUNG. — CAMPE. 73 system of the German language, and published a dictionary, which gave evidence of a zeal and an industry quite un- surpassed, and, perhaps, unsurpassable. Adelung's " Wor- terbuch," is, in fact, the largest work of the kind that our country can show. It is, in its design, etymological, gram- matical, and critical ; while the prosody of every word is marked. In his " Mithridates, oder die allgemeine Sprachen- kunde," Adelung has developed the whole of his research in linguism, giving us the Lord's Prayer in about five hundred different languages and dialects. In his work, " Ueber den deutschen Styl," Adelung has also the merit of having arranged the first theory of style, considered as a whole. HEINRICH JOACHIM CAMPE (1746-1818) Was born in 1746, at Deensen, in Brunswick. He succeeded to the office of military chaplain in the city of Potsdam. Campe died at the advanced age of seventy-two, on the 22d of October 1818. Campe has risen to distinction as a philosopher, being eminent, at the same time, as a scholastic and dialectical writer. Viewed as a philosopher, Campe united to depth of thought considerable perspicuity and popularity of style, and a facility and beauty of expression. As a writer for the young, however, Campe is much more known and liked. In that section of literature, our author possesses, in a very surprising degree, the faculty of descending in his style until he reaches the level of the understanding of young people ; his narratives are charmingly told, and amuse while they instruct. Here Campe's manner is always na- tural, attractive, and elegant. The following works from his pen have become quite standard children's books : viz. " Die Entdeckung von America," " Kleine Kinderbiblio- thek," " Keisebeschreibungen," " Theophron," and, last but not least, the imperishable " Robinson." 74 DIDACTIC PROSE. PHILOSOPHERS* In the foregoing pages we remarked, that philosophical studies were going more and more to decay, and seemed on the point of becoming altogether extinct, when Immaxuel Kaxt arose in the north-eastern part of Germany. Kant was, we know, professor of philosophy at Konigsberg, and entering into the matter quite in the spirit of the Greek m rants, founded his school and completed his system, long before he wrote anything. Hippel and Haman were of his school. Hippel was in the regular practice of attending Kant's lectures, and being, moreover, personally acquainted with the philosopher himself, made the public first conversant with Kant's principles, in his curious and humorous novel, " Lebenslaufe," and his treatise, " Ueber die Ehe " (yet without alluding to Kant in the least). In these works we not only find tones of reasoning, and the proven results of the new school judiciously intercalated and in- termingled with their author's own views, but also the sub- stance and paraphrase of whole passages, and sometimes even verbatim quotations, which we afterwards recognize in Kant's " Kritik der reinen Vernunft." But when Kant himself proposed the work just alluded to (wherein, as is well known, he attempts to examine and determine the con- fines of human thinking) to the world of learned speculatists, an impulse altogether novel was imparted to the enter- prising mind, and alter a brief period of conflict with the insignificant critical journals then extant, it was Kant's * J. H. Fichte, Beitrage zur Charakteristik der neuen Phi- losophie, oder krit. Geschichte derselben, von Des Cartes und Locke bis auf Hegel, 1841. PHILOSOPHERS. 75 meed to bring to nought all those insipid scribes, simply by successfully exposing their real incapacity of argument. But the originality of Kant's ideas and of his philosophic system, once admitted, scientific men from all parts en- treated him to facilitate the acquirement of his theory. With this object in view, Kant penned his " Prolegomena zu einer jeden kiinftigen Metaphysik und Logik, etc. Simultaneously with various controversies, whose whole virulence turned upon Kant and his fraternity, K.L. Rein- hold (1758-1823), the son-in-law of Wieland, being at that time Professor of Philosophy at Jena, made an energetic defence of the doctrines of the new school, in his " Briefe iiber die Kantische Philosophic" To this undertaking Reinhold seems to have been more particularly invited by the vapid critiques set forth by the " Berliner Nicolai," who still flattered himself that he had the power of guiding the educated classes, as well as the speculative and scientific phases of the general mind. On the other hand, the oper- ations of Reinhold were crowned with signal success, and his lecture-room could boast of a large concourse of stu- dents: for the philosophy of Kant penetrated intimately into the German spirit. The old and venerated chieftains of the Gennan philo- sophy, professors at the different universities, such, for ex- ample, as : E. Plainer (1744-1813) at Leipzic ; Christian Garve (1772-1798) at Breslau ; Ttedemann at Marburg ; and T. G. H. Feder (1740-1821) at Gottingen, all distin- guished men in their way, lost, from the date of Kant's appearance, all their long-standing repute, and exercised no more authority in the domains of philosophy. F. H. Jacobi poured out at that time his philosophy into his popular novels, which can only be understood if we know the precise character of his age. Although entirely gone by as far as their contents are concerned, yet are they not valueless, because they will ever serve as proofs of what occupied the minds of the better educated, and what they considered the most necessary and important. Two 70 PH1LOSOPHEES. universal questions in particular, Jacobi indulges in : the secrecies of the mind and the abysms of the heart, — and these we discern developed in all his novels, as well as in his philosophical dissertations. The mediator between Kant and Jacobi is J. F. Feies (1773), who was Professor of Philosophy at Jena. Fries was a man of great sagacity, and of facile and sound productiveness. He has in his philosophical career been shown to possess a virtuous and religious mind, formed of the highest idealistic tendencies ; in fact he has always proved himself to be a consistent, convinced, and sincere character. Particularly in ethics, we may safely trust to his guidance, and here, as also in his explanations and elucidations of his religious " Weltansicht," he elevates his representations frequently to a nobility, which makes him a worthy associate of our best didactic authors. To this we particularly refer his philosophical novel " Julius und Evagoras." Fries is in fact a classical author in his own way. Fbiedbich Bouteewek (1766-1828), Professor of Philosophy at Gottingen, is, so to speak, the crisis and maturity between Kant and J acobi. He was a poet, critic, and philsopher, and has in the latter branch, and as an aesthetical writer, given many examples of his deeply spe- culative mind. The latest remodification of his philoso- phical system he has embodied in his last and most pro- found production, " Die Religion der Vernunft." Schelling then began his career, which continues unto this day. Since the decease of the great Hegel, Schelling has succeeded to his place in the regions of phi- losophy, and has only lately — when opening a course of lectures at the Berlin university, where he occupies a pro- fessor's chair — given us to understand, that his own old- established system he would now, after such an interval of time, work out. We will not, at present, pass any opinion whatever upon the statements of Schelling, which he put forth in his introductory lecture, printed separately, with the title of " Schelling's erste Vorlesung ": time alone KANT. 77 will tell us whether he be in the right. The u Kant- ianer," and particularly the " Heglianer V (the present schools), are naturally opposed to his doctrines ; his position is, therefore, a very critical and embarrassed one. The title of " Didactic Prose," which we have affixed to this division of our subject, will also include two writers of con- siderable note, viz., Lavatee and Lichtenbeeg. Not that they followed the same path in letters ; for while the former stood in large repute as an expounder and advocate of the laws of physiognomy, the latter had secured himself an equal share of the public favour, as a pungent and forcible satirist. IMMANUEL KANT. (1724-1804). This celebrated philosopher was born at Konigsberg, on the 22nd of April 1 724. Philosophy was his study and voca- tion. It is a curious fact, that this great genius never saw more of the world, than about forty miles of the circum- jacent country of Konigsberg, at which place he died on the 12th of February 1804. Kant was an incessant and most profound thinker, and wielded an almost boundless influence over all future time. Kant was the creator of what, by way of distinction, has been termed the critical branch of the philosophic inquiry. He also laid the first stone towards the establishing of legitimate aesthetieal principles. Kant's brilliant capacity and noble talents were quite a mine of recondite wisdom to the age in which he lived. To him we are indebted for the discrimination, in human thought, between the abso- lute, the transcendental, the relative, and the material. His " Kritik der reinen Vernunft " and " Kritik der Ur- theilskraft" will make the reader fully acquainted with these principles, as well as with almost the entire system of his philosophy. Of all the divers ontological schemes ex- tant, Kant's doctrine has certainly taken the deepest root in Germany. 78 FICHTE. J OH ANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE.* (1762-1814.) This highly distinguished philosopher was the son of a poor weaver of Rammenau, in Upper Lusatia, and was born on the 19th of May 1762. Fichte was a writer of first-rate genius, of far-reaching penetration, and of extraordinary vigour, — the founder of the remarkable philosophy, " Des Ich's." By the publica- tion of the erudite thesis developed in his " Wissenschafts- lehre," he has succeeded in constructing a demonstrable system of " The Transcendental Ideal " in the rarefied domains of metaphysical research. This one work was the means of giving the deliberatists of Germany an entirely new direction. Fichte's " Versuch einer Kritik aller Offenbarungen," which came out anonymously, and passed, for a long while, as a work of Kant's, until Kant gave up, at last, the name of its author, laid the corner-stone to the fabric of his future reputation. His " Theorie der Sitten- lehre"ishis most salient performance. Our author also delivered to the public several works, intended for the use of the general reader, in which path of letters he was chiefly noticeable for the peculiar acumen that crowned his ideas and his language. As a sample of Fichte's success in this vein, we would instance his " Bestimmung des Menschen," and his " Bestimmung des Gelehrten," both of which are luminous expositions of the subjects upon which they treat. A logical solidity, and a manly aptness at the challenge- argumentative, are the distinctive attributes of Fichte's phi- losophical writings. " Die Reden an die deutsche Nation," which he delivered at Berlin, are replete with grandeur and enthusiasm. Fichte died on the 27th of January 1814. FRIED. WILHELM JOS. VON SCHELLINGt (1775) Came into the world on the 27th of January 1775. He holds, * Fichte's Leben und literar : Briefwechsel herausg. von J. H. Fichte. 2 vols. 1830. f Michelet, Entwiekelungsgeschichte. — Rosenkranz, Vor- lesungen uber Schelling. SCHELLING. 7!> at the present day, the professorship of philosophy at the university of Berlin. Schelling was the founder of the system of Identity (" Identitiitssystem "), which is synonymous with the phi- losophy of the Absolute, of which the " Naturphilosophie " ought to be regarded merely as one phasis. Amongst other works, he wrote " Ideen zu einer Philosophic der Natur," and " System des Transcendentalen Tdealismus." Schelling's philosophical notions of old are very commend- able and uncommonly profound ; while his language and the turn of his expressions are remarkably fine. Yet, for all this, his writings are not in unity with themselves. As we mentioned above, he was Hegel's successor at the Berlin university: he has been in literary inactivity for some twenty years or so, but he now enters the field again, with, as he says, fresh topics, which, he assures his audience, will promote his system into completion. The different philo- sophical fellowships, and the " Heglianer " in particular, expect the appearance of Schelling's promised works with very great anxiety. Fichte's philosophy and the " Naturphilosophie" may be assimilated as being two branches growing out of the trunk of the Kantian philosophy ; this latter system ("Naturphi- losophie") depends, unquestionably, upon the application, on a large scale, of Kant's doctrine of the Absolute. The amplitude in the application, and the salient genius thereof, — these grand points are derived from Schelling. He was also well known and much liked in his dissimilar character of a poet, under the pseudonomy of " Bonaventura." Most of his efforts in this line are to be met with in Tieck's " Musenalmanach." FRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI* (1743-1819) Was born at Diisseldorf, on the 25th of January 1743. He * Knhn, Jacobi und die Philosophic seiner Zeit. 1834. 80 JACOBI. KRUG. became president of the Academy of Science at Munich, where he died on the 10th of March 1819. Jacobi was an illustrious inquirer after truth, blending great natural sagacity with a tone of the deepest feeling. He was the philosopher of the heart and of the kind affections. Jacobi was the author of a couple of tales, " Woldemar " and " Allwills Briefsaminlung," which serve as a kind of popular exposition of his thesis in philosophy. His terms are animated and shrewd, but deficient in poetical force and propriety. W. T. Krug (1770), professor of philosophy at Leipzig, is one of the most celebrated of the popular philosophi- cal authors, and is evidently the historico-philosophic in- structor for the public at large : he has exercised a great influence over the community, by making them acquainted with, not only the systems and theories of Kant, Fichte, anc other thinkers, but also by energetically opposing ever) kind of obscurity. We must glance here at a few more men who distin guished themselves in this branch of the highest thought, — such was J. P. Ancillon (1766-1837), a sagacious, histo rico-politico-philosophical writer, great both in the German and French composition ; his works, " Ueber wahre Grosse, " Ueber Glauben und Wissen in der Philosophic," are com mendable, whilst his most sterling productions have been written in French. W. G. Tennemann (1761-1819), professor at Marburg, whose " Geschichte der Philosophic " has always enjoyed a certain position in letters, in con- sequence of his clear and convincing representations. J. G. Buhle (1763-1821), professor at Gottingen, has dis- tinguished himself by his philosophico-historiographic writings : " Geschichte der neuern Philosophic " particu- larly. T. X. v. Baader (1765), professor at Munich, was a follower of the Schelling school, and a very spirited de- fender of a certain " Gliiubigen Naturphilosophie." His HERB ART — SOLGER. 81 works, " Begriindung cler Ethik durch die Physik, " Vor- lesungen iiber religiose Philosophic," are written with a poetic mind and a philosophic sagacity. Joh. Fried. Her- bart (1776) professor at Konigsberg, became, through the instrumentality and influence of Fichte, the founder of a peculiar scheme, in opposition to existing philosophical systems, by which he naturally became involved in polemi- cal disputes. By him we possess " Allgemeine Metaphysik" and " Nachgelassene Schriften ," the latter of which gives a life and an outline of his philosophical career and character. Karl Wilh. F. Solger (1780-1819) had a very great influence, particularly with respect to the aesthe- tical development of the Beautiful ; his works, " Erwin, Gesprache iiber das Schone und die Kunst," " Vorlesungen iiber iEsthetik," we quote in proof of it. Solger was f Naturphilosoph," but not an immediate imitator of Schel- ling, yet endowed with many sterling and curious views. He exercised a great influence over the romantic school, particularly over Tieck, whom, in fact, he introduced to philosophy. His friendly, critical intercourse with Kau- mer, Tieck, and other distinguished writers, has been published under the title of " Solger's Briefwechsel," and is a very entertaining and beautiful book. Besides the foregoing, may yet be mentioned the son of Fichte, who has distinguished himself in many ways, particularly by his I Beitrage zur Characteristik der Philosophic "; Heinrich Hitter, who has written one of the most sterling histories of ancient and modern philosophy extant, and J. C. F. Holderlin (1770), the friend of Hegel, a poetic and phi- losophic mind, but early wrecked by madness : " Hype- rion," his most celebrated work, is a specimen of the re- markable acumen of this unfortunate man. 82 LAVATER. JOHANN CASPER LAVATER* (1741-1801) Was born on the 15th of November 1741, at Zurich. He was a deacon in the same city, and died by the hand of a French assassin, on the 2nd of January 1801. Lavater was a man of a pious and reflective turn of mind, and his intentions were always good and unexcep- tionable. He was a prominent character in his own day, though not unfrequently subjected to much ridicule and contempt, by reason of the mysticism that prevailed in his works, and of his physiognomical discoveries, which he gave to the world in two treatises, respectively entitled " Von der Physiognomik" and " Physiognomische Frag- mente." His " Schweizerlieder " would warrant us in receiving him as a poet : among them are some excellent composi- tions, although it is in sacred pieces that Lavater is the most successful. His " Jesus Messias" is a kind of pend- ant (if we may be allowed the expression) to Klopstock's " Messias." The religious enthusiasm, however, discover- able in his didactic and preceptive prose, often assumes the tone of fanaticism ; — a circumstance that was greatly ad- mired by some of his contemporaries, and severely censured by others. GEORG CHRISTOPH LICHTEXBERG (1742-1799) Was born at Ober-Ramstadt, in the vicinity of the town of Darmstadt, on the 1st of July 1742. He enjoyed, at Got- tingen, the twin titles of court-counsellor and professor of philosophy. He expired on the 24th of February 1799. Lichtenberg was endowed with a most original mind, in which a manly and scientific tone of thought was inter- woven with a sense of whatever is poetically beautiful and true. In addition to this, he was gifted with a rich vein of * Hegner, U. Beitrage zur naheren Kenntniss und wahren Darstellung Lavaters. 1835. LICHTENBE11G. 83 humour and satire, of which he gave the world a notable i specimen in his work entitled, " Erklarung der Hogart- I schen Kupferstiche." It is admitted on all hands, that the great English national-artist has never been better under- stood by any one of his expositors. Lichtenberg's descrip- tions and details are racy and delightful, on account of the exquisite drollery and caprice, with which he has illustrated the whimsical moods and eccentricities of Hogarth ; nay, I Lichtenberg's commentary is generally considered even j more witty than the pictures themselves. Nevertheless, we are prepared to contend, that there is quite a world in Ho- garth. Lichtenberg's " Vermischte Schriften " will be found to embrace a collection of the most witty, satirical, and humorous pieces, that have ever proceeded from his clever pen. His " Briefe aus England " are charged with some peculiarly interesting and valuable matter, including, i amongst other topics, an elaborate criticism upon the powers and style of that great English actor David Gar- ' rick. Lichtenberg gives a most perfect outline of the his- | trionic genius and individual grandeur of this " star " of i former days. He notes down, and with a very clever ! hand, the conceptions acquired by his nice observation and sagacity, and he offers a most welcome and important contribution to those channels, to which we have been : accustomed to look for whatever might aid enquiry as to ! Garrick's dramatic character. But Lichtenberg has also greatly influenced the progress of the cultivation of the national mind, by saving the German nation, by his satires, from the servility and oppression of the soi-disant aristocrats. With a sharp vein he appeared against Lavater and his unscientific " Physionomik," whilst he answered the rude attacks of Zimmermann in a masterly caustic style. Our language produced, at one and the same time, masterpieces in all manner of styles ; such as Herder's " Ideen," Goethe's " W ei- ther," Lessing's "eilf Antigotze," and Lichtenberg's pole- g2 84 ZIMMEBMANN. mical satires against Lavater's mannerism and Zimmer- mann's person. The last-named productions, namely, Lessing contra Goetze, and Lichtenberg's satirical letters, are the most violent specimens, but exempt from vulgar insult, of rhetorical and bitter invective against particular persons. These two genres, and this cutting phraseology, which were respectively used by Liehtenberg and Lessing, are both of a distinguished character, and of finished ex- cellence in their way. JOHANN GEORG RITTER VON ZIMMERMANN (1728-1795) Born on the 8th of December 1728, at Bragg, in Switzerland. He became counsellor of the board of court physicians at Hanover, and died on the 7th of October 1795. We are indebted to Zimmermann for a popular philoso- phical work, bearing the title of " Ueber die Einsamkeit," a book of such great note in its time, as to have passed into various languages and editions. Perspicuity and unstudied elegance characterize his treatise, " Ueber den National- stolz. Zimmermann's private character is certainly a very de- testable one ; he was a mean flatterer, greedy after decora- tions. Schlosser, in the third volume of his "Geschichte des 18 ten Jahrhunderts," has given a masterly character- istic estimate of the period when Zimmermann and Lava- ter were looked upon as the Coryphaei of German literature. B5 DIE STURM UND DRANGPERIODE. This period, so styled by Goethe, after the title of one of the dramas of Klinger, " Sturm und Drang," may be cha- racterized as follows : In the latter half of the eighteenth century there existed in Germany not even the remotest shadow of political free- dom ; there was no indication whatever, either of the public voicebeing heard, or of the open transaction of state business ; whilst the liberty of the press, in its most limited meaning, was also altogether unknown. There were certainly amongst the petty princes of Germany, some that were favourable to onward progress, and a few of the better and bolder minis- ters wished for that publicity which they could not effect. Political papers there were scarcely any ; those in the field j did not appear to be established for the purpose of speaking | freely and openly, but to gossip about and to flatter the royal courts ; moreover these newspapers were kept under the strictest public censorship ; they had no flesh and blood, but were miserable and disgusting skeletons. The political constitution of Germany was, at that unhappy era, under the pressure of feudal potentates ; it dared scarcely breathe, and how could free speech be heard ? how was it possible to speak the plain truth, when these princes were absolute sovereigns even in every town ; while, in every small vil- lage, the burgomaster carried on a despotic power unheard of elsewhere ? But, at this very time, the productions of Lessing and Herder roused the minds of the people, whilst the French writers, Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire, exercised a sur- prising influence over the Germans. It must be borne in mind, that another generation had grown up under the man- acles of despotic power, while the vigorous intellectual life of France was operating upon us in divers ways. It was ai this period that Lessing's " Antiquarische Briefe," Herder's 86 STURM UND DRA.XGPERI0DE. " Fragmente," Wieland's " Musarion," Gerstenberg's " U go- lino," Lavater's " Aussichten in die Ewigkeit," and Base- dow's psedagogic — writings which were the first step to the school-reform — were put forth : they made a great stir, and promoted art, theology, and German enlightenment in general. But when Goethe appeared as a powerful leader, the real revolution and the reformation of German letters broke out. His "Goetz von Berlichingen," and his "Werther's Leiden " (1774), were intended to reform poetry, style, and the entire drapery of belles lettres. It was Herder who unveiled to Goethe, at Strasburg, the poverty of German literature, and made him acquainted with poetry in its grand application to nature, to the nation, and to the world. Herder was the resuscitator who effected that men- tal revolutionary sensation in the Strassburg circles of young men, to which Goethe, Lenz, Jung Stilling, etc., markedly belonged. What Goethe effected has been con- sidered by us in another place ; let us only add here, that his works gave a fresh impulse to literature, all authors being suddenly found adopting the form either of the drama or the novel. But whilst this emotion was entering into the inner heart of poetry, an open, noble-minded German appeared, at Hanover, who threw light upon the darkness of politics. This man was A. L. Schlozer (1735-1809). He created a literary tribunal, and by his judgments and verdicts paled all the German obscurants, all the innumerable petty tyrants and their despotic servants, — at any rate, all those amongst them who had still honour and virtue enough left to be able to blush or to grow pale. Schlozer, namely, published, in 1775, a journal, with the title of " Brief- wechsel," in which he censured and rebuked the adminis- trative governments of the states, and the historic circum- stances of his time. As early as the second year of this journal we find articles by which Schlozer became the detestation of all the old prejudiced officers of state, and of STURM UND DR ANGPE R I ODE . 87 the petty despots of feudal Germany. Schlosser depicts this very cleverly in his " Geschichte des 18 ten Jahrhunderts," viz. : " Alle die, welche in den Ritzen und Lochern unserer verfallenen Reichsburg im Dunkeln hausten, die Tyrannen in Monchskutten, in Stiftern und Klostern, die wohlweisen Beherrscher oder Magistrate der Reichstadte, die hochge- bomeu Reichsritter, welche die Dorfer beherrschten, die durchlauchtigen furstlichen Herrn, die im Dunkel kleiner Residenzen und leicht von den Thurmen derselben zu iibersehender Lander mit koniglichem Stolze ihr Wesen trieben, erhoben bald ihr vereinigtes Zetergeschrei." But a review, very similar to Schlozer's " Briefwechsel," came out at this time, founded by Dohm and Boje, under the title of " Deutsches Museum," unquestionably one of the best journals that Germany ever sent forth to the pub- lic. This " Museum " certainly was the medium and arena of intellectual warfare. A language, a style, was written at this epoch which was unheard of before, and which had for its design the overthrow of all the old forms of poetry and criticism. New principles started up in every mind, the pattern of the Ancients was no longer sanc- tioned as authoritative, every one wished to give forth the individual perception and the feeling of his "Ich," and to re- present nature in her wonderful strictness. Men of genius no longer desired to stick slavishly to the Greeks, as they had done before, they detested imitation of the French ; they only honoured and valued the works of masters "an und fur sich." The old Parnassus was entirely stormed, such men asGuEm, Gellert, Rabener, Nicolai, even the products of young Wi eland, were, to a certain extent, unrecognized, — they were pushed from the throne of literature and despised. Geniuses are wanted who are real and original in them- selves, as original as nature ; for it was thought that true genius is weakened by an imitative education. But the new generation took for their authorities — Homer, Shaks- 88 STURM DSD DRAXGPERIODE. peare, Ossian, and the old ballads collected by Percy, under the title of " Reliques." In this period the movement of religious opinions may be particularly marked ; the boundaries of the dogma being thrown down, a desire was afloat for the seizure of magical powers, for a preying upon the natural in its most recondite veins. At no time was the taste for unity and secret com- bination so great, and never was there a stronger belief in sympathising powers. Lavater was full of this peculiar feature of the time, and presented to the world exactly what they wanted. But his " Physionoinik," trumpeted forth by his friend Zimmerman (who then was thought to be the greatest philosopher) as a masterpiece of science, was attacked by Lichtenberg, with a satiric power, to its very roots, and at last it broke down into the nullity out of which it was created. SECOND PERIOD. (1770—1800.) DAS ZEITALTER DER CLASSISCHEN POESIE. One fact there is strongly enforced upon our attention whenever we study the development of German litera- ture. We have in our eye that remarkable conjuncture, or rather crisis, in the kingdom of letters, under favour of which certain controversies in the regions of higher cri- ticism, between Wieland and the writers of the Nicolai school, were prosecuted at Berlin with the most passion- ate inveteracy, while Kant was gloriously ascending the literary horizon of the north, to stand forward as the reformer of the spirituality of the human understanding, contemporaneously also with the very creation of aesthe- tical art, and with its first and earnest study. Neither GOTH N GEE BARDENBUXD. 89 was this all ; for, simultaneously with these manifestations, the taste for the imperishable classics of Greece and of Rome was greatly promoted by the judicious advocacy of that elegant humanist Heyne; and the rear of these revolutions was brought up by that intellectual phenome- non, known as the "Gottinger Hain, or Bardenbund" — a society, that would seem to have won its being and its shape out of the weird influences of the day. In the uni- versity of Gottingen, then the most nourishing " aula" of all kindred seats of learning in Germany, the imaginative phasis of the human mind obtained a large and visible manifestation. This College embraced a circle of youthful, vigorous geniuses within its walls, who, headed and led on by the justly-celebrated professors, succeeded in forming amongst themselves a union-idealistic, in aid of which all their talents were afterwards entirely directed. Klop- stock was the man, who had already inflamed their enthu- siasm by revealing to them the august originals of the German language, so eminently elaborated in his " Mes- sias." The true cause of this confederation, must at once be acknowledged to be those two powerful and poetic- minded persons, Boje and Gotter, who conceived the de- sign of establishing a " Musenalmanach," in which they intended to offer to the public the current poetry, that was, in their judgments, really worthy of that title. This publication made its first appearance in 1770, being modelled accord- ing to the plan of the " Almanac des Muses," then published at Paris. The nationality, that the judicious inquirer might rea- sonably expect to discover below the surface of German literature, may now, therefore, be taken as fully established. At the epoch we have now attained, the natural form of poetry, germinating out of the seedling into the strong and tractive plant, displays its spiritual increase, even to its rarest and most delicately-elaborated buds, and unfolds its largest and sweetest flowers. 90 GOTT1XGER BAKDENBUND. Goethe arises, and the ever-memorable " Barden-Bund" rushes into being. Bards of a high metrical ambition, and gifted with a wide sweep of genius, — master-spirits indeed, whom no other times could rival, — start up in quick suc- cession in the arena of immortal renown ; namely, Burger and Hdlty, Voss, the two brothers Stolberg, and many others. Hand in hand with Goethe rises Schiller, and co- operates with him in the same sublime and imperishable cause. One characteristic, and that the greatest of this age, is, that almost all these magnates were gathered to- gether into a most intimate society ; a noble feature this in the poetic gift— at once unsurpassable and truly sublime. Goethe ascends the throne as sovereign potentate, Schiller takes his place by his side, and both exercise imperial dominion in the commonwealth of the muses. Meanwhile the interests of science and the elegant arts were far from being neglected ; these rose, on the contrary, to a state of high perfection. FIRST SECTION. DER GCETTINGER BARDEN-BUND* The progress made by poetiy in its first period was great, as we have already seen, and the discrimination of that age, although defective, was the means of calling forth life, new vigour, and a yearning after perfection in the metrical art. As one result of this state of things, we may hail the fact, of a number of influential authors banding themselves together into a mentally-defined union, and con- spiring to give a novel stimulus to the bardic emulation. Now this poets' confederation is no other than our veritable " Barden-Bund." All its members were geniuses of the highest order, and their lays were interwoven with an un- * R. E. Prutz, Der Gottinger Dichter Bund, 1841. GoTTINGER BABDENBUND. 91 heard-of vein of romantic loveliness. Now if we felt dis- posed to delineate with the brush a pair of allegorical figures, which should form the best expression of these two literary periods, the following, probably, would be our rule. Let the artist design, as an emblem of the Saxonic school, a regal personage, of grave and stately mien, arrayed from head to foot in an ancient yet most costly vesture ; while, for the period of the " Barden-Bund " he cannot do better than depict a young man, who has cast off his gorgeously- massive costume, and, having shod his feet with wings, after the manner of the Mercury of mythology, chooses rather to be partially invested in a light and airy drapery, which is let down upon his person by a wreath of ministrant zephyrs, that float in capricious sweeps around him. Such symbolizations as these, would not inaptly, we think, describe the genius of the metrical fellowship formed by Burger, Stolberg, Voss, Holty, Claudius, Leisewitz, Gotter, Boje, Miller, and Cramer. A freshness of idea in all the most romantic forms of the art was the soul of their inspi- ration, and enkindled a general admiration of, attested by a vigorous and abiding yearning for poetic fame, which began at this time to arouse the whole intellectual heart of Germany. GOTTFEIED AUGUST BUERGER (1748-1794) Came into the world on the 1st of January 1748, at Wollmers- wende, near Halberstadt, and may be styled a born poet, as he evinced decided poetical talents, even before the com- pletion of his school education. When only ten years old, he began to compose rhymes, without displaying any taste for study, — nay, while entertaining such a direct aver- sion for his Greek and Latin, as hardly to be induced to attend to them at all. Upon leaving school, he studied Jurisprudence,— he practised it afterwards, though with in- different success ; it was neither congenial nor pleasant to his poetical temperament. Still, turn lawyer he must, were it but to earn his daily bread, for he was not richer than 92 BURGER. many of the poets in Germany, who, by the by, were so desperately poor, as generally to have great difficulties in earning sufficient to buy pens, ink, and paper, as the in- struments for conveying their thoughts. As examples of this condition, we need only mention Wieland, and, in a less degree, Schiller. Burger was married three times, his second connubial venture being the happiest; the name of this wife was Molly, in whose honour he composed several sweet poems. After all his labours, Burger died as poor as he was born, on the 18th of June 1794. According to Schiller's elaborate criticism, Burger has never attained unto the high altar of the beau ideal of poetry. Schiller was too severe, was wrong, and Burger has become a classical writer. In florid colouring and imagery, true nationality and versification, he has stamped himself as, par excellence, the people's poet, " Der Volksdich- ter." The downright nature pervading all his ballads, by reason whereof he deserves a chief niche in our poetical pantheon, is exhibited in three principal manifestations. There is, first, the real feeling of his love-poetry ; secondly, the novelty of his wittily-conceived songs ; and thirdly, the happy fusion of the bardic into the popular vein. These literary features — the last-named especially — have procured Burger an extensive reputation. A vice, in not a few of Burger's metrical performances, will be noticed by the dis- cerning reader, namely, an occasional coarseness of expres- sion, and tendency to what is common-place or vulgar. But setting aside these things, we find our author working in a manner quite his own, a point that is more striking still in his ballads and metrical romances. Now the greatest achieve- ment among the former, and, at the same time, the most winning and celebrated thing he ever wrote, is, unquestion- ably, his " Lenore." The origin of this poem Burger con- fided to his friends, and was as follows : One fine moonlight night, Burger happened to overhear a peasant girl trolling forth, in a sweet and impassioned BUEGER. 93 cadence, these three lines underwritten, — which bear in- deed, in their structure, the marks of a remote original : — " Der Mond, der scheint so helle, Die Todten reiten so schnelle, Fein Liebchen, graut dir nicht ?" Our poet goes on to state, that these versicles echoed and re-echoed so constantly in his ears, that, as a kind of relief to his poesy-haunted mind, he sat down and sketched the first rough draft of his own composition. The favourable reception and popularity " Lenore " experienced at its first appearance, outdo all our powers of description ; such a forcible appeal did it send abroad to the hearts and under- standings of all readers, that really it would be using a very moderate hyperbolism, if we were to say this poem was conned by rote and recited all over Germany. "Lenore" would, of itself, award Burger an immortal renown, even had he written nothing else.* But Burger has also produced many other fine poems. We would especially mention that startling and graphic performance called " Der wilde Jager," masterly in point of treatment. " Das Lied vom braven Manne " is a truly German romance, not so much because it is founded on fact, as on account of the beauty and finish of its execu- tion. The poem of " Des Pfarrer's Tochter von Tauben- heim " is a startling metrical tale, of rather a licentious ten- dency, yet bold and skilful withal in its working out. " Der Kaiser und der Abt " is a very pleasing effort of Burger's muse ; nor should " Die Kuh" be passed without some notice : it is well worth a perusal. " Die Weiber von Weinsberg," built upon an ancient chronicle, is an established favourite. Burger's "Feldjager Lied," commencing," Mit Hornerschall * This eulogy is not our own : Burger's " praise is hymn'd by loftier harps than " ours. They are the words attached to the ballad by A. W. von Schlegel. 94 burger. — stolberg. und Lustgesang" is a fine military canzonet, set off with a most beautiful melody. Of his translations, his version of Homer may be mentioned as the most successful. " The following," says A. W. v. Schlegel, " is the result of our critical inquiry into the genius of Burger: Burger is a poet, with a conception rather peculiar than enlarged ; of a strain of feeling more upright and confidential, than tender ; profound rather in the execution than in the outline of his work ; more at home in the romance, and slight un- pretending song, than in poetry of a higher lyrical kind- In some of his compositions he assumes the real character of the genuine ' Volksdichter.' Burger's style, were not its legitimate effect in some degree abated by peculiarities and mannerisms, is, in point of clearness and freshness of diction, distinguished and great."* CHRISTIAN GRAF ZU STOLBERG (1748-1821) Was born at Hamburg, on the 15th of October 1748. He studied at Gbttingen, where, in conjunction with his bro- ther Friedrich, he was duly elected a member of the cele- brated "Bardenbund." Upon leaving the university of this city, he was raised to the post of Danish chamberlain. His time, subsequent to the year 1800, was passed in complete retirement at his country-seat of "Windebye," nearEckern- fbrde, in the south of Jutland, where he died on the 18th of January 1821. In spirit and fire, delicacy of imagery and pungency of creative wit, Stolberg can hardly be said to equal his brother Friedrich Leopold. Yet his verses are by no means deficient in ardent feeling, and in novel and vivid thoughts. Christian Stolberg seems to have been fully aware that the two cardinal points in the works of any writer are : a judicious brevity in the descriptions, and an inartificial elasticity of expression. He contrives to cast his thoughts into moulds of harmonious sound. His taste, like his * Burger und Miillner, ein Briefwechsel. C. ST0LBEEG. 95 brother's, leans rather to a pictorialization of verse; but in boldness and power of design he is not always suc- cessful. Touching the character of Stolberg's inspiration, we will hazard an opinion, that the gentler spirit of his muse is generally more at home in the bland and persuasive inflections of elegiac song ; she moves in paths of greater pleasantness, while dictating the lays of his exquisite minor poetry, than when suggesting to him measures in the heroic or high bardic vein, interspersed though these grand flights may be with the lessons of an unaffected and genial morality, and with certain noble traits, that unveil to us, very agreeably, many commendable passages in his kind and philanthropic heart. Bound by the ties of natural affection, as well as — to a certain extent, at least — by a parity and unison of literary talents, to his brother Friedrich Leopold, Christian wended hand-in-hand with him through life's checkered pilgrimage to eternity.* Our author has given to the world two dramas ; one of them is entitled " Belsazer," the other " Otanes ;" plays evincing great wealth of invention in the skilful evolution cf the dramatic design, and in the accession of impres- sive situations to the main plot. Stolberg's translations from the Greek include "Homeric Hymns," the "Idylls" of Theocritus, several of the poems of Bion and Moschus, and others ; they are all very cleverly done." His German version of " Sophocles," was looked upon in his own day as a very meritorious performance. FRIEDRICH LEOPOLD GRAF ZU STOLBERG (1750-1819) Was born on the 7th of November 1750, at Bramstadt, in the duchy of Hoi stein. Like his brother, he began his studies * Consult Kuttner, in his characters of German poetical and prose writers. 96 F. STOLBEKG. by matriculating at the then famous university of Gbttingen, and when he retired from it, in 1777, the dignity fell to him of being minister for Liibeck in the capital of Denmark. In 1789, he was the Danish ambassador at Berlin. The year 1800 was a crisis in this author's life ; inasmuch as it marks the date at which he, in concert with the whole of his family, went over to the Roman Catholic faith. He breathed his last on the 6th of December 1819, at Son- dermuhlen, in the province of Osnabruck. An emulation of the spirit of Ossian and of Homer, nay, of nature herself, incited this worthy to strike the lyre His poetry exhibits a fund of lofty-toned ideas, in con- junction with a mighty sweep of imagination, and an ineffable softness and dulcitu.de in all his descriptive episodes. The great beauty and recommendation of his writings will ever be held to consist in the amiable frame of mind, in the energy and the healthy state of his heart- enthroned feelings, and in his artless descriptions of the world around us. Friedrich Leopold's conceptiveness is more intrepid, and of a higher quality, than the mani- festation of the same gift in his brother Christian ; never- theless a great family-likeness subsists between their re- spective works, which sufficiently challenges our regard, for their acute observation of the beautiful in nature ; their uninterrupted friendship ; their integrity ; their temperance ; their benevolence ; and for whatever endears man to man, and all men to society: all which, indeed, is expressed in their works themselves. It is as pleasing, as it is astonishing, to remark that the hymn, " Auf die Sonne und auf die Erde," and the dithy- rambic ode, " Die Meere," with the delightful " Abendlied eines Madchens," are from the same pen. He was success- ful in all kinds of poetry, odes, elegies, romanzes, etc. His " Sohn da hast du meinen Speer," has become quite a na- tional poem. F. Stolberg's drama of " Theseus" abounds with lyrical lights ; the characters of /Egeus, Theseus, and of the STOLBERG. — TOSS. 97 " Sehers Sophron" are emanations of the same poetical ability. Another of his dramas, " Der Saugling," is a most charming dramatic fiction upon the infancy of Homer. Our dramatic literature can show nothing like it, either in point of naivete, or of a more forcibly-appealing tenderness. His " Timoleon" scarcely ranks so high ; the sacred chorus it contains, is, however, a composition of the most sublime and touching nature. Most of the dramas, we may add, of the brothers Stolberg, are furnished with choruses built upon a lyric model ; a kind of imitation (though with a difference) of the Greek tragedies. They constitute indeed quite a new species of dramatic literature. Stolberg also tried novel-writing, and produced a work of fiction, entitled " Die Insel." The evolution of its ideas is, certainly, a very wonderful feature ; but, taken as a whole, it is neither elucidated by details enough, nor is its main design carried out into sufficient completion. JOHANN HEIXRICH VOSS (1751-1826) "Was born on the 20th of February 1751, at Sommersdorf, in the duchy of Mecklenburg. The narrow circumstances of his father (who was a reduced farmer) obliged Voss to go out first as a tutor, ere he could think of visiting any university on his own account. But in 1762 he was enabled to pro- ceed to Gottingen, where he forthwith entered upon a course of philology under the learned and celebrated Heyne. The talent for poetry which Voss displayed about this time, denoted him as a fit subject for the " Gottinger Barden- bund," and it was not long before he rose to be one of its most esteemed and successful members. The latter years of his life were not passed in any considerable state either of profit or eclat; he combined the offices of public and private instruction, under the joint capacities of school- master and tutor. At length a pension allowed him to seek an otium cum dignitate suitable to his age and condition. He accordingly retired to the neighbourhood of Jena, no great H 98 voss. distance from Schiller and the city of Weimar. Voss di at his " Weinberg" on the 30th of March 1826.* " The credit," says Wieland, " of having establish himself as one of the best poets, and most learned, sag cious, and elegant philologists of his day, may be fairl accorded to Voss." A classically-directed taste, a generosity of feeling, humorous tendency, a fluency of style, with sufficient firm ness of touch to give to every object its due form, colour and expression — a verisimilitude truly astonishing— a die tion replete with warmth and power, embracing at the same time all possible affluence of language, flowing into metres ancient and modern, in rhythm or in blank verse — these desirable qualities meet us everywhere in the poetry of this author. " Voss's ' Luise,' published in 1783, ought to be regarded as a chef-d'oeuvre in bucolics." In this piece Voss sets forth the taste that simple habits inspire for natural scenery in terms of reality and deep feeling. Nor is he less fortunate when treating of the nobility of the female character. The umbrageous woodlands, the flowery meads, the rich levels of pasture-ground, these, and all other pastoral circum- stances, are given with the hand of a master. Every word is nature, and, consequently, every sentence is pleasing. This delightful work is written in easy and mellifluous hexameters, comprising, as it does, a very interesting re- cord of the fortunes of the tender-hearted daughter of the " Pfarrer von Griinau." Voss's Idyls and Songs are, indeed, preferable to all his other lesser poems. Among the former, the one entitled " Der siebzigste Geburtstag" is perhaps the most striking and beautiful. The entire collection, it may boldly be affirmed, is assuredly without a rival in our literature. Our * Dr. Doring, Voss Leben, 1833.— Briefwechsel zwischen Voss und Jean Paul, 1833. VOSS. — HOLTY. 99 author was also a celebrated translator. His " Homer" and « Virgil" are the finest specimens in their way of a never- swerving accuracy, an untiring exactitude, and of an emi- nently-happy manner, in transplanting human thought from one language to another. The translation of Homer in particular, is an unrivalled master-piece. Schlosser, with his masterly acumen, observes : — " Voss's ' Homer,' like Luther's Bible, is likely to remain for ever in the hands of the German youth ; for Voss evidently achieved by his translation, in point of language and metre, a striking counterpart of what Luther accomplished by his version of the Scriptures. Voss's mind was just as much related to the Homeric feeling, as Luther's soul was to the idiosyncracies of the prophets and apostles." In addition to these, Voss likewise attempted " Hesiod" and " Shakspeare," but with scarcely the same measure of success. LUDWIG HEINRICH CHFJSTOPH HCELTY (1748-1776) Was born on the 21st December 1748, at Mariensee, near Hanover. He was the son of a clergyman, commenced his education at the gymnasium at Halle, and finished it at the university of Gbttingen, where he was speedily associated with the " Dichterbund." After Holty had gone through the usual theological course, he returned to his home, when unfortunately a consumption terminated his life and his nobly-promising career, which, judging from his literary remains, would undoubtedly have swept onwards to a still higher position in the Parnassus of our fatherland. Holty is nevertheless a poet of considerable fame. He died at Hanover, on the 1st September 1776. This writer seems to have been stamped by nature as a landscape poet, or romantic bard. He was endowed with a most tender and feeling heart, open to every influence of the beautiful and the good; his genius wooing, with a kind of enthusiasm, all the lights and shadows of country scenery. Holty's songs and odes breathe, generally, a soft 100 HOLTY. and melting harmony, sufficient to engage the soul's com- passion, and to win her tears. For the high lyrical strain of composition he discovered very little propensity. The odes by him that are the most powerful, are rather over- laid by descriptions, and with a luxuriance of poetical style. Holty's forte lay in natural delineations. He was the minstrel of the good affections, the gentle, though elo- quent advocate of love, friendship, and benevolence : as a genuine sentimental elegiac poet, he has never been sur- passed. His language possesses a musical resonance, and flows on with a graceful ease. Nevertheless, Holty's essays in ballad-composition never reached the highest orders ol that captivating species of writing. As sterling and stan- dard performances, we ought to particularize his poem, " Ueb' immer Treu und Redlichkeit," which is in the mouth of every German. The idyll, " Das Feuer im Walde," and the elegy beginning, " Schwermuthsvoll und dumpfig hallt Gelaute, etc." are fine compositions. The Grave-digger's ditty of " Grabe Spaten, grabe," and that stirring song beginning " Wer wollte sich mit Grillen plagen !" (which is heard to the best advantage when the liberal spirit of conviviality mantles over a bottle of Rhenish wine), and many other social songs of this strain, are standing favourites in Germany. As samples of another style, take the following eclogues: Maylied : — " Der Schnee zerrinnt." Friihlingslied : — Die Luft ist blau." Maylied : — " Willkommen lieber schoner May !" in all of which nature is cleverly and sweetly pourtrayed MATTHIAS CLAUDIUS (1743-1815) Was born at Reinfeld im Holsteinschen, on the 15th of Au gust 1740. He commenced his academical studies in the town of Jena, and subsequently returned to Wandsbeck Here he became the editor of a political review, to whic) he gave the title of " Asmus, oder der Wandsbecker Bote.' CLAUDIUS. 101 In 1788, he was the manager of the Holstenish bank of Altona. Claudius died on the 21st of January 1815, at Hamburgh, whilst with his son-in-law Perthes, the noted bookseller of that city. Claudius is a pleasant and entertaining writer ; he pro- vides instruction for the million ; now addressing them in a vein of wit and humour, now in a tone of satire ; then, in a philosophical mood, and next, in a religious one. Menzel, in his " Deutsche Literatur," observes : — " Der beruhmte f Wandsbecker Bote ' macht, wenn man ihn heute liest, einen seltsamen, mehr ruhrenden als gefalligen Eindruck. Nicht als ob seine Schonheiten nicht noch immer schon, sein derber Hausverstand nicht noch immer verstandig ware, aber die Form, die Sprache gehoren einer Zeit an, die langst gewesen ist." Claudius is really an author for the people ; who, in the high soaring of the end he has in view, in the simplicity of the means to attain that end, and even in the appeal he makes to the inmost soul, will hardly ever be equalled, much less surpassed. His poetical productions range between songs, elegies, romances, fables ; he has also written prose papers of various characters upon miscella- neous subjects (" Das Schatzkastlein" — a selection of his works). They all espouse easy and current opinions, in a vein of language sometimes witty and droll, sometimes solemn, naive, and, what Germans call, " volksthumlich," as if they were narrated by the "merry country messenger," whose chief object is to recommend the sentiments of honesty, charity, patriotism, etc., and to visit folly and vice with satire and dishonour. Claudius's " Rheinweinlied : Bekranzt mit Laub den liebevollen Becher," will always be popular. The first two lines of a piece by him, entitled, " Urian's Reise": — "Wenn jemand eine Reise thut So kann er was erzahlen," have grown into a proverb ; and his " Riese Goliath," " Wie 102 LEISEWITZ. ist die Welt so stillo" — " Rebecca mit den Kindera am Maimorgen" — "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" — "Ich danke Gott und freue mich," and many others, are popular in the extreme. JOHANN ANTON LEISEWITZ (1752-1806) Was born on the 9th of May 1752, at Hanover. He studied at Gottingen Jura; and being found to be gifted with poetical talents, was speedily elected one of the Bardenbund. Leisewitz afterwards entered into the political service of the duchy of Brunswick, and was quickly promoted to the high office of councellor of justice in that dukedom. He died on the 10th of September 1806. A single tragedy, "Julius von Tarent," is all that we possess of this writer. Nevertheless, he has shewn that he knew how to unite sentiment with wit, and both with deep feeling, and to embody artistic conceptions in tragic stage- effect. The characters of the two brothers, who are rivals for the affections of a noble-minded girl, until, in the end, one becomes the murderer of the other, are very graphically and exquisitely delineated. If we examine critically the literary qualities of this production, we find that the ease of its dialogue, the vigour of its invention, and the passion and ascendancy which flash out of the evolution of its dra- matic action, establish its reputation upon an immoveable basis, and stamp it as a standard performance. It may not be uninteresting to our readers to know, that " J ulius von Tarent " was one of the favourite books of Schiller, when a young man. GOETHE. 103 SECTION II. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE. We have now to discourse of Germany's greatest poet, : who, endowed with abilities of a cast most singular, nay, unlimited, we might nearly say, in their range of opera- tion, exerts a master influence over the bardism and author- ship, not only of the age in which he lived, but also (or we much mistake) over those of all succeeding times. Germany, although eminently rich in the treasures of the olden metrical lore, had never, up to the era, at least, of Goethe's muse's life, completed the Palladium of its national poetry. Not but that, in the Morn of the Minnesingers, in the Day of Klopstock and Lessing, and in the Noon-blaze of the " Barden-Bund " (poets, ex- cepted from their predecessors and contemporaries by many a broad feature of more stalwart excellence), a goodly corner- stone was applied thereunto. Yet, with all this, there was a peculiar narrowness in the general heart, a stiffness and formality in the prevalent poetical style, savouring but too strongly of an immoderate adhesion to antiquated man- nerisms. It was reserved for the illustrious poet of Wei- mar to burst the bonds asunder, that had hitherto en- thralled this elegant department of human genius. Goethe asserted, in the happiest manner possible, all the rights and privileges of an ardent-tempered youth, the springs of whose life are fresh and unsophisticated. His works, — such, for instance, as " Werthers Leiden," " Goetz von Berlichingen," " Faust," — and his poems, evince, but too plainly, how little he felt it necessary to conform to the current rules of composition. Yet, Goethe assuredly out- stepped all others ; he felt the force of genius quick and rushing in his soul, and soared, like an eagle, above all his contemporaries. Now, as in the poet Schiller, nature is always set forth in 104 GOETHE. her most finished graces, so in Goethe eveiy thing is suf- fused with the depth of naturalities, his mind being (so to speak) grown together into one with the radices of nature. Again, surpassing beauty and loveliness of thought, great tenderness and delicacy of expression, and the entire poetical efficiency, are resident in Goethe. How inspiring are his poems, in which we recognize, at the first glance, the consummate master of lyrics ! and how affluent is he in language and in ideas ! There exists, in all the works of this writer, the most perfect specimen of realization, for he knew nature and all her peculiarities, and was too inti- mately acquainted with all her singularities, to be likely to err. Goethe likewise acts as a Coryphaeus, in regard to a certain nobility and grandeur in the tones of his poet- ical colouring ; in which particular, indeed, it appears to us that he may be most advantageously compared with the great Italian artist of the Venetian school, — Titian. The poet and the painter possess, respectively, their rich and precious material, in accordance with which they mingle their glorious rays of colour, derived from the shores of the far east. No one, we feel confident, can help admiring a vestiture so truly splendid, although the eye of taste has necessarily the advantage in this case, inasmuch as it is not likely to be dazzled by the external aspect alone of the enwrapping vesture, like that of the majority of common observers, who, we know, are apt to be astonished and smitten by the mere outside tinsel and glitter of the subject before them, — and here an end. Now the class last alluded to — the men of taste — will inevitably look beyond the mere drapery of the poet's style ; it is their privilege to trace out numerous infinitely-delicate implications and connexions of human thought and feeling, until they fall, at last, into a rapture, upon discerning the consummate artisticism that reveals itself to their subtle inquiry. Every personage in Goethe's narrative or dramatic com- GOETHE. 105 positions, at whatever progress of the story it may be intro- duced, and by whatever expedient it may be made to serve the general action of the plot, is treated, from first to last, exactly as if it were the leading character of the piece. The "one-character play," as it has been sometimes called, was a class of authorship utterly unknown to Goethe. This blissful ignorance, this rare excellence, — to be found, no doubt, in the works of Homer and of Shakspeare, — exist abundantly in the interlocutory and representative productions of our author. JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE* Was the son of a gentleman of fortune, and was born on the 28th of August 1749, in the city of Frankfort on the Maine, where his father had sought the tranquillity of pri- vate life, retiring with the title of " Kbniglicher Rath." The future bard — this promising bud of genius — enjoyed the inestimable advantage of receiving the elements of his education from paternal lips. Considerable quickness of apprehension seems to have been natural to him, and to have brought him into notice at an early age. Even at this time, the Frankfort boy discovered certain versifying tendencies ; for whenever any little bit of fun, shrewd jest, or witty conceit, turned up at the family board, or around the cheerful hearth, the youngster would forthwith, in the happiest manner possible, convert it into rhyme, and then go and repeat the same to his young companions and play-fellows, to, it will readily be imagined, their infinite diversion and delight. In the year 1765, the university of Jena received our embryo poet, he having made such ad- vances in his studies and general knowledge, as to render this step imperative. It was his father's particular wish that Goethe should study the science of jurisprudence, —a pursuit particularly repugnant to the tastes of the young poet, who, for his part, evinced a much greater * Doring's Leben Goethes. 106 goethe's theatre. liking for the elegant avocations of classic literature. But nevertheless Goethe was obliged, for a time at least, to reconcile himself to the lot that had been marked out for him, and to turn all his thoughts to the labours of juristry. " Die Laune des Verliebten " was the name of Goethe's first literary effort, which was a dramatic one. He had composed this piece while residing at Leipzig, somewhere about the year 1767. Not long after this appeared, " Die Mitschuldigen," whose date may be fixed as in or near the year 1768. Both these dramas were nothing more than mere first essays in literature. The latter of these plays offers us a picture of city manners, fashioned according to the French school. Both, however, are intended to set forth the mental restlessness and inward discomfort in which Goethe found himself at that time, and the insignificance and commonness of his circumstances and position in his native city. His removal to Jena, and his matriculation at the university there, had no effect in alle- viating his discontent or in cheering the melancholic temper of his mind ; while a severe illness that befel him here, obliged him to return, as soon as it was expedient, to Frankfort. Nevertheless, he did not remain long at home, for in 1768 we find him proceeding to Strasburg, in order to complete his studies there. It was in this town, and upon this occasion, that Goethe began to foster the first germs of two of his great works ; for here he was thrown into the frequent society of men of a reflective and original cast of mind, with whom he was soon united in the bonds of the closest friendship, — with Yung Stilling and Herder, among others. Now it is a note-worthy circumstance, that Shakspeare was the favour- ite author of both Herder and Goethe ; they used to exer- cise themselves in his style of composition, and artistic exposition of human thought, with the distant and pros- pective hope, that they would one day equal, perhaps goethe's goetz. 107 surpass him iD dramatic achievements. Through the instru- mentality of the poet Herder, Goethe was enabled to make the acquaintance of a family, one member of which entered largely into his poetical impersonations. We are referring to Brion, the amiable Christian minister, who, with his family, lived in the village of Sesenheim, near Strasburg. Of the eldest of Brion's daughters, Friederike,* Goethe soon felt himself deeply enamoured: which ended, as these things almost invariably do end, in a mutual and deep attachment. We have our poet's own word for it, that the brightest and happiest days of his whole life were passed here. It was in this sweet retreat that his poetical mind and temperament found the precise nutriment of which they stood so greatly in need. And here, accord- ingly, it was that the first fragment of his " Faust" was composed. "Goetz von Berlichingen " came out in 1773, and the sensation it created quite exceeds all our powers of descrip- tion. The youthful poet shone in this work with all that vigour and freshness of genius for which he was remark- able, while he realized his own ideas, and worked out the main design of the drama, in a style at once bold and masterly. In " Goetz von Berlichingen" his sentiments of political freedom found unlimited scope ; sentiments which began, about this time, to develope themselves in Germany. We find an exceeding healthiness of tone pervading this drama, which leaves nothing to be desired ; while Goethe has very lucidly embodied the historical facts in his poetry. I Goetz " is quite a standard production, in which a genuine chivalry manifests itself, while it is garnished and recommended by all those draperies and quaint costumes, * Freieisen (J. C.) die beiden Friederiken in Sesenheim, 1838.— Pfeiffer, Goethes Friderike, 1812.— Nake (A.F.) Wallfahrt nach Sesenheim herausgb. von Varnhagen von Ense, 1840. 108 goethe's clavigo. that so eminently denote the olden time. The characters are highly finished in their outline, and more particularly in their colouring and execution : every thing is presented in the pure German costume and nationality. "Clavigo," a tragedy, followed in the ensuing year, 1774. This youthful labour of our great poet had, the instant it came out, a long and successful run at all the theatres in Germany. It was found to be homely and national; and much as has been attempted since, much as the arbi- trium popularis aura has been, subsequently, trained off into other channels, "Clavigo" has still succeeded in re- taining possession of the stage; and though its novelty may have died away, its innate charm has in nowise abated. A work turning, as this tragedy does, upon some of the most obvious incidents of every-day life, will, infal- libly, make its meaning and its moral so clearly and largely known, as to be strongly relished and understood by all. " Clavigo " awakens, merely from the simple and homely nature of the materials of which its plot is com- posed, a popular, yet extreme interest. The piece works upon the feelings, it agitates the inmost soul, and it aston- ishes, to use Tieck's own words, " durch die tiefen Ge- heimnisse." " Clavigo " contains many beauties, and the dialogue is warm and energetic. Another of Goethe's works also belongs to this period, that was, indeed, received with greater favour, on its first appearance, than all his other productions put together. We are alluding to the novel of " Werther's Leiden," which came out in 1774. Our poet had left Sesenheim with feel- ings of deep regret, had spent some time, first in Frankfort, afterwards in Darmstadt, and had then made the best of his way to the town of Wetzlar. It was here that those tragical events partly took place, which Goethe has commemorated in " Werther." Nay, Goethe himself had been placed in a situation nearly similar (and in the very town too), and had been sub- goethe's wekthee. 109 jected to a kindred ordeal : " Ich weiss recht gut, was es mich fur Entschliisse und Anstrengungen kostete, damals | den Wellen des Todes zu entkommen," writes Goethe to Zelter, in allusion to " Werther." The composition of the : " Sorrows " afforded him an opportunity of relieving his | oppressed breast. Jerusalem, a friend of Goethe's (the real " Werther), was the unfortunate young man who, it is well known, killed ; himself in consequence of an ill-fated attachment. Goethe : forthwith sat down and wrote this novel in a poetical and • enthusiastic spirt, and with all that con amove and Jiing- \ lingsglut that was natural to his temperament and to his time of life. This enchanting, this magical vein of language, so abundant in " Werther's Leiden," in that age, could be met | with in no other poet whatever. The sensation created by the publication of this romance was great ; every youth felt I himself enraptured by it, and coveted such an end as Werther has in the story. Yet, all this was nothing more than mere blind enthusiasm, unequal to the task of fathom- ing the depth of this splendid composition, — a chef-d'ceuvre in every point of view that it is possible to regard it. Merely to instance one particular of the work, we should say, that the descriptions of natural scenery alone are worthy of the deepest study, from any one who is alive to : these elegancies, and is qualified, by taste and education, to act as a judge in the case. This very novel of " Wer- ther's Leiden," moreover, was the agent in bringing about a specific revolution in the world of letters. The leading idea of the story was plagiarized and warmly espoused on all sides. A thousand hands produced romances, written, palpably, upon the model of " Werther"; and it was not lung before there arose a formidable regiment of Wertherian imitations. 110 goethe's theatre. Second Period. — 1775-1832. With our poet's arrival in the city of Weimar, whither h had removed on the 1st of November 1775, upon the invi tation of the grand-duke Charles Augustus of Saxe- Weimar, we open a new section in his history and works Shortly after his domestication here, he was nominated b his noble friend and patron to the post of " Geheimer Legations-Rath." In this same year (1775) appeared : — " Erwin und Elmire," a romantic opera. The subjec was suggested by the ballad worked into Oliver Goldsmith' "Vicar of Wakefield." The tragedy of " Stella," in which a burst of genia and impassioned feelings, and a southern glow stream upon the delighted ear— was first given to the wor-ld i 1776. To these we ought to add " Die Geschwister," drama, moulded in a tenderness and cast of thought intrin sically German, and which was the next candidate fo public favour. The operatic piece " Claudine von Vill Bella," also came out at this time. In this opera, as i " Erwin unci Elmire," we admire the nicely accurate de lineation, as well as the successful dramatic conduct anc execution of the whole work. Meanwhile Goethe had taken a deep interest in the for tunes and success of the Weimar theatre, whose manage ment he also eventually superintended in persou, and sue ceeded in establishing a kind of national theatre in thi congenial little city ; his own leading plays being performed while the fashionable pieces of Kotzebue and Iffland were often produced upon the same stage. But shortly after the accession of the young duke to the government of the principality (in 1779), our poet was raised to the dignity of " wirklicher Geheimrath," and on the 11th of June 1782, he was ennobled. The piece entitled " Der Triumph der Empfindsamkeit" goethe's theatbe. Ill is a very spirited satire upon Goethe's imitators, rising, as it ioes, into the wit and fantastic imagery of the Greek comic poet Aristophanes. But Goethe himself figures here as a refined Aristophanes, being in noble society and at court. This production appeared in the year 1777. The cha- racter given it by its author was that of being " eine draraa- tische Grille," from the reason that it contains allusions to different circumstances and events that had actually taken place at W eimar. This piece was quickly succeeded by " Die Vogel," an imitation at once witty and ingenious, of the well-known " birds" of the great Athenian poet already referred to. Neither ought we to pass over without mention here, the charming idyllic melodrama called " Jery und Bately," a genuine and eminently attractive portraiture of natural scenes and characters, with a superstratum of Swiss manners, and written in the form and spirit of the best French operettas. The dramatic representation of this piece is uncommonly glib and smooth. In 1786 our poet first visited that land of love and song, Italy ; such a trip having been, from his youth up, the sub- ject of his most ardent aspirations. The inchoate drama of " Iphigenie auf Tauris''* was Goethe's constant companion upon this tour, its composition serving to pleasantly occupy his sojourn in this delicious clime ; nor was it until the 10th of January, in the following year, that the author could prevail upon himself to part with this literary child, at which date we find that " Iphigenie" was forwarded to Weimar. The critical inquirer into the merits of this beautiful play will not be slow in perceiving, that it has derived nothing from the archives of a classic antiquity, save the costume and draperies proper to its characters. However much it may be considered, as respects sub- limity and grasp of thought, to emulate, in a general * Pudor, liber Goethes Iphigenie ; ein sesthetisch-litera- rischer Versuch, 1842. 112 goethe's iphigenia. ece way, some of the very highest dramatic efforts of Gre or Rome, we are sure, nevertheless, that, in all essential points, it ought still to be accepted as truly, originally, and intrinsically Goethe's own. The style of the versification is altogether modern : nay more, there are evolved in it, casts of feeling, modes of expression, and even whole speeches, which must have been quite alien things to any ancient writer. Possibly a tinge of the pristine classic spirit will be found to pervade the whole of this creation. Following our chain of dates, we find that it was not long after the production of " Iphigenie" that our poet con- ceived a work, whose tendency was entirely new. The clear cerulean of the southern sky, together with the bland influences of its entrancing atmosphere, sufficed to enkindle in his soul fresh and very powerful poetical yearnings, and in order that he might leave the world some copy of the sweet scenes amidst which he moved, and of the exhilarat- ing air he breathed, as well as of their joint effect upon his fancy, he chose the subject of " Torquatto Tasso,"* a drama which may justly be numbered among the noblest of Goethe's labours. Throughout the whole of this work our author has certainly wrought up the art of poetry to the highest possible degree of finish, he having with much sim- plicity, solidity, and chastened elegance of style, accom- plished the grand problem of representing poetry in action. Upon Goethe's return from Italy, he contracted a bond of the closest intimacy and friendship with Schiller. Some idea of the degree of pleasing influence exercised by the latter over the former, may be gathered from Goethe's own words ; he characterizes the time subsequent to his enter- ing upon a closer intercourse with the exalted bard, as " einen neuen Friihling" in his life. The next perform- ance that comes before us is " Egmont," published in 1787, — an historico-romantic tragedy, containing some * F. Lewitz Ueber Goethe's Torquatto Tasso, 1839. goethe's egmont. 113 masterly delineations of human character. The sketch, for instance, of Count Egroont's sweetheart " Clarchen," Schiller himself acknowledges, in his review of this play, to be a thing of almost an incomparable deliciousness and tenderness. The idea of Egmont himself is manifestly nothing but an incarnation of liberty, which, however over-ridden and beaten down, will always be sure to find itself a vent. Costly sacrifices may be made, but the soul of freedom is still the latent persuasive, and animating principle in the body of despotism ; — a point developed in Egmont with all the sublimities incident to the tragic muse. Mundt makes, in his " German Literature," the following observations relative to the kind of diction em- ployed in Egmont : " In the tragedy of ' Egmont,' " says he, " as also in the drama of ' Goetz von Berlichingen,' the ' volksthiimlichen Laute' and legitimate powers of the German language are exhibited with the freedom proper to genius, and in these productions we have a sample of the energetic style of writing, accoutered with all the primitive expressions distinctive of the German nation." Now, if we run a parallel between " Egmont" and " Goetz von Ber- lichingen," we find an approximation — not, perhaps, in the poetry, but in what might be called " the morality of po- lities'—to a greater calmness, and amenity of style. In the year 1799 Goethe paid another visit to Italy, and when he returned to Weimar, he brought with him a bundle of epigrams, which were composed at Venice. When Goethe was reinstated in his old quarters at Weimar, he found, through the medium of the dramatic works of Schiller, that the emulation of an era of great literary ge- nius was still rising into credit ; and, possibly this circum- stance might have served, as the leading cause in the production of the material, that was to go to the con- struction of his wonderful work — " Faust." i 114 goethe's faust. faust. This work, as we have before hinted, was begun in 1 769, and in fact, a portion of it came out during our poet's residence in the city of Strasburg, although it was not brought into complete form until this present point in its author's history. " Faust" is a composition of infinite grasp and of nearly unfathomable depth ; its design may be taken to be an en- deavour to embody the genius-life of every individual who can show any pretensions to intellectuality, intelligence, and education ; abounding, as it does, with passages of the profoundest wisdom and most exquisite beauty. The numerous peculiarities to be met with in " Faust," we are restrained, by the necessity of brevity, from enlarging upon as we could desire ; nevertheless, it will be well to dwell for a few moments upon what is, beyond all controversy, the masterpiece of the German national literature, the crown and perfection of all its labours. Avoiding, therefore, any detailed exposition of the genius-conception of this remark- able tragedy, we shall content ourselves with giving an outline of the chief points wherein, in our opinion, the greatness of this work consists. In the first place, then, Goethe's " Faust" is a highly difficult and abstruse work ; neither is it doing at all justice to it, to take it up and read it in the same spirit in which we should peruse any other poem or book whatsoever. Faust courts the study, consideration, and regard of such persons as are more particularly desirous of arriving at a probable estimate of its author's delicate tissue of thought and feeling, and of mastering, at the same time, the character of its philosophy. A well -known German writer observes : — " The tragedy of * Faust ' is, in strict truth, not less comprehensive than the Bible itself. It contains heaven and earth, man, and his entire development." Now, as this " Faust " is a work so pregnant with meaning and significance, it follows, in goethe's faust. 115 clear logical sequence, that it offers much ground for serious and deep meditation and reflection. Every body that has ever read it, has been led, almost insensibly, to study it for himself, and to interpret its contents and meaning in har- mony with his own peculiar idiosyncrasy and the current of his personal ideas. Every one may, we dare say, be able to appreciate the poetry of " Faust," and find delight in its beauty, yet, if he be not first made aware of the principal divisions of the work, if he be not previously in possession of the particular personages and events described in it, and which the poet had expressly in his eye while writing it,— if, we say, he apply not these matters, or a portion of them at least, to his own understanding, he will only enjoy one half of the charm and loveliness of its verse. "Faust" being a work of such very great erudition and research, as actually to stand in need of a key, or in- terpretation of those peculiar and abstruse notions that pre- vailed in its author's mind during its composition, it has always (as indeed we might expect) had the advantage of being seconded and illustrated by a cloud of commen- tators. These gentry have exerted their utmost ability to unravel to the world the inner meaning of this chef-d'ceuvre ; a number of writers having volunteered various opinions respecting it, to say nothing of the multitude of desultory observations which have been thrown off by authors not professedly concerned in its exposition. Such being the intricacies with which this tragedy is beset, such being the vastness of its meaning, and the all- grasping comprehensiveness of the intelligential problems, that are enunciated in its mystic pages, it has been thought proper to submit the work to the ordeal of a course of lectures, compassing the subject in the general and also in its details, and these have been delivered in several of the German universities. Professor Hotho has lectured upon " Faust" in Berlin. 116 goethe's faust. Professor Hinrichs has done the same at the university of Halle ; while Professor Vischer also has read papers on it in Tubingen. There is one circumstance in particular that may be pre- dicated of the " Faust," and is always to be borne in mind while we read it, viz., that Goethe has incorporated in it the entire experience of his early days, and all his waking and poetical dreams, his experience of the ruling passion — love, and the sum-total of his worldly knowledge. Goethe will be found to have culled indifferently and with equal force and freedom, topics, whether of the past or present time, and to have interwoven divers and variform matters with the story of this great legendary tragedy, according as the occasion, or his own humour prompted them. And in these points lies the secret of " Faust" being so hard to be understood. Herein lurks the reason why it behoves us, in the first instance, to place before us the events of Goethe's youthful days, his first love and early sorrows ; next, his contemporaries, with the various passages in his own lite- rary epoch. These, and many other important preliminary questions, should be settled completely. Moreover, he who would read the " Faust" so as to understand what he reads, must needs be gifted with a capacity for philosophic thought and contemplation, or he will scarcely be able to appreciate the unique beauties that lurk within the laby- rinthine recesses of this wonderful tragedy. Without these helps and data, the " Faust" is, after all, little better than " a sealed book/' But upon removing the veil from the surface of " Faust," and entering its inner life, upon domesticating ourselves therein, and moving and breathing in its style and language, we discover an almost priceless world; yes, and a vein of poetry to boot, whose loveliness sublimes us into enchantment. " Faust" is as boundless as thought, life, love, jealousy, remorse, despair, punishment, and grace. There is in it a mine of ideas and figures, tales and legends, inci- GOETHE'S FAUST. 117 dents and phenomena, entrancing our heart of hearts. Its characters are few, but yet how powerfully and elaborately are they all designed and finished. Take, in proof of this, the leading personage of the whole piece — take Faust himself. Faust is the masterpiece of all Goethe's conceptions ; the qualities included in the construction of this character being nothing else but the thoughts natural to every son of genius. Here, indeed, we behold a reflection of Goethe's private opinions and personal trials and adventures ; here is the ordeal wherefrom he so often returned more ill at ease and disheartened than ever; and we also clearly recognize the idea that forms the groundwork of the philo- sophy of the whole work, viz., that man, in his intellectual inquiries, can but reach to a certain point, where, by the decree of the Almighty himself, he must inevitably stop. In Mephistopheles, Goethe has given us a vigorous incarnation of the Principle of Evil. It was evidently not his intention to make this character full and complete in all his parts, but rather to give him a mysterious and flitting manner of introduction upon the scene. Goethe, as it strikes us, only introduces Mephistopheles into the " Faust," in order that he may have a vehicle at hand, wherein to convey the doctrine of the evil, natural and moral — of the temptations, mental and sensual — that more or less beset eveiy member of the great human family. Under this view of the matter, then, every one of us has his own Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles is the familiar of all the children of men ; — for in all of us there is a certain opposition and warring between good and evil ten- dencies, — and it is every man's bounden duty to do all in his power to suppress the latter. Botticher, in his " Literarische Zustande," goes so far as to say, that Goethe had a model for his Mephistopheles in one of his own personal friends, named Merk. Bot- ticher proceeds to state, that this Merk was no better than 118 goethe's faust. an utter infidel in the virtue of woman, and that he only too ready to throw the apple of discord into any mestic circles where he found matrimonial happiness, are bound, however, in justice to Merk, to add, that last circumstance has been contradicted by many Germa writers of credit.* If we further bestow a glance upon the delightful little conception of " Gretchen," who that has once seen and entered into it can ever forget it? — who does not con- tinually feel the vibration of the chord of his own soul, thrilling in unison with that heart-born little song of hers — Meine Rub' ist hin," &c. Who will not admit the inten- sity of feeling, suggested to the mind by her tragico-poetic end ? The delicate, finely-strung, and angel-born character- istics and capabilities of the pure female nature, are por- trayed in the impersonation of " Gretchen" with all Goethe's resources of poetical power. Even in the delineation of the sad fate that attends her in the catastrophe that closes the first portion of the tragedy, " the modesty of nature " has not been " o'erstepped," but, on the contrary, has been observed (so to speak) to the very letter. The reader has only to fancy that he has outstretched before him : " In the heaven, that clear obscure, So softly dark, and darkly pure, Which follows the decline of day, As twilight melts beneath the moon away :" so suggestive, to the human spirit, of the duty of medita- tion—and in this calm, evening picture, he will straightway behold an approximating type of this poor child of nature. The serene day -hues, the calm sunlight of existence, have waned upon her sight ; she looks melancholy and thought- * Varnhagen von Ense's Denkwiirdigkeiten, vol. vi. " Merk, Mephisto, Wiesel." GOETHE S FAUST. 11!) ful, complains of the hardness of her lot, and breaks out into tears. There is such an air of reality and simplicity about her, that our sympathies are engaged in spite of our- selves. But even while condoling with her with all our hearts, it becomes us to bear in mind the poet himself who has created her, and cheerfully to award him the " Lor- beerkranz" so justly his due. We are desirous, at this period of our work, to point out to the reader's attention several of the most prominent and excellent passages to be found in " Faust," in the hope that he may thereby be induced to read them over with more care and attention than he would otherwise have done, and to use, at the same time, his best endeavours towards possessing himself of their wondrous and deeply-seated meaning. Now, foremost among these must be ranked — DIE ZUEIGNUNG. This is a most wonderful outburst of the internal feelings of our poet ; all the four stanzas being truly enchanting. They forcibly discover to us the exact personal relation of the poet to his poem. Over the expansive sea of his thoughts the weather grows lowering and dark, — the true and genuine precursor of an intellectual tempest. Then does it flash, like a lightning-bolt, through his soul ; the blooming, buoyant, and rapturous hours of his youth being reflected in all their original plenitude of joy and fas- cination. Every event passes before his mind's eye in a mysterious combination : — " Gleich einer alten halbverklungenen Sage, Kommt erste Lieb' und Freundschaft mit herauf," etc. And, presently afterwards, our creative poet falls into a melancholy and repining vein : — " Sie horen nicht die folgenden Gesange, Die Seelen, denen ich die ersten sang," etc. Then follows the 120 goethe's faust. VORSPIEL AUF DEM THEATER, Another veiy important and most significant feature of the tragedy, as far, we mean, as it can be taken to be a reve lation of its author's own peculiar views upon the topics o which it treats. This entire scene is, in point of fact, very much of the nature of a self-discussion, of an exposition o the inward militancy, jarring 1 , and counteraction, that wa perpetually going on in Goethe's mind between his mate rial and his spiritual notions. He will be found to have in no wise disregarded the advice of one of the three speakers in the rehearsal, — " Lass Phantasie, mit alien ihren Choren, Vernunft, Verstand, Empfindung, Leidenschaft, Doch, merkt euch wohl! nicht ohne Narrheit horen." only he has contrived to couch a meaning both powerfu and deep, in amusing and, at first sight, mystical terms We should even be warranted in asserting, that in thi prologue Goethe lets the public into the secret of his reason for using the Gothic style in the work, as well as for em ploying a grotesque and ludicrous typification of truths an( propositions, which are, in themselves, eminently solemn momentous, and sublime. This " Vorspiel auf dem Thea ter" is, indeed, the only place, in the whole circle o Goethe's writings, wherein he foreshadows the way in which he intends to work out his tragedy. PROLOG IM HIMMEL. Falk, in his " Goethe im personlichen Umgange," very justly observes : " This prologue is, to a certain extent, the grand introductory overture to the tragedy itself. Now we are all of us aware, that in the preliminary music to any theatrical piece, the whole soul and spirit of the forth coming performance ought to be, as it were, magically in dicated and enforced. It is the business of a musica composer to interest, beforehand, our feelings and affections GOETHE S FAUST. 121 in favour of the critical periods of the play. This, we submit, is the case in the overtures to ' Don Juan,' 'Der Zauberflote,' and in other great works."* What is effected in the one case in musical notes, is in the " Prolog im Himmel " symphonized verbally. An attentive reader will, moreover, not fail to discover much analogy between this and the preceding prologue, particularly between Mr. Merryman and Mephisto. We feel almost disposed to call this personage " die lustige Person in metaphysischer Potenz." There is little doubt of its being founded on the book of Job, and the whole mean- ing of the prologue calls to our mind the German School of Rational Theology. A prologue in heaven ought to be written in the tongue of angels ; the language of the hea- venly hosts breathes, therefore, the calm enthusiasm of per- fect beings, as difficult to be understood as a dithyrambe or an ode, the language of a transient human enthusiasm. Goethe has made it equally elaborate. Mephisto's lan- guage forms a perfect contrast to it, as the blunt wit of the merryman to the glowing imagination of the poet; his sceptical wit, is, perhaps, not quite foreign to the human soul.f The opening of the tragedy, the soliloquy of Faust, in the high-vaulted, narrow, Gothic chamber, the tremendous intercourse with the Spirit of the flame, and the awful, mysterious enunciations of that Being, the chorus of angels, of women, and of Christian disciples, — are among the grandest efforts of the whole work, and well merit the study of the reader. * Our readers scarcely need reminding of Fiirst Radze- vil's splendid music to this tragedy, and of Beethoven's, Reichardt's and Zelter's compositions to " Meine Ruh' ist hin." f Dr. Koller's Faust Papers. 122 goethe's faust. VOR DEM THOR Is an exceedingly faithful representation of a " Sunday in Germany," more particularly of the homely manners of merry Thuringen. At these rejoicings, it will be observed, Faust, with his " famulus " Wagner, always has some part to fulfil. How all Faust's speeches tell in this scene, and how wondrously significant do they sound! And, let it be observed, how Faust eventually adorns the stage (hitherto thronged with busy, bustling human figures only) with all the calming beauties and brilliant hues peculiar to landscape scenery ! And, what is more, the poet alludes, undoubtedly, to his own birth-place ; for, when walking over the bridge from Frankfort to Sachsenhausen, on 1 Sunday, and crossing the beautiful fields near the river Mayn, we cannot fail to meet with much the same sort of happy people, repairing to the very same places of recrea- tion, as the Jagerhaus, Miihle, Burgdorf, &c. The en- nobling description of " Easter Day " — a part so genuinely great in point of poetry — would seem to be intended as the crowning-stroke to the perfection and complete- ness of the whole idea, and to realize the truth of the old adage, finis coronal opus. This is, in fact, a truly grand oration, quite a masterpiece in its way, and suffi- ciently attests, even if there were not a multitude of other proofs, what a close observer, and sincere lover of nature Goethe really was. Shortly after Faust's conversation with his " famulus " Wagner, the " poodle-dog " enters the scene. The point of time selected for its introduction, is just when the pair are immersed in deep and solemn converse, on that lonely and ill-omened spot they 'had chosen for their private medita- tions. Goethe, according to Falk, has expressed much more in and by this said " Pudel " than the mere " Volks- buch " would lead us to imagine ; which only observes that " Evil approaches us in an obedient and devoted manner." No reasonable doubt can exist in the mind of any one, GOETHE^ FAUST. 123 who is competent to form an opinion on the subject, that Goethe adopted for his ground-work here, certain psycho- logical notions ; and we refer our readers to the " Garten- gesprach," which Falk himself held with Goethe, — an account of which will be found in Falk's book. STUDIBZIMMfiB. This scene, with its every line of deep pregnant meaning, we earnestly commend to the most elaborate scrutiny and attention of our readers. That sublimely-original " Cho- rus of Spirits," and that famous chant, in the finest and most condensed style of poetry, — the queen of beautiful songs, and the lay of the unseen ministrants, com- mencing : — " Schwindet, ihr dunkeln Wolbungen droben!" &c. are two points of unrivalled excellence. AUEKBACH'S KELLER IN LEIPZIG. Goethe takes, in this scene, the opportunity of intro- ducing us to the celebrated old vintry of that name, which is still in existence, and which can boast of not inconsi- derable trade even now. He describes to us some of the jokes which were often played off there in an evening, in the circles of boon-companionship. Botticher remarks, that there is an allusion in this scene to a matter of fact, — at least, that the outline is preserved of an adventure, in which Goethe and Merk were personally concerned in this said " Auerbach's Keller." The singular little ditty, called the " Flea-song," put into the mouth of Mephistopheles, and beginning, — " Es war einmal ein Konig, Der hatt' einen grossen Floh," &c. relates to this circumstance also. 124 goethe's faust. This entire representation belongs to the legendary story which clings ronnd the personal history of " Faust," and therefore, as Goethe has followed these chronologies in many other particulars, he has likewise remembered them with propriety and advantage in the instance before us. DIE HEXENKUCHE. A most curious and outre conception of our author. It would appear to be, in pail, a mere necromantic story, in part a politico-poetical " Polterkammer." The " Hexen- kiiche " is, in reality, a fairy tale, only that all the fairies appear in the form of demons ; wonderfully strange inci- dents come to pass, which forcibly arrest the imagination, and entertain us with agreeable surprise. There is pre- sented to us here such a hurlyburly, such a wizard's-caul- dron of wild phenomena, that the more we examine and penetrate them, the more rich intellectualities we discover. Who, for example, shall take upon himself to expound, with certainty, what it is that the " Meerkatzen " and the " Hexen " say ? We might almost imagine that Goethe is now acting upon the advice proffered by Mr. Merryman to the poet, in the introductory Prologue for the " Theatre," viz. : " In bunten Bildern wenig Klarheit, Viel Irrthum und ein Fiinkchen Wahrheit, So ward der beste Trank gebraut, Der alle Welt erquickt und auferbaut," — and is following this recommendation, not merely in sound, but also in its strict sense and letter. The conversation of the bewildered apes, who figure so prominently in this scene, has, confessedly, very much of a political air and tendency. We can almost persuade ourselves that these male and female monkeys are well versed in the lessons of history, and know all the dethrone- ments and assassinations of kings and emperors that goethe's faust. 125 have ever occurred, from the dawn of the first war to the conclusion of the last. The "Hexen Einmal-Eins " is another very singular and striking composition. We feel confident that it must mean something extraordinary ; and happily Goethe has left us a Commentary on it ; he pronounces it as — " Unsinn, den man dem schlichten Menschenverstande anzueignen gedenkt ! STRASSE. In this scene Goethe withdraws his reader from the weird haunts of the demon-apes and witches, and trans- ports him once again into the active and bustling regions of " this breathing world." Now it is that we behold, for the first time, Margaret, that sweet and lovely delinea- tion. We must needs pause a moment or two here, in order that we may recur to certain particulars in Goethe's own life; which, indeed, is absolutely necessary to the thorough understanding and full enjoyment of the magni- ficent scenes of the " Faust" now about to follow. We mentioned, in another part of this article, that, in the small village of Sesenheim, near Strasburg, our poet got himself introduced to the family of Brion. In " Wilhelm Meister" Goethe has made known to all the world the many happy hours he spent at this period of his life ; but it is in " Faust " that he has given us scenes (short as they, no doubt, are) of real moments of actual pleasure. To Friedericke Brion the poet addressed very many of his more splendid songs : seated by her side, he believed himself the tenant of quite a new earth, overarched by new heavens. It is, then, Friedericke that our poet had in his mind's eye, while devising those lovely incarnations of humanity, that move and breathe in this part of " Faust." What are they, but expressions of her charms, echoes of her celesti- ally-sweet converse, and reflections of her innocent man- 126 goethe's faust. ners ? What are they, in short, but a realization of her very self? We can readily imagine, while Goethe was in com- pany with Friedericke, how sweetly and harmoniously the echoes of her voice would fall on his ear in the calm and gentle blush of evening. The ballad of " Der Konig im Thule " is known to have been composed by Goethe at a very early age. and we could almost dispose ourselves to believe that it had actually been sung by herself in the aforesaid pleasant little village of Sesenheim, and that she was the fair improvisatrice of its music. The sentiments of the German maid, her toying with the star- flower, and that incomparably sweet — that lofty-minded song : " Meine Ruh' ist hin, Mein Herz ist schwer," &c. is an exquisite morceau, whose power of pleasing is not to be estimated by any words of prose. A conversation takes place in " Marthens Garten," be- tween Faust and Margaret, upon religion ; and here again we recognize Friedericke Brion, in the complete "form and pressure " of her inner life, and in all the retinue of her intellectual graces. We cannot pass this scene without quoting a few lines from a very pleasing little brochure, lately published by Freimund Pfeiffer, entitled " Goethe's Friedericke," which directly refer to this very conference :— " So oft ich in mein Allerheiligstes gehe und mir von der grossen Harfe, die der Dichter Faust getauft hat, die brau- senden und die zartenTone entgegenklingen, auswelchen, die dustersten und die allersiissesten, die widerwartigsten und die bezauberndsten Gefuhle, die Seele durchwallen, da sagt mir in den lieblichsten Momenten eine Stimme : das war Friederike ! " Dies na'iv, fromme zartliche Herz, Margarethe und ihr himmlisches Hingeben, sind Friederike. GOETHE'S FAUST. 127 " Friederikens Vater war Prediger, Goethe verbrachte in Sesenheim manchen lieben Sonntag und dass er auch zu Vater Brion in die Kirclie ging, versteht sich von selbst. An Friederikens Seite fand der Liebende eine etwas tro- ckene Predigt nicht zu lang. Wohl verstanden! unser Wolf- gang diente wahrend derselben dem Herm auf besondere Weise. Diesmal wiederholte er sich die Vorztige, die auf dem Spaziergange in heiliger Sonntagsfriihe das herrliche Madchen an seiner Seite entwickelt hatte. Wahrend Brion mit muthiger Beredsamkeit etwa das Evangelium von der Zerstorung Jerusalems oder von dem verlornen Schaf seiner Gemeinde explicirte, umfluthete seiner Kinder Herzen, das hohe Lied der Liebe. Da schaute der junge Faust ihr ' Aug" 1 in Auge' und war seelig von der Him- melsglut, die menn's Gliick ! Herz ! Liebe ! Gott ! kein Name umkorpern kaun." Such is Pfeiffer's version of the matter ; and this splendid passage, the reader will admit, acts as an expositor to the colloquy in question. AM BEUNNEN. A more natural dialogue, carried on between two girls, in all the intimacy of communion, proper to persons of the same sex, can hardly be imagined, than the one now before us, held by " Margarete " and "Lieschen," in this scene "at the well." How touchingly, yet pleasingly, does Margaret confess, as she wends her way homeward : " Wie konnt ich sonst so tapfer schmahlen, Wenn that ein armes Magdlein fehlen!" She is now conscience- stricken with the sin she has her- self committed, and w r e admire her even in the midst of her remorse. She passes sentence on her own conduct : " Doch — alles was dazu mich trieb, Gott ! war so gut! ach war so lieb!" 128 goetiie's faust. Z WINGER. Having now been put in possession of Margaret's own admission of having turned from the paths of virtue, the next points exhibited are the consequent sorrow and re- morse of the unfortunate fair one. And how very feelingly is all this done ! " Wer fiihlet, Wie wiihlet Der Schmerz mir im Gebein ? Was mein armes Herz bier banget, Was es zittert, was verlanget, Weisst nur du, nur du allein I" In such a tenour flow the complainings of poor Gretchen ! Mark the exquisite tenderness of the stanza that follows : " Wie weh, wie weh, wie wehe Wird mir im Busen bier ! Ich bin, ach kaum alleine, Ich wein', ich wein', ich weine, Das Herz zerbricbt in mir." Margaret is so gentle, she gains upon our sympathies in such a degree, expressing at the same time her thoughts so tenderly, and disclosing her inmost feelings so com- pletely to our view, that we cannot help entering into all her afflictions. WALPUHGISXACHT. Our poet sets before us, in this scene, a national tradition, characteristic of the Germans as a people, and moreover of a very ancient standing. A legend is current, that the highest peak of the Blocksberg, or Brocken, becomes, once in every year, upon each May-day night, the trysting place of a vast horde of witches, who have assembled there, from time immemorial, for the celebration of their goethe's faust. 129 diabolical rites and orgies. Now this " May- day night" has been devoted to the service of the Saxon female saint " Walpurgia," inasmuch as she was the chosen instrument of heaven in the conversion of the primitive Germans to Christianity ; this evangelism occasioning, as one immediate but indirect consequence, the general banishment and ex- orcism of all demonology and witchcraft, necromancers and magicians, from the chambers of the human heart. The whole of this tradition is exceedingly ancient ; yet the ill-educated classes of Germany still adhere to the belief, that the witch-feast on the Blocksberg is no fable. It is singular that we should have at the present day any thing extant of the feelings, tales and legends, characte- ristic of " Walpurgisnacht ;" yet this custom, with many others of a kindred sort, will infallibly survive as long as the Germans exist as a separate people. Enter any of the principal towns of Northern Germany upon " May- • Day Night," or, indeed, any other part of the nation, and you will be sure to see crowds of boys riding about the . streets on brooms, with no little laughter and noise, — a forcible remembrancer of this superstitious season of the year. Goethe has here seized a popular characteristic German tradition, to reproduce it again in the poem of " Faust.' On the one hand, he has favoured us with a curious speci- men of some of those notions that are uppermost in the national mind ; whilst, on the other, he has, in the form of a legend, and with a vigour and graphic power of style which will last fresh for thousands of years to come, fortu- nately secured the same a place in the chef-d'oeuvre of German literature. It is, in fact, no exaggeration to say, that Goethe, by giving us the " Walpurgisnacht " has made a legendary superstition immortal, and rendered it quite incapable of becoming obsolete. 130 goethe's faust. WALPTJRG 1 SX ACHTSTB A DM. This " Intermezzo " consists of a number of little sati verses, which refer more particularly to the literary, po tical, philosophical, and even to Goethe's own perso circumstances of the day. They have been parti explained ; but even then they offer very little that is sa factory or generally interesting. To be able to fully co prehend them all, would require a perfect acquaintance with the entire of Goethe's life, as well as with the relative position which he bore to literature and art. But it so happens, that most of the persons depicted here are almost forgotten, and their names and works are scarcely ever mentioned now in the history of letters. The " Wal- purgisnachtstraum," in short, was written for a particular day, and could only be thoroughly appreciated and under- stood at the time it came out ; but we are of opinion that a complete interpretation of it (supposing such a thing possible) would now scarcely possess any interest whatever. DER KERKER. The concluding portion of the " Faust" is admitted, by every one, to be of the most beautiful and inspired order of poetry. The madness of poor Margaret is both transcendantly grand and awfully real ; it is the insanity peculiar in its characteristics to one in her circumstances — to a girl who has deviated from the paths of rectitude and virtue. But yet, her pristine nobility of intellect is dis- cernible in every phrase she utters. Witness her speech : " Bin ich doch noch so jung ! so jung ! Und soil schon sterben !" &c. And then again that touching appeal : — " Ich bin nun ganz in deiner Macht, Lass mich nur erst das Kind noch tranken," &c. goethe's faust. 131 But the most remarkable passage in this part is the fol- lowing, abounding with so much intense and deeply-seated pathos : " Meine Mutter hab' ich umgebracht," &c. Perhaps surpassed in awful elegance by " Nein du must ubrig bleiben ! Ich will dir die Graber beschreiben," &c. This entire apostrophe embodies in it an absolute as well as a poetical truth ; it is a verity, even in respect of the true and strict significance of the words themselves ; an exhibition of frenzy, and an outburst of human feeling, such as only Shakspeare and Goethe were able to make effective in human language : " Tag! ja es wird Tag! der letzte Tag dringt herein ; Mein Hochzeittag sollt' es sein!" The last moments of Margaret are lucid and composed, and calculated to assuage the anguish that racked her bosom. The Voice from above calls out, in a tone of reconcilia- tion and forgiveness, "Sie 1ST gerettet!" The muse of Goethe, as evidenced in " Faust," is won- der-teeming and trumpet-tongued, every line of the poem being " worth its weight in gold." " Faust " is, and will ever be, the great standard book of the German people. In it they can behold the substance of their most compre- hensive wants and wishes. Their peculiar manifestations 132 GOETHE S FAUST. of practical life, — the idol that overshadows the altar their day-dreams, — their native and irrepressible energ — the singularities of their natural scenery, — their treasu of time-honoured fable and archives of mythic lore,— roll of their country's mythology, and their indigeno sweep of poetical thought and imagination, — these qu ties, are reflected from the weird pages of this inexhaus ble tragedy — this book of books, — this grand national pr duction, created by a master-spirit for the common bene of mankind.* Schelling, in his lectures " iiber die Methode des ak demischen Studiums," styles the Faust : " Einen ew frischen Quell der Begeisterung, der allein zureichend war, die Wissenchaft zu dieser Zeit zu verjungen und den Hauch eines neuen Lebens iiber sie zu verbreiten ; er hat alle, die in das Heiligthum der Natur eindringen wollen, aufgefordert, sich mit diesen Tonen einer hohern Welt zu nahren, und in friiher Jugend die Kraft in sich zu saugen, die wie in dichten Lichtstrahlen aus diesem eigenthum- lichsten Gedicht der Deutschen ausgeht und das Innerste der Welt bewegt." The second part of " Faust " was one of Goethe's last labours. It serves almost as the key to the first part ; and, although poetical and penetrating in its spirit, it still ranks * Cams, Briefe iiber Goethe's Faust, 1836.— Deycks (F.) Andeutungen iiber Sinn und Zusammenhang des 1 und 2ten Theils der Tragodie Faust, 1837.— Diintzer, Goethes Faust in seiner Einheit und Ganzheit dargestellt, 1836. — Enk, Briefe iiber Goethes Faust, 1837.— Falk, Goethe im personlicken Unigange. — Lucas (Dr.) Ueber den dichterischen Plan von Goethe's Faust.— Rauch, Vorlesungen iiber Goethe's Faust, 1832. — Schonborn (Dr. G.)Zur Verstandigung iiber Goethe's Faust, 1838.— Schubartb, Vorlesungen iiber Goethe's Faust, 1830.— Weisse (C. H.) Kritik und Erlaeuterungen des Faust, 1837. goethe's faust. 133 second to its former self, — to the same subject in its youth- ful days, — both in energy, and in its influence over the reader. We might naturally be led to expect that this would only be the continuation of the First Part, and would result in a calm and satisfactory denouement ; it does, however, no such thing. This second part of " Faust" is a work perse, where Faust and Mephistopheles are no longer the same characters. Goethe's " Faust " should have terminated with the development of the catas- trophe that completes the first portion of the tragedy ; after that, it might have been assumed that Faust is resigned to the merciful disposal of Divine grace, with- out that question being drawn into the process of the dra- matic action.* We have now brought to a conclusion our notices of the " Faust," presenting certain points in it to the reader's ; notice, rather as instigators to his further study of the work, than as any adequate explanation of their purport ; to his deeper perusal, therefore, we heartily and finally commend them. It cannot certainly be considered other than a very inte- •■ resting topic of enquiry, to endeavour to trace out the pre- cise effect which the French Revolution had upon the two leading poets of Germany, — viewed specially, we mean, in its tendency to educate individual character, and to throw into bold and striking relief the biases of intellectual genius. "The French Revolution," well observes an acute critic of the present day, Gervinus, " was inexplicable to the mind of Goethe, who, had never at any period taken a conspicuous share in the chances and changes of politi- cal life : but the philosophy of Kant was the means of diverting Schiller, for a time, from his poetical labours. Kant's metaphysical and popular system had no effect * Rotzcher, Der zweite Theil des Goethischen Faust. 1840. 134 goethe's theatre. whatever upon Goethe, who took little interest in any subject of speculative philosophy, — while political revo- lution just as little alarmed Schiller, for the reason that the studies in which he had been engaged, and the thoughts which had occupied his mind during the compo- sition of certain of his works, had already induced him to anticipate such manifestations. Ever since Goethe pro- duced his vigorous drama of " Goetz von Berlichingen," up to the time of his writing the tragedy of " Egmont," he had been gradually losing his taste for history and politics ; while, on the other hand, Schiller, from the date of the appearance of " Fiesco " to that of " Don Carlos," had nourished his predilection for both these studies. To Schiller, therefore, the outbreak of the French Revo- lution afforded a subject of congenial meditation, — while it served to confirm Goethe in all his ascetic views, and went far towards estranging him almost entirely from the concerns of public life. It is from this era that we must date the strictly grand Weimarine life of our poet. Goethe had, as we have said, undertaken the management of the theatre of this city; and being seconded by the exertions of Schiller and other leading poetical minds, he produced expressly for this stage the comedy of " Der Grosscopta" (1792), which, although fine and significant, betrays notwithstanding a deficiency of fire and energy; shortly afterwards, in 1793, appeared the " Biirgergeneral," a piece written in a truly Aristophanean vein of humour. Hitherto we have, it is true, only reviewed Goethe's dra- matic compositions, and this in a cursory manner ; — in " Faust," in " Goetz von Berlichingen," and in " Torquatto Tasso," we have found the poet unfolding a genius of the very highest order, — a genius masterly in all the walks, whether of Thalia or Melpomene : for the entire construc- tion, texture, and execution, is in each of these pieces a distinct effort. Moreover, Goethe evinces, in every pro- goethe's Hermann und Dorothea. 135 duction of his pen, a new and yet perfect phase of the literary talent ; and this versatility of composition, treat- ment, and style, is exactly the quality which so powerfully bespeaks our admiration. But if we now bestow a glance upon his lyrical and poetical labours, classical works of a still different kind meet our view. " Keinecke Fuchs " was a successful metamorphosis of the old-fashioned " Volksbuch,"and was given to the world in 1794. Our author, indeed, had not as yet tried his skill in epic poetry ; still, when he did give his attention to it, so marvellous was his power, that he fairly eclipsed every one else ; viz. in his " Hermann und Dorothea."* (1797.) Goethe's contemporaries, one and all, have cha- racterized this poem as " great in a Homeric sense" and the present generation is still further delighted with it. " Hermann und Dorothea " is a delicious and sublime poem, the counterpart of which, if we except Voss's " Louise," is nowhere to be exhibited throughout the whole circle of German literature. The Epic had stricken its roots deeply into the popular taste of the German people, and had become their favourite study. The plain mode of domestic life, natural to the middle classes of society, — the elevated descriptions and extreme agreeableness of the tendency and design of this celebrated poem,— are matters which could not fail to benefit and amuse every heart. " Hermann und Dorothea" is a per- fect master-piece of poetry in the hexameter form ; — heart-born, patriotic, popular, — a book full of the golden sayings of wisdom and virtue. Goethe was a comprehensive lyric writer ;f in his minor pieces, there is a youthful enthusiasm, or " Bluthenhauch," * Yxem, iiber Goethe's Hermann und Dorothea, 1836. — A. W. v. Schlegel, kritische Schriften, vol. i. ou ditto, 1828. + Kannegiesser (Dr. K.) Vortrage iiber eine Auswahl von Goethes lyrischen Gedichten, 1835, 136 GOETHE S GEDICHTE. and an eternal spring of poetry. But in ballad composition he is masterly and easy. To this class we must refer the fol- lowing, which are all very popular : " Der Sanger," " Das Veilchen," " Der Fischer," " Erlkonig," " Der Konig im Thule,'" " Bliimlein Wunderschon," " Hochzeitlied," " Der Todtentanz," " Der Zauberlehrling," " Die Braut von Corinth," &c. &c. Again, how significant and beautiful are the lays of the " West-ostlichen Divan."* Heine cleverly characterises them in his peculiar way, viz : — " Der Divan enthallt die Denk und Gefuhlsweise des Orients, in bliihenden Liedern und kernigen Spriichen, und das duftet und gliiht darin, wie ein Harem voll Odalisken. Manchmal ist dem Leser auch zu Muthe, als lage er behaglich ausgestreckt auf ein em persischen Teppich, und rauche aus einer lang- rohrigen Wasserpfeife, den gelben Taback von Turkestan, wahrend eine schwarze Sklavin ihm mit einem bunten Pfauenwedel Kiihlung zuweht und ein schoner Knabe ihm eine Schale mit achtem Mokka KafTe darreicht. Den berauschendsten Lebensgenuss hat hier Goethe in Verse gebracht, und diese sind so leicht, so glucklich, so hinge- haucht, so aetherisch als es nur immer moglieh war." Respecting the other branch of literary endeavour, namely prose composition, Goethe will be found to have wrought up that also to the same point of high excellence and elaborate finish. In proof of this we need only indi- cate his leading and consummate prose effort of " Wil- helm Meister's Lehr und Wanderjahre,"t (resp. 1794 and 1821). This romance (translated by Thomas CarlyleJ) is, after all, neither more nor less than a poetically conceived * TVurm (Ch.) Commentar zu Goethes west-ostlichem Divan, 1837. t Ft. Schlegel's TVerke, vol. 10: Charakteristik der Meis- terschen Lehrjahre v. Goethe. J Mr. Thomas Cartyle's distinctive purpose is, as it strikes GOETHE S WILHELM MEISTER. 137 paraphrase of the incidents and adventures of Goethe's own life, being- almost as redolent of poetry and truth, and as nervous and energetic as " Faust" itself. We find in I this work a succession of light and agreeable narratives ! offered to us in a richly-composite style, such, indeed, as — prior to the appearance of this effort — had never been found in the world of letters. " Wilhelm Meister," taken as a whole, is one of the most masterly and striking fictions that has ever proceeded from a German pen. The scheme, arrangement, and execution of the work are characteristic and peculiar. The individual sketches it contains are first-rate ; and surpass indeed, all other specimens of the same kind extant. And more ex- cellent still, is the spirit of profound reflection, the clearness and solidity of judgment, the genius-structured thoughts, and bold aphorisms which it contains. Those little poetical interweavings, for example, as : — " Kennst du das Land wo die Citronen bliihn," " Wer nie sein Brod mit Thranen asz," — are exquisitely beautiful compositions. The follow- ing is Zelter's opinion of " Wilhelm Meister:" — " ' Wilhelm Meister ist kein Roman, es ist die Welt, die klein-grosse und die gross-kleine Welt. Mich selber find' ich, meinen Trieb, meine Thorheit, und zwar ohne Anwendung und doch us, to enlarge the appreciation of the true genius of German literature, by exhibiting it arrayed in an English dress of apt and commensurate proportions. His translations always wear the aspect of importance demanded by the original, in order that they shall be rightly apprehended in this country. This gentleman, by his finely-written "Life of Schiller," (in itself perhaps a classical work) — by his sterling English version of Goethe's " Wilhelm Meister," a labour that has very properly earned him a considerable reputation, —and, still more, by his intimate friendship with Goethe himself, — is not only well known to all intelligent Germans, but is viewed by them in the light almost of a countryman. 138 goethe's cellim. angewanclt." Jean Paul makes mention of "Wilhelm Meis ter's Lehijahre," in his " Vorschule zur Aesthetik ;" he styl them " Romantisch episch," and observes : " Im Wilhel Meister ist dieser Lebens und Blumengeist (spiritus rect griechische Seelemnetrik, d. h. Mass und Wohllaut des bens durch die Vemunft." Furthermore, Goethe's romance, entitled " Die Wabl- verwandschaften"* (1809), is a perfect chef-d'ceuvre of German novel-writing ; it is, in short, a repository of intel- ligence and pure affections, finished off with a classical elegance and freshful energy of style. " Das Leben Benvenuto Cellinis" (1803). Into the inte- resting and fascinating details of " Benvenuto" we cannot enter at length here. The book is a remarkable produc- tion. Let us only glance at the peculiar style and manner in which Goethe has translated it from its native Italian. One circumstance worthy of note is the following : that in "Benvenuto Cellini," its great translator employs a most remarkable dialect, he having actually written this biogra- phy in Italianized-German. We find here all the promi- nent and distinctive characteristics, all the known and observable peculiarities of the old Italian original, repro- duced in a way that is most unusual and astonishing. It is not too much to assert, that the utterly complete spirit of the primitive Italian pervades and animates the pages of this wonderful specimen of prose translation. " Dichtung und Wahrheit," Goethe's autobiography, is one of the most sterling of his productions ; it is distin- guished by a lucid simplicity and naivete of description, which at once captivate the reader. " Die Reisebeschreibung von Italien" we may extol, the descriptions in it being as true and deep as his own private * Eotscher (Dr. H.) Die Wahlverwanclschaften in ihrer weltgeschichtlichen Bedeutung, ihreni sittlichen und kiinst- lichen Werthe nach entwickelt. 1839. GOETHE S REISEN AND KCXST. 139 reflections ; there is, moreover, a talismanic power in the beautiful and highly finished style in which this woik is written. Goethe, in addition to all his various and vast literary achievements, has also contributed a great deal to the king- dom of art. Not only has he developed in his works the fundamental principles of the " iEsthetik" in an imperish- able example, but he has also composed distinct treatises, and even works, of an inestimable value, in its recommen- dation and behalf. What, for instance, are " Winkelmann und sein Jahrhundert " (1806), " Ueber Kunst und Alter- thum "(1816), but evidences of our poet's deep attachment to this subject ? Then there is his " Farbenlehre," which, however defective it may be in certain points, is, nevertheless, a work Avherein we cannot fail to recognize and admire Goethe under the character of a profound in- quirer, and natural philosopher. We have never, all this time, said a word on the subject of Goethe's epistolary correspondence, which, exceedingly varied and very interesting, he had been in the habit of carrying on ; and yet this is an infinitely important mani- festo of Goethe's character as an author, at the same time that it enables us to observe him under the aspects of pri- vate life. The correspondence of great men ever includes in it something intrinsically noble ; nor does it fail to weave over the reader a spell of quite a special nature, inasmuch as it enables him to see into the homely heart, so to speak, of leading minds, and lays bare before him, without gloss or gawd of any kind, their proper intellectuality. No doubt this latter quality may be predicated in a greater or less degree, of all sorts of literary communication. But in the case of Goethe, this point will be found to attain an un- wonted measure of grace and charm, as well as an exalted meaning and an enlarged efficiency ; for within the circle of his literary career are engirdled the coryphaei of German 140 goethe's briefwechsel. literature. Goethe's correspondence with Schiller is an emporium of weighty notions and conceptions that were born of both their hearts. A mass of fine literature is passed under our review. Grand masterpieces in the poetic art are presented by both the one and the other ; and the flow of their ideas, their ardent aspirations, are delivered with all the freedom of strict friendship ; first one giving advice, and then the other, each helping each with word and deed, and offering, as a whole, a vast body of episto- lary matter of extraordinary interest. But yet these letters to Schiller are not the only subjects of attraction in this branch of composition ; there is also (at least from and after the year 1774 to 1783) Goethe's correspondence with Lavater, to say nothing* of his communications with the widowed Countess Augusta von BernsdorfF. Then there are Goethe's letters to Zelter, a highly inte- resting collection, which might be described as an histo- rical review of the manner in which some of the grand- est productions of our poets and our finest ballads have been interwoven with sterling musical sympathies. They awaken an interest that surpasses all description ; toge- ther with a fund of most important information. The letters, too, that passed between Goethe and Schulz are not without an especial value. In the Goethian correspondence we may trace, without fear of mistake, the whole strain of its author's life ; from the letters of an earlier date we are enabled to take a deep insight into the variously occupied and poetical yearnings of a mind, rich and comprehensive in its aspirations. The second point discussed is, in a general survey, the study of literature in all its various branches, which leads us at the same time into a consideration of the poet's own inner life. How calm and manly are Goethe's answers to the letters of the enthusiastic Bettina ! * Gervinus, iiber den Goetheschen Briefwechsel, 12mo. GOETHE. 141 Goethe died on the 22nd of March 1832. The very last words that he uttered were : " Das inehr Licht herein- fcomme!"* * Doring's Leben Goethes. — Diintzer, Goethe als Drama- tiker, 1837. — Eckerrnan's Gesprache mit Goethe, 2 vols. — Goeschel (C. F.) Unterhaltungen zur Schilderung Goethischer Dicht und Denkweisen, 2 vols. 1834. — Gutzkow, liber Goethe im Wendepunkte zweier Jahrhunderte, 1836. — Von Miiller, Goethe in seiner praktischen Wirksamkeit, 1832 ; Goethe in seiner ethischen Eigenthumlichkeit, 1832. — Rie- mer, j\Iittheilungen iiber Goethe, 2 vols. 1840.— Schubarth, Zur Beurtheilung Goethes, 2 vols. — Heinrich Voss, Mitthei- lungen iiber Goethe und Schiller, 1837. 142 THIRD SECTION. JOHANN CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER. Respecting Schiller, who has struck such a deep-sound- ing chord of his lyre, and who has reflected every harmony of our earthly existence, we can only speak with a sense of wonder and of pleasure. His ideal was the purest and the must sublime that was ever created in a German soil, and its influence was so much the mure felt in every German bosom. Germany possesses, in fact, no bard (Goethe ex- cepted) worthy, in every point, to be placed on a parallel with Schiller ; it has none that has written with so much pure nationality. His feelings, his sensibilities, are so de- licately attuned and so enthusiastically honest, that they instigate both admiration and delight. Whence arises this impression, save from a coincidence and harmony with the German mind? And this, because it awakens the most exalted conceptions that exist in the human heart. Schiller's idealism, which he has the talent to frame in words at once the most refined and fitting, furnishes topics no less enchanting to the mind than purifying to the soul. His compositions, one and all, are conceived in the purest spirit, and matureerwith the most critical care ; while the love and benevolence they display, are no less conspicuous than the strength and delicacy of the diction, and the elevated design of the poetical figures. But when the . master-spirit conceives his outline, when he gives flight to the long-winged idea, when he combines sublimity of thought with simplicity of expression (and it is in this that the great talent and mastery of Schiller consists), then let this author conceive and create what he will, what- ever he conceives is grand, and whatever he creates is classi- cal. He knows well how to appreciate the innocency of childhood, the anxious scepticism of melancholy, and the rapture of love. Neither are pain and woe strangers to his SCHILLER. 143 mind: consolation under all circumstances may be found in the nature and simplicity inherent to the man, and imaged in his own nobly tempered verses. The productions of Schiller are nothing more than a re- flection of the tone of sentiment and feeling predominant in Germany ; his works are a purling spring, whose aqueous and lively streams place a cool refreshing draught within the reach of every literary pilgrim. His readers are of all classes — the scholar, the divine, the man of leisure, and the man of business. His writings form, in fact, a reposi- tory of virtue, of hearty sincerity, and tender sentiments ; they belong to the choicest literary treasures Germany has the privilege of possessing. Goethe and Schiller are equally great, and yet so different in their greatness ; both can boast alike of a large circle of disciples and admirers ; but the -popular writer is the easily understood but sagacious Schiller, rather than the profound and abstruse Goethe. Gutzkow, in his treatise " Goethe im Wendepunkte zweier Jahrhunderte," designates the characteristics of Schiller and Goethe in the following manner : " Schiller represents humanity in the gross, and history ; Goethe, the individual and nature. Sophocles is pointing to a similar distinctiveness when he says, ' that, for himself, he describes people as they ought to be ; Euripides, people as they are.' Again, Schiller exhibits his characters quite individualized and elaborated into a refined portrait, whilst Goethe adopts universal humanity in its strength and its weakness, its virtues and its vices. Schiller wrote his characters with his mind acting on itself; Goethe, with his intellect at work on his own experience. Looking also at their respective dra- matic action, we find that Schiller is inclined to pourtray the outer, Goethe the inner life ; Goethe is exalting, Schiller tender and affecting ; Goethe is more dramatic, and Schiller more theatrical ; Goethe is a lyric dramatist, Schiller an epic one ; Schiller unrolls a large picture of the dramatic action and realization of a subject, whilst Goethe exhibits, 144 SCHILLER. merely as groups, its prominent points, with hints for their treatment." Jean Paul justly observes, in allusion to Goethe (" Vorschule der iEsthetik," ii. p. 154), " Ein plas- tisches R iinden und zeiehnendes Abschneiden, das sogar den korperlichen Kiinstler verrath, machen seine Werke zum festen, stillen Bilder und Abgussaal." Schiller is unsurpassable in the combination and denouement of a dramatic action, Goethe effects more delicately and har- moniously ; Schiller constructs his web clearly and palpably, Goethe softly and imperceptibly. In order to review Schiller's various productions in detail, it will be necessary to glean a few personal notices of Schiller himself.* Schiller was born at Marbach, a town of Wiirtemberg, on the river Neckar, on the 10th of January 1759. Although his poetical abilities were not discovered at first, it was so early as the year 1772 (young Schiller being then but thirteen years of age) when he wrote his first metrical piece, and this was on the same day that he was confirmed. Schiller's father, a surgeon, became known by this cir- cumstance, to the Duke of Wiirtemberg, and was per- mitted through this nobleman to enter his son at the military academy, which the Duke had established in his duchy. Schiller made choice of medicine as his study. The academy was governed altogether upon military principles; and to such an extent w r as its discipline carried, that, without an express warrant, no member dared purchase a single book ! In spite, however, of this regulation, Schiller rebelled against a military rigour so ridiculous and oppres- sive, and was fortunate enough to obtain, through the me- dium of a friend, a copy of Leisewitz's celebrated tragedy of " Julius von Tarent," and also of Gerstenberg's " Ugolino." These two works were well calculated to make a strong im- * Hinrich. Schiller's Leben und Dichtungen ; — During Schiller's Lebeu. Schiller's raeuber. 145 pression on the ardent young man, and no great while elapsed before his play of " Die Riiuber" appeared — pro- jected evidently in a moment of burning enthusiasm, and betraying the fulness and exaggeration of expression natural to a youthful and inexperienced author. FIRST PERIOD (1781—1789.) The play of " Die Rauber," was Schiller's first experi- ment in literature ; and although composed when he was only seventeen years of age, it came into print for the first time in 1781, when its author was just turned twenty-two. " Die Rauber" is a work bearing strong evidence of youthful, ungovernable thoughts. Its characters are wild and terrible in the extreme. They are exactly those which any young imaginative person, without knowledge of the world or the lessons of experience, would be apt to group together ; and, on this account, they must be regarded as essentially and altogether unnatural. Schiller himself subsequently said of it, " that he thanked God that such a monster as he had imagined, had no real existence in the world." It is also understood that Schiller was instigated by two motives, while composing the Robbers ; — first, by a pique against his military academy ; secondly, by the boyish impulse to give the fullest license to his imagination. The play is, in fact (despite of all defects in construction), an enduring monument of Schiller's great talents as an author ; of his promising genius and poetical enthusiasm. 'Mundt well denominates the language of the Robbers — " Eine kolossale Kraftprosa." On the 10th of January 1782, Schiller's " Rauber " was performed for the first time at the Manheim theatre ; and since the author could not obtain leave to be present at the representation, he set out privately, and unknown to the authorities. A university arrest of twenty-four hours' duration was the punishment for this breach of discipline. The " Rauber," however, be- [l L 146 schiller's eaeubf.e. came more known in Stutgart through this circumstance, and was most eagerly read. But as people thought they saw a great many personal allusions in the work, the duke of Wiirtemberg interdicted Schiller from writing anything hut his medical exercises. This fresh piece of tyranny he could not put up with ; and so, without any present means of subsistence, he, in the October of the same year, ab- sconded altogether from the Stutgart academy. " Die Rauber " created, on its first appearance, a similar sensation to that made by Goethe's drama of " Goetz von Berlichingen." As a succession of chivalrous romances date their origin and suggestion from " Goetz," so, a long series of banditti-stories— a new and distinct order of liter- ature — in like manner sprang from " Den Raubern." " Die Verschworung des Fiesco " came out in the fol- lowing year (1783), and was the first of the historical dramas, by which Schiller is most known. This tragedy, which he had planned during the " arrest," and on which he set all his hopes of future fame, did not succeed, at Jirst, and Schiller, in consequence, found himself in the greatest pecuniary distress. Had not aid come to him from an un- expected quarter, he must literally have starved. " Fiesco" is neither clear in its composition, nor strong in theatrical effect. Hegel, notwithstanding, places this tragedy among the best of Schiller's early performances. " Kabale unci Liebe " was also one of the productions of Schiller's youth, and, like the last work, was conceived while he was suffering the academical arrest. In May 1784, " Kabale und Liebe" was produced upon the stage at Manheim. In this tragedy we behold a dis- play of art ; and it also shews that the author had begun to regard the rules of dramatic writing more attentively than formerly. It may be noticed here, that Schiller, since his flight from Stutgart, had taken up his abode with Madame von Woltzogen, at Bauerbach, and that he had schiller's kabale und liebe. 147 conceived a tender partiality for the daughter of this lady : and so, it may be assumed, he had nature and reality for his model, while engaged in composing " Kabale und Liebe." He is further said to have delineated in this work certain circumstances that occurred in the university of Stutgard, and so to have given vent to his dislike to the " Adelstand," with which dislike he was known to be very deeply imbued. Gervinus says : " In this tragedy Schiller adopts, for the most part, the modes and inflections of Klin- ger and his school, while in that of ' Die Verschworung des Fiesco ' he reminds us of Lessing's ' Emilia Galotti.' In the play of ' Die Rauber' we have Goethe and Leisewitz, and in ' Don Carlos,' Lessing's ' Nathan der Weise.' " In fact, Schiller has contrived to exhibit, within the limits of these two or three pieces, the various styles and manner- isms that were the characteristics of the presiding dramatic writers. " Don Karlos," which belongs to the year 1784, shews more maturity of style, and belongs to quite another class. The characters are profoundly conceived, and the situations are effective, while there is a colouring of poetical senti- ment throughout : it is, perhaps, only in its terrible denou- ment that we recognize the Schiller of former works. Wil- helm von Humboldt remarks, — " that in no other theatrical piece with which he is acquainted, is the fine operation and subtle action of the feelings so beautifully and tenderly disclosed, as in ' Don Karlos.' " "Der Menschenfeind," a fragment, was written in 1786. To this date also belong several small philosophical trea- tises, and, among others, the story entitled, " Der Verbre- cher aus verlorener Ehre." The character of this event in real life was congenial to Schiller's youthful ideas ; and, it must be confessed, he has told it with great beauty and power. In a psychological point of view, this tale is de- serving of the commendation it has met with. Schiller's preparation for " Don Karlos " had been the 148 SCHILLER S GEISTEBSEHEB. means of directing him to the study of history, and other fruits of this study were : " Die Geschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande " (1788); a work to be admired less for its historical, than its poetical power. His thoughts were too much taken up with the exalted characters of his individuals, to permit his narrating gravely a sequence of dry historical events. " Der Geisterseher" (published in 1789), which exists only as a fragment, was an effort that betrayed great genius : had its composition been continued, it might have formed, as a whole work, a valuable specimen of the psychological novel. The characters that figure in it are strikingly delineated. Among the best poems of Schiller, which belong to this section of his literary life, we may name the following pieces: " Die Kindesmorderin," " Die Schlacht," " Resig- nation," and " Die Kunstler." SECOXD PERIOD (1789-1805.) With the settlement of Schiller in the city of Jena, and his consequent intimacy with Goethe, commences the grand epoch in the literature of Germany. In Jena, Schiller enjoyed the good fortune of being nominated to the pro- fessorship of history, and of living upon terms of the strict- est friendship with Goethe, Wieland, Herder, and other great men ; his domestic happiness, too, seemed to be based on a durable foundation by his marriage with Fraulein von Lengefeld, which happened in February 1790. By these means Schiller was comfortably off in his outward circumstances, and was enabled to live peaceably and quietly. His talents as a poet were universally acknow- ledged, while his mind had been gradually enlightened and improved by experience. His poetry of this period was lucid and plain, without losing anything of its original native enthusiasm. " Wallenstein." This dramatic poem — another result of schiller's wallenstein. 149 Schiller's historical studies — appeared in 1799, and is written in fluent iambics. It may be divided into three portions. First, — " Wallenstein's Lager." The prologue to this piece is excellent, and the entire " Camp " is without a parallel. " All in the ' Lager,' " says Tieck, " is alive and stirring, — nowhere exaggerated, nowhere defective ; evidencing so much genuine military spirit, and so graphic in descrip- tion, that we could almost persuade ourselves that we were witnessing the scenes themselves." The sermon of the Capuchin friar, beginning, — " Heisa, Juchheisa ! Dudeldumdei ! Das geht ja hoch her. Bin auch dabei !" is founded upon a similar one of Abraham a Santa Clara, and is particularly characteristic. The scenes are full of life, and bustling incident. The song — " Wohl auf, Kameraden, auf 's Pferd, auf 's Pferd ! In's Feld, in die Freiheit gezogen !" etc. etc. is to this day a national favourite with soldiers and camp- followers. " Die Piccolomini," with all their magnanimous exploits, cannot, of course, be regarded as an entire w r ork. The opening scenes in the council-house at Pilsen, as well as those in a chamber of the duke of Friedland's palace, are masterly efforts in their way. " Wallenstein's Tod." — " The colloquy between Wallen- stein and Wrangel," observes Tieck, "ranks, in my judg- ment, as something so exalted and peculiar, that I could willingly pronounce it as the crown of the w r hole piece. Every word, and every allusion, falls grandly and powerfully on the human soul. The last scene, in which the hero appears, is truly absorbing. Wallenstein's gloomy fore~ bodings, the unsettled state, and ultimate ruin of his mind, — are points treated in a most masterly style." 150 schiller's maria stuart. We will now glance at the whole subject of " Wallei stein," in order that we may obtain something like a just estimate of the conception and execution of this great dra- matic design. The idea which the poet has so boldly taken up, he has so realized and worked out in the first part, that it, together with its companions, must necessarily combine in securing the fame of its author upon an everlasting basis. It may be regarded as an historical monument, and as a mirror of bygone manners and customs. Schiller took up the annals of his native land: he gathered together into one literary whole the action and thought characte- ristic of Germany in the time of the Thirty Years' War, and depicted his various scenes with such extreme vigour and truth, that the reader feels, whenever he opens either part of this dramatic poem, inexpressible satisfaction and delight. How full and significant in all respects is " Wallen- stein's Lager !" And yet how heterogenous and huddled together are the incidents ! Soldiers of all regiments, with suttlers and peasants, mingling their ranks : then again the capuchin's enthusiastic sermon, with his redoubt — what can be more lively and interesting ? " Wallenstein," as Schiller himself observes, " was not great ; the poetic sketch of the character was never intended to be so." Schiller has, how- ever, by his masterly touches, rendered the pride and am- bition of that singular personage very naturally. The character of Octavio Piccolomini is that of a sensible, circumspect person. Princess Thekla is capitally drawn ; her pure and gentle spirit, and her native strength of mind, Schiller has represented with remarkable power.* " Maria Stuart." (1808.) This tragedy is contrived with unusual skill, and is worked out with closeness to proba- * W. Suvern. Ueber Schiller's Wallenstein in Hinsicht auf griechische Tragoeclie. 1800. schiller's jungfrau. 151 bility and historical fact. Tieck styles the heroine, " Maria Stuart," the most successful female character that Schiller ever drew. The whole must be esteemed a highly poetical and nobly executed specimen of tragic dramatic genius ; masterly in both structure and design, and impressive in its theatrical character, which is enhanced still further by the sterling force of its language. Some of the last scenes are truly noble. Goethe, echoing the opinion of Tieck, reckoned " Maria Stuart " as decidedly the best of all Schiller's historical plays.* " Die Jungfrau von Orleans." (1801.) The new theatre built by Schinkel in Berlin, erected by Frederic William III, produced this tragedy on its opening night, in Janu- ary 1801. Schiller has elaborated this piece with the greatest nicety and care ; he laboured at it with great zeal and delight until he arrived at its conclusion. The deli- neation of the " inspired " and courageous paysanne of Domremy may fairly rank among the most beautiful of Schiller's conceptions. It abounds with single passages, which may be tested by the highest standard of excellence. The scene in which the Maid of Orleans makes known to king Charles VII her " mission from above," has been highly extolled, as also that in which she incites the duke of Burgundy to return to, and resume friendly relations with, the kingdom of France. No one of Schiller's later dramatic works equals the " Jungfrau von Orleans " in genius and poetical brilliancy. With what a strain of child -like innocence, for example, Jean d'Arc discloses her apostleship to the startled yet attentive monarch! Also those two soliloquies of the " Holy Maid," the one (act i. scene 4) beginning : " Lebt wohl, ihr Berge, ihr geliebten Triften, Ihr traulich stillen Thaler lebet wohl ! Johanna wird nun nicht mehr auf euch wandeln ! Johanna sagt euch ewig Lebewohl," etc. etc. * Gans. Riickblicke auf Personen und Zustande. 152 schiller's braut von messina. and the other (act iv. scene 1) : " Die Waff'en ruhn, des Krieges Stiirme schweigen, Auf blut'ge Schlachten folgt Gesang nnd Tanz, Durch alle Strassen tont der muntre Reigen, Altar und Kirche praugt in Festes-Glanz,'* etc. are poetical chef-d'ceuvres of no ordinary kind. "Die Braut von Messina" came out in 1803. It is antique in form, but romantic in the cast of its poetry. Wilhelm von Humboldt has pronounced the introduction to be excellent, although he could not approve of the idea of introducing choruses. The beautiful parts in this tra- gedy are manifold, and amongst them the soliloquy of Beatrice in the garden is worthy of especial examination. The scenes wherein Don Caesar ends his life, — not for- getting also his last speeches to the lady Beatrice,— are specimens of literary power, great and remarkable.* " Wilhelm Tell."t (1804.) A. W. von Schlegel makes the following observation upon this play : " Wilhelm Tell is, in my judgment, the most excellent of all the dramatic works of Schiller." In the present instance, Schiller has quite come back to his early vein, — that of poetizing his- tory. Tell himself is drawn with great natural dignity ; and his wife Hedwig, and his son Walther, especially, are pourtrayed admirably. The entire of the first act of this drama, the third act, and the scene where Tell shoots the apple, are the most brilliant passages in this work. Besides the foregoing dramatic works of Schiller, he also composed several others ; but they are either fragmentary * Mr. Lodge has rendered a first-rate English translation of the " Braut von Messina," conveying much of the spirit, as well as a very close reflection of the poetical language of Schiller. ■f Weber. (Dr. W. E.) Klassiche Dichtungen d. Deutschen erlautert i tes Bandchen : Goethe's Iphigenia und Schiller's Tell, 1839; Meyer. H. J. Schiller's Wilhelm Tell erlautert, 1839. Schiller's ballads. 153 or unfinished. Several translations also appeared from his pen. Of the former, we may mention " Demetrius ;" and of the latter, " Iphigenie," " Macbeth," " Turandot ;" — two French comedies, " Der Neffe als Onkel," and " Der Parasit ;" but most of these are, for Schiller, of indifferent merit. This second section of Schiller's literary history is emi- nently rich in lyrical compositions,* and likewise in poetry of a general character ; the fact being, that Goethe and Schiller were at this time rival candidates for public applause as ballad-writers, and produced, under the prompt- ing of this friendly emulation, many admirable poems, which, it is not too much to say, bid fair to last as long as the German language itself. Of these the best are : " Das Siegesfest," " Das eleusische Fest," " Kassandra," " Der Kampf mit dem Drachen," " Der Handschuh," " Das | Madchen aus der Fremde," " Die Macht des Gesanges," " Wiirde der Frauen," " Pegasus im Joche," &c. &c. In this department Schiller has written works, which are most perfect in their way. For example : — " Der Ring des Polycrates," " Die Kraniche des Ibycus," " Hero und Leander," "Der Gang nach dem Eisenhammer," "Der Graf von Habsburg," "Die Biirgschaft," and "Der Taucher." " Der Spatziergang " may be adduced as an evidence how deeply enamoured Schiller was of the charms of nature. But, of all the poems Schiller has written, none is so well known to the British public as that entitled, " Das Lied von der Glocke " (The Lay of the Bell), which has been translated into English by at least a dozen different hands, in some cases with great success/]- What a deep insight does the * Closs (Dr.), mythologisch-historisch und geographische Annierkungen zu Schiller's Gedichten, 1836 ; Viehoff. Schiller's Gedichte in alien Beziehungen erlautert und auf ihre Quellen zuruckgefiihrt. + One of the best translations is Arnold's, which has the original German on a parallel page. 154 schtller's philosophy. poet take, in this composition, into the " ills " and " boons" that flesh is heir to, With what grand simplicity has he reflected them in his genius-born verse, — so teeming with thought — so Protean in metre ! " Das Lied von der Glocke " contains many passages of the most finished love- liness. There is, indeed, matter in this poem ! — the com- mentary of a wise and benevolent being on humanity, its feelings, passions, and desires ! If Schiller had written no other poem than this, it would have rendered his name immortal. In 1780, Schiller was very comfortably settled in the city of Jena, although this fortunate and easy state was not of long duration ; for it was interrupted, in the year 1791, by a severe attack of asthma. When he succeeded in removing, partially, this troublesome complaint, we find him busily engaged in preparing for the press his " Ge- schichte des 30 jahrigen Krieges." Two years after this, Schiller made a tour into Suabia, and took up his abode, by turns, at Ludwigsburg and at Heilbronn. Schiller had, for some time, been gradually inclining more and more to philosophical studies ; indeed the " Kritik der reinen Vernunft" of Kant seems, at this period, to have engaged his closest attention: and the first fruit of this new study was a treatise entitled, " Briefe iiber die asthe- tische Erziehung des Menschen," the first edition of which bears date 1795. In this work, Schiller will be found to have wrought out " das objective Princip der Kunst," — a thing that Kant himself had despaired of ever being done. In Schiller's treatise, " Ueber naive und sen timen tale Dich- tung" (1795) he develops the pure, abstract idea of art. In this series of papers, the foundation was laid for an entirely new theory of aesthetics, as well as of poetical science ; which scheme, being readily adopted and diffused by the romantic school of writers, overturned all existing hypothe- ses, and became the means of an entire revolution in the fabric of artistic criticism. schiller's philosophy. 155 German literature has scarcely anything more perfect, in its particular way,, than the " Briefwechsel zwischen Goethe und Schiller," and " zwischen Wilhelm von Hum- boldt und Schiller." A charming carelessness of tone, and . an absence of all affectation, added to an air of high-mind- edness and intellectual supremacy, is prominent in these letters, and they will always be read with pleasure. I Goethe and Schiller were often seen walking together in the spacious palace garden of Weimar, each equally ab- sorbed in an admiring contemplation of nature's perfections, and each imparting to the other the train of thought they gave rise to. It is gratifying to enter — be it merely in imagination — into the charmed circle of a friendship so in- timate, and to behold how this pair of great national poets lived in a bond of union so strict and so amicable. But, alas ! too soon was this noble friendship destroyed ! Schil- ler's asthmatic affection once more returned, and upon the 9th of May 1805, Germany and the whole world lost the mighty bard, in the prime of life, and in the lustre of his genius. Goethe mentioned the loss of his friend in but few words, but they were the most sorrowful that ever proceeded from his pen : — " Ich dachte mich selbst zu verlieren, und ver- liere nun einen Freund, und in demselben, die Halfte meines Daseins."* * Schiller's Leben, verfasst aus Erinnerungen der Familie, seincn eigenen Briefen und den Nachrichten seines Freundes Korner (Karol. v. Wolzogen.) — Leben undBeurtheilung seiner vorzliglichsten Schriften, 1817 ; Schiller und Goethe's Leben nebst kritischer Wiirdigung ihre Schriften, 2 vols. 1826 ; Schiller's Leben von Gustav Schwab in 3 Biichern, 1839 ; Urkunden liber Schiller und seine Familie von G. Schwab, 1839. 156 SECTION IV. PRINCIPAL POETICAL AND PEOSE WRITERS WHO FLOURISHED DURING THIS PERIOD. I. -LYRIC POETS, etc. CHRISTIAN FRIEDR. DANIEL SCHUBART (1739-1791) Was born at Obersontheim, on the 20th of March 1739, and pursued his studies at Jena. Eired with the enthusiastic feelings and strong passions of youth, he quickly became one of those creative writers, in whom the spirit of the " Sturm und Drangzeit " might most palpably be recog- nised. Schubart was endowed with a vigorous and ardent ingenuity. He had a great capacity for rhetorical displays, a feeling for music, and a turn for humour, although capable of being moved by the sentimental and pathetic. When he left the university he was as enthusiastic and as un- manageable as ever ; he nevertheless took holy orders, and preached with great energy and fire, often ex tempore, and sometimes even in verse! Yet, neither as a preacher, a di- dactician, an author, or a musical composer, did he appear to be in his proper element. At length he published a poli- tical journal, to which he gave the title of " Die Deutsche Chronik." His political creed was, by many degrees, too liberal for the age in which he lived. Under these circum- stances, the duke -regnant of Wurtemberg, in the year 1777, issued an order for Schubart's arrest and imprisonment iif the fortress of Hohenasperg, whither he was immediately conveyed, and where he languished for ten entire years, without being once arraigned or brought to trial, or without being suffered to know the precise crime of which he was held guilty. A hymn, which Schubart wrote upon Frede- ric the Great, procured his liberation. Schubart's muse was far from being inactive during his captivity : his "Fiirs- tengruft " and his " Ewige Jude " (now very celebrated), were perhaps his bestpoems. It was also in prison that he com- BLUMAUER. 157 posed his remarkable and interesting autobiography. Upon being set at liberty, in 1787, Schubart accepted the office of theatrical poet at Stuttgard. His works abound with bold metaphors ; and a German critic says of him : " Er fasste zuweilen die Dichterharfe mit beiden Handen, statt mit leisen Fingerspitzen ihre zarten Saiten zu beruhren, oft- mals aber wird es so angstlich Gestbhn, wie wenn die zer- trummerte Harfe die letzten Todesaccorde weine." In addition to his other talents, Schubart was a pianist, and composer of no inconsiderable fame, and was the founder of the public declamatory concerts. He died at Stuttgart, on the 10th of October 1791. ALOYS BLUMAUER (1755-1798) Was born on the 21st of December, 1755, at Steier, in Austria. He was a Jesuit, but on the abolition of that order, he estab- lished himself as a bookseller at Vienna. He died on the 16th March 1798. The vein of this writer lay in comic and humorous poetry. His travestie of Virgil's " iEneid " is a very clever piece of burlesque, and several other of his pieces evince readiness of hand, and abound with lively and poetic pas- sages. Most of his compositions, however, betray poverty of invention, without either spirit or force ; and they are still more objectionable on the score of vulgarity and in- decency. The best of his efforts are, — " Glaubensbekenntnisse eines nach Wahrheit ringenden" (poetical and philosophic), " Die Buchdruckerkunst," " Eile des Lebens," " Die Do- naufahrt" (an exquisite portraiture of natural scenery), " An die Donau," and " Meine Wunsche." FRLEDRICH VON MATTHISON (1761-1831) Was born on the 23rd of January 1761, at Hohendodeleben, near Magdeburg. He studied theology in Halle, in 1749, where he became reader and companion to the reigning duchess of Anhalt Dessau. In 1812 he was appointed chief 158 MATTHISON. librarian at Stuttgart, with the title of " Legationsrath." . He died on the 12th of March 1831.* This poet possesses great skill in depicting the beauties of the landscape, and in this branch of his art stands pre- eminent. " The man who could compose such a poem as the ' Elysium,'" says Schiller, "must bear stamped upon his soul the seal of initiation into the higher and sublimer mysteries of his art, and be welcomed as the apostle of a sterling loveliness of style. 5 ' The distinctive feature of Matthison's muse is that of a soft and winning melancholy, and a tone of contemplative reverie. He is a master in depicting what may be called the " natural picturesque," and in giving expression to the accents of love and friend- ship. Among Matthison's most approved works are : " Opferlied," " Mondscheingemalde," " Geisternahe," " Der Alpenwandrer," " Das Kloster," " Der Fremdling," " Die Grazien," " Der Genfersee," " Die Kinderjahre," " Der Herbstabend," " Feenreigen," " Stummes Dulden," and " Die Abendlandschaft," whilst his elegy, " Auf den Ruinen eines Bergschlosses " is the most celebrated of all. He also published an elaborate anthology, extending to twenty volumes, which included specimens of all the poets, major and minor, who nourished during the preceding century. FREIHERR JOHANN GAUDENZ VON SALIS SEE WIS (1762-1834) Was born at Seewis (Graubundten), on the 26th of Decem- ber 1762. He was a captain of the Swiss guard at Ver- sailles, and died on the 29th of January 1834, at Malan, in Graubundten. A kindred spirit to Matthison, but of a deeper cast. His poetry is correct and refined. It develops the true meaning of the expression, " pleasant tears," and the grave, subdued * Dr. Doring, Matthisons Leben. 1833. HEBEL. 159 happiness to be found in awakening- the memory of past sorrows. Amongst his most beautiful poems are : "An ein Thai," " Herbstlied," " Marzlied," " Das Grab," and " Er- munterung." JOHANN PETER HEBEL (1760-1826) Was born on the 11th of May 1760, at Hausen, in Baden; was professor and " Kirchenrath " there, and died Septem- ber 22nd 1826. Hebel is a poet of a very peculiar vein ; his " Alleman- nischen Gedichte " forcibly reminds us of the spirit of the " Minnesanger." His poems are written in a dialect spoken in the southern part of Germany (on the Schwarz- wald), with a characteristic heartiness of feeling, and in a simple but classic " Volksstyl." He preferred the form of the idyllic and pastoral, using the most simple and natural images. The poems of this author are something more than mere lovely transcripts of nature, they are pictures of the thoughts and manners of the simple classes of society to which they principally relate. For simplicity, naivete, and nationality, they are unsurpassed. His beautiful pastoral piece, enti- tled, " Die Wiese " is without a parallel in its particular way ; while the following are of great merit : " Freude in Ehren," " Das Liedlein vom Kirschbaum," " Der Schmelz- ofen," " Der Morgenstern," "Die Mutter am Christabend," "Der Kafer," "Der Bettler," " Sonntagsfriihe," " Dei- Winter," " and Die Verganglichkeit." SAMUEL GOTTLIEB BUERDE (1753-1831) Was born at Breslau, on the 7th of December 1753. He was at the head of the chancery court, and died on the 28th of April 1831. A tone of real piety and much facility and harmony of expression distinguishes — " Erzahlungen von einer Reise durch die Schweiz und Italien" and the " Geistlichen Poe- sien " of this author- His translation of Milton's " Para- 160 CONZ. —KIND. dise Lost" is at least clever. " Das verlassene Dorf" and " Der Wanderer" are good specimens of his powers; while " Die Gebirgsmahrchen des Riibezahl (the far-famed Spirit of the Silesian Mountains), are characteristic and entertaining. ani- CARL PHILIPP CONZ (1762-1827) "Was born on the 28th of October, at Lorch, in Wurtembe: became doctor of philosophy and professor of the hum ties at Tubingen, and died on the 20th of June 1827 Conz was a philosophizing poet, of no great name. He possessed, however, richness and vigour of thought, but the force of his conceptions was weakened by the awkward and unrvthmical character of his style. Conz's translation of ".Eschylus" approaches, in metre and structure, to the form of the original, but it is tame and unsatisfying. " Abendphantasie," " Beim Sonnenun- tergang," " Gesanges Macht," exhibit his poetical genius in its best light. JOHANN FRIEDRICH KIND (1768-1843) Was born at Leipsic, on the 4th of March, 1768, -where he studied Jurisprudence : he practised in Dresden as a bar- rister, and died in July 1843. Kind has a charming fancy, and is peculiarly apt in the descriptive. He is skilful in the groupings of his charac- ters, although their personal elaboration is strikingly de- fective. As a dramatic author, he preferred to bring out pic- turesque plays (" Malerische Schauspiele.") In Vandyk's " Landleben " he introduced a new scenic effect, the ta- bleaux vivants ("lebende Bilder"), which have since become very popular throughout Europe. To Kind we are indebted for the dramatic part of " Der Freischiitz," which forms the libretto to Weber's admirable music. Kind's minor poems exhibit an easy and correct style of versification, and the most remarkable of them are: " Der Stieglitz " and the legend of " Der grosse Christoph." HALEM. — PFEFFEL. 161 Kind also wrote in prose ; and bis tale, entitled " Die Todtenglocke " is allowed to be bis happiest effort in this line. The conception of the story " Rosa und Alba " is also very masterly. ANTON GERHARD VON HALEM (1752-1819) Was born in Oldenburg, on the 2nd of March 1752 ; where i he also died (while fulfilling the functions of chief-counsel- lor) on the 5th of January 1819. This author has a purity and correctness of style, and a gracefulness in his descriptive means, rather than any real poetical genius. His " Jesus, der Stifter des Gottesreichs," and " Gustav Adolph von Schvveden," are inferior produc- tions, although it is true that the former contains many fine passages. His biographical works take a higher literary rank; witness his " Leben des Grafen Miinnich" and |"Leben Peter des Grossen." KONRAD GOTTLIEB PFEFFEL (1736-1809) Was born at Kolmar, on the 28th of June 1736 ; he died on the 1st of May 1809, when president of the consistory of Kolmar. When Pfeffel reached twenty-one years of age, he became blind, and poetry was his only consolation. His productions are characterized by an original, inventive genius, just discrimination, real feeling, naive wit, sterling humour, and social philosophy. His language is natural, yet not always exact. He was a prolific writer : in addi- , tion to his lyric poetry, he wrote fables, metrical tales, epis- tles, romances, epigrams, and dramas. His forte, however, lay in fables and stories, in which there is a most remark- able degree of fancy and energy. Pfeffel's minor pieces are rather distinguished by facile verse and inartificial humour, than for soundness of thought. His poems: " Die Tabakspfeife," " Der freie Mann," are well known. His " Epistel an Phobe " is, undoubtedly, one of his best, as it evinces an unusual vigour and bril- M 162 EBERHAHD. liancy of expression. Pfeffel's dramatic productions are nearly forgotten ; although Lessing, in his " Dramaturgic," observes, that his " Der Schatz" and " Der Eremit" gained, in their day, considerable applause. CHRISTIAN AUGUST GOTTLOB EBERHARD (1769) "Was born 1769. He was a bookseller, is now a doctor of philosophy, and lives at Halle. Ebeehakd has produced more prose than poetry, which evidence, especially in his tales, no small degree of merit. He was gifted with great fluency of style, a pictorial power, and a happy ingenuity. Eberhard's " Hannchen und die Kuchlein," written in hexameters, is the best of his productions. There is a charm and pleasantry about this famous idyllic poem, a simplicity in the structure of its plot, a graceful verisimilitude in its characters, and a general artistic degree of finish, that will secure for it an enduring reputation. M Hannchen und die Kuchlein " is quite worthy of being placed by the . side of Goethe's " Hermann und Dorothea," and Voss's " Luise." Eberhard also published another poem in the same pas- toral vein, to which he gave the title of " Der erste Mensch | und die Erde," in which he describes the creation of the world in a simple and appropriate manner. Some of his poems are much admired for their exquisite humour, such as : " Der Kampf im Finstern " and " Der Peter in der Fremde." Of his fictions, " Westhold" and " Warner " are the two best. II. — DRAMATIC WRITERS. AUGUST WILHELM IFFLAND (1759-1814) Was born the 19th of April 1759, at Hanover. At Gotha he engaged himself at a theatre, when just about leaving for IFFLAND. 1C3 the university. In the year 1796, Iffland was summoned to Berlin, to become the director of the national theatre, and he died on the 22nd September 1814, while holding that responsible office. ; Iffland was well thought of as a play-wright and dra- natist, besides being much liked as an actor. He has )roduced many theatrical compositions, to which the name las been given of " Familien Drama." He had a compe- ent knowledge of men and manners, understood the prin- :iples of stage-effect, and kept a good moral steadily in dew. His plays, however, are liable to this general Ejection, that his pathetic scenes are so contrived, as naterially to detract from the force of the comic business. Still, whatsoever he desires should win upon the reader's nterest, is presented with astonishing tact and dexterity, rerisimilitude is the characteristic of his plays, and he places before us a most faithful picture of German domestic ife. "Should any historiographer in the generation to come," observes 0. L. B. Wolff, "design to write a narrative of the manners and customs of our nation, and look about him for authorities upon which he might rely, Iffiand's dramatic portraitures will be quite a treasure to him." The desire to make the hatefulness of sin and vice appear, meets us in every one of his productions ; while, on the other hand, goodness is introduced merely, as it were, for the sake of enouncing and enforcing the moral : but the progress of the dramatic action is occasionally sluggish, and the language somewhat heavy. ■ " Die Hagestolzen," Goethe says (vide Eckermann's ;t Gesprache ''), " is unquestionably Inland's best piece, — the only instance of his quitting prose and ascending into the ideal." " Die Jager" and " Verbrechen aus Ehrsucht," 11 Der Herbstag," " Die Dienstpflicht," exhibit very clever and truthful scenes. In " Selbstbeherrschung," " Die Aussteuer,"' and especially in " Die Eeise nach der Stadt," we rind much genuine corned . 164 KOTZEBUE. AUGUST FRIED. FERDINAND VON KOTZEBUE. (1761-1819.) This is the most prolific dramatic writer Germany evei had. He composed an almost countless number of pieces and the plots he devised were equally versatile and inex- haustible. In the course of his career, he experiencec many alternations of literary fortune. At first he was quite tht pet of the public ; then worried by the severe criticisms and cabals of intriguing journalists ; and, finally, maligned and detested by all parties. But, notwithstanding this, his plays 1 were established favourites upon the German stage, and th< representations of them in the present day are not unfrequent -i Kotzebue may, from the quality of his genius, be Dot inaptly compared to a usurer, who, by lending out his smaljii capital at an enormous rate of interest, succeeds in multi-i j plying it a hundred-fold ; or to a miser, who makes a trifle go a great way ; or to an adroit mantuamaker, who under- | stands how to alter and adapt a garment, so that it may ! suit all the fashionable caprices of the day. "Kotzebue,' ] says Borne, "can throw off plays faster than society can 1 furnish him with subjects ; he can put forth fascinating and* I instructive dramas, which it were easier to surpass than to. J replace." This remark of Borne is very true. He always. 1 uses his dramatic materials well ; and numberless sterlings beauties will be found intermingled with most absurd andi outre events. He has a great knowledge of stage-business and theatrical effect, and understands the public taste. His style is good, his dialogue smart and pointed, and he is very dexterous in developing his plots. Kotzebue's dramas; embrace and embody the "sayings and doings" of societyi in general, his characters being mostly taken from real life : but if he cannot find their prototypes there, he invents, and that successfully. Goethe expresses his opinion of Kotzebue to Falk thus :\ " We shall certainly find, after the lapse of a century, that Kotzebue offered, in good truth, a certain dramatic form ; KOTZEBUE. 105 ut it is a pity that his plays are entirely destitute of ' Cha- •akter und Gehalt.' A week or two back, I was present at he performance of his ' Verbannten Amor,*' which, I must say, gave me great satisfaction ; some parts of it even betray renius ; — the same may be said of his ' Beiden Klings- )erge these dramas I consider his two best." — Kotzebue s, generally, more successful in the depiction of libertinage ;han of exalted nature. His " Corsen " is a play that closely approximates to its irchetype. " Could Kotzebue but move within that space vhich nature has marked out for him," says Goethe, " I svould be the first to stand up in his defence ; but he med- lles with a thousand things of which he knows nothing. Out of the great mass of the plays by this author, we can mly mention the most popular. These are : " Menschen- iass und Reue," better known, perhaps, in the English iranslation, as " The Stranger ;" " Die edele Luge," a con- ization of the foregoing ; " Das Kind der Liebe," " Graf Benjowsky," " Die Negersclaven," " Die Rosen des Herrn ton Malesherbe," " Die deutschen Kleinstadter," " Die Franzosischen Kleinstadter," " Die Kreuzfahrer." Of the ' Verwandschaften " and " Die Versohnung " Eckermann •says : " I am bound to praise both these dramas, for the nartificial glance they take of real life, and for the happy ippreciation they show of its more interesting phases." . Kotzebue certainly surpassed, in native ease of style, and u what would seem to have been the innate technicality md direction of genius, the majority of his literary contem- poraries ; and, under favour of these gifts, he made him- self absolutely necessary and indispensable to the German stage. The praise is his, of having liberated the German conventional drama from its stiffness and inelegance, while le extended the forms of an easier conversational method nuch more completely than even Wieland himself. The " Life" of Kotzebue contains some remarkable inci- ients, and is well worth reading. He was born in 166 KOTZEBUE. Weimar, on the 3rd of May 1 761 . We first of all find birr studying jurisprudence at Jena ; in 1783 he was a coun- sellor in the Reval government; in 1787 president; and, a short time afterwards, established as dramatic poet to the Vienna theatre. While Kotzebue was on a tour in Russia in the year 1800, and had reached the frontiers of thai empire, suddenly, and without the least notice, he waf arrested, and transported to the deserts of Siberia. It was lucky for him that he had written a little play, entitled " Der Leibkutscher Peter des Grossen," which happened to be translated into the Russian language just at the time. This production was brought under the eye of the emperoi Paul I, and he at once recalled him from his banishment and constituted him even director-in-chief of the Petersburg theatres. Kotzebue has related this curious epoch of hi? life in a volume entitled " Das merkwiirdigste Jahr meines Lebens." In 1814 Kotzebue was counsellor-general at Konigsberg; in 1819 he returned to Manheim, where he was murdered, by a political and fanatical student, named " Sand," a native of Wundsiedel, on the 23rd of March 1819. AMADEUS GOTTFRIED ADOLF MUELLNER (1774-1829) Was born at Langendorf, near Weissenfels, on the 18th of Oc- tober 1774. He was a nephew of Burger the poet, which circumstance exercised, no doubt, an influence over his own poetical inclinations. Milliner was a barrister, and died on the 17th of June, 1829. Mullner was an exceedingly clever dramatic writer, and was endowed with great descriptive powers. His tragedy entitled "Die Schuld" was his great work. It contains many noble thoughts and graphic delineations, which receive, in several of the scenes, a masterly perfection and finish. The style of Mullner is very poetical and imaginative ; while the musical and fanciful genius of the versification frequently reminds us of Schiller. The cha- MULLXER. — WERNER. 167 racters that figure in his pieces are, for the most part, vigo- rous and truthful, but his denouements are strained and unnatural. " Der 29 te Februar," occasioned by Werner's " 24 te Februar," is one of this author's tragedies, the early scenes of which are, perhaps, the best he has written ; but its merits decline very much towards the conclusion. Milli- ner's pieces have always secured a liberal share of stage- popularity and applause.* FRIEDRICH LUDWIG ZACHARIAS WERNER (1768-1828) Was born in Konigsberg, on the 18th of November 1768 ; and at this place he pursued his studies. After making a tour, which lasted several years, he went over to the Roman Catholic faith, at Rome, in the year 1810. He died on the 17th of June 1823. Werner may be considered a dramatic poet, although his works have anything but an artistic finish. Werner is deficient in perspicuity and good taste ; yet his invention is i fertile, and his characters are skilfully brought out. His first effort was in a dramatic poem, entitled " Die Sohne des Thais," and gave promise of excellence. It is bold in execution; is written in a fine vein of language; its cha- racters are happily conceived ; and in parts it is highly poetical. But it has the usual fault of young and enthu- siastic writers, — it is overloaded with high-sounding and glittering diction. " Der 24 te Februar " is a finished production in its way, evincing originality, and an intimate knowledge of the human heart. Werner entitled this tragedy thus, because that day of the year was a most eventful day to him, it being the anniversary of the death of his mother, and his friend Mnioch. * Burger und Milliner,— ein Briefwechsel. 1833. 168 WERNER. — KLINGER. His tragedy, " Das Kreuz an der Ostsee," is too uniformly sombre. " Martin Luther, oder die Weihe der Kraft " he afterwards, in a critical sense, designated as " die Weihe der Unkraft," yet the opening scene and " der Reichstag zu Worms" are very powerfully written. His " Heilige Kunigunde " is, compared with " the 24th February," a very warm piece, but its warmth is an artificial one, and wants nature. Werner also tried lyrics, amongst which the poem, " Tch komme vom Gebirge her " has become " volksthiimlich." FRIEDRICH MAXIMILIAN VON KLINGER (1753-1831) Was born at Frankfort, 1753. Studied theology at Giessen ; and in 1778, became officer in the Austrian service. In 1780, he went to Petersburg, as officer and lecturer to the grand duke Paul. He was colonel under Catharine ; in 1796, major-general; then installed as director of the military academies; and in 1811, Avas raised to be lieutenant-gene- ral. He died at Dorpat, 1831. Klinger's works abound with lofty and energetic thoughts ; whilst his dislike of the world, and his misan- thropical creed, awaken a kind of corresponding spirit in the reader's mind. Our author was one of the most industrious writers of his day, and in him we perceive the elements of the " Sturm and Drangperiode." Among his novels the most celebrated are : " Faust's Leben, Thaten und H61- lenfahrt," " Geschichte Raphael's de Aquillas," a companion to his " Faust." His best production is, " Der Weltmann und der Dichter." Klinger also tried dramatic literature, and met with considerable success. He was a competitor with the celebrated Leisewitz for the prize offered by Schroder, the manager of the Hamburg theatre, for the best tragedy. It was one of the conditions, that the plot should turn upon a fratricide. Hence, Klinger's " Zwillinge," — a drama wild and improbable in its design, but yet consi- KLINGEB. — LENZ. 169 dered worthy of distinction : while Leisewitz's " Julius von Tarent," a truly excellent effort, was treated with an un- deserved coolness. If we examine the structure of Klin- ger's dramatic style, we are led into the belief, that Shak- speare and Goethe were resorted to as models ; at the same time it must be acknowledged, that, in occasional passion- ate scenes, Rousseau seems to have been affected. JACOB MICHAEL REINHOLD LENZ (1750-1792)* Was born in Liefland, on the 12th of January 1750. He studied at Strasburg, where he made the acquaintance of several literary men, — of Goethe, among the rest. He evinced an enthusiastic fondness for theatrical entertain- ments ; and for this gave up the more certain means of live- lihood. He died at Moscow, in a state of insanity, brought on partially by poverty, on the 24th of May 1792. Lenz was a dramatic writer of no common order, chiefly in the humorous vein. But the miserable circumstances in which his whole life was passed, in addition to occasional fits of mental imbecility, conspired to empoison the genius of this richly-intellectual author. In the commencement of his career, Lenz seemed to be the very man to follow the path that Shakspeare had opened. Lenz's tragedies and comedies are altogether peculiar. A curious and ready turn of fancy, an equally singular and outre wit, and an odd and frantic style of language, are their leading cha- racteristics. There is, however, a glaring carelessness evi- dent in the getting up of his descriptive passages, and a total want of definite and proper arrangement. * Stober, A. Der Dichter Lenz und Friederike von Sesen- heim. 1842. 170 III.- DIE HUMORISTEN. COMIC TALE WRITERS AND NOVELISTS. AUGUST ERIEDR. ERNST LANGBEIN (1757-1835) Was born on the 6th of September 1757, at Radeberg, near Dresden. Langbein had several minor law-appointments, and pursued his studies at Leipsic. In 1802, he succeeded in getting the public censorship at Berlin, in which place he died, on the 31st of May 1835. A great number of witty and amusing stories have pro- ceeded from the pen of this author ; but in all his pieces, a want of depth and artistic completeness is observable. He delights in depicting the comic aspects of human life, and in doing this he is often superficial and prejudiced. A strain of vulgarity is also occasionally discernible, as well as a leaning towards indecency. Langbein's ballads, " Ro- manzen," and poetic tales, are, for the most part, successful efforts in their way, and in them he certainly moves with ease and grace. A serenity of feeling, and an open, straightforward manner of expressing his thoughts, are the pleasant characteristics of many of his poems. They evince, besides, a cheerful and philanthropic mind, and abound with a well-timed and good-natured wit. In some of Langbein's tales and legends he exhibits a naturalness and fluency which approximates him to Bur- ger, and displays evidence of a strong poetical capability. Some of his metrical efforts, such as " Das grosse Loos," " Die Rossdecke," and particularly " Der Gastfreund," ac- quired in their day, and even now retain, a large share of popularity. MORITZ AUGUST VON THUEMMEL (1738-1817) Was born on the 27th Sept. 1738, at Schonfeld, near Leipsic. After having studied jurisprudence, and distinguished him- self therein, he became " wirklicher Geheim-Rath " and THUMMEL. 171 minister. In 1782, he retired from public life, and subse- quently travelled, — which he continued to do for a conside- rable time. He died at Cobourg, on the 26th of Oct. 1817. Thummel may justly rank among the most original and : esteemed of humorous German prose-writers. His poetical talents are effectively seconded by an accurate knowledge of men and manners ; while his forte more particularly lies in catching hold of the various drolleries of real life. Thummel can weave the most trifling matters into the web of his story with great tact and skill. Thummel, like Wieland, remarks Bouterweck (vol. xi. p. 447), " lingers in the weaknesses of the human heart He exhibits, with all the self-complacency of the satirist, the blandishments of life, and the allurements of those follies, which proceed from no real depravity. A stream of imagination and of irony runs through his " Sittengemalde." Thummers " Wilhelmine oder der vermahlte Pedant," a tale of the pure German complexion, is a portraiture of circumstances, facts, and practices of the old school. " Wilhelmine," says Schlosser, " has won itself a niche in our classical literature, and will survive its romantic bro- therhood." It is a very pleasant book, full of natural actions, true to life and character, and in parts even grand. " Die Inoculation der Liebe" is a story in verse, full of witticisms, containing, moreover, some clever descriptions. Thummel's great and best work, however, is his " Reise in die mittaglichen Provinzen von Frankreich," consisting of humorous tales, with occasional sentimental reflections. It entertains by its wit and vivacity, by the elegance of the style in which it is written, and by its pourtrayal of the ac- complishments appertaining to a man of the world. It is, in short, quite as instructive as it is entertaining. The poetry in it is good, and appropriately introduced. THEODOR GOTTLIEB HIPPEL (1741-1796) Was born at Gerdauen, in East Prussia, on the 31st of Jan- 172 HIPPEL. uary 1741. He studied in Konigsberg, where he beca the prime burgomaster and president. He died on th 23rd of April 1796. The productions of this writer, which came out anon; mously, are of a very singular kind, — in exact keeping wil almost the whole manner of his private life. He was quii poor when he began his literary career, having nothing scarcely, to depend upon but the produce of his pen. How ever, Hippel became president of Konigsberg, and able to leave behind him a fortune of one hundred an forty thousand dollars. His descriptions are as truthfi and characteristic as if they had actual existence ; the depict still life in all its aspects. He can also descend the deepest pathos ; whilst, on the other hand, he can tu to account the most delicate humours, and satirize the pr valent affectations and fashions of the day. We may consider Hippel as the representative of a di tinct literary school, of which the characteristics are vei singular and peculiar. Its forms may be classed unde three heads, or divisions, viz.: the poetic, the satiric, an the humorous. These writers tread closely on the roman tic, and now and then affect the homely and the familiar Human life is frequently developed with a wonderfi degree of truthfulness. Hippel was the first writer wh imparted these mixed peculiarities to literature : in his foo steps followed Jean Paul, in all respects eclipsing his pr< decessor. Hoffman was the next ; and then came Benzi Sternau, — he, in turn, being succeeded by a great numbe of imitators. Kant terms Hippel " einen Plan und Centr Kopf," a writer ready at inventing comprehensive plots, anc skilful in working them out : there is, certainly, great ele gance in his mode of treating them. Nothing in Hippel's writings is chargeable with being either common-place or vulgar. We may mention, as a favourable specimen ol Hippel's powers, his treatise, " uber die Ehe," which, with HIPPEL. 173 the two preceding works, had the effect of establishing his literary reputation upon an immoveable basis. Another work of Hippel's, a great favourite in its day, and not now entirely forgotten, is " Lebenslaufe nach auf- i steigender Linie," which came out in 1778. The dogmas of speculative philosophy, and the maxims of practical life, are placed, in this work, in direct juxta-position, while they alternate amusingly in a clothing of wit and satire, not often equalled. Hippel generally adopted the popular philosophy of Kant in his expositions ; a thing that he was enabled to do by the thorough acquaintance he had with Kant's writings, joined to the personal intimacy he could boast of holding with the philosopher himself ; and thus this system of phi- losophy became, through him, more intelligible than it might otherwise have been to the majority of the reading public. Hippel's biography — which may be met with in the " Ne- crolog von Schliehtegroll" — is a good commentaiy upon the common careers of life. It is in part purely imagina- tive, in part a narrative of facts, with glances at the state of religious society as it existed at Konigsberg, while Hip- pel himself constitutes the hero of the work. His last, and perhaps his most striking effort, is, " Kreuz und Queerziige des Kitters A bis Z " (1783), a simple, interesting, and affecting narrative. This work parallels his " Lebenslaufe," as a picture of human character, and it exhibits several varieties of humour, which are strengthened by contrast with passages of sentiment and reflection. The style of Hippel's compositions may be commended, notwithstanding he is occasionally open to the imputation of carelessness and inaccuracy. JOHANN PAUL FRIEDRICH EICHTER 0763-1825) COMMONLY CALLED " JEAN PAUL," Was the son of a clergyman, and was born at Wunsiedel, on 174 JEAN PAUL. the 21st of March 1763. He studied theology at Leipsi but soon abandoned it, in order to devote himself entirel to the cultivation of the muses. Jean Paul passed his lat years in retirement at Baireuth, and died, as doctor of phi losophy and member of the academy of Munich, on the 14 of November 1825, after having sutfered much from opthalmic disease. This writer unquestionably stands at the head of literary section in which we have classed him. The d mestic circumstances and seclusion under which he w brought up, gave him that quality of mind, which brings him within the province of the humorous " Genredichter." The artificial tendencies of the age in which he lived, kin- dled within him contempt for them; but, at the same time, with a strong sympathy for nature. His friends flattered him with the notion of his becoming both Shakspeare and Sterne. Jean Paul was the author who introduced poetry into the realities of life, and accustomed himself to seek the ideal of human events, and to delineate it in his com- positions; he was likewise skilful in weaving every-day affairs into the thread of his narratives, — which are, there- fore, as pregnant with actualities and homelinesses, as if they had been written by Hippel himself. He united, in his writings, a tone both ill-natured and amiable — sceptical and child-like, — and was boundless in wit and humour. Placed midway between the romantic and the real-life, the spiritual and the " Genre" schools of writing, — Jean Paul exercised most influence upon the first of these classes. He was in congenial fellowship with Wieland, inasmuch as he wrought into his " biirgerliche Romane" all the fantastic elements peculiar to the romances of the middle ages ; and this in the same vein as Wieland, when he combines the chivalrous Grecian spirit with the modes of thinking and feeling peculiar to modern life. Richter, in his works, describes human life in all its JEAN PAUL. 175 aspects of light and shade. His works are grand in their poetic outline, and elaborate in their artistic finish. They give evidence of a genius vast and sublime. His view of the world was tinted with humour, and fre- quently with a cast of melancholy. There are glaring differences in the writings of Richter. His readers become the confidants in his regret for the general weakness and depravity of human nature, and are made acquainted with the evil, natural and moral, that is prevalent in the world, with the retinue of social vices. He sets forth, in the most vivid and truthful colours, every known description of human misery and wretchedness, and this with an honest and sympathizing feeling. Then, again, he passes into a sweet and tender melancholy, enabling him to place before us the calm virtues and quietudes of refined life. In most of these depictures, an aspect of sorrowfulness, or irony, may be detected by the careful and intelligent reader. Jean Paul has extraordinary skill in description ; occa- sionally he opens his page with a train of the bitterest satire, which pierces through everything. In the same breath, he throws off graceful sallies of sportive irony, or of lively humour, which invest everything with an air of ridi- cule, and make the reader laugh, when but a moment before he had been affected almost to tears. Jean Paul's works contain a treasure of reflections, in a detached form, of most pointed and significant character. His vein of language is very fine; his terms are varied and costly. His style, in short, may not inaptly be denominated "Jean Paul's own." All sorts of newly-coined words, combina- tions, and abbreviations — countless almost in their variety — of expressions, phrases, and even whole sentences, are his literary peculiarities ; which add, it must be owned, a sin- gular beauty, and a particular elegance, to a coinage of idioms altogether novel and piquant in their nature. On the other hand, it is precisely this circumstance which creates a difficulty of no ordinary kind to the foreigner who attempts to read his works. 17G JEAN PAUL. Jean Paul's first appearance in the arena of letters was in the character of a satirist. His " Gronlandische Pro- zesse" (1783), and his " Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren" (1789), were received somewhat coolly at first. These works are mere trifles, but are exuberant in wit. " Die unsichtbare Loge," followed by " Hesperus," created, both of them, a greater and more favourable sensation. Jean Paul had, by this time, improved in self-knowledge and in experience of mankind ; but the mannerisms of his style had become confirmed. " Die unsichtbare Loge," " Hes- perus," " Die Flegeljahre," and " Titan," are worthy of es- timation as Ins best productions. The " Quintus Fixlein " and " Blumen-Frucht und Dornenstiicke " (1795), are " Genrebilder" of the private and domestic life of Germany, and quite of the comic school. If Jean Paul had adhered to this order of fiction, he would, in all probability, have attained a high degree of excellence ; but his versatile dis- position, which was predisposed to blend the noble with the base, would not let him. His " Blumenstucke " is one of the prettiest of his compositions. In the " Kampanerthal " (1797) Jean Paul, as the poetic interpreter of Kant, gave the world a philosophical novel. "Titan" (1797) is remarkable for its iofty-souled and start- ling inventiveness. The works which he wrote subsequently manifest more repose -—their author would seem to have expended all his passion, if we may so speak : still, his " Katzenberger's Badereise," " Der Komet," " Fibel," " Die Flegeljahre," &c. which keep to the circle of common life, contain shrewd sketches of character, written with all that abundant fresh- ness, which is one of the distinctive features of this writer. " Die Vorschule der iEsthetik " is a composition delivering sound views and solid decisions upon the subject to which it relates. It is a praise-worthy labour, although, consi- dered as a whole, it is defective in many points. Tieck remarks of it, in a letter to Solger (" Briefwechsel," vol. i.), HOFFMANN. 177 to the following- effect : — " Das Buch ist doch eigentlich nur eine Rechenschaft iiber seine Arbeiten, oder vielmehr ein Recept um darnach auch Jean Paulsche Biicher zu schrei- ben." A " Life " of Jean Paul is extant, written by his nephew Otto Spazier, which may be considered a good commentary upon his works. ERNST THEODOR AMADEUS HOEEMANN. (1776-1822.) This ingenious and extraordinary man was born at Konigs- berg, on the 24th of January 1776. Having studied juris- prudence, he became, in 1802, counsellor of the regency at Plotzk, and in the following year at Warsaw, which duty he was, however, obliged to relinquish when the French ■ took possession of that city. In 1808, Hoffmann accepted the situation of musical director of the Bamberg theatre, and in 1813 he held the same office at Dresden. Three years after, he filled the chair of counsellor of justice at Berlin, and he died there on the 25th of June 1822 * This author was a man of extraordinary genius ; indeed the annals of German literature will hardly furnish his . counterpart. We are not aware that there is even a single writer, to whom Hoffman may, in any degree, be likened or compared. If we set ourselves to trace out the chain of electric thoughts that meet us in his writings, we are well- nigh bewildered. They mean so much, they are so teem- ing and comprehensive, that it tasks all our skill and atten- tion to fully appreciate them. It is the peculiar province ' of Hoffmann— as we find in such efforts as " Phantasie- stiicke," " Elixiere des Teufels," " Nachtstucke," " Se- raphionsbriider," (Sec— to lead the reader's attention into the highest possible pitch of excitement. Often will he plunge us into a kind of delicious anxiety, and so act upon * E. T. A. Hoffmann's Leben und Nachlass herausgeb. von E. J. Hitzig, 3 vols. 1839. N 178 HOFFMANN. — BEX ZE L-STERXA U. our fears and feelings, that we fancy ourselves encom- passed by whole legions of ghosts and demons. Whether it be devils in the deep abyss of hell, or whether it be the trivial matters of the day — the trials of life, the distractions of the soul, or the soft breathings of voluptuousness and pleasure ; — whether it be the grotesque, the disagreeable, or the appalling— the tender, the lovely, or the beautiful — Hoff- mann exercises the same power over the imagination. You may describe the characteristics of Hoffmann's genius in a single sentence : he was endowed with a wild and ex- travagant fancy, which found form and substance in pas- sages of exquisite writing. An epoch in his life, when he was holding the office of director of music, is described by him in " Seltsame Leiden und Freuden eines Theater- directors,"— a witty and satirical performance. His "Klein Zaches" is a lampoon upon several parties then resident in Berlin. KARL CHRISTIAN ERNST GRAF ZU BENZEL STERNAU (1767-1835) Was born on the 9th of April 1767, at Mainz. He became the ministerial director at Carlsruhe, and died 1835. Bexzel Sternau is the last name of this literary circle, and unquestionably the greatest humourist of the series, with the exception only of Jean Paul. His novels and tales are extremely amusing ; his descriptions being very characteristic, and managed with great tact and power; but his invention is occasionally sluggish, and his style so quaint and awkward, as materially to abridge the effect of some of his best parts. " Das goldne Kalb," a biography, in which wit and description go hand-in-hand, was an effort that gave him considerable fame. He afterwards published " Mahrchen am Kamine," " Lebensgeister," " Proteus," " Titania," " Der steinerne Cast," all of which are delineations pointed and exact, possessing, moreover, much smartness and worldly experience. SAPHIR. 179 Amongst the comic writers, we may mention K. F. M. Saphir, who imitated, to a certain extent, Jean Paul. Saphir's productions are, however, quite local, and can be t enjoyed only by those who are acquainted with the scandal ; and small-talk of Vienna. Another writer who depicts the 1 low life of northern Germany, particularly of Berlin, is Glasbrexner. This author has a great deal of humour, : and sketches the " Eckensteherleben" of that town with breadth and spirit. A very talented writer of this class is Mises (Prof. Fechner at Leipzig) ; and there is also another of the name of Lours Lax. 180 THIRD PERIOD. (1800—1813.) SECTION I. DIE ROMANTISCHE SCHULE. The age of chivalry and romance, — the era of bardic composition, — and the early literature of Germany, — were the elements which were gathered together by the writers of the " Romantische Schule." These men, by the study of the old German language and literature, became sensible of the beauty and simplicity embodied in the traditions and works of the earliest poets. The two Schlegels and the fascinating Tieck rose to the highest place in this school of imaginative composition. Goethe, who wrote in every school of letters, has added his contribution also, in the shape of ballads and detached poems. Such literary stars as De la Motte Fouque, Achim von Arnim, and Novalis, followed out and perfected this class of romantic literature, which may not improperly be looked upon as the resusci- tation of the ancient " Minnesanger." These minstrelic bards took up " die halbverklungenen Sagen," and brought them out again, renovated by the inspiring music of their lyres. The principle of these authors coincided entirely with Schiller's and Goethe's doctrine as to the union, external and internal, which subsists between the real and the ideal. Their object was, to secure for poetry a greater extension and larger range of thought. It was the express design of the Schlegels, Tieck, and others of their school, to introduce the universal presence of poetry into all the operations of every-day life, — in short, to mingle the ideal with the real. A. \V. SCHLEGEL. 181 AUGUST WILHELM VON SCHLEGEL (1767) Was born on the 8 th of September 1767, in Hanover. He studied theology and belles letters at Gottingen. Schlegel lectured at Berlin in 1802. He accompanied Madame de Stael in her travels through Italy, France, Germany, and Sweden, in 1805. In 1808, he delivered at Vienna a course of lectures, " iiber dramatische Kunst." Five years after this, he attended the crown-prince of Sweden to Germany, in the capacity of secretary. Schlegel afterwards became a resident in France with Madame de Stael, until he was calledinl818toBonn,wherehe still lectures at the university as doctor and professor of philosophy and history. The philosophy of Fichte, in which the two Schlegels took a deep interest, and which they both diligently stu- died, was to them the passage to the romantic school, — just as, in the case of Schelling, it served as an introduction to the " Natur-Philosophie." These young romanticists ! composed and philosophized together at Jena ; and through the instrumentality of this congenial authorship, and the aid of the philosophy alluded to, a new order of literary creativeness arose to dazzle the world. The old-fashioned vernacular composition, which Germany indeed had well- nigh lost sight of, was zealously followed up ; and the knowledge of the " Romanic dialects" discovered to them many a romantic poet which had hitherto been quite un- known. The Schlegels thus felt their powers, and the " Romantic School " was organized in their very studies. In or about the year 1798, there appeared, under the management of the two Schlegels, that far-famed yet much-maligned periodical, " Das Athenaeum." In this journal, its editors criticized whole sections of German literature : Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Wieland, — no one was spared. Great animosity was of course stirred up against them by this procedure. The literary men in Ger- many in turn criticized their examiners, and their position in the literary world became at length an extremely em- 182 A. W. SCHLEGEL. barrassing one. Kotzebue was severely handled ; but defended himself very zealously, and gave the Schlege plenty to do in the way of retaliation. His " Hyper reische Esel " ridiculed the Schlegels' reasoning, and pa cularly the " Lucinde ;" they retorted with " Die Ehren- pforte fur den Theater Prasidenten von Kotzebue." Thus they involved themselves in controversies, and found them- selves at the last immersed in quarrel with the whole lite- rary world of Germany. The Schlegels have, however, by their happy use of hete- rogeneous materials, gathered from foreign countries, re- fined the national taste ; and, by their own special talents and philosophical training, have exerted a great influence on the progress of letters. We are indebted to the Schle- gels for the eminence the " Schonwissenschaftliche Kultur" attained during their period. But perhaps their most me- ritorious quality consists in the manner in which they have contrived to exalt, in historico-philosophical development, the position of Belletristicism. This was always the point they struggled for. By an intimate acquaintance with the ancient and modern languages, and their respective litera- tures, they were enabled to unravel this involved and enig- matical theme, which, until then, had not been so much as ventured upon by a single writer ; — they produced a " Uni- versal-Geschichts-Literatur," which made a considerable sensation. Supposing that W. Schlegel had given nothing but the translation of Shakspeare in congenial fellowship with Tieck, that alone would have secured him an undying reputation. But he is in good repute as an original writer, as well as a translator, — for he was not only a poet but a critic, and, in a somewhat less degree, a dramatist. Considering him as a poet, we find that his sonnets, ele- gies, and " Romanzen," match with the best tarings that have been done in that walk of poetry ; they are im- bued with a classical feeling, and are so skilfully prepared A. W. SCHLEGEL. 183 I and finished, as to give their author at once great pre-emi- I nence. One of his most beautiful ballads is " Arion ;" the i only one, however, that has become decidedly popular. As . a critical writer, Schlegel has strong claims on the public ! respect. His " Vorlesungen iiber drainatische Kunst und i Literatur" is written in true aesthetical taste, and with an easy, graceful elegance : it was the leading work of a new ; school of criticism ; it gives an historico-critical survey of the Greek, Roman, Italian, French, English, Spanish, and German dramatic style, but treats more largely of the Greek, French, English, and Spanish. The chief point ; developed in these " Lectures" is an endeavour to ascer- 1 tain the true aesthetic value of the dramatic writers of the different nations specified, — an enquiry which, it must be i owned, he works out with surprising profundity and indi- I vidualism. Nor does he disdain at the same time to meet I the more practical question, that applies, in a general sense, to the theatrical profession. But all this is managed with a skilful consolidation ; and the entire work takes such a clear and lively view of the whole literature, that it far surpasses all other similar treatises. The style of these lectures is most vigorous, and they are written for the most part in a nervous and eloquent flow of language. " Die Vorlesungen iiber dramatische Kunst" have been translated into English. His " Vorlesungen iiber die Geschichte der bildenden Kunst " is quite worthy of its author. In addi- tion to the translation of Shakspeare, he also accomplished a veiy skilful version of the works of the Spanish dramatist " Calderon." The younger brother, KARL WILHELM ERIEDRICH VON SCHLEGEL (1772—1829) Was born at Hanover on the 10th of March 1772. He pur- sued his studies at Gottingen and Leipsic. He entered, in 1803, the communion of the Roman Catholic Church. On returning to Vienna in 1808, he was promoted to the office 184 F. SCHLEGEL. of counsellor of the legation, and court secretary. He died at Dresden, on the 11th of January 1829. Friedrich Schlegel was of a more serious turn than his elder brother. His philosophical education was more decided and complete ; he departs from the philosophy of Fichte in his own singular way, and selects what appears to be a middle course. His studies, his manner of ex- pressing himself, his school of reasoning, and his views upon literature, are coincident with those of his brother. Pre-eminent indeed are his historico-literary lectures, in which deep learning and profound philosophy are com- bined into a line belletristic expression, while they are written for those classes of society who are not above the level of a general education. This constituted the very beauty of the Schlegels, that their views, in matters trench- ing upon literary principles, are broadly distinguished from those of their antagonists. It was not their ambition to write only for the scientific class of readers, but rather for the comprehensive circle of well-instructed persons. The brothers Schlegel were the chosen instruments for in- ducting the public into philosophical reflectional habits ; and by so doing, they built up the national intellectual cha- racter, and added the capital to the structure of general information. Friedrich Schlegel, like his brother, was ex- posed to hatred and misconception. He was a man of great mental calibre. His first contribution to the literary world was in conformity with the antique ; and several works, such as " Geschichte der Poesie der Griechen und Romer, 1798," " Sprache und Weisheit der Indier," be- longed to this period. All at once, however, he left this order of composition, and began to establish the aforesaid school. Schlegel's critical works possess, with all their deficien- cies, no inconsiderable value. The same may be said of his poetical efforts, wherein he acquitted himself with credit as a ballad, epic, and dramatic poet. In his cultivation of T. SCHLEGEL. 185 verse, he aimed rather at exhibiting a depth of meaning 1 , than a completeness and finish of the metrical form. His romance of " Lucinde " is certainly one of the most extra- vagant specimens of its class extant. The sensual aspect ; of love, garnished with all its voluptuous concomitants, is here wrought up into a novel, in a manner at once romantic and poetical. The idea developed in " Lucinde" is, like all the philosophy of the " Romantische Schule," an infi- nite one. Keeping out of view for a moment the immoral qualities of the production, which has been left only in a fragmentary state, we find that the hand of the master is discernible in many of its descriptive parts, the style adopted being highly forcible and impressive, whilst many ! of the conceptions are evidently those of a great mind. His productions in history and philosophy were the natural results of his studies and his taste ; among these we may particularize his " Geschichte der alten und neuen Literatur," which is by far his best and most important work ; but as it was written subsequently to the period when Schlegel gave in his adhesion to the Roman Catholic Church, it lost in consequence a large share of the reputa- tion which otherwise it would have obtained. This history of literature may be considered the offspring of a deeply philosophic understanding, the materials having been evidently selected with great caution and judgment. But the interfused dogmas of Catholicism have the effect of making the book, at times, rather doubtful and objection- able. Calderon, the Spanish dramatist, seems to have occurred more immediately to Schlegel than Shakspeare. Idealistic, over-stated apophthegms, — false, equally in their application and principle, — meet us but too frequently in the course of this book, written, as it nevertheless is, with consummate care and preparation, and in the choicest phraseologies of language. Schlegels other works in this vein, respectively entitled " Philosophic der Geschichte," " Philosophic des Lebens," " Philosophic der Sprache und 186 WACKENRODER. des Wortes," give us no inaccurate idea of the great ori- ginality of the philosopher, and may rank among his most successful literary efforts. " Wackexeoder-Tieck." WILHELM HEINRICH WACKENRODER (1772-1798) Born at Berlin, 1772, son of the burgomaster, and died the 13th of February 179S. Wackenroder was Ludwig Tieck's bosom friend. It is not easy to draw the line of demarcation accurately between these two literary characters; for Wackenroder lived in Tieck, and Tieck in Wackenroder, in literary and moral relationship. It often happened that the one could scarcely point out his fellow-writer, and say with certainty to which of them the origination of a thought or plan really be- longed. Wackenroder has often been compared to Novalis, as, in common with this great writer, he yearns to become the exponent of the religious mystery of the world., only that the aspirations of Wackenroder are of a sadder and more melancholy vein. The scythe of death too carried Wacken- roder off as prematurely as it did Novalis, even at an earlier age, — Wackenroder dying in the year 1798, when only twenty-five years old. " Die Herzensergiessungen eines kunstliebenden Klosterbruders," Wackenroder's great work, came out in the same year. This novel embodies the artistic conception of his youth, strictly insisting upon " Die Versenkung des Sinnes ;" and it was his intention to have practically exhibited the principle in the second vo- lume of " Sternbald's Wanderungen," personified as an artist. Wackenroder having completed, in conjunction with Tieck, the first volume of the work, died when com- posing the remainder, which was finished by Tieck, who had already prefixed to the first volume an introduction entitled "Sehnsucht nach Italien," and Wackenroder's posthumous papers were given by his friend to the world WACKENRODER. 187 , in the shape of " Phantasien iiber Kunst." In a new edi- tion of Wackenroder's " Herzensergiessungen," the sepa- rate papers are printed. Tieck's is a world-experienced, healthy, and calm cast of i genius, disposed to recognize and to appreciate reality, in all its charms ; while Wackenroder, on the other hand, revels in " Romantische Ideen," and, solely by reason of this attractive faculty, is an author of no inconsiderable importance. He indeed eventually led his friend into the romantic school, for it is well known that Tieck began his literary career in the vein we have indicated. LUD WIG TIECK Was born on the 31st of May 1773, at Berlin, where he com- pleted his studies. After a lengthened stay in England and Italy, he returned, in 1819, to his native country. From the year 1825 Tieck lived at Dresden, in the capacity of counsellor to the court. His Prussian majesty, Frederic William IV, has lately invited this esteemed and veteran poet to his palace of Sans Souci, near Potsdam, and a suite of apartments is placed at his disposal, for his summer resi- dence, whenever he thinks proper to avail himself of the convenience. This author certainly is, as Menzel very cleverly and happily words it, " der deutscheste Dichter." His wri- tings bear the impress of the middle ages, yet are worked out in the modern poetic form : he selects the most striking legend or tradition, and recounts it in a manner so truly and characteristically German, as to win the warmest praise and admiration. Tieck began his career with " Ab- dallah," (1795) which, however, was not well matured. " Abdallah" is, as the name implies, an Eastern produc- tion, in the style of Klinger ; and it is clear that here, as well as in "William Lovell,"the writings of Rousseau exercised a large influence over his mind. " Lovell " is executed with delicacy and nice art ; it possesses an historical interest ; and although well written upon the whole, is nevertheless 188 TIECK. pervaded by an air of gloom which tends to damage it. Tieck's skill was not yet able to deal with the quantity of material that his subjects supplied. But the basis of Tieck's popularity as a romancist was first effectually laid, when his " Peter Lebrecht," (1795) in conjunction with " Peter Lebrecht's Volksmahrchen," was given to the world. A terse jocularity, as well as a fancifully descriptive vein, runs through these latter specimens; the na'iveU of the phrases employed has been universally admired. These " Volksmahrchen" are indeed among Tieck's best and most characteristic works ; and they may be looked upon as his first tendencies towards the romantic school. " Blaubart" and " Der gestiefelte Kater," two celebrated old German tra- ditions, were printed in 1797. " Franz Sternbalds Wan- derungen," prepared in conjunction with Wackenroder, was his next considerable prose fiction ; and it has been thought not inferior to Goethe's " Wilhelm Meister." It was in this novel that Tieck exhibited his leaning towards the romantic taste that marked this era, by defending that school with all his might, and labouring hard, in conjunc- tion with his brother romanticists, to effect, if possible, a full and complete union of the real with the poetic. Tieck has given us a clever translation of " Don Quixote," which was, on its appearance, immediately succeeded by the pleasant dramatic tale of " Genofeva." In this, Tieck did his utmost to unveil the old Christian mind of the middle ages, by exhibiting it arrayed in the fascinating garb of a classico-dramatic lyric poem. The enthusiasm of love, of chivalry, and of the religious feelings in the Germany of this period, is thrown into the finest possible poetical light. The versification of this piece is exceed- ingly neat and happy, particularly the scenes between Golo and the heroine. In " Kaiser Octavian," Tieck reversed, in some measure, the verdict of history, and in consequence failed. Tieck's " Minnelieder aus dem Schwabischen Zeitalter" is a most admirable collection of ancient poems, TIECK. 189 pleasing and winning in character. The wreath of tales to which Tieck gave the title of " Phantasus," came out in 1812. This is a very excellent collection, and contains much true poetry. It was the favourite and popular book of that day. The " Liebeszauber" is a tale of vast power, acting upon the imagination in a fearful and extraordinary manner. Tieck has displayed himself to advantage in every branch of metrical composition. He may write himself dramatist, poet, polemic, critic, and novelist. " The tales and novels of Tieck," remarks Varnhagen von Ense, " are examples of an original species of art, and are quite distinct from what were previously styled such, by their ascertained and peculiar characteristics. They approximate, in a certain sense, to the dialogues of Plato, which, in addition to agreeable topics, contain always a deep inward significance." His " Novelle" entitled " Die Gemalde," as likewise the one called " Die Reisenden,'' undulate between a vein of artistic allusion and a poetic interest. Much excellent discourse upon artistic compo- sition is contained therein, whilst the humour of Tieck breaks out constantly. This elastic spirit prevades and animates, in a delightful manner, the " Musikalischen Leiden und Freuden," a subject serving as a medium for intellectual reflections and observations upon musical sci- ence. A classic simplicity is visible in the little tale enti- tled " Der Gelehrte," which will always please by its idyllic beauty, — a quality not often to be found in Tieck's works. Another composition, perhaps as much liked as any Tieck ever wrote, goes by the name of " Der Aufruhr in den Cevennen." It is a novel abounding in beauties, but difficult and abstruse in style, and exists only in a frag- mentary state. His " Dichterleben" is a trilogy, in which an attempt is made to give the reader a poetically con- ceived biography of Shakspeare. In this novel, he has succeeded in drawing the characters of the two celebrated 190 TIECK. English dramatists, Christopher Marlowe and Robert Greene, in a very picturesque manner. In the descriptions of the " Dichterleben," we have the whole mystery of the bardic temperament laid open to our view. Urged by the success of this work, Tieck was not long in producing ano- ther, a sequel to the first, which he entitled " Der Tod de* Dichters." In this he introduces the sweet poet of the " Lusiade," so completely misconceived by his own coun- trymen. Tieck wrote many other admirable fictions; among them, " Die Verlobung," a work in which he attacked the principles of Methodism, which at that time were becoming popular. " Die Gesellschaft auf dem Lande" is a Prussian story, in which the characters and incidents are worked up so skilfully as to present a faithful sketch of the domestic and political life of Prussia. But of Tieck's minor tales (of which he wrote a vast number) " Der blonde Eckbert" and " Der Runnenberg" are deci- dedly the cleverest and the most fanciful. The latest of Tieck's productions is an historical novel, called " Vittoria Arcorombona" ( 1 84 1 ). Tieck educated himself for the business of poetry with great industry. He studied the great masters in their own countries ; and he refined, in the course of his labours, not only his own taste, but likewise the poetic art in which he was engaged. Tieck, in conjunction with Schlegel, published a translation of Shakspeare ; and their version of the bard of Avon is most highly esteemed. This mas- ter-piece of translation is literal and poetical. Tieck moreover rendered into German those pieces of Shaks- peare which are mostly considered apocryphal. These, Tieck gave to the world under the title of " Altenglisches Theater." Tieck's plays and poems, generally speaking, strongly attest how warmly he was attached to the land of his birth, and how deeply he was imbued with the virtue of patriotism in almost every particular. The plots, the scenes, the dresses and decorations, of all Tieck's dramas TIECK. FOUQUE. 191 i and tales, are veritably German. Tieck showed himself to be a great critic as well as a general writer. His i l ' Dramaturgische Blatter" is a work of considerable value ; and it is as amusing as it is instructive. Tieck's style may be regarded as perfect ; it may be separated into several distinct varieties, according to the subject. It exhibits the vein of the old Minnesanger of . the early centuries, and that of the more licentious poets of the nineteenth. FRIEDRICH FREIHERR DE LA MOTTE FOUQUE (1777-1842.) This celebrated writer was born the 12th of February 1777, at New Brandenburg, and was a nephew of the well-known Prussian General Heinrich August de la Motte Fouque. He entered the army, and saw much service ; but retired on the score of ill- health. A second time, however, he joined the ranks, and then became a captain ; as major, he lived afterwards at Nennhausen, near Rathenau. He died 23rd October 1842.* This writer is certainly one of the most original epic and ; lyric romancists Germany has ever produced. Fouque was introduced into the literary world, in the first instance, ! by A. W. Schlegel, under the name of " Pellegrin." The works of Fouque are original in their design, and beautiful . in execution. His descriptions are nature itself, replete with fine thoughts and reflections, and exhibiting an en- chanting romanticism. Fouque's language is of a most 1 comprehensive character, — wild, delicate, tender, and me- lancholy. To this may be added, that his style is lucid and poetic in a high degree. Fouque displayed an early predilection for the northern legends and tales. One of his earliest productions is entitled " Alwin," a bold and * Fouque's Lebensgeschichte aufgezeichnet durch ihn selbst, , 1840. FOUQU£. powerful effort, evincing the true spirit of chivalry; hut although clever, it is rather open to the charge of want of realization ; it breathes a spirit of tenderness, and is for- cible in style. " Der Held des Nordens" (published in 1810) is far superior to " Alwin," both in subject and man- ner ; not a single word is superfluous, neither are the des- criptions overcharged, as in " Alwin." The characters in this piece are admirably depicted, and stand forth in bold relief ; they are in short strikingly dramatic. " Der Held des Nordens" may rank, as a whole, with any achievement of high poetical order. The drama of " Eginhard und Emma" (1811) is worthy of mention, inasmuch as it is executed in the idyllic form. The tragedy of " Hermann" is vigorous and masterly, while " Waldemar der Pilger" is written with a bold severity. In the drama " Der Hitter und die Bauern," Fouque depicts very beautifully the pas- sion of love. But the chef-d'oeuvre of Fouque is his " Un- dine." This is, without dispute, one of the most enchanting specimens extant of its romantic school. The poet has set forth everything in the most complete, satisfactory, and exalted manner. " Undine" is a fiction of a highly poetical cast. Undoubtedly, when Fouque presented this I work to the circles of the reading world, he took it for granted that they were not altogether inexperienced in life | or love ; that probably they knew the one under its most natural aspect, — the other in its alternating phases of ardent desire and of exquisite sorrow. " Undine" is indeed a very charming tale : it displays delicacy, blended with great power, — a heart-born truthfulness and a divine spirit. Beauty and poetry disclose themselves in every page ; — it \ has, in fact, become a standard book in the department of the classical romance, and will never fall into oblivion. \ Fouque wrote a great number of other clever things ; ; among which we may particularize " Sintram und seine Gefahrten," " Aslauga's Ritter," " Der Zaubering," " San- , gerliebe," and " Die Fahrten Theodolf s." " Vaterlandische AENIM. 193 Schauspiele," " Korona," " Heldenspiele," " Altsachsischer Bildersaal," " Der Verfolgte," " Der Sangerkrieg auf der Wartburg," &c. &c. LUDWIG ACHIM VON ARNIM (1781-1831) Was born at Berlin the 26th of January 1781. He studied medicine at Gbttingen, and afterwards lived at Heidelberg, in intimate friendship with Brentano, whose sister, Bet- tina, he married. He died on the 21st of January 1831, at Wiepersdorf bei Dahme. This writer possessed within himself the genuine spirit of the " Romantischen Schule." He was gifted besides with considerable humour and great vigour of invention. Varnhagen von Ense has completely described the genius ofArnim, in a work entitled " Zur Geschichtsschreibung und Literatur." He says : " He is endowed, and this in no scanty measure, with qualities that ever indicate the true and genuine poet ; viz. an inborn ardour of the mind, — an intrinsic nobility of soul, — a mighty imagination, — great powers of description and impersonation, — singular clear- ness, — and a peculiar fluency and buoyancy of style. The subjects Arnim selects, whether extensive or petite, whether supernatural or common-place, are, one and all, treated with consummate skill ; he lends them those hues, which he always had at command in his own powerful fancy, or else were readily suggested to him in the walks of actual life. Let any reader turn over the pages of Arnim, and he will not doubt, for one moment, that he is rambling among the richest soils of poetic art ; let him run through his novels, and he will find his attention engrossed by poetry of the mightiest kind. Indeed, he will at last con- fess, that the various images preseuted to his view, belong, specifically, to an ideal sphere. Is it not, therefore, a matter to be wondered at, that a person who has perused one of Arnim's best works steadily from beginning to end, should rise up from the occupation with a disappointed o 194 ARNIM. feeling, rather than with a sense of satisfaction, notwith- standing it be freely allowed that he has enjoyed a great intellectual pleasure. And why must this be? Simply because he is now conscious of a certain defect of manner, — i not that he has received from the author less than he antici- pated, but because he has received more. Arnim, to whom may be assigned all the high gifts that go to the construct- ing of a poetic mind, has some in large abundance, which he does not develope carefully ; and it is this luxuriant out- pouring of immature metrical phrases which disturbs, occa- sionally, the harmonious current of his stories, and interrupts their agreeable flow. They break into all manner of differ- ent and conflicting directions, carrying in its sweep both what is necessary and what is unnecessary, abandoning all the forms and rules necessary to bind the whole work together. Now," continues Varnhagen, " if we cannot avoid giving utterance to the above implied censure of our author, it is but justice to assert, that these arbitrary and interfused parts of his literary character are in the most striking contrast to his general creations, which flow on from page to page, in a way we can only find equalled in the classical prose of a Cervantes or a Goethe." Jean Paul drew the attention of the public to Arnim's " Novelle " of " Die Grafin Dolores," in the " Heidelberger Jahrbucher," which he pronounced a masterpiece. Laube characterizes his " Grafin Dolores" thus: — " Darin lauft alles so bunt, so geistreich, so bloss angedeutet, so schwe- bend und klingend, so drollig und tiefsinnig durcheinander, Charaktere und Verhaltnisse sind so dreist gesund, so gebildet schonend, so verschwommen, voriiber und unter- gehend aufgefasst, dass man wie in einem rosenroth ange- strichenen damonischen Spiele umhertaumelt, lacht, er- griffen wird, sich versenkt, und bei alle dem zu keinem Genusse, zu keiner Erquickung kommt." " But," proceeds Laube, " what a store of allusions, invaluable in their use and application ; what a mine of ARNIM. 195 deeply-seated truth, — what a treasure of humour and frolic, —is there not elicited in these bantering conceits!" It does not, indeed, admit of question, that Arniin,like Bren- tano, is endowed with a far more genuine and simple vein of humour than Tieck. His comic powers are much less strained, and, consequently, they are more effective. The history " des Mohrenjungen," occurring in the " Grafin Dolores," is, in its way, a perfect masterpiece of artless drollery. The description of the heroine herself, not for- getting other clever and graphic sketches, is a specimen of art which is, certainly, unsurpassed in the whole body of the German vernacular literature. " A work developing a labyrinth of ideas," Laube thinks, is the motto most appro- priate to Arnim's " Grafin Dolores." " Isabelle von iEgypten." This novel is the richest of ■■ all Arnim's works in noble, elevating, and touching figures ; i but reprehensible in the manner in which " die Geschichte des Barenhauters " is introduced and treated. " Die drei liebreichen Schwestern und der gluckliche Farber" is a very charming story, addressed to the feelings. The descriptions of the Dutch and the Prussians, of the manners and cus- toms of the working classes, no less than those of royalty, are in this work truly excellent in their design and colouring. In the novel "Angelica und Cosmus," the several locali- ties and leading circumstances, are, for the most part, founded upon fact. " Die Kronenwachter " is an exceed- ingly clever representation of the times of Maximilian; the , descriptions being executed in the style of first-rate imagi- native prose. Arnim's dramatic works are full of deeply- searching verse, and are finished with great skill. Schlegel is of opinion, that the first scene in particular, in the piece entitled " Der Auerhahn," would not be unworthy of a the- atrical poet of the highest order. Arnim edited, in coope- ration with Brentano, a collection of ballads, songs, &c, to which he gave the title of " Des Knaben Wunderhorn," and which may take credit as a very charming anthology of fine 1 96 ARN1M. — BRENT ANO. old bardism. It would not be incorrect to term this col- lection the grand poetical emporium of the " Romantische Schule." KLEMENS BRENTANO (1777) Was born at Frankfort 1777, and studied at Jena. In 1818 he turned Catholic ; and four years after, went to Rome, where he lived an industrious member of the Propaganda.. The peculiar qualifications of this writer, and which well fit him for the vocation of a romantic poet, are, — great rich- ness of fancy, and a grandeur in the devising of plots, — in which, however, he is more successful than in their execution. Brentano does not sufficiently develop his meaning; he appears to be generally speaking in a confusion of thought. He has acknowledged it himself, that he at times grows bewildered, frequently to the destruction of his best con- ceptions. It is a matter of regret, to observe how Brentano, noble- minded as he really is, loses his way, not only in a literary point of view, but also in a descriptive, moral, and religious respect. Portions may be selected from his works, betray- ing an indescribable poetic charm ; yet for all this, there is a mysteriousness hanging over his authorship, which inevit- ably damages, if it does not utterly destroy, its value. His " Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schonen An- nerl " is written in a marked simplicity of style and thought, and is, in its way, a chef-cVceuvre. The character of his writings may be well traced in a piece entitled " Godwi, das steinerne Bild der Mutter," which he himself calls " einen verwilderten Roman." He also composed a comedy, called " Ponce de Leon ;" an operetta, styled " Die lustigen Musikanten ;" and " Maria, Satyren und poetische Werke." We may add, that he endeavoured to buy up all the copies of his works entitled " Der Philister " and " Schneeglock- chen," in order, to use his own words, " that the world might be prevented from taking this deadly poison which had exuded from his heart." CHAMISSO. 197 LUDWIG ADALBERT VON CHAMISSO (1781-1838) Was born at the Castle of Boncourt, in the Champagne, on the 27 th of January 1781. The French revolution occa- sioned his expatriation, while very } r oung, to the city of Ber- lin, where he enlisted and became lieutenant in 1800. After the peace of Tilsit, Chamisso left the service and studied natural history ; he then returned to France, and for a short time was professor at the Lyceum at Napoleonville. Between 1815 and 1818, he undertook a tour round the world with Captain von Kotzebue, as naturalist, which capacity, when he came back, he continued to hold. He lived for many years, equally respected and beloved, at Berlin, where he died on the 21st of August 1838. True it is, Chamisso was a Frenchman by birth, but in his writings he was an excellent German lyric poet. We have classed him with the romantic poets, on account of his 1 " Peter Schlemihl," which is one of the classical produc- tions of this school of authorship. It relates the adventures and bizarre dilemmas of a man who was induced, by cer- tain remunerative considerations, to sell his own shadow ! It is written in a peculiarly impressive style ; and it is interesting to notice the effect that the perusal of it pro- duced upon a kindred spirit — the highly-imaginative Hoffmann. In a letter of Hitzig to Fouque we find the following : " I shall never forget the hour when I read 1 Peter Schlemihl ' to Hoffmann, for the first time : he was quite enraptured ; he hung upon my lips, and listened , with avidity to all I read, until I came to the end. He could hardly forbear making, on the spot, the acquaintance of the original and diverting author." Hoffmann went even further than this ; for, although detesting greatly the literary vice of copyism, he could not resist the temptation of transplanting the leading idea of " Peter Schlemihl," — the idea of the shadow severed from the object that pro- duces it— into his own tale, " Die Abentheuer der Sylves- ternacht." In this, it may be remembered that Erasmus 198 CHAMISSO. Spiker, the hero of that narrative, looks into the mirror, and sees no reflection of himself ! Chamisso, besides, has claim to be considered a lyric poet : in which path of authorship his characteristic is, a rapt solemnity of manner. His prime impulse, no doubt, is a sense of indignation at the frivolities current in the world, and a deep, impassioned love of whatever is sublime. The command that he had over the German language, considering he was a Frenchman horn, is truly astonishing. The majority of Chamisso's lyric compositions belong to the sphere of real life, detailing actual incidents and ad- ventures, and have, on this account, somewhat of an epic character — which, indeed, is at the bottom of all our author's best lyric efforts. To his most successful produc- tions, in this way, belongs " Salas y Gomez," a poem con- taining many masterly passages. Chamisso betrays, also, a marked predilection for the poetry of terror, as is shewn by his " Don Juanito Verdugo de los Leganes," " Der Stein der Mutter," " Das Mordthal," " Der Traum," &c. He is also very original and piquant in his anecdotal verse, besides being extremely characteristic and interesting: we may instance his " Die Rede des alten Kriegers Bunte- Schlange." Among the most pleasing and attractive of his works are his " Kreuzschau," " Frauenliebe und Leben," " Thranen," " Die Blinde," " Lebenslieder und Bilder," "Das Schloss Boncourt," "Die alte Waschfrau," " Tra- gische Geschichte," " Die Jungfrau von Stubbenkammer," " Hans im Gliicke," " Die Lowenbraut," " Der Bettler und sein Hund," " Der alte Sanger,'' &c. &c. His " Reise um die Welt " contains a large body of matter, extremely inte- resting to the general reader. FRIEDRICH VON HARDENBERG, better known under the name of " NOVALIS" (1772-1801). This truly wonderful and original minded poet was born at Wiedersted in Mansfield. He studied at Jena, where it NOVALIS. 199 was his good fortune to make the acquaintance of Fichte and the Schlegels. Novalis prosecuted the science of metal- lurgy with great zeal, and held various offices in the ca- pacity of " Salinenassessor" at Weisenfels. His end was rather premature — dying on the 25th of May 1801. This author may, not inaptly, be compared to a softly- murmuring zephyr, or an echo of gentle melody. Every faculty of his soul is sublimated far above this common, working-day earth ; he breathes a spiritual and intellectual atmosphere of his own creating, and lives and moves in a self-made world. He is the true and pure type " der romantisch-poetischen Kunst." In him the romantic at- tained, aesthetically, a degree of true perfection. The first scintillation of poetry was kindled in Novalis by the joint and alternate study of the philosophy of Fichte and of the lessons of nature. He had, moreover, been of delicate health from his youth, and his mind had been well-nigh unhinged by the death of his beloved " Sophie," — the memory of which affection remained ever after en- shrined in his heart. In the autumn of 1799, seated at the foot of the " Kyff- hauser, in der goldenen Aue," Novalis composed the opening of his great work, " Heinrich von Ofterdingen" (lately translated into English, and published in America). This noble fiction — an apotheosis of poetry — was left by its author in an unfinished state, the first part of the work being all that he did of it. But the completion of the plan has been described by Ludwig Tieck. " Ofterdingen" is a rich and beautiful work, and, considered as a whole, may be looked upon as one of the greatest conceptions that ever entered the mind of man. The meditations and reflections of Novalis, in it, are of a commanding order, being frequently couched in terse, nervous language, having the sententiousness and force of an oracle. The ideas and conceptions are, one and all, wide-reaching, lofty, and sublime. They are a complete world of miracles 200 NOVALIS. and of astonishing effects. How inventive, romantic (in the true sense of the word), and artistic, is " Heinrich von Ofterdingen," from beginning to end ! Such philosophical conceits upon art, history, nature, love, as are here dis- played, — such a teeming richness of invention — we meet with nowhere but in Novalis ; such tender blossoms of the delicate and finely -tempered mind, such comprehensive insights into the poetical universe, nowhere, assuredly, have we but in Novalis. Who has ever read his " Mahrchen," and not found them crowded with poetry, and overflowing with thought? The "Thousand and One Nights " exhibit, undoubtedly, great power of invention, but even "Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp" sinks into shadow, before the refulgence of the golden flashes of light that shine forth in the tale of Novalis! " Heinrich von Ofterdingen" may be likened to a grand, artistic temple, which the gods of Olympus have transmitted to us : it is the chef-d'oeuvre of the romantic school, and one of the greatest and most astonishing productions of modern ingenuity. This novel, as Solger remarks : — " Sollte in dem wirk- lichen Leben absichtlich anfangen, und je mehr Heinrich selbst nach und nach in die Poesie iiberging, auch sein irdisches Leben darin iibergehn. Es wiirde also dies eine mystische Geschichte, eine Zerreissung des Schleiers, wel- chen das Endliche auf dieser Erde um das Unendliche halt, eine Erscheinung der Gottheit auf Erden, kurz ein wahrer Mythos, der sich von andern Mythen nur dadurch unterschiede, dass er sich nicht in dem Geiste einer ganzen Nation, sondern nur eines einzelnen Mannes bildete." Novalis is no romantic visionary, but rather a profoundly- philosophical writer. He expounds to us his own views, which form, indeed, the true key to his works. Thus, poetry he denominates " Die Gemiithserregekunst," and lets us know, very clearly, his individual understanding of the expression " Romantik," viz. : " Die Kunst, auf eine angenehme Art zu befremden, einen Gegenstand fremd zu NOVALIS. EICHENDORFF. 201 machen und doch bekannt und anziehend, das ist die ro- mantische Poetik." Novalis was a deep thinker, and his ideas went much farther than some people are aware of, who, when they speak of " romantic poetry," mean, gene- rally, blank extravagance, unsuggestive to the understand- ing and to the heart. This can please those minds only, whose orgasm of natural sympathies has been closed to the most delicate and touching inflexions of which human lan- guage is susceptible. Nevertheless, there is not merely poetry in this " Heinrich von Ofterdingen," but often a scientific and philosophical purpose. It was known to have been Hardenberg's intention to write a sequence of six " Romane," upon the model of " Ofterdingen," in which he desired to represent, in a similar manner, Physics,— Civil Life,— the questions of History,— the dogmas of Politics, — and the Life of Love. — " Innigste Gemeinschaft aller Kenntnisse, scientifische Republik, ist der hohe Zweck des Gelehrten," may be said to be the apophthegm that illustrates the peculiar manner of Novalis. That he should wish to introduce such themes as these into the regions of poetry, constitutes a testimonial of no mean degree, as to the greatness of our author's powers. His hymns, "An die Nacht," and most of his other sacred songs, are among the best productions of the eighteenth century. JOSEPH FREIHERR VON EICHENDORFF, born near Ratibor in Silesia, in the year 1788. He is still living at Berlin. This author is one of the followers of the romantic school, and is distinguished as a lyric poet. His descriptions are lofty and varied, whilst the simple beauties of nature, and the charms of love, form the general subject-matter of his poems. Many of them are very popular, such as " Untreue," " Der frohe Wandersmann," " Der wandernde Musikant," 202 FRIEDRICH MULLER. " Das zerbrochene Ringlein." Eiehendorff also is success- ful in prose writing. His novels, " Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts " and " Dichter unci ihre Gesellen " are to be commended. FRIEDRICH MUELLER, commonly called " MUELLER DER MALER" (1750-1825) Was born in 1750, at Kreuznach, and besides painting, in- dulged in authorship. He resided for the most part at Rome, where he became artist and engraver, and he died there on the 23rd of April 1825. This author originated, in his opening sketches, a ro- mantic " genre " of quite a peculiar kind. He was upon intimate terms with Goethe, Heinse, and Klinger, espe- cially with the last two. In Miiller we can almost discern the dawn of the " Romantische Idee." The best of his productions are the idyllic poems entitled " Ulrich von Cossheim," " Die Schaafschur," and " Die Nusskemen," in all ot which he has followed nature with great fidelity. These pastorals are at once naive and pleasing, while they are also more finished than Midler's other works. His two pieces, " Der Soldatenabschied" and " Die Dithyrambe," are as good as any of their kind. In the poem, " Adam's erstes Erwachen " there are parts reaching a high order of metrical beauty. In the delineation and description of animals our poet is quite unique. Miiller s " Faust" is a mere romantic sketch ; his play of " Golo und Genovefa" is a far better effort. 203 POETICAL WRITERS. KAROLINE LOUISE BRACHMANN (1777-1822) "Was born at Rochlitz, on the 9th of February 1777. She was made acquainted with Novalis at Weissenfels, who forthwith introduced her to Schiller, by whom she was chaperoned into public notice; he being so much struck with her poetical powers, as voluntarily to insert her compositions in his " Musenalmanach," and in the " Horen." An unfor- tunate love affair instigated this clever authoress to commit suicide at Halle, on the 17th of September 1822. The muse of this lady is altogether of a lyric order. Her poetry is eminent for a certain grace and felicity of ex- pression, a vigorous invention, and for feeling and sensi- bility. She adopts an elegant and lady-like style of com- position, which gives her a place among the best poets of the modern school, witness her "Romantische Bliithen." The longest of her metrical works is " Das Gottesurtheil," which is clever, and well modulated. Her poem, " Kolumbus n is also exceedingly popular. " Das Schlummerlied fur mein Herz," " Elwira," " Der Fiihrer" (Novalis), are favourably known. She was also the authoress of those delightful little tales, known under the title of " Novellen und kleine Romane." CHEISTOPH AUGUST TIEDGE (1752-1841) Was born near Magdeburg, on the 13th of December 1752. Tiedge pursued judicial studies at Halle, and lived, after having filled several public offices, in retirement at Dresden, where he died in 1841. A train of fine and exalted feeling breathes in all the compositions of Tiedge, and lyrical talents and poetic grace are therein amalgamated in a charming manner. His works are penned in a pure and elegant diction, they develope sublime and profound ideas, while they are also 204 TIEDGE. KOSEGARTEN. copious and fluent in language, and free and ardent in style. The finished aud perfect mould of Tiedge's versifi- cation stamps him as a strictly classical author. His lyrical didactic poem, " Urania," abounds with meditations, philo- sophical as well as poetical, turning upon the freedom of the human will, religion, immortality, and God. In ele- giac poetry he is great. His " Schlacht von Kunersdorff," " Der Abend," " Blumen auf das Grab eines Kindes," are excellent productions ; and his idyllic, entitled " Das Echo," — also " iEnchen und Robert," — bear a high character. Tiedge's fables and his " Frauenspiegel " are likewise com- mendable. LUDWIG THEOBUL KOSEGARTEN (1758-1818) Was born on the 1st of February 1758, at Grevesmiihlen, in Mecklenburg. He studied theology at Greifswalde, and became in 1792 Provost of Altenkirchen in the island of Riigen ; he was afterwards a professor of history and Greek literature at Greifswalde, and died on the 26th of October 1818. Kosegarten was by no means deficient in the quali- ties necessary to constitute a poet. An intimate, a deeply- woven sensibility, and a fine invention, are to be met with in his works. Nevertheless, an air of affectation, pomposity of language, and falsely-placed pathos, frequently detract from his merit. Kosegarten's legends and idyllic poetry are, unquestionably, his most successful efforts. This is especially true of his sweet pastoral poem, " Jucunde," which is, perhaps, his best work. He likewise produced a very spirited version of Gray's " Elegy." He has, besides, left behind some novels, among which " Ida von Plessen" bears the highest repute. JENS BAGGESEN (1764-1826) A Dane by birth, but who naturalized himself in the German language. He was born at Korsoer in the island of Zea- BAGGESEN. 205 land, on the 15th of February 1764. He applied himself to philosophy, as well as poetry, of his aptitude in which he had given specimens at an early age. In the year 1793 he travelled into Italy, and became in 1796 a professor of Danish literature at Copenhagen. He died at Hamburgh on the 3rd of October 1826. The first collection of this author's humorous stories was given in Danish, when only twenty years of age. His early promise of poetical excellence was thus made manifest. Soon after this, he became naturalized, and wrote in Ger- man. The characteristics of Baggesen's poetry are, a brilliant wit, acute and striking perceptive power (a talent which he had no doubt acquired and perfected in the course of his travels), and an harmonious versification. His powers as a satirical writer are evidenced in his " Komische Erzahlungen," " Adam und Eva," and other works, all of which are very effective and diverting. Baggesen's curious poem, " Das Theelied," has risen into repute by its smart quizzing of the " Ichphilosophie " of Fichte. But the principal production of this writer is his " Parthenais oder die Alpenreise," an idyll in twelve cantos, written in hexa- meters. Much naivete of expression, and many delightful descriptions of natural scenery, give it a sterling value. In addition to this, he wrote a number of little humorous poetic pieces, which, from their being written equally well in Danish and in German, may be looked upon as acqui- sitions to both languages. 206 DRAMATIC AND PROSE WRITERS, etc. HELNRICH VOX KLEIST (1777-1811.) Was born at the town of Frankfort on the Oder, on the 10th of October 1777. Kleist, in the rank of officer, was present at the wars in the Rhine country, which took place in the year 1799. From and after 1810, Kleist resided, for the ' most part, in Berlin, and sedulously applied himself to the study of the muses. In a fit of hypochondriasis, he shot ; himself together with his friend Sophie Vogel, " am hei- ligen See," near Potsdam, on the 21st of November 1811. Kleist is, in many respects, a genuine disciple of the romantic school ; for there is certainly in his " Kathchen " a trace of the singularity peculiar to that circle of writers. But still, with all this, the development of his romantic thoughts inclines towards the realities of life. Kleist has been very successful as a dramatic writer, and, being en- dowed with considerable fancy, has produced plays, not only sterling and vigorous, but replete with poetical charms. He indeed cultivated poetry with remarkable success; and amidst all the poets of his time, was certainly one of the most reputed. Kleist's inventive powers were of an original cast ; his conceptions abound with grace and freshness ; his dialogue is smart, and correct in point of style. Tieck, in the introduction which he wrote to Kleist's works, desig- nated his genius in two words, — which opinion has ever since clung to it, — that the characteristic feature of it is, " eine herbe Frische." " Major Teilenheim," in Lessing's " Minna von Bamhelm," is thought to be a portraiture of Kleist. Kleist's first dramatic effort, published in 1803, bore the title of " Die Familie Schrofienstein," and ranks among the best plays of the time. The passions of hatred, district, and revenge, are clearly pourtrayed ; but the interest declines towards the conclusion. " Amphitryon," a comedy, KLEIST. 207 which came out in 1808, is rather broad in some of its situations ; still it is considerably better managed than Moliere's comedy of the same name, — who misunderstood and distorted the whole of the beautiful Grecian fable. Kleist's excellent play of " Kathchen von Heilbronn," was written in the year 1810. Borne, in his " Kritische Blatter," observes : " There is in this play both spirit and beauty. The two leading characters are delineated in a masterly style: regarded as a whole, it is an historical drama unique in its influence and grace. A comedy of Kleist's, " Der zerbrochene Krug," followed in 1812, the characters of which, in their several sketches, have scarcely ever been surpassed. There is, in all Kleist's comedies, a gushing exuberance of pleasure, which appears to come from his inmost heart. " Der Prinz von Hessen Hom- j burg" was published among his posthumous works. The purpose of this play obliged Kleist to slur over its poetical quality; he glances at many different matters, omitting several, which are left to the reading and sagacity of the reader to supply ; still, the form of this drama, as Tieck says, is a most artistic one. It evinces a profound know- ledge of the human heart, and the several characters in it are well and powerfully contrasted ; they exhibit a vein of tinting pure and splendid ; in short, this piece is worthy of being ranked amongst the best productions of the age. "Die Nachtwandler " is, in the opening scenes, original and attractive, but perhaps a little too fancifid for a histo- rical drama. " Die Hermann sschlacht" is far superior to it. Kleist, as we have seen, ranks very high as a dramatic writer, but his contributions in narrative prose are equally valuable. " Michael Kohlhaas,"particularly,is a very faithful picture of by-gone days, — perhaps the best sketch of its kind extant. Its scene is laid during the convulsed era of feudal chivalry. " Michael Kohlhaas " is certainly an excellent production ; and whether we regard its interesting situations (of which it is full), the startling and important events that 208 KXEIST. — COLLIN. succeed one another, the influential and vigorous details which disclose themselves in every page, — in each will it re- pay the utmost attention that the reader can bestow upon it. The style of Kohlhaas is simple and unpretending. HEINRICH JOSEPH EDELER VON COLLIN (1772-1811) "Was born on the 26th of December 1772, at Vienna ; he rose to be a counsellor of the court, and died on the 28th of July 1811. The poetical works of Collin are marked by gravity and lucidness of manner, as well as correctness of opinion. His tragedies are simple, and are all built upon the models of the classical dramatists. They do not exhibit so much power of invention, as of clear, deep, moral feeling ; and his descriptions are so true and real, and so exceedingly cha- racteristic, that we might almost be led to believe that Collin had actually been domiciled for a course of years with the old Roman noblesse or citizen. He seems, more- over, to be equally versed in the penetralia, or secret chambers of the Roman domestic life, as with the open aspects of the lowest classes: he is at home in them all. His tragedies of "Regulus" and "Balboa" are his two best ; to these may be added, " Coriolan," " Polyxena," j and others. His " Horatier und Curiatier" is managed in a true classical spirit. The distinctive blemish in the dramatic writings of this author is, that almost all his tra- gedies grow very tame and insignificant towards their conclusion ; and this, perhaps, is the reason why Collin is now but rarely spoken of. The odes of Collin betray a deficiency of natural keeping, although his war songs and military poems are very good. His romances, " Kaiser Max auf der Martinswand " and " Kaiser Albrecht's Himd" are established in popular favour. ADAM GOTTLIEB (EHLENSCHLJEGER (1779.) Was born on the 14th of November 1779, at Friedrichsberg, CEHLENSCHLiEGE R. 209 near Copenhagen. In the outset of his career, he went i upon the stage. In 1800 he studied the law. In 1805 he became a tourist, and travelled through Germany, France, and Italy ; he returned in 1809, and became the director of : the Theatre. Since 1811 he has been professor of aesthetics at the Copenhagen University. CEhlenschl^ger fulfills the duplex character of a Danish and German writer. The earliest of his productions were composed, in Danish, and afterwards translated by himself into German. A profound, but gentle, train of feeling, a richly-glowing fancy, and amenity of expression, are the peculiar graces of his works. Although his German writings do not display the strength and. richness that would have been found in a native author, yet, it must be admitted, he writes his acquired language with great ease and fluency. His literature is distinguished by the two (qualities of gravity and power, and portions, especially, of what we may call his " modele," are so striking in their character, that he may justly class among the best of our vernacular authors. (Ehlenschlager appears to the greatest advantage in the elaboration of subjects gathered from the history of northern Europe, and from the stores of the Scandinavian mytho- logy. " Hakon Jarl" (1809), is in high repute by German poets; it is a masterpiece in its way. His chef-d'oeuvre, however, is the drama of " Correggio" (1816), a truly ar- tistic work, both as to composition and. as to the arrange- ment of its subject-matter ; it is studded with profound, thoughts, and finished in a style of masterly elegance. The scenes where Correggio is in the picture gallery at Palermo (act iv.), may be specified as the finest and most successful of the whole book: in fact, (Ehlenschlager's sketches in this act are artistical and aesthetically beautiful. His dramas of " Palnatoke," " Hagbarth und Signe," " Erich und Abel," &c, are commendable productions, but they are much in want of dramatic power : so also his dra- p 210 CEHLEXSCHLJEGER. HOUWALD. matic poems entitled " Aladin" (1808), "Die Ludlams- hohle" (1818), " Freia's Altar" (1818), and " Der Hirten- knabe" (1820). (Ehlenschlager's lyric compositions mostly derive their subjects from the northern legends and tales, and are written with elegance and skill. His novel " Die Insel Felsenburg" is replete with life, and may be allowed to take the lead of his fictions, all of which, indeed, are specimens of a clear and good style. (Ehlenschlager's " Autobiography" should not be passed over, inasmuch as it describes every event with apparent veracity and candour. It contains so many interesting anecdotes and adventures, and has so many at- tractive collateral features, that it is always likely to keep its place among the lives of authors written by themselves. CHRISTOPH ERNST FREIHERR VON HOUWALD (1778-1822) Was born on the 29th of November 1778, at Straupitz, "in der Lausitz." He entered upon his studies at Halle, where he enjoyed the friendship and society of many distinguished persons. He lived at his seat of Sellendorf, and died in 1822. This writer was gifted with considerable talents for poetry and the drama, which he chiefly evidenced by his tragedy of " Das Bild," wherein some clever descriptions , may be pointed out. His plays of " Die Heimkehr und , der Leuchtthurm," " Flug und Segen," " Die Feinde," " Der Fiirst und der Burger," contain many poetical graces, but suffer more or less in the question of tragic aestheti- cism; for in all his dramatic labours, Houwald followed closely in the footsteps of Werner and Milliner, so that nearly all his pieces are chargeable with the faults charac- teristic of this school of letters. He wrote several very | clever tales, particularly for children, in which he evinced great tact and readiness. CONTESSA. 211 CHRISTIAN JACOB SALICE CONTESSA (1767-1825) Was born at Hirschberg, on the 21st of February 1767, in which town he was a merchant. He lived, for the greater part of his life, at his country-seat Liebenthal, near Grei- fenberg, where he died on the 11th September 1825. Contessa was a clever writer, and his compositions abound with genuine wit and healthy humour. In con- junction with his brother Karl, he prepared " Dramatische Spiele und Erzahlungen," and the piece " Das Bild der Mutter und das blonde Kind:" the latter is very much liked. Contessa's poetry is always given in one peculiar form, — but the diction is generally good, and the descriptions are animated. While imprisoned in the fortress at Stettin, on account of certain connexions which rendered him ob- noxious to the government, he brought out his novel of " Almanzor," a work that is so far interesting, as it exhibits a faithful picture of its author's springs of thought. KARL WLLHELM SALICE CONTESSA (1777-1825) Was born on the 19th of August 1777, at Hirschberg, in Silesia. He was a Doctor of Philosophy. He died on the • 2nd June 1825. j This writer was the brother of the former Contessa, and the intimate friend of Houwald ; an unassuming, good- natured, and amiable man. He has been described by the novelist Hoffmann, in his " Seraphions-Bruder," under the name of Sylvester. As a poet, he distinguished himself; but as a dramatic writer more especially has he acquired his fame. His comedies of " Das Rathsel," " Der unterbro- chene Schwatzer," " Der Findling," and " Der Talisman," have been each very favourably received by the public. There is a truthfulness in the development of these pieces, added to a fine flow of dialogue, that bespeak their literary value. 212 HEINSE. In co-operation with De la Motte Fouque, and F. A, Hoffmann, he published his " Kindermahrchen," which are justly admired for the easy and amusing style and the vein of pleasant ingenuity in which they are written. JOHANN JACOB WILHELM HEINSE (1749-1803) Was born on the 16th of February 1749, at Langeweisen, near Hmenau. At Jena he prosecuted the study of jurispru- dence, and subsequently became the librarian of the elector Friedrich Carl Joseph, at Mainz. He died on the 22nd of June 1803, at Asschaffenburg. Heinse was a disciple of the Wieland school, but he eventually departed from the principles of his prototype. He affected the sensual mannerism of Wieland, which appears in his " Sinngedichte" (1791), as also in the trans- lation of " Petron" (1794). His " Kunst Roman," " Ar- ; dinghello," and " Hildegard von Hohenthal," may be said to obey, without any restriction whatever, the promptings of a most voluptuous fancy. The sketches of character, and the delineations of nature, to be met with in these two 1 works, are most nervous and powerful ; nevertheless, the various narratives have been left by their author in a frag- mentary state. But we must, in justice to morality, say, that the vol up- J tuous representations in which his novels abound, make them a dangerous kind of reading to weak minds and un- formed characters. On the other hand, we cannot help admitting, that the novel of " Ardinghello" contains a mul- titude of original descriptions of natural scenery, while his allusions to the remains of ancient art are written in the same winning and extraordinary force of language. JOHANN GOTTLIEB SEUME (1763-1810) Was born the 29th of January 1763, at Passau, near Weis- < senfels. He was the son of a farmer, in poor circumstances. Count Hohenthal-Knauthayn took a fancy to him when a boy, and had him educated. After having finished his SEUME. 213 humanistical studies at Leipzic, he determined upon walking to Paris, but on the frontiers of Hessen he was seized by recruiting soldiers, and transported to Canada, to fight against the rebels. When he returned, he made two un- successful attempts to escape. Latterly he resided at Warsaw, serving as a Russian officer — eventually retiring to Leipzig. In 1801, he set out for another great pedes- trian tour to Sicily, the narrative of which he gives in his " Spaziergang." He then (in 1805) took a similar journey through Moscow, Petersburg, Finland and Sweden, which he describes in his " Mein Sommer." He died at Tbplitz, on the 13th June 1810. Seume was a man of blunt and energetic disposition, imbued with an ardent love of truth and justice, but also With a prejudice touching the corruptions of human nature, I — one consequence of which is, a kind of harshness and severity in his delineations ; still that very feature is indi- cative of such depth and sincerity of feeling, of such noble manliness, such candour and beauty of character, that we cannot help loving and venerating a man who so eminently asserts his German origin and descent. Seume has written many very clever things in prose and poetry, which have procured him the high position in the German na- tional literature, which he will doubtless always hold. His " Spaziergang nach Syracus," projected and executed during a journey which he made on foot, in the year 1801, through Austria, Italy, and France, is a most amusing and entertaining volume; and the same maybe said of his account of the tour which he made from Petersburg to Finland, and which bears the title of " Mein Sommer im Jahre 1803." The introduction to this is a curious memo- rial of his ardent and deeply-seated passion for freedom and patriotism. The tragedy " Miltiades" is remarkable for the manly and exalted tone of its sentiments, and the vigour of its thoughts and language ; it has little or no theatrical value, as it is absolutely deficient in stage-effect; 214 SEUME. but it has, however, a poetical value. His autobiography, " Mein Leben," is one of the most entertaining and at- tractive specimens of its kind ; it is written with simplicity and naivete, and is a vivid and, most likely, an accurate reflection of Seume's own personal character. His poetry is of the same tendency as all his other writings, — simple, unassuming, and manly. 215 MODERN TIME. (1813-1820.) Another era in German literature now dawns upon our view, — the instrument in bringing to maturity genius of quite a novel kind, ascending the Parnassus of Fame by new and untried paths, and adopting for its material the pass- ing, as well as the coming, interests and events of the age with which it is conversant. The great body of the people were at that time called upon to take up arms against Napoleon Buonaparte, — that great conqueror, who, for the second time, was pressing onwards with his indomitable troops, and once again infesting the frontiers of Germany. It was a time when no one waited to be asked, but hurried to the national standard, to join in the defence of his country, and to exchange lyre and harp for sword and spear. It was an epoch of great deeds, of valorous exploits. Freedom took, as it were, a fresh aspect, — the promise of a new form of nationality, whose constitution was as yet hidden in futurity. Young and ardent poets were stirred with a sudden and overpowering inspiration, and came for- ward with their Homeric war-songs. Poetry was heard to break forth in noble and joyous appeals, which were, after all, but the echoes of the jar and conflict of battle, emu- lating, in its tones, the clash of steel with steel, the boom- ing of the cannon, and the latest sigh of the wounded war- rior, devoted to an ecstatic murmuring of the name of the far distant mistress of his heart. But, above all the noble- minded young men who were banded together into the " Liitzow Corps," we must signalize that enthusiastic, that lofty-minded, that sweet and gentle youth, who nerved his own and his comrades arms, and benefited his country and the world, by his patriotic " Kriegslieder ;" it need hardly be added, that we mean— 216 KORNER. KARL THE ODOR KQERNER (1791-1813), Who was born on the 23rd of September 1791, at Dresden. He studied at Leipzic in 1810, and accepted the situation of poet to the theatre at Vienna. In 1813, upon the breaking out of the war, Korner exchanged the lyre for the sword. Theodor Korner was the son of Schiller's most intimate friend, and the first who ventured to raise the holy war- song ; — holy, because uttered in the sacred name of liberty. A deep vein of patriotism, and heart-born expressions, con- stitute the leading beauties of his muse. The lyre of battle had in him the most inspiring of its attendant bards. His poems were the national and true exponent of the feel- ings of the patriotic of his day ; and, although we are ready to allow that his works are not all constructed upon a strictly poetic model, they will perhaps always rank as the noblest repository of Germanic feelings. The poems published under the title of " Lever und Schwert" are some of the fruits of inspiration of which we have been speaking ; — they serve, indeed, for the symbol- ism of Bellona. "Jagerlied," " Gebeth wahrend der Schlacht," " Aufruf," " Reiterlied," " Was uns bleibt," but particularly the " Schwertlied,'' and that exceedingly beauti- ful song, " Lutzows wilde Jagd," are among the most popular. With regard to Korner's other poems, not in- cluded in the " Lever und Schwert," we may particularize, as the best and most liked, " Der Kynast," " Wallhaide," and " Der Teufel in Salamanka." Korner's dramatic talents produced most promising germs, but no flowers ensued. His tragedy " Zriny" is certainly his best. Still, his little comedies of " Der griine Domino," " Die Braut," are very clever in their way, and remarkable for a happy invention. His drama entitled " Toni" is built upon the model of a novel of Kleist's, " Die ^ erlobung in St. Domingo ;" it is dressed out in very bright colours, but not sufficiently finished in its sketches of life and character, nor is its tone of light and shade sufficiently KOENEB. — SCHENKENDOEF. 217 decided. " Der Nachtwachter," " Der Vetter a us Bremen," are two small, but witty and amusing pieces, and both es- tablished favourites with the German public, i Korner was adjutant of " Liitzow" when he was wounded in the breast by a cannon-shot. This unhappy event happened in the fight of Gadebusch, on the 26th August 1813, just after he had finished reading to his friends his famous " Schwertlied." He was buried under a fine old oak, near the village of Wobbelin, where a brass monument denotes the place of his grave. MAX FR. SCHENK VON SCHENKENDOEF (1784-1817) Was born at Tilsit, on the 11th of December 1784. He was a counsellor of the regency at Coblentz ; and died on the 11th of December 1817. The war-songs of this writer are among the finest of those of the troublous era of 1813-1815. They breathe the spirit of freedom, and of a soldierly daring ; in fact Schenk is a worthy contemporary of Korner. He had no sooner returned to the camp, after the battle in which he had taken part, than he jotted down, in a poetic form, all the circumstances, great and small, of the awful scene of war. It was Schenk who wrote that admirable "Landsturmlied," also " Die Feuer sind entglommen," " Den Uebergang iiber den Rhein," " Scharnhorst's Tod," " Soldatenmorgen- lied," " Das Lied von den deutschen Stromen," &c, all of ■■ which were written under the spur and prompting of na- tional liberty, and were finished off in a peculiar style of beauty. He exhibited a literary grace of high order, and an enthusiastic love of freedom ; a glowing imagina- tion, and a romantic turn, are also discernible in his writ- ings. The delightful poems " Der Schwarzwald," " Das Bergschloss," " Der Dom zu Speier," and the religious poems " Sehnsucht," " Am Sonntage," &c, are very com- mendable efforts in their peculiar style, and betoken that 218 STJEGEMANN. great love of nature that seems to have ever resided in the breast of Schenkendorf. FRLEDRICH AUGUST VON STiEGEMANN (1763) Was born at Vierraden, in the Ukermark, on the 7 th of No- vember 1763. He filled the office of counsellor of state at Berlin; and died on the 18th of December 1840. St^egemann was of the number of those bards who, at the season of war, manfully swept the lyre, and had the power to strike therefrom martial, inspiring strains of pa- triotism. Stagemann's " Kriegsgesange aus den Jahren 1806-1813," are a body of songs and poems stamped with the impress of a noble mind, and redolent also of the love of country, which the German fatherland so eminently suggests. Truly national is E. M. Arndt's "Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland ?" A patriotic vein flows through F. G. Wetzel's " Lieder aus dem Kriegsjahre 1813," Fr. Ruckert's " Geharrnischte Sonetten," Fouqul's " Kriegslieder," &c. EPIC AND LYRIC POETS. ERNST KONRAD FRIEDRICH SCHULZE (1789-1817) Was born on the 22nd of March 1789, at Zelle. He was a doctor of philosophy ; and died on the 26th of June 1817. This delightful writer, and sweet poet of love, created for himself an enduring reputation, although his career was short, and his place in the court of the muses too soon left vacant. The neat structure of Schulze's verses, even at his very outset, gave promise that he would one day rise to con- siderable eminence. He evinced very decided leanings towards the idealism of the romantic school, of which his SCHULZE. 219 " Bezauberte Rose" and " Ca3cilie" afford, we think, suffi- cient proofs. Our author's first efforts in poetry were made as early as the age of eighteen, when he produced his ; " Psyche," a piece of descriptive verse that contains some fine parts. Not loug after this, Schulze became deeply enamoured of a beautiful girl, named Csecilie, but who, un- fortunately, fell a victim to an illness under which she had been labouring for nearly a year. It was at this saddening crisis that Schulze's melancholy, yet enthusiastic regret was worked up to the highest pitch, and, under the sug- gestions of his bereaved affections, he conceived the idea of writing the apotheosis of this young girl, — a subject that would necessarily draw upon his highest powers. Accord- ingly, in three years' time, his " Csecilie" made its appear- ance. It was evidently Schulze's design, in this work, to follow Dante's steps, in regard to " Beatrice," and to exalt and celebrate his heroine's virtues, beauty, and accomplish- ments in every possible way. In "Csecilie," as Menzel acutely and pithily remarks, " we find sundry mannerisms, gathered from Homer, Ossian,the Niebelungen, the Edda, Dante, Tasso, and, lastly, from the Easterns." In 1814, Schulze entered the army, and, upon the ter- mination of the campaign, returned home, greatly debili- tated in health. Two years afterwards, at the end of a tour up the Rhine, and while struggling with consumption, our poet gave to the world that very charming performance " Die bezauberte Rose" (translated into English by W. Waddilove, 1835: Leipzig); so ornate and sublime a work, that, so to speak, it swiftly glided, on soaring pin- nions, through the higher atmosphere of the romantic school. The main idea of the work is, in the first place, unquestionably admirable; and, secondly, the working out of that idea, the high finish of the several characters and scenes, — not forgetting, in especial, the exceedingly easy and graceful structure of the versification, — have combined to secure for this work of Schulze an undying literary 220 SCHULZE. — PLATEN. renown. " Die bezauberte R,ose" is a purely classical pro- duction, and though produced at the last moment of its author's existence, he lived to enjoy the first tokens of its never-dying fame. AUGUST GRAF V. PLATEN ZU HALLERMUENDE* (1796-1835) Was born at Ansbach, on the 24th of October 1796 ; was edu- cated at the university of Erlangen, and rose to the rank of chamberlain at the Wirternburg court. Platen ended his days at Syracuse, on the 5th of December 1835. Platen was gifted with great elasticity of mind as a writer, and also with a fine ear and rare industry in the improvement of his style, which he succeeded in bringing to great refinement. Whatever may be said of Platen's deficiencies in that literary quality which conduces to pic- torial effect, we may adduce him, on the other hand, as one of those few authors who, at a time when the outward forms of poetry were generally neglected or despised, used the utmost diligence in the construction of his metrical forms. Platen's " Gazeln," says Goethe, " although not intended to be sung, we have much pleasure in noticing as deeply-felt, clever, and beautiful poems, with quite the cha- racter and mannerism of the East. With a success equal to that with which our author imi- tated the peculiar style of the Italian sonnet, we afterwards find him — in his satirical plays, for instance, as also in much of his lyric poetry — adopting the style of the ancient classics. His song beginning : " Wie rafft' ich mich auf, in der Nacht, in der Nacht," &c, is very fine, whilst the following pieces are highly esteemed : " Der Pilgrim von St. Just," " Das Grab im Busento," " Zobir," " Die Fischer auf Capri," " Bilder aus Neapel," &c. * J. Minckwitz. Graf von Platen als Mensch und Dichter. 1839. PLATEN. — PYRKER. 221 Some of Platen's comedies abound with polemical allu- sions of a very stringent nature ; such is " Die verhang- nissvolle Gabel," in which he caricatures certain public cha- racters, and burlesques sundry well known tales and legends. In act iv. he introduces two words, in which he puts the compounding qualities of the German language in a hu- morous and somewhat satirical light : the one is " Ober- tollhausuberschnappungsnaiTenschiff ;" and the other, in act v., " Demagogenriechernashornsangesicht." This co- medy satirizes the " Schicksalstragodien," so much in vogue at that time, and points evidently at Milliner and the fol- lowers of his school. With the same drift and spirit, our poet's " Romantischer OEdipus" was composed : a play which chivalrously cuts to pieces Houwald's " Dramatische Schwachlinge," as Platen ; terms them, together with the insipid productions of Clauren. Many other writers — as, for example, Kind, Kotzebue, Immermann, and Heine — were also rigorously assailed in this piece. "Graf Platen," says Goethe, "possesses all the main requisites required to form a good poet : vigour of imagi- nation, originality, intellect, and productiveness." There is likewise to be observed in him, a consummate technical training and a preparation of classical learning, joined to an earnestness of manner, which few other dramatists can equal. Still, Platen's unlucky polemical bias has proved a great impediment to his reputation. JOHANN LADISLAV PYEKER FELSCE-ECER (1772) Was born on the 2nd of November 1772, at Langh, in Hun- gary, and, in process of time, became the archbishop of Erlau, — an episcopate in the north of that kingdom. The characteristics of the poetical works of Pyrker are, 1 a most admirable protraiture of character, and delinea- tions of charming grace and dignity. His " Rudolph von Habsburg, Heldengedicht in 12 Gesangen," contains 222 ZEDLITZ. some admirably classical specimens of this kind ; for in- stance, the description of the Alps, and the effect it has upon the soldiers, detailed in the opening of the first " Ge- sang." In the 4th canto he treats us to a most successful delineation of the Magician. The funeral of the Empress is masterfully pourtrayed in the 6th ; and the 10th Gesang belongs, in point of true poetry, to the most exquisite portion of the work. Every thing in " Rudolph von Habsburg" has real life, individuality, and spirit. In fact, this epic poem may class with the most excellent achievements of modern times. Pyrker's " Tunisias," in 12 Gesangen, is also a very commendable effort of the same class.* JOSEPH CHRISTIAN PREIHERR VON ZEDLITZ (1790) "Was born at Johannisberg, in Silesia, 1790, and was chamber- lain at the court of Vienna. Zedlitz is a lyric poet and dramatist combined, his " Todtenkranze" being the creation of a truly poetic mind, and vying with the best lyric productions of the time. The meditations on nature, scattered everywhere throughout this work, are both true and profound, its various characters life-like and impressive, while the descriptions are animated and clever. The portions of the " Todtenkranze," in which allusions are made to the Italian poet Tasso, to be found in the Canzonen 59 to 78, deserve the highest praise. Of Zedlitz's other poems, we may particularize " Die Abassi- den," " Wilhelm Tell," " Das Geisterschiff," " Winter- lieder," and " Der Liebe Lust und Qual." The most ster- ling amongst them is his " Mitternaehtliche Heerschau," a poem, that from its fine conception, has become quite popular. The most successful dramatic works of Zedlitz are: * Soller, F. E. Kommentar zu J. L. Pyrker's Werken. 1839. ZEDLITZ. 223 "Turturel," " Zwei Naehte zu Valladolid," and " Der Stern von Sevilla." To these may be added the comedy of " Liebe findet ihre Wege," and the drama of "Kerker und Krone." But the dramatic compositions of this author are justly open to censure, from their being too much built upon the Spanish model, and too lyrical. The high artisti- cism, and the consummate elegance of the diction fre- quently destroy the verisimilitude and freshness of his scenes. The literature of Germany is marked by specific sec- tions and historical periods. In this spirit, amongst others, we light upon a group of three graces, viz, Rahel, Bet- tina, and Charlotte Stieglitz, three ladies who are re- markably allied and akin in their literary and intellectual life. Their talents and endowments, it is true, were deve- loped in entirely different directions, but there subsists, nevertheless, a unity or coalescence between them, that is scarcely susceptible of any kind of individualization. RAHEL, ANTONIE ERIEDERLKE VARNHAGEN VON ENSE (Geborene Levin, spiiter Robert). Born 1771 ; died the 7th of March 1833. Is didactic in her whole spirit and genius : with profound insight into the mind, she gazed upon the foundation of knowledge, and entered w 7 ith the whole force of her com- prehensive understanding upon reflections and meditations, the results of which are remarkably luminous and clear. Her union with the spirited writer, Varnhagen von Ense, exer- cised a vast influence upon her mental character and con- dition. Much as the superior mental qualities of her hus- band were altogether kindred with her own, and well-fitted to second her intellectual exertions, Rahel, as Mundt says, was like a " Thyrsus-schwingerin der Zeitgedanken," re- gulating, after the manner of the Pythoness of old, the past 224 RAHEL. and future in her divining soul, and delivering profound yet laconic vaticinations upon the state and growth of things. Rahel, in her inner spirit, was a poetess and artiste, yet she never gathered together, or made a transcript of, the riches of her mind, having only casually scattered them over her epistolary correspondence. After the death of Rahel, Vara- hagen von Ense, in remembrance of the departed, presented the world with a delightful work, which he entitled " Ra- hel." This book unfolds the valuable treasures of a richly stored mind ; and was soon followed by a second work, " Gallerie von Bildnissen, aus Rahels Umgang und Brief- w r echsel," a publication which gives us a collection of the characters and portraits of sundry celebrated mcu (described by her husband) who arose within the horizon of this lady's acquaintances. Rand's graphic powers are thoroughly excellent, and be- speak, on the first view, the exalted yet deeply reflective organization of the mind from whence they sprang. She is just as inexhaustible, in her letters, in original and profitable philosophy, as Bettina is in her poetic invention, and both books constitute most important aids towards the develope- ment of the German mind, from the close of the last century up to the present revolution of July. Rahel's early recognition of the genius of Goethe, and of the universal significance and application of his poetry, is one circumstance that attaches her to the literature of her country. Even as a young girl, in her quiet meditative hours, Rahel had read the works of Goethe then published, and drinking deep of the understanding and intellectual force contained therein, she was quick to mark the mighty mastery that prevailed in the writings of this king of bards. It was she who, by bringing Goethe's poetic greatness within the calm regions of private life, contributed to hasten the coming of that day of enthusiastic appreciation, which subsequently dawned upon his labours. BETT1NA. 225 BETTINA VON ARNIM (geborene Brentano). This lady, the sister of Clemens Brentano, was the wife of Achim von Arnim. Her turn is purely idyllic ; she floats on airy pinions in the weird expanse of romantic ideal- ism. Bettina's home was, both by birth and marriage, in the " Romantik" school, and she can trace her inner mental organization, in a most marked and peculiar sense, from the family of Novalis. This writer easily loses herself in the sweet passages of nature, which she lays open to us in a strictly idyllic vein of language. Everything that the poetical mind can de- sire will be found in Bettina's works, enwreathed together in most delightful harmony. The odorous breath of a thousand flowers come forth to greet us, whenever we take up the volumes of this elegant authoress. Her naive toy- ings re-awaken the notes, half lost to our ear, that pealed benignantly upon us in the season of childhood. This lady's leading work brings us into close contact with Goethe himself. Even in the days of her early youth, Bettina seems to have regarded the illustrious author of the " Faust" with wonder and astonishment,— she having eagerly im- bibed and bruited abroad the variform legends referring to him. She entered into familiar epistolary correspondence with Goethe ; and her book, " G oethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde" (an epistolary poem, as it has often been termed), wins us, by a most strange attraction, into the glorious circle of this poet's influence. Bettina has here divulged, in her own peculiarly fasci- nating way, the profound est and sweetest secrets of woman's nature, as well as of man's heart and soul, having ushered in the plain unvarnished truth so pleasantly, that the irre- sistible charm has gone abroad and diffused itself, almost indeed like a feeling of adoration, over the whole German public. Moreover, in the third volume of the work will be found the " Diary" in which Bettina has opened, under the form of aphorisms, the annals of her earlier life. She has Q 226 BETTINA. CHARLOTTE STIEGLITZ. presented us with a hook, observes Feuchtersleben, whose amenity and poetical beauties beam out the more freshly and entrancingly, the oftener we peruse it. But our authoress has also recently published a n?w book, entitled " Die Gunderode." This work, like the one treated above, contains delineations of the calmest aspects of the world and of human society. Everything in " Die Gunderode" is at once felt to be true and life-like ; full of the out-breathings of youth, and of life-buoyant freshness. An affluence of ideas and reflections is generated in the mind, almost as a natural consequence, by reading this poetical book. Her last work, " Dies Buch gehort dem Konig," — which is dedication and title at the same time, — is again poetical recollections of Frankfurt life, conversa- tions with Frau Rath (Goethe's mother), and evinces all the beauties and faults of Bettina's former works. CHARLOTTE STIEGLITZ (geborene Sophie Willhbft) Born 18th June 1806. The whole nature and disposition of this authoress were of a sentimental cast. To lively, yet deep feeling, she united great powers of thought, with poetic sensibility. Her leading work bears the title of " Charlotte Stieglitz," — a memento put forth under the editorship of T. Mundt. Our authoress married Stieglitz, also a writer, who fell into a state of complete hypochondriasis, which gradually encreased. His lady being exceedingly attached to him, and being desirous of trying whether she could not (so to speak) startle him into sanity by some act of unexpected monstrosity, stabbed herself with a dagger. This dreadful event occurred on the 29th of December 1834. 227 TALE WEITEES AND NOVELISTS. WILHELM HAUEF (1802-1827) Was born at Stuttgart, on the 29th of November 1802. He entered upon a course of theology at Tubingen, but devoted himself ever afterwards to the elegant occupations of the muses. In 1827, Hauff undertook the editorship of the " Morgenblatt," but did not hold the office long, as he died on the 17 th of November in the same year. Hauff's writings deserve a high place in this department of letters. His " Mahrchen" prove him to be a master in the capacious and attractive edifice of fiction. Hauff's descriptions are all neatly executed, and what he has to tell is always of a startling nature. His " Memoiren des I Satans" — rather a fragmentary and fugitive performance — contains, nevertheless, some rich descriptive parts. Hauff, ' by a few striking touches, rapidly delineates character with a life-like faithfulness, — as in the case of Goethe. His next novel was " Der Mann im Monde." We further par- ticularize Hauff's most celebrated novel of " Die Lichten- steiner." Then again his " Das Bild des Kaisers," and his " Phantasien im Bremer Eathskeller," — a work abound- ing with witty and clever portraiture. His minor stories, ! " Die Bettlerin vom Pont des Art," " Das kalte Herz ," ; are likewise of a most amusing and entertaining kind. KAEL FRANZ VAN DER VELDE (1779-1824) Was born at Breslau, on the 29th of September 1779 ; became a barrister-at-law ; and died on the 6th of April 1824. Van der Velde has often been compared to Sir Walter Scott, from the circumstance of his having introduced his- toric characters and events into his various novels and tales. But the fiction itself was, after all, our author's chief concern ; as was the display of human character with his illustrious parallel. Van der Velde's works form, as a 228 VAN DER VELDE. whole, a most interesting series of fictions, and occupy a very prominent station in the German national literature. Under the title of "Erzstufen,"this author gave to the world his first efforts in romance. Of these, " Die Tartarenschlacht" is the best, but " Filibuster," was scarcely so successful — the one betraying scintillations of poetical genius, and the other being imperfectly and too sketchily executed. " Guido" is a moral tale, and of a character likely to prove generally useful and instructive. " Die Patrizier" and " Die Wiedertaufer" give us some very exact pictures of local customs and particular historical epochs, and are among the best things that van der Velde has done. The characteristic, powerful, and fascinating tale of " Die Lichtensteiner" is entitled to the same credit, as being a forcible historical novel, with a rather romantic denoue- 7nent. " Die Maltheser" is a kindred performance with the three preceding ; like them, exhibiting a faithful por- traiture of popular habits and usages. Nevertheless, his " Eroberung von Mexico" and " Arred Gyllenstierna" are accounted his best productions. Another effort of van der Velde's, " Christine und ihr Hof," has been much and deservedly admired. " Das Liebhaber Theater" is an in- teresting and well told tale: it contains many pleasant features, and is highly finished. Our author is superior to many of his literary contempo- raries, in the skill, originality, verisimilitude, and, above all, the decided moral tendency, that so eminently pervade his novels ; while they embody a large variety of historical facts and incidents, which are set forth in a truthful man- ner, and not unfrequently grow into a beautiful and almost poetic style. CHRISTIAN WEISSFLOG (1780-1828) Was born on the 27th of December 1780. He was a doctor of jurisprudence; and died the 17th of July 1828, at Warm- brunn. The " Phantasiestucke" and " Historien" of this author WEISSFLOG. — HOEN. 229 are a collection of amusing anecdotes and current adven- tures, and an emporium of the different novelties in vogue in the times in which he lived. Weissflog's works are very cleverly written: his style is sterling and powerful, ex- hibiting much refined taste and judgment. FRANZ HOEN (1781-1837) Was born in the town of Brunswick, on the 30th of July 1781 ; became a doctor of philosophy, and died at Berlin, on the 19th of July 1837.* Horn was an exceedingly industrious writer. His novel entitled " Der Dichter" is considered his best work ; but also his " Kampf und Sieg" has several sterling parts, and argues favourably of Horn's talents and deep feelings. Horn's works on German literature, — such as, for ex- ample, his " Geschichte und Kritik der deutschen Poesie," and " Die schone Literatur Deutschlands," are evidently penned in a tone of enthusiastic love for the subjects on which they treat, showing, at the same time, considerable intelligence ; and although Horn's critical judgment is not in all cases to be implicitly relied on, yet these works have been of considerable importance. " Erlauterungen iiber Shakspeare's Schauspiele" was the occupation of more than twenty years. It contains many interesting and valuable remarks, that serve to illustrate and explain the text of the great English dramatist. ALEXANDER AUGUST FERDINAND VON BRONI- KOWSKY (1788-1834) Born at Leipsic, on the 28th of February 1788 ; in the Prus- sian and Polish service, formed one of the staff of the Duke of Bellino : since 1815 Polish major. He died at Dresden, on the 22nd of January 1834. Bronikowsky wrote a number of novels and tales, in * Franz Horn, ein biographisches Denkmal. 1839. 230 BRONIKOWSKY. — SCHILLING. which he generally introduced historical personages and events. His best novel is unquestionably the one he has called " Veit ;" and most of his writings are good speci- mens of the Novelistic school of fiction. Not but that a certain carelessness may be often detected in his descrip- tive portions, which certainly impairs the effect that Broni- kowsky's compositions would otherwise be calculated to produce. His " Polen im 17 ten Jahrhundert" is not basec upon deep historical knowledge. FRIEDRICH GUSTAV SCHILLING (1766) Born 25th of November 1766, at Dresden; was a captain in the army. Schilling is a great mannerist: he has written at leas fifty tolerable novels and tales. Of these, " Roschen' Geheimnisse," " Das Weib wie es ist," " Der Roman im Romane," " Die Brautschau," " Hausliche Bilder," &c. may be mentioned as some of his happiest efforts ; ye " Guido von Sohnsdom" is one of his cleverest attempts. HISTORIANS. ARNOLD HERMANN LUDWIG HEEREN (1760-1842) Was born the 27th October 1760, at Arbergen, near Bremen and held, since 1801, the professorships of philosophy an( history at the university of Gottingen, where he died in 1842. Heeren was assuredly one of the most ingenious historic graphers of his time. In Gottingen, the real seat an( school of modern historical research and composition, he wrote with an iron industry, in harmony with the spirit o the time, and with a constant view to farther enlighten ment. His inquiries into the science of politics, known to HEEREN. ARNDT. 231 the erudite under the title of " Handbuch der Geschichte des Europaischen Staatensystems," have diffused his lite- rary reputation. Heeren has also given us an elaborate work upon the commerce of the ancients, namely, his " Ideen iiber die Politik, Handel, etc. der Volker des Al- terthums," a production that has likewise contributed to extend his fame. His " Geschichte des Studiums der clas- sischen Literatur" is another very important and valuable work. ERNST MORITZ ARNDT (1769) Was born in the Isle of Riigen, on the 26th of December 1769. Upon the completion of his studies, he made a tour through Germany, France, and Italy, and on his return, in 1803, became a professor of philosophy in Greifswalde. In 1808, Arndt was obliged to fly before the conquering arms of Napoleon, to Sweden, where he remained for some time. In the season of war, Arndt's inspiring and patriotic pam- phlets, illustrated as they were by the encouraging light of his own personal valour, exercised no inconsiderable influ- ence over his fellow-countrymen. Arndt is now lecturing at the university of Bonn.* Moritz Arndt is an historian and poet, and evinces considerable genius as both. In his voyages and travels, no less than in his historical and scientific works, the ex- tensive information and learning of Arndt shone conspicu- ously. His " Reise durch Schweden, Italien, Frankreich, &c." stamped him as a chronicler, whose observations were both keen and true. Arndt's " Geist der Geschichte" (1806), derived its chief influence from its appealing repre- sentations of historical and political events. This produc- tion, imbued as it is with a spirit of daring liberalism, found an immediate circulation, and is by far the most * E. M. Arndt. Erinnerungen aus dem ausseren Leber). 1839. 232 ARXDT. N IEBUHR. admired of his compositions. In 1813, Arndt's poems acted as incentives in many German hearts and minds, to the achievement of heroic deeds. His poem " Bliicher," may- be styled a truly classical specimen in this " genre ;" whilst his patriotic song- " Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland?" is a universal favourite. Praise is likewise due to his work " Ansichten und Aussichten der deutschen Geschichte," which appeared in 1817. Arndt's prevailing theme has ever been to defend the Rhine boundary of his country, — the true, intrinsic, and proper Germanism whereof he was always ready to shield and to enforce with the whole vigour of his zeal, a vigour increased, no doubt, by his national antipathy against the French. BARTHOLD GEORG N IEBUHR (1776-1831) Was born in Copenhagen, in the year 1776. In 1816, am- bassador at Rome ; afterwards lectured at the university of Bonn. He died at Berlin, on the 2nd of January 1831.* The interest Niebuhr exercises as a philologist is well known and valued by scholars, whilst his " Romische Ge- schichte," arising out of his classical studies, is universally pronounced quite a masterpiece of its order, and an extra- ordinary specimen of independent and industrious research, and consummate historic veracity. The work has been trans- lated into English by Bishop Thirlwall and Archdeacon Hare, continued by Dr. Smith and Dr. Schmitz. As a Roman history, it ranks among the first of European works. A small brochure has lately been published on Grecian heroes — " Griechische Heroengeschichten," which Niebuhr wrote in letters to his youthful son. * Niebuhr's Lebensnachrichten, 3 vols. 8°. A most interest- ing work. BECKER. HUMBOLDT. 233 KARL FRIEDRICH BECKER (1777-1806) Born at Berlin, 1777. Doctor of philosophy. Died on the 15th March 1806. The " Weltgeschichte" of this author is a book well cal- culated to please and inform the general reader ; it is writ- ten in a commendable and very attractive style, and is, in fact, the most popular work of the kind extant on the con- tinent. Becker also composed a series of historical tales, expressly designed for the use of children, and entitled " Erzahlungen aus der alten Welt," wherein he has shown himself to be quite at home in the art of interesting young people in his simple and intelligible narrative of events, and of entertaining them with a variety of descriptions, which are at once luminous and amusing. GRAMMARIANS, CRITICS, etc. etc. FREIHERR FRIEDRICH HEINRICH ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT (1769) Was born in Berlin, on the 14th of September 1769 ; he studied philosophy and medicine at Gottingen. This done, he set out upon his travels, in company with the well known Bonpland. Their tour extended over the whole of South America. In the year 1829, our author ventured into the bleak regions of Siberia, and progressed towards the borders of the Caspian Sea. A. v. Humboldt is living at present at Berlin, enjoying the intimate friendship of the king of Prussia, and all the learned men of the age. A. v. Humboldt is, without doubt, the greatest and most illustrious name that German letters can adduce at the present day. The date and rise of this famous traveller and naturalist is coincident with the era of the Coryphaei of our national literature. Nourished, as he was, from his youth up, by the bland influences of nature, he devoted 234 HUMBOLDT. himself to one department of her wealth, whilst his eldest brother Wilhelm prosecuted with equal success another and kindred section, namely, the philosophy of the various languages of mankind, so that these two remarkable men are essentially fellow-workers. The advantages and profits that have accrued to science in general, from the exertions of Humboldt, cannot be duly estimated by us ; neither is the present day the time for concentrating into one focus those important influences which have gone forth, and which still go forth, on every side, from the labours of this far-famed tourist. His " Reise nach den Tropenlanden," and his masterly works on natural history and philosophy, are exceedingly valuable produc- tions. His " Ansichten der Natur" is a little work of a most winning and brilliant order, intended for the general reader. The plastic beauty of Alexander v. Humboldt's style is particularly striking. EREIHERR KARL WILHELM VON HUMBOLDT (1767-1836) Was born at Berlin, on the 22nd of June 1767. He was am- bassador at Rome, Vienna, and London, the plenipotentiary at the convention of peace assembled at Prague, besides being a confederate in the congress at Vienna. His latter years were passed at his villa in Tegel, near Berlin, in quiet study and erudite investigations. He died on the 8th of April 1836 * Wilhelm v. Humboldt was a profound and erudite phi- lologer and aesthetician, who, by his deeply-penetrating in- vestigations into all subjects connected with grammatical lore, has assisted in erecting upon a secure basis, the study of the assimilative languages. He was, moreover, an adroit and distinguished statesman, and, as such, well versed in the * G. Schlesier, Erinnerungen an Wilhelm von Humboldt. 1843. HUMBOLDT. 235 management of human affairs. His great literary perform- ance, " Ueber die Kawi-Sprache," is a philosophical exposi- tion of the various orders of human language, whilst he :also entered at great length into the nature of the Sanscrit and other Asiatic tongues, addressing himself especially to the dialect of the island of Java. i Wilhelm v. Humboldt occupies a place in our literature which is specifically his own. Simultaneously with the rise of polite letters, in the hands of Goethe and Schiller, did our author's mental training progress ; whilst the works of his younger brother, Alexander, harmonized with Goethe's studies in natural science, Wilhelm became attached alto- gether to the aesthetical investigation and research of these two great poets. He was by both held worthy of the most intimate degree of confidence, and treated as an equally- i endowed associate. Without producing any great poetical work himself, W. v. Humboldt, by the mere sympathetic tendency of his own spirit, embodied his name with theirs, as far as respects the works and inventions of these two poets. The influence which he exerted over the principles and conceptions of Goethe and Schiller, in the day of their co- operation, was extraordinary. He was the friendly critic of their productions, the adviser, the dearest friend of both; and by his lofty-toned ideal, — by the universality of his intellectual gifts, — by his deep acquaintance with the modern school of philosophy, particularly with that of Kant, — above all, by his knowledge of the archives of classic antiquity, became nothing less than indispensable to their circle. In his correspondence, Wilhelm v. Humboldt has embodied his Eesthetical criticism, and these letters may challenge on every side the title of masterly. His introduc- tion to the " Briefwechsel zwischen Schiller und Wilhelm von Humboldt," in which he enlarges upon the genius of Schiller, is altogether a classical dissertation. His work on Goethe's epos of " Hermann und Dorothea" contains some elaborate reflections on poetry in general ; whilst, lastly, 236 HAGEN. he also exercised his talents in poetry, and some of his pieces evince considerable merit. His posthumous poems might be adduced in proof of the truth of our asser- tion : " Wilhelm von Humboldt's gesammelte Schriften." FRIEDRICH HEINRICH VON DER HAGEN (1780) Born on the 19th of February 1780, at Schmiedeberg, in the Ukermark. Professor of the German language and liter- ature at the university of Berlin. The name and success of this writer in the more ancient literature of Germany has been long established. Con- jointly with Grimm he invited the attention of the public to the treasures of ancient German poetry. Von der Hagen published the Niebelungenlied" in the original dialect, and wrote an erudite commentary on it, which he entitled " Die Niebelungen und ihre Bedeutung." We moreover possess an entertaining work by Hagen, entitled " Briefe in die Heimath," which were written on a journey through Ger- many, Switzerland, and Italy, in search of all the existing codices of the Niebelungenlied, a narrative at once elegant, simple, and fascinating. He also edited the " Helden- buch," alluded to in the introduction to our work, and is the author of a clever book, styled " Literarischer Grund- riss der Geschichte der deutschen Poesie." But Von der Hagen's last work is decidedly his greatest achievement; we mean his erudite publication called " Die deutschen Minnesanger," in which will be found the finest specimens yet published, of the writings of these wandering minstrels, with elaborate commentaries and valuable dissertations. JACOB LUDWIG KARL GRIMM (1785) Born atHanau, on the 4th of January 1785. In 1830, pro- fessor of philosophy and literature at the university of Got- tingen. In consequence of the abolition of the constitution J. GRIMM. — W. GRIMM. 237 by the present king of Hanover, Grimm vacated his post at Gottingen, and is now professor at the Berlin university. Jacob Grimm has won immortal renown by his philolo- gical and historical researches in the German language. All his works betoken profound erudition, the result of most unwearied industry and perseverance. His work, " Ueber den alten Meistergesang," and his " Deutsche Mythologie," are most valuable efforts. His " Deutsche Gramatik," ex- tending to four octavo volumes, is a grammar of a unique kind, and of European celebrity. WILHELM KARL GRIMM (1786), The brother of the foregoing, born at Hanau, on the 24th of February 1786._ Was librarian at Gottingen; and lives now at Berlin. To Wilhelm Karl Grimm, also, great praise is due in the department of old German literature. The following are among his most approved works, viz. : " Altdanische Hel- denlieder," " Ueber die deutschen Runen," " Deutsche Hel- densage." In addition to these, he has edited and com- mentated works from early German literature. 238 THE PRESENT AGE. (1820—1843.) The assertion, on the part of a native, that the Germans are a great and an original-minded people, cannot fairly be considered the offspring of vanity. The character seems universally accorded to them. Whenever the question is raised, in what degree the writers of Germany possess the advantages of noble aims and aspirations in their studies, — whenever we enquire as to the amount of positive knowledge held by them, as compared with the natives of other countries, the Germans confessedly bear off the palm. The learned world concedes to Germany the possession of more sound knowledge on erudite subjects than is to be found elsewhere. This general confidence in their talents is, no doubt, the reason why German classical annotators, in their valuable dissertations and criticisms oa | the immortal writers of Greece and Rome, have met with so large a measure of success. Our own times have produced first-rate critics and phi- | lologists. To the admirer of classical learning, how fami- ! liar are the names of Ast, B.ehr, Bekkee, Bergk, i bceckh, bothe, dlndorff, gceller, hermann, g. c. Heyne, Klausen, Kreysig, Orellius, Poppo, Reiske, Ruperti, Schweigieeuser, Spalding, Stallbaum, Wal- ther, Wunder, — not to mention the names of other and i as great philologists. But besides these eminent commen- tators on Greek and Roman authors, we have also many excellent and well-known translators of the treasures of ancient literature. Voss has produced an incomparable version of the works of Homer ; Wieland, of those of Horace ; while, with a depth of thought and spirituality cognate to his original, Schleiermacher has transfused the mind of Plato into the forms of the German tongue. THE PRESENT AGE. 239 To Klotz we are indebted for a capital translation of Cicero's Orations ; while Bothe effected an equally good one of the tragedies of Euripides ; and Solger, Graf Stolberg, and Bgeckh, of those of Sophocles ; and, to close this nomenclature, Bcettiger has produced a very good version of Tacitus. We ought also to particularize, as belonging in a degree to this class, the two well-known writers, Wilhelm von Humboldt and K. O. Muller ; as also G. G.S. Droysen, who has favoured us with a German embodiment of the works of TEschylus and Aristo- phanes, translated in the genuine spirit of the originals. The acumen with which Droysen appears to have entered into the very soul of Aristophanes, and the aptitude with which he has conveyed, in corresponding Genu an, all the idiomatic Greek phrases, are so extraordinary as to be ; above all praise. These two achievements may indeed justly be accounted masterpieces. Our author has more- over acquired an European celebrity by his productions, " Geschichte Alexanders des Grossen," and " Geschichte der Nachfolger Alexanders." "Classische Alterthumswissenschaft " has been elabo- rately cultivated in an almost countless succession of works, and wrought out, in every instance, in the most copious manner. We may mention, as the most celebrated au- thors in this style, K. 0. Muller, Wachsmuth, Scroll, F. A.Wolff, Schaaf, F. G. Welcker, F. G. Plass, G. L. Maurer, F. Schlegel, — writers who have bestowed their energies more particularly on the Greeks ; while such men as Niebuhr, Drumann, Bernhardy, Fr. Creuzer, Wachler, Con. Schneider, G. T. Voss, T. G. Gr^esse, Lachmann, &c. have devoted themselves to the Romans. Into all the earliest forms of human speech, the spirit of German inquiry will be found to have deeply entered. In Oriental Literature, we may instance Gesenius, Bopp, G. W. Freytag, Rosenmuller, H. Ewald, A. F. Hoff- mann, Hupfeld, Lassen, Hammer-Purg stall. The wri- 240 THE PRESENT AGE. tings of these and other living authors at once point out the progress made in hitherto little known Eastern dia- lects, and their still more recondite literatures. As respects grammatical works, Germany again stands proudly preeminent. Her grammarians and lexicogra- phers of the Greek and Roman tongues (as, for example, Matthue, Thiersch, Buttmann, Rost, Passow, Kuhxeb, and Zumpt, Ramshorn, Dcederlein, Schxeider, Hand, &c.) are most of them familiar to English scholars through , the medium of faithful translations. But it is in the \ department of German grammar itself that the most mar- vellous works have been created, and the greatest triumphs achieved. The brothers Grim:.:, with Grate, K. F. Becker, J. C. A. Heyse, Diesterweg, K. M. Rapp, and j others, have laid the foundation of theories at once logical and deeply seated ; and by their talents have built up the German language into a sterling and definite greatness. * J.Grimm composed a masterly work on grammar ; Graff's i pen, on the other hand, was engaged, to the last moment I of his life, in drawing up a body of roots in use among the Germanic tribes, very properly denominated "Sprach-r schatz." Distinguished in ancient German literature, are ji Vox der Hagex, BiiscmxG, G. I. Bexecke, K. Lach- maxx, H. F. Massmaxx, J. A. Schmeller, W. Wacker- xagel, M. Haupt, &c. &c. To such studies and researches, — aiming, for the most part, at one sole object, viz. the exposition and illustration of the Bible, — we must now add the band of critical inter- preters and spirited inquirers into Holy Writ. In the more popular school of orthodox theology, Fr. Strauss, Theremin, M. T. Schmalz, Hoffacker, Witschel, Couard, Arndt, the Krummachers, Sturm, are the prin-ji cipals. The following, on the other hand, incline more to; the advocacy of a critical orthodox divinity : Neandeb, Olshausex, Hexgstexberg, Tholuck, Nitzsch, HavEH- nick. The tenour, however, of the profound criticisms and THE PRESENT AGE. 241 disquisitions put forth by the more eminent of our living theologians and divines — viz. De Wette, Gesenius, Winer, Ammon, Bretschneidee, Van Ess, Eichhorn, Lucke, Ewald, Hagenbach, Umbreit, Twesten, Gfro- rer — is, upon the whole, decidedly favourable to a libe- rality of thought and feeling. Two justly celebrated pole- mics, viz. Schleiermacher and Marheineke, more especially form connecting links between the two contrasted parties of the critical orthodox and the critical heterodox theologians. Of this ultra liberal section of biblical writers, Dr. David Friedrich Strauss, with his " Leben Jesu," stands forth as the Coryphaeus. Bruno Bauer and Feuerbach are his fellow-labourers in the same latitudinarian school. We should not feel that we had adequately discharged our task, were we to omit to notice in this place certain dis- tinguished writers of the Jewish persuasion, who at this junc- ture have acquired no inconsiderable share of the notice of the learned world. We can do little more than name the acute inquirer Zunz, and his fellow-labourers of somewhat less eminence, Furst and Jost, Mannheimer, Salomon, Eiesser, &c. Yet even the spirit of Judaism, in conso- nance with the genius and tendency of much of the divinity of other denominations, partakes of the tendency to the ultra liberality of idea, that would seem to be the distin- guishing feature of the present age. This dawning spirit and temperament in matters religious is strenuously de- fended by the learned Dr. Geiger. Historical investigation and research have also broken new ground. An enlarged contemplation of the annals of pristine ages has become a favoured study. Never before has Germany evinced such varied talents for history, and never before has she displayed them in so striking a degree. The reigning literature includes, in its historiography, many names of the first eminence in point of talent. R 242 THE PRESENT AGE. Schlosser, Raxke, Luden, K. A. Mexzel, Leo, Rau- mer, Dahlmann, Rehm, Rotteck, &c. and many others, are stars of the first magnitude. The present age may, therefore, with reason be styled historico-critical in its lite- rary tendencies. It is a common remark, that the Germans are no politi- cians, — that they take no interest in matters of govern- ment. This, to a certain extent, is only the misrepresen- tation of a fact. The Germans are decided politicians ; but, alas! not of their own country; — they are universal politicians. The state interests are sedulously kept from them, as if indeed " deutsche Biederkeit" were no longer trustworthy. The movements of their statesmen are matters of mystery, — a fact that is either a poor or a great compli- ment to the intellect of the nation. The public press is heavily fettered ; and by this means, among others, are they prevented from talking over or inquiring into the condition of public affairs. The one thing wanting to circulate an unbroken vein of patriotism through the entire German community, to complete the prosperity of its literature, and render that prosperity permanent, is the deliverance of the press from the disabilities that have hitherto weighed upon it, and its exalture into a state of perfect and unconditional freedom. This done, and Germany, admitted by all Europe to have long outgrown her pupillage, will attain a pinnacle of civilization and enlightenment as yet unknown. Savigny, Stahl, Gans, Hullmann, Welcker, Schu- bert, are political philosophers and elaborate jurists, who have established their fame in the walk of jurisprudence. In Natural Philosophy the most eminent writers are : Alex. v. Humboldt, L. v. Buch, L. Oken, Link, H. G. Bronn, W. E. Erichson, Nees von Esenbeck, G. H. von Schubert, H. Steffens, K. F. Gauss, Littrow, Encke, Bessel, Madler. In Geography: K. Ritter, Berghaus, Stein, Streit, &c. Distinguished in Chemistry : Liebig, Poggen- dorfF, Rose, Erdmann, Gmelin, Wohler, Wackenroder, THE THESE NT AGE. 243 Gehler, Geiger, E. Mitscherlich. In Medicine : Burdach, Miiller, Wagner, Ehrenberg, Hecker, Cams, Blasius, Fro- riep, Dieffenbach, &c. &c. In polite learning, Germany may safely boast of a goodly number of works that need fear no comparison, if placed in juxta-position with kindred compositions of an earlier date. There are German poets now living who may even compete with the most distinguished of their predecessors ; and some of them no doubt are destined to win a place in the classical temple of their country's literature. The form chiefly taken by the German poetry of the present day is the lyrical, — a style that has been, at all times, eminently cha- racteristic of Germany. It may now boast a consi- derable number of lyric bards, of whom, while some have greatly distinguished themselves, others have begun and terminated their labours in a state of only partial per- fection. If we glance at the achievements in Fine Arts, names no less celebrated than Winckelmann, C. H. Heyne, Goethe, start up in our path, whom we must regard as the "Ecksteine" of criticism on the arts. Archaeology has been prosecuted with great zeal of investigation and con- stancy by well and scientifically instructed men, such as Karl Ottfried Miiller, in his " Handbuch der Archaologie der Kunst" ; and Fr. Thiersch, in his profoundly critical elaboration, " Ueber die Epochen der biidenden Kunst unter den Griechen." Ed. Gerhard, Prof. Welcker of Bonn, C. A. Bottiger, Th. Panofka, O. von Stakelberg, Chevalier Bunsen, and E. Plattner, are also distinguished in this branch of writing ; whilst we must furthermore point to Lessing, Eckhel, Creuzer, Kannegiesser, Zahn, and J. J. Eschenburg. In the literary history and development of Architecture, we must acknowledge A. L. Hirt, C. L. Stieglitz, R. F. v. Rumohr, J. Popp, Th. Biilau, L. Puttrich, Minutoli, &c. to be men of great genius ; and in critical disquisitions on 244 THE PRESENT AGE. Sculpture, Lessing and Schorn have greatly distinguishe themselves. Painting has been explored with a considerabl share of persevering diligence by Schorn, v. Rumohr, F. I Riepenhausen, Fernow, J. D. Passavant, Fiorillo, Frar Kugler (" Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte"), G. F. Waa« (" Kunstwerke und Ivunstler in England und Paris' Graf A. v. Ratzynski (" Geschichte der neuern deutsch( Kunst," a highly praiseworthy production). The be Lexica on Art have been furnished by Fussli, G. K. Nag ler (" Kimstlerlexicon"), J. C. Stellwag (" Monogrammei lexicon"), and D. Heller. For the history and criticism of Engraving, praise is due to A. Bartsch (" Le Peintre Graveur") J. G. von Quandt (" Gesch. d. Kupferstech- kunst"), J. Heller, and Henrici (" Die Kupferstechk.") Inquiries into Xylography have been made by the correct J. D. F. Sotzmann (" iElteste Gesch. d. Xylographie"), Breitkopf, J. Heller (" Gesch. d. Holzschneidekunst"), G. K. Nagler (" Albrecht Diirer u. seine Kunst"), &c. &c. Before proceeding further, however, with our present section, a short digression must be pennitted us, in order to mark, by a special notice, the rise of that one illustrious author who, by his own profuse genius, struck out a new and wonderful path in the human mind. We mean — GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL,* This celebrated man was born on the 27th of August 1770, in the city of Stuttgart ; but from and after the year 1818, he became professor of philosophy at the university of Berlin, where he continued for thirteen years, having during this time had ample opportunities for arranging his philosophy * Dr. Gabler, "Die Hegelsche Philosophic," 1st vol. K. Rosenkranz, " Kritische Erlauterungen des Hegelschen Sys- tems," 1840. HEGEL. 245 into a complete system. But in the year 1831 he was seized with an attack of cholera, and died on the 14th of November, the same day on which Leibnitz also breathed his last. Hegel is buried in a churchyard close to the " Oranienburger Thor," near the philosopher Solger, and within a short distance also of Fichte. The most esteemed of his disciples, viz. : K. L. Mi- c relet, P. Marheixeke, H. Hotho, Ed. Gaxs, Fr. Schulze, Fr. Forster, and L. Boumanx, undertook the editorship and publication of his collective works. We can scarcely, indeed, open the topic of " The Present Age," without feeling ourselves imperatively called upon to set Hegel at its head, — the man whose philosophy has mainly influenced the generation now upon the stage. Lingering for a moment, to bestow a cursory glance upon the shape which philosophy — or man's mental history — 1 as assumed in its representatives in by-gone times, we are im- pressed with the belief, that Hegel's system could scarcely adopt any other form than the one it has taken, which is . only an historical sequel of anterior schemes. To revert : Spixoza (1632-1677), by his profound conceptions, unfolded to us a " Theosophy," or a knowledge of God. The tran- sition-path from the ancient to the modern school, was first successfully explored in the latter half of the last century. On the one hand arises modern materialism, on the other modem idealism. G. F. Leiexitz (1746-1716) started from the school of Des Cartes, assuming individualism as the principle of his system, while, eventually, he happily coalesced the idealistic and realistic doctrines ; on which account, his theory is designated " der Harmonismus." The basis of the philosophical creed of Leibnitz was a pure idealism ; — his " Monadenlehre" (fiovag), which has as- serted such a wide-spread influence. After Leibnitz, we encounter Ch. vox Wolf, who came forward with his ma- thematically-constructed system, which obtained no little consideration and currency, simply because it was written 246 HEGEL. entirely in German. The subsequent philosophers were, for the most part, empirical, eclectic, or popular men, until the sage of Konigsberg promulgated his critical arguments. Since Leibnitz, Germany had certainly given birth to no more illustrious spirit than Kant. His aim was, to ex- clude dogmatism and scepticism altogether from his inqui- ries, and to investigate, as he has done in his " Kritik der reinen Vemunft," and " Kritik der Urtheilskraft," the capacity of man's higher perceptions. Out of Kant's scheme eventually arose " die Wissenschaftslehre" and " die Ichphilosophie" of Fichte. Almost simultaneously, we have Schelling's " Idealismus" and his "Naturphi- losophie ;" which latter, in one of its phases, exercised a dominion over aesthetics, in another, over poetic mysti- cism. Surveying, therefore, early speculation, the reason becomes manifest, how the times called forth a Hegel ; his mission being, to combine dogmatism with philosophy: whence it follows, that Hegel's philosophy is strictly an historical one, and furthermore, that it has acted as well upon the past as upon the present, and the religious schisms that dismember the age we live in. Hegel's entire system distributes itself into three divi- sions. The first of these is " Die Logik," which brings to perfection, as the science of the " Idea," — an und fur sich, — the famous dialectic analytical process, in which this philosophy has developed its highest peculiarity and great- est force, and which contains the basis of the far-famed Hegelian system. The second portion of his philosophy is the " Philosophic der Natur." The third division of the whole scheme is the " Philosophic des Geistes." " Die Phanomenologie des Geistes" (published in 1807), was the work which first shewed forth the peculiarity and greatness of its author. It was understood, at first, by few, because, in its organic construction, it is a work of both elaborate science and of high art. It is a truly great un- dertaking, and was intended by its projector to conduct HEGEL. 247 to nothing less than the pinnacle of human rationality, and the " Absolute" itself. To this end, it determines the various kinds and degrees of conscience, credibility, reason, and specific knowledge. In his " Wissenschaft der Logik" the theoiy of ideas was established, and this contributed considerably to the better understanding of the " Phanomenologie." Hegel, in the two works last mentioned, having given the history of the intellect, and of the unfolding of the ideas, according to the system invented by himself ; so, in his " Encyclopadie der philosophischen Wissenschaften," he has given us the entire of the science of philosophy, in the same strict systematic developement. In this work, was projected and carried out on a grand scale a general chart, as it were, of philosophic learning. Again, the same ; author's " Grundlinien der Philosophic des Kechts" turn upon the most important maxims and institutions of poli- tics ; while his " Vorlesungen iiber die Philosophic der Religion" address themselves to the dogmas and views of i the Church. Hegel's " Vorlesungen iiber die Philosophic der Ge- schichte," " Die Geschichte der Philosophic," and " Vor- • lesungen iiber die iEsthetik," complete his works, which we may pronounce a " Theodicee" of human reason. Hegel conveys his ideas in verbal forms of his own in- vention, — of profound meaning, but which must appear abstruse to any one not versed in his philosophy. And these, moreover, he has otherwise left unexplained, inas- much as he had reason to think he might safely entrust them to the research and zeal of his disciples. In other words, his philosophy, very deep and difficult in itself, be- comes yet more so, from the crowd of scientific and learned terms in which its deductions are veiled. With Germans, as with all nations, before a mastery can be obtained over such recondite themes, the main requisite, 248 HEGEL. the absolutely necessary preparative, is a liberal Vorstu- dium, — a large circle of previous inquiry. In every-day life, and in the commonest matters, before a persou's argu- ments can be understood, the particular technicalities of the affair must be mastered. It will easily be allowed, therefore, that he who would secure a footing in German philosophy, must come to the task well grounded in pre- liminary learning, — and, indeed, in what is commonly un- derstood in England as erudition, — or he cannot possibly expect to make any considerable progress in these recon- dite, yet sublime enquiries. We need not say that it is not sufficient to come to the task as a mere German scho- lar. The difficulties which have too often gained for German philosophy the flippant title of " Mystical," lie mainly in unknown or barely-understood words, and scien- tific expressions ; the ignorance of which, on the part of the reader, should not be visited on the author. Of such difficult expressions no one is more fond and profuse than Hegel. He shews us plainly, that we must refer one por- tion, at least, of his reputation to this very self-dependence as regards the form and expression given to his thoughts. Still, it must ever be borne in mind, that the philosophy of Germany speaks a language entirely its own; a lan- guage, be it observed, of philosophical terminology, which a native even has to study, before he can follow the chain of reasoning. It is easy to imagine how much more difficult it must be, for any foreigner to make himself master of this matter. Hegel, in point of fact, requires a study infinitely more profound and exact than is generally supposed necessary in this country. The peculiar force which his phraseology produces on the mind, has caused it to be adopted in al- most all the learned publications of the last fifteen years, and to a great extent particularly in the works of his scho- lars ; insomuch, that certain theological and critical labours cannot be understood at all, without some previous know- HEGEL. 249 ledge of Hegel. Consequently, no translations of works written by Gans, Marheineke, Strauss, and Feuer- bach, among others, could be given in a way that would do justice to the author, without the translator having, as an indispensable requisite, a solid competent acquaintance with all the different schools of German philosophy, from Kant down to Hegel.* We must here observe, that the fa vomers and admirers of Hegel assume the patronymic of " Heglianer" (" Hege- lingen," " Hegeliter," " Jungheglianer") ; while the disci- ples of Kant, on the other hand, style themselves " Kan- tianer." In the almost fathomless depths of the Hegelian philosophy, will be found the reason why the author has been sometimes designated a free-thinker, and sometimes accused of servility : also, why he has, at one time, been described as a latitudinarian, and, at another, of strict and scrupulous orthodoxy. Hegel's school of philosophy has resolved itself into two distinct branches, termed, respect- ively, " Die linke Seite," and " Die rechte Seite," answering to the two aspects, viz., the negative and the affirmative position of his philosophy. Now, this is nothing else than a bisection of the whole Hegelian system ; but, inasmuch as they have been espoused separately by different writers, this system has of late been in a divided state. " Die linke Seite" thereof may be considered to be represented by Strauss, Feuerbach, Michelet, Vatke, Bruno Bauer, Frauenst^edt, Huge, Bayrhofer, and the " Deutschen Jahrbiicher ;" the centre, or the redintegrate, is represented by Rosenkranz ; and " Die rechte Seite" is more in favour with the admirers of the old school. * Good historical handbooks are : Michelet, " Geschichte der Philosophic von Kant bis Hegel" (in a philosophic vein) ; and Chalybreus, (in a popular vein). 250 SECTION L— LYRICAL POETS. THE SUABIAN SCHOOL. (Uhland. — Kerner. — Schwab.) JOHANN LUDWIG UHLAND, Born 26th April 1787, at Tubingen, now holds the impo office of member of the High Council of State, — formerl the professorship of the university. Uhland is at once the greatest living ballad writer Germany and a most popular man. His noble com sitions are known and re-echoed by almost the entire co munity of the German nation. Uhland's poetry, observ Varnhagen, is " gothisch," not an imitation of Goethe' yet may it be compared with his in value : being equa" true, equally pure, and as fresh in its current. The co ceptions bodied forth in his poetry refer principally to a cient days, and his stories are many of them well-kno legends. His spirit, however, is strictly congenial with o own times, his metrical temperament embracing all t modern elements ; so that, as far as conception and effe are concerned, this poet is truly modern. The harmonio life of nature, which it is the genius of Uhland's poetry unfold, is always so contrived, as to set forth externally noblest, most comprehensive, and heart-felt attributes of Suabian mind. Each vine-capped hill, each vine-cover mound ; all the verdant dales and dells, bespread with vi lages, and teeming with population ; the freshening wate courses, and the immemorial woods, — break out every whe into mellifluous poetry. Uhland is the great master ballad-poetry ; a simple inornate style of expression, y full of music, and a stirring fancy, being his chief chara teristics. As choice specimens of his muse, we may me tion the following ballads and romances, which are perfe masterpieces in their peculiar style, viz. : " Der blin UHLAND. — KERNE R. 251 Konig," " Golclschmidts Tochterlein," " Junker Rech- berger," " Schwabische Kunde," " Klein Roland," " Roland Schildtrager," "Konig Karls Meerfahrt," " Taillefer," " Das Nothhemd," " Der Schenk von Limburg," " Des Sangers Flucb," " Das Schifflein," " Der Wirthinn Tochterlein ;" and very beautiful also is his " Graf Eberhard der Rau- schebart." Our author's dramatic works, although contain- ing fine poetical passages — (we have more particularly in our eye his " Schauspiel," " Ludwig von Bayern," and his tragedy of " Ernst von Schwaben) — rank only secondarily among his compositions. ANDREAS JUSTINUS KERNER Was born on the 18th of February 1786, at Ludwigsburg in Wirtemberg, and is doctor of medicine since 1818, esta- blished at Weinsberg. This author is an illustrious member of his school ; his poetry is more intrinsically romantic than Uhland's ; he delights to depict to us not merely the wild, precipitous mountain-steeps and the solemn woods — (poems : " Wald- leben," " Rath im Mai," " Sehnsucht,") — but is equally at home in a higher sphere of composition ; — for Kemer in- ducts us into the thrilling scene of death, so sad, and yet so plaintively-poetical in many of its associations. It is while illustrating such topics as these, that the peculiar character of Kerner's muse is set forth ; being most appa- rent in parts where genuine human nature evaporates, or is sublimated into one predominant tone of feeling, viz., a tone of yearning after the ineffable delights of the unseen future state. Amongst his romances and ballads, the most beautiful are : " Die vier wahnsinnigen Briider," " Der reichste Furst," " Anna Vogtly," " Der Stephansthurm," " Der Wassermann," " Kaiser Rudolff's Ritt zum Grabe," " Der Geiger zu Gmiind," " Zwei Sarge." We may fur- ther adduce his happiest efforts in another and more cheer- ful kind of poetry, such as " Wanderlied," " Trinklied zum 252 KERNER. — SCHWAB. neuen Wein," Friihlingsmorgen," " Preis der Tanne," " Sanger's Trost," " Das Alpenhorn," " Der Wanderer in der Sagemiihle." Kerner's " Reiseschatten" (published 1811), is one of the most striking creations of his poetical pen. But this poet has raised a host of assailants, whose acrimony has been largely discharged upon him, on ac- count of certain principles of belief concerning the in- visible, yet neighbouring spirits, — laid down in his " Sehe- rin von Prevorst ;" a work that endeavours to prove the likelihood of our being surrounded by myriads of incor- poreal shades, with whom, under certain conditions (as, for instance, in the state of " magnetized sleep") it is still permitted us to hold converse. It was in answer to the vigorous and envenomed assaults of his opponents, that Kerner put forth his " Blatter aus Prevorst," and other papers of a similar tendency. GUSTAV SCHWAB, Born 19th June 1792 at Stuttgart, where he is doctor of phi- losophy, and professor. Schwab is one of the best and most talented of the present generation of lyric poets. An epic simplicity, com- bined with a great facility in depicting natural scenery, and in devising incidents of a sprightly nature, are the main features of these metrical romances for which the name of this writer stands so high. Schwab always throws out the feeling that encompasses his heart; he resigns himself to his harmonious impulses, and, by their agency, succeeds in holding all his readers in a pleasing thraldom. His " Legende von den heiligen drei Konigen," " Der Appenzeller Krieg," and many other pieces, are worthy of his reputation. Schwab, the imitator of Uhland, has secured himself a leading position in ballad-verse and romance; indeed he voluntarily styles himself the pupil and scholar of the beau- SCHWAB. RUCKEET. 253 tiful bard of Uhlan d. What a very characteristic obser- vation is that of Laube, when he said : " Schwab ist Uhland's Mund in Romanzen, Balladen, und Liedern." Amongst his best lyric efforts are : " Schlittenlied," " Lied des ausziehenden Burschen ;" but the following romances and ballads are the most celebrated : " Der Hirte von Tei- nach," " Die Engelskirche auf Anatolicon," " Elsbeth von Calw," " Der Reiter und der Bodensee," " Des Fischers Haus," " Das Gewitter," &c. &c. Besides his poetical labours, Schwab is the author of several others, which are deserving of notice. We may particularize his " Wegweiser iiber die Schwabische Alp," and his " Bodensee," " Die Schweiz in ihren Ritterburgen und Schldssern," — useful manuals for tourists, written with historic fidelity, and in a vein of genuine poetry. Nor ought we to omit to draw particular attention to the taste- ful selections which he has made from the wide domains of our literature ; — the poetical portions of which he entitled " Fiinf Biicher deutscher Lieder whilst he styled the prose "Diedeutsche Prosa," — unquestionably one of the most judicious compilations. ERIEDRICH RUECKERT,* Born at Schweinfurt, 1789; doctor and professor of oriental languages at the Berlin University. The rise of this poet must be regarded as a rare pheno- menon in the kingdom of letters : the multiplicity of his lyric inventions, the versatility of his descriptive powers, and the rapid action of his imagination, are wonderful. In outward form and expression, in the structure of his language and versification, he shews himself to be the in- genious poet of nature. Indeed, we cannot be charged with exaggeration, if we say that Riickert is one of the greatest, richest, and most original poets that ever arose in * Pfizer (G.) Uhland und Riickert, 1837. 254 RUCKERT. Germany. He proves that the powers of the German lan- guage are perfectly inexhaustible; that it is competent to every task, and perfect in every sound, form, and rhythm. Riickert's lyric talents are of a masterly calibre, and las imagination is affluent enough to include every path and variety of nature, nay, to compass " the great globe itself, and all that it inherits ;" whence it culls verdure and in- cense-breathing flowers ;— yes, and roams mountain dis- tricts, and haunts the chrystal water-springs and peerless fountains ; and, in short, groups together whatever is sweet- est, most graceful, and picturesque. In time of war, says Menzel, Riickert's muse donned the casque, and brandished the spear and shield like a Mi- nerva, or broke out into the enlivening strains of freedom. The battle over, our poet forthwith hung up his buckler and falchion, and walked quietly into his garden, to mingle with the flowers. Every opening bud, every sweetly-scented blossom, shed their perfumes upon our poet, and began to fructify in his soul, and generated a new poem. The poet pursuing his wanderings along blossom-bordered paths, until he at last found himself in an unexplored and en- chanted region, where the vegetation was of a nature alto- gether unknown ; he next extends his migration into Persia, India, China, and they all throw over him the variegated veil of a thousand flowers, every flower blossoming into verse ; and his pen, like that of the " Simurg," never tiring in throwing before us, again and again, many of these heart-born and beautiful little songs. Among Riickert's " Bausteine" are several most exquisite poems ; viz., " Fruhling's Liebster," " Die sterbende Blume," Liifteleben," " Das Paradis." Among his " Ter- zinen," " Die treuen Blumen" and " Die drei Quellen" are very fanciful conceptions, and fresh pastoral pictures. His " Edelstein und Perle" illustrates an elegant piece of ima- gination. His " Liebesfriihling" is a love-tale, that, for versicular richness and moral nobility, has not its equal in ItUCKE RT.— LENAU. 255 German poetical literature. In addition to these, we ought : also to mention his " Jugendlieder" and " Volkssagen," which are also very fine. Ruckert is likewise the author of those charming poetical remodulations from the Sanscrit and Arabic, entitled " Die Makamen des Hariri;" and of "Nal und Damajanti," " Rostem und Surab ;" and of a multitude of other charm- ing pieces, as, for instance, " Die Weisheit des Brahma- nen," " Erbauliches und Beschauliches aus dem Morgen- lande," " Oestliche Rosen," &c. NIKOLAUS LENAU (Niembsch von Strehlenau), Born 13th August 1802, at Csatad, in Hungary. Lenau is a worthy contemporary of Uhland and Ruckert ; his scenes and characters being sweetly inter- mingled with his poetry, and the whole managed with con- summate art, — a vein of melancholy being no uncommon accompaniment. Lenau, being gifted with an extraordinary sensitiveness to whatever is lovely and peculiar in natural objects, is able to throw the force of his soul into the outward description ; and hence that tincture, which, even if we consider as above reality, we must still allow to be beautiful. Lenau's dramatic poem, entitled " Faust," which came out in the " Fruhlingsalrnanach," is, in parts, exquisite; we may particularly instance that scene styled " Der Tanz," and beginning : — " Der Spielmann dem J ager die Eiedel reicht, Der Jiiger die Fiedel gewaltig streicht," &c. which is a truly splendid passage. This piece is, however, written in rather a sensual and romantic spirit, whilst in all other respects it is worthy of a genuine and devoted disciple of the muses. Again, Lenau's poem of " Savon- arola" is exceedingly affluent in epic and lyric beauties. Many other pieces by this author are also well conceived 256 GRUN. GAUDY. and worked out ; such, for example, as " Die Werbung " Mischka," " Der ewige Jude," &c. ANASTASIUS GRUEN (Graf Anton Alexander von Auersperg) Born 11th April 1806, at his family mansion, Thurnam Ho in Krain. He lives alternately there and at Vienna. This abundant writer has the talent of making not onl his own feelings — his personal joys and sorrows— take tender melancholic tone, and in the choicest forms of ly verse, but he also stands forth in his country's cause, as th eloquent advocate of justice and freedom, and as the in genious censor of the vices of the time. Public attentio was first drawn to Griin by his epic poem, entitled " D letzte Ritter," a piece designed to narrate and celebrate the career and noble deeds of the emperor Maximilian I ; it is written in ballad form, and with surprising freshness and liveliness of manner. The author has, evidently, had the " Nibelungenlied" in his eye, as his metrical prototype, — a circumstance that only throws a new charm over his work. " Spaziergange eines Winer Poeten" was Griin's next effort, in the year 1831. This is a composition of polemic tendency, launched against the thraldom under which the Austrian states labour. Every line of the " Spaziergange" seems fired with a poetic wrath, while it develops much richness of conception and treatment. It met with very great success ; and Griin has certainly the merit of having wrought this species of polemic poetry into a proper artistic form. There are also some other poems current, entitled " Schutt" (Ruins), some of which, " Der Thurm am Strande," for example, are marked by great energy of thought, and a noble invention ; — witness further his " Gedichte." FRANZ BERNH. H. W. EREIHERR VON GAUDY, Born at Frankfort on the Oder in the year 1800; died at Berlin, 1840. The melodious and melting tones of this author's versili- GAUDY. — FEEILIGRATH. 257 cation, the agreeable, nay, witty forms, in which his ima- gination is wont to revel, and the easy course of his numbers, have gained him a prominent position among the present race of German poets. His earlier attempts shewed a great tendency to the manner of Heine, whilst he gra- dually drew nearer and nearer to the style of Chamisso. In the year 1835, Gaudy made a tour to Rome, and brought back, as the natural result of his treading such classic ground, his " Mein Romerzug." He likewise composed a number of metrical pieces, such as " Kaiserlieder," " Lie- der und Romanzen," " Schildsagen," " Korallen," &c. ; and also produced a clever translation of Beranger's " Chansons," and wrote a series of good novels. FERDINAND FREILIGRATH, Born at Detmold, 1810 ; now living at St. Goar on the Rhine, Is a poet of a bold and original genius. He has risen into repute by his ingenious and original, though fantastic, compositions, and especially by curious pictures of the manners and feelings of exotic nations and tribes, as well as by descriptions of the wild beauties of nature, the giant vegetation, and marvellous scenes and circumstances, which few others have ever explored. Freiligrath is also a master of the art of musical versification. The follow- ing are veiy successful efforts : " Der Lowenritt," " Die Todten im Meere," " Der Schwertfeger von Damas- cus," " Der Sheik am Sinai," " Das Banditenbegrabniss," " Prinz Eugen der edle Ritter," " Die Auswandrer," " Der Blumen Rache," " Der ausgewanderte Dichter," " Scipio," f* Der Tod des Ftihrers," " Eine Geusenwacht," " Der Alexandriner," &c* * Mr. John Oxenford has favoured his country with nume- rous clever and exceedingly spirited translations, of the more striking of the works of this poet, s 258 FALLERSLEBEN. — BECK. HOFFMANN VON FALLEKSLEBEN (1798.) The majority of the productions of this writer, particu- larly the songs, evince great facility of style, and a tone of mingled simplicity and elegance. Hoffmann von Fallers- leben's talents turn so completely upon Germany and its people, that the circumstance has become a feature in his literary character. The " Unpolitischen Lieder," which he has recently published, are, notwithstanding their title, entirely occupied with the arena of political strife. These " Lieder" are to be sung ; and the waggish poet frequently gives particular and express directions as to the melodies adapted to them, which generally contrast, to a laughable degree, with the tenor of the words. " Die unpolitischen Lieder," suppressed as they are in Germany, set forth, nevertheless, all the main questions in politics and polemics, that have agitated the German mind of the present day. It was in consequence of this very publication, that Hoff- mann v. Fallersleben has recently been expelled from the professor's chair of German literature, at the Breslau uni- versity. His collected poems are published under the title of "Gedichte." KARL BECK, Born at Pesth, 1817 ; lives at Leipzig. Beck would almost seem to have been born a lyric poet. His gifts are, a melodious vein of language, for the most part, and a fanciful style. Beck always evinces a youth- ful and ardent tone of mind, while he takes an enthusiastic interest in the questions of the day. His " Gepanzerte Lieder" and " Der fahrende Poet" are good specimens of his powers. In the latter, Beck assumes more and more of the manner and tones of an acute observer and vigorous thinker ; while the work itself will be acknowledged to be built up and composed of the most picturesque elements. The elevated pathos that breathes in " Den fahrenden Poeten" renders this especially a very charming poem. ECKERMA.NN. 259 J. P. ECKERMANN Is particularly happy in the art of devising poetry for set occasions, and in exhibiting, under Goethian forms of verse, the modification and details of nature and of humble feelings. Several other poets are also contemporary, whose talents shew themselves advantageously in this walk of letters. August Kopitsch (born at Breslau, 1799), is particularly distinguished by the originality of the forms of his verse ; very happy are his poems : " Als Noah aus dem Kasten ging," " Die Heinzelmannchen," &c. Karl Simrock (born at Bonn, 1802), has given an excellent transla- tion of the " Niebelungenlied," and many a beautiful ballad and poetical " Sagen und Mahrchen." F. F. A. Mal- titz (born at Gera). Draxler Manfred (born at Lemberg, J 1806), justly celebrated for his poetical translations. Wil- helm Wackernagel (born at Berlin, 1806), editor of that valuable and judicious collection of German prose and poetry, entitled " Deutsches Lesebuch :" his own " Ge- dichte eines fahrenden Schiilers" evidently mark him as a tender poet. There may also be adduced, — Ludwig, king of Bavaria ; Graf Alexander von Wiirtemberg, a harmo- nious ballad writer ; Franz Dingelstedt, whose tendencies are more of a pensive and sentimental cast ; E. Ortlepp ; Rudolf and Hermann Marggraff; R. Reinick; Georg Herwegh, the spirited political poet, who made much noise , in the world by his " Gedichte eines Lebendigen ;" Gustav Pfizer (born at Stuttgart, 1807), in many respects related to Uhland and Schwab ; Eduard Morike (born at Lud- wigsburg, 1804), a very clever poet, who much inclines to the romantic school ; his novel " Maler Nolten" is a most excellent production ; W. Waiblinger (born at Heilbronn, 1804,— died at Rome, 1830) ; H. Stieglitz (born at Arol- sen, 1803), a talented lyric ; his " Bilder des Orients" are very beautiful ; Leopold Schefer (born at Muskau, 1784), more didactic ; he rose into repute by his " Laienbrevier" 260 DAS JUXGE DEUTSCHLAND. and his novels ; E. Freiherr von Feuchtersleben (born at Vienna, 1808), wrote fine ballads and lyric poems; Lud- wig Becbstein (born at Meiningen, 1801), inclines more to epic poetry, — " Die Haimonskinder," " Der Todten- tanz," " Luther," are very praiseworthy performances. The following are distinguished as sacred writers : — J. H. Freiherr von Wesenberg (born at Dresden, 1774), an ex- quisite poet, whose works evidence a pious and elegant mind ; Albert Knapp (born at Tubingen, 1798), unques- tionably the most distinguished religious poet of the present day ; K. J. P. Spitta (bom at Hanover, 1801), whose poems " Psalter unci Harfe" are very commendable; K. B. Garve (born 1763, near Hanover), his " Christliche Ge- sange" are justly admired. SECTION II. DAS JUNGE DEUTSCHLAND. By this denomination must not be understood any particu- lar association of authors, grouped together in a party, by an outward symbol of union ; still less, any dark conspiracy for the overturning of established governments: but "young Germany" is solely that mental confederation of young writers, whose endeavours undoubtedly tended to obliterate old customs, and to pave the way for the introduction of others, considered by them better suited to the time. These new-fangled propositions became widely diffused ; and, from the ultra tone which these writers assumed, and the bold and fearless challenge of their arguments, we might almost imagine that we were blessed with au unrestricted freedom of the press;— when, all at once, a powerful critic (Wolfgang Menzel) arose, who created such a noise and tumult, as threatened to exasperate all orders of society against this young sect. GUTZKOW. 261 No candid person, indeed, can deny, that the writings of " young Germany " were free, and licentious, — quali- ties of style naturally and deservedly reprobated by the more moral and sober-minded portion of the German community. The entire brotherhood were, however, rigidly dealt with by the constituted authorities, — inasmuch as all their past and future literary efforts were formally pro- hibited and suppressed. These young writers were a circle of highly-gifted poets, of which Gutzkow, Laube, Heine, Mund, and Wienbarg, may be considered the chief; and the principal works, wherein this literary connexion might be traced, and against which such a violent outcry was raised, were : Gutzkow's " Wally," Laube's "Junges Europa," Heine's " Reisebilder," and Mundt's " Madonna." Their writings inculcated two extravagant doctrines, with a congenial ex- travagance of argument : one was, the freedom of woman ; and the other, the emancipation of the grosser desires of man from the curb of human laws. Karl Gutzkow* (born 17th of March 1811, at Berlin), must be looked upon as a versatile genius, and as a writer endowed with considerable poetic ability. His first production was one that gave general satisfaction ; — we allude to his powerful fiction, known under the title of" Maha Guru Geschichte eines Gottes," a work that led Menzel to bestow on Gutzkow the laurels of successful authorship. After a variety of other novels and dramas, we at length arrive at the celebrated introduction to " Schleiermacher's Briefe iiber die Lucinde," a composition that first aroused the envenomed opposition of the clergy. The next labour of Gutzkow was " Wally die Zweiflerin," against which * Riedel, Dr. Polemische Erorterungen aus dem Gebiete der Kunst und Literatur, Menzel und Gutzkow. — Marbach, iiber moderne Literatur. 3 te Sendung : Gutzkow, Wienbarg, Laube, Kiihne, Lenau, etc. 262 GUTZKOW. Menzel inveighed in the strongest terms, and for the pub- lication of which our author suffered an imprisonment of three months. In this novel, Gutzkow addressed himself, first and foremost, to social and religious conflicts, and aimed at a tale, which should embody the current amount of doubt, scepticism, and intellectual despair. The leading question and topic of this book seems to be, whether Christianity be not an obsolete institution no longer adapted to the present age, which is enforced by a series of psychological truths, that, from the cold spirit in which they are ranged together, impress us only as a series of artistic and laboured reflections. When Gutzkow was once more at large, he resumed his controversial style, and very adroitly unmasked the tame and spiritless " Geist der Geschichte" of Menzel, in his " Zur Philosophic der Geschichte," a work abounding with the profoundest reflections, and armed with the most win- ning powers of persuasion. As an antagonistic effort to Men- zel's "Deutsche Literatur," he next wrote "Beitrage zur Ge- schichte der neuesten Literatur," a work, which, for boldness and freedom of manner, may rank with any of the most outre productions in the department of criticism. The whole force of his genius is here animated by a fierce ani- mosity against Menzel, as well as against the " Hausback- nen Ideen" of the ordinary herd of writers. He also com- bated, in a variety of critical articles, the much-disliked verdict, which Menzel had the audacity to deliver on the genius of Goethe. To this must be added, a variety of criticisms, exhibited in different literary journals. Gutz- kow's novel of " Seraphine" is, in its way, a kind of " Dich- tung und Wahrheit," and, in many points of view, a very clever effort. He has also lately turned his attention to " Jean Paul's " style of humorous novel ; and in his " Blasedow und seine Sonne" reflects the spirit of the ex- traordinary writer alluded to : but " Blasedow" rather failed, by reason of the cold spirit in which it was written. HEINE. 263 Heinrich Heine, born at Diisseldorf, 1797; is now living at Paris. He is a sterling lyric poet. His inventive powers are striking, and his pieces often possess wonderful interest, and occasionally develop much beautiful tenderness. His wit is brilliant, and his language graceful. But notwith- standing Heine's originality of idea, his great powers, and the heart-stirring influence of his style, we must protest against his propensity towards the supernatural, in its more revolting features. The secrets and horrors of the tomb are not the fittest subjects for the muse. " Das Buch der Lieder" is the title by which Heine's collective poems are known. This book includes, doubt- less, some noble, as well as graceful, pieces ; such are W Fichte und Palme," " Die beiden Grenadiere," " Belsat- zar," " Wallfahrt nach Kevlaar," " Sonnenuntergang," | Lotosblume," " Heimweh," " Frieden," " Bergidylle," " Seegespenst." But we are bound to add, that several of the poems are obnoxious to the charge of licentiousness. In his " Reisebilder" we meet with sterling and beautifully coloured sketches from nature, at once calm in tone and yet cheerful to vivacity ; — there is also infinite humour and satire in his descriptions of character. But there are ugly features also here, that prevail (more or less) through- out Heine's works ; we allude to his bad creed, and the bad heart that unmasks itself in incessant and ungrounded satire. His poetry has hence been designated as " Eine Poesie der Luge." The only approach, which our author ever made towards artistic perfection, we find em- bodied in his work entitled " Florentinische Nachte ;" indeed we cannot but regret, that he should have left this commendable specimen in an unfinished and fragmentary State. Heine also tried his hand at dramatic composition, and produced " William Radcliff," a tragedy, including all the horrors that can possibly be imagined ; — it reminds one forcibly of Werner's "24 te Februar," Grillparzer's I Ahnfrau," and other inventions characteristic of Mull- 264 HEINE. — LAUBE. ner's school. The result of this curious blending of incon- gruous events, is a mis-shapen, poetical chimera. It is. nevertheless, interesting, from its powerfully-drawn charac- ters and its strength of language. A remarkable truthful- ness also breathes through some of the subordinate scenes of this tragedy ; we may instance, in proof of this, the well-known scene of the " Diebesherberge." Another of Heine's tragedies bears the title of " Almansor," the cha- racters in which are well sketched, but not highly finished, and the incidents are, in some sort, sacrificed — and this, in an increasing degree throughout— to the lyric pomp and gaudy splendour of the language. Besides these works, he has published " Beitrage zur Geschichte der neuren scho- nen Literatur," a not unskilful work, though its critical views are not to be implicitly relied on. We repeat, that the style of this author is undoubtedly beautiful, and stamps him, on all occasions, as an exquisite writer, whe- ther of prose or of lyric poetry. His style is most noted for its nonchalance ; and for this ease of manner he is so distinguished, as hardly to have an equal. It is a curious circumstance, that Heine has made known to us his own estimate of his prosaic powers : " Ein gottliche Prosa" is his verdict ;— the term will be allowed to be not a little con- ceited, and peculiarly characteristic of our author. Heinrich Laube (born 1806). — Evinces an union of the respective mental endowments of Heine and Heinse. The former he rather imitated, while to the latter he acted as editor. Laube is happy in description and detail, yet this talent is based more on language and expression, than on depth of thought or finish of execution. Laube's style appears hardly in unity with itself, for at one moment it betrays a tendency to the classical vein of Varnhagen v. Ense, while again, it seeks to interpolate and to combine this with Heine's more flowery manner. Our author's " Junges Europa" is penned with tolerable spirit and skill, although it is not a general favourite : the " Tagebuch aus dem LAUBE . MUNDT. 265 Gefangniss," containing it, is written with simplicity, and is unquestionably one of the best specimens of this author; and universal consent pronounces it classical. Besides this, Laube published " Reisenovellen," " Moderne Characteris- tiken," "Grafin Chateaubriand" (a novel), &c, in which will be found many political, social, and literary portraits, executed with considerable talent. I Laube concentrated his contributions to criticism in " Geschichte der deutschen Literatur," by which he has established his title to be considered an able and erudite writer. This " Literaturgeschichte" is an excellent text- book for the general reader. Theodor Mundt, born 1807. Mundt aimed at meta- morphosing the versification of poetry into harmonious prose, following, in this respect, the example of Heine ; and in this attempt he has acquitted himself very fairly. Mundt has displayed a decided aptitude for romance and poetry, as applied to social life ; and however much he may have already achieved, we confidently hope for works of a better and higher tendency, if he will but be faithful to his own abilities. Mundt's novels of " Madelon," " Das Duell," are not worked up with sufficient finish and eclat ; and his " Madonna," although containing many splendid passages, is yet stamped with all the peculiarities of the " Junge Deutschland" school. His other tale, " Die Magie des Lebens" is conceived in the same spirit as the fore- going, both of them being works that justly called down public censure. In his criticisms and sketches of character, Mundt ranks exceedingly high ; in his reviews and critiques he attains to the height of poetry, and indeed, in this walk of litera- ture, approaches nearly to perfection. The continuation, that he has lately accomplished of F. Schlegel's " Geschichte der alten und neuen Literatur," places Mundt, as respects criticism and style, in the most favourable light possible. 266 WIEXBABG. Ludolf Wienbarg (born 1803), has not distinguished himself very greatly by his poetical efforts; still, what he has done is manly and powerful in thought and style, cast in a poetic shape, elevated in spirit, and finished with the crowning grace of musical expression. In the opening of his career, Wienbarg seems to have been influ- enced by the refined sensualism and elegant lyrics of Heine, though never to the same extent as Laube. Wien- barg's " Holland in den Jahren 1831 und 1832," " Tage- buch von Helgoland," " Vermischte Schriften," " Drama- tiker der Jetztheit," are all clever, and attest the natural dignity of their author's character. His description of Heligoland, in particular, is worthy of being ranked as a classical specimen. Criticism received an accession in his " iEsthetische Feldziige," a work dedicated to " young Germany." The first division of the book is occupied by discourses on the idea of art, and, notwithstanding it is eloquently written, is inferior, in critical importance, to the second part of the same, — wherein Wienbarg endeavours to calculate the in- fluence, that the genius of Goethe has worked upon our national literature, past and present, and also what, pro- spectively, it may have upon the time to come. His criti- cisms in the " Hamburger Blatter der Borsenhalle" have had a very beneficial effect upon literature ; he herein proves himself as free from prejudice, as any of the present race of critics; — in fact, he would appear to desire mainly the general progress of German literature. Wienbarg was, jointly with Gutzkow, the editor of a periodical called " Die deutsche Revue," which was pub- lished at Frankfort, and afterwards suppressed, on account of its too liberal tone. Wienbarg's style is of extraordi- nary beauty, readily rising to rhetorical form, and redolent of select and graceful expressions. There is, moreover, a great deal of real life, and of practical truth and wisdom, in the productions of his pen. 267 DRAMATISTS. ERNST BENJAMIN SALOMO RAUPACH, Born the 21st of May 1784, at Staupitz, near Liegnitz, in Silesia: lives at Berlin. This author possesses great dramatic abilities, and a productiveness that is truly astonishing. It is a fact, that, since Schiller, no one has succeeded so well as Raupach in catering for the public taste, though without, of course, evincing any of Schiller's highest qualities : no one, except Kotzebue, has ever written such a number of dramas. He is peculiarly clever at devising novel and interesting stage-situations, and his plays abound with forcible ex- pressions and a fine vein of humour. Raupach's lan- guage is superior to that of Kotzebue, for really poetical passages may be found in almost every piece. His faults are, superficiality of execution, and mannerism. Of the vast mass of Raupach's dramatic works, we will content ourselves with indicating some few of the most important ; these are : " Die Hohenstaufen," " Die Leibeignen," " Rafaele," and " Tasso's Tod." Raupach's tragedy of " Der Niebelungenhord" evinces great thought, and the fine old-fashioned language has been used with happy effect. Nor should we be justified in passing unnoticed " Die Erdennacht," " Isidor und Olga," and the character- istic pictures of " Cardinal und Jesuit" and " Die kluge Konigin." Some of Raupach's comedies, such as " Lasst die Todten ruhn," " Die Schleichhandler," will also well reward perusal. ERANZ GRILLPARZER, Born at Vienna, on the 15th of January 1791, where he is still living. A dramatic author, also, of considerable talent, possess- 268 GEILLPAEZEE. ing great powers of diction, combined with poetical feeling and warm natural sensibilities. Grillparzer first followed the school, which Milliner had founded by his tragedy of the " Schuld ;" and next inclined towards the dramatic form of Schiller, — a style, which he has wrought up to considerable perfection. Our author's tragedy of" Die Ahnfrau" (1816) has been thought to be, as a whole, misconceived and ill- drawn ; it contains, nevertheless, so many lyrical and dramatic beauties, and is besides so well adapted for performance, that it has retained an untiring possession of the stage. Grillparzer, like Kleist, must be considered a favourer of the romantic school,— a tendency, that he nowhere evinces so much as in his " Ahnfrau." In his " Sappho" (1818), that poetess shines forth as the leading character, while the " Phaon," on the contrary, is totally without feature. The play, generally, although attesting a falling -off in grandeur, contains, nevertheless, some very charming pas- sages. In his trilogy " Das goldene Vliess" (Gastfreund — Die Argonauten — Medea), the character of Medea is in- vested with great tragic depth and energy ; nevertheless, Grillparzer, though working upon a soil teeming with classical interest, implants it with romantic ideas, and this, to a degree quite at variance with the structure of his plots. There are some exceedingly fine groupings in " Konig Ottokar's Gliick und Ende" (1825); and this play has generally been considered Grillparzer's best. " Der treue Diener seines Herrn" (1829), and his drama " Der Traum im Leben," are very commendable efforts. " Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen" is another tragedy by him, recently published; it is built upon the love story of " Hero and Leander," and, like most of our author's plays, is written rather in a lyrical, than dramatic form, yet with a sterling and excellent choice of language. IMMERMANN. 269 KARL LEBRECHT IMMERMANN,* Born at Magdeburg-, on the 24th of April 1796. Counsellor of the court of justice ; — died at Dusseldorf, 1841. Immermann may fairly be classed among the most gifted dramatists of the present time. His writings evince the richest attributes of the muse, conjointly with the noblest qualities of heart and soul. Our author's dramatic edu- cation was mainly guided by the study of the works of Shakspeare and Goethe ; and he exhibited his first trans- plantations with great boldness, plucked, as we may almost say they were, from the Shaksperian soil. But Immermann's early talents were of a vigorous kind, and plainly disclosed the structure of an original mind ; in fact, he soon divested himself of borrowed plumes, and struck into a path quite his own. Since then, each effort of his muse has been an improvement upon the preceding one. Our author's " Kaiser Friedrich," " Trauerspiel in Tyrol" (1827), "Die Opfer des Schweigens" (1838), and the remarkable trilogy " Alexis" (1832), may justly bespeak for him a place among the most gifted of our dramatic com- posers. His " Merlin" (1832) was important, inasmuch as it marked the era of his transition from the Shaksperian style to a more epic manner of writing : it is a singular drama, and veiled in mysterious language. Immermann's "Das Thai von Ronceval" describes the murder of Prince Roland, the illustrious nephew of Charlemagne, com- passed, as it was, by the conspiracy of Ganelon. Our author's comedy of " Die Prinzen von Syracus" is very much in the manner of Aristophanes. A train of well- devised humour, and a sharp, caustic satire, may be traced throughout this piece. We may further indicate his happy comedies of " Das Auge der Liebe" (1824), " Die Schule der Frommen," " Die Verkleidungen." Under the title of * Karl Immermann. Blatter der Erinnerung an ihn, herausg. von Freiligrath. 1842. 270 IMME R51 ANN . GR ABBE . " Miscellen," Immermann put forth a collection of tales and comic dramas. The characters in the story entitled " Der neue Pygmalion" are very skilfully and carefully delineated. The petite comedy of " Die schelmische Grafin" is a clever production. The last tale in these " Miscellen," " Der Karneval und die Somnambiile" is the best. In his novel of " Die Epigonen," Immermann attained a quietude of style that is truly Goethian : our author evi- dently had " Wilhelm Meister" in his eye, in the plan, grouping, and embellishments of his plot. His eccentric novel " Miinchhausen" is also an excellent work ; in the second part, especially, the character "des Dorfschulzen" exhibits a very complete piece of the modern antique. " Munchhausen," by the easy, plastic style, in which its author has united great Homeric simplicity with marked freshness of colouring, proves the absolute sway that he possesses over his literary materials. The mind of Immer- mann is imbued with true nobility ; and Heine very aptly remarks of him : " Immermann is an eagle, his soul soars, like the king of birds, high above the regions of the common earth, and is, moreover, replete with vigour, grandeur, and gentleness." Immermann has, however, never enjoyed any great share of popularity ; a circumstance that may be partly because he never adhered, with systematic constancy, either to Shakspeare or Goethe, or to the romantic school ; but distributed, and so weakened, his abilities over all those styles, and, from this cause, did not make so large and abiding an impression on the public, as his talents would have led us to anticipate. CHEISTIAN GKABBE (1801-1836), Was born on the 11th of December 1801, at Detmold, where he died on the 12th of January 1836 * Gbabbe was one of the cleverest dramatists of his time. * Gnxbbe's Leben von Duller. AMAXIE V. SACHSEN. — HALM. — DEINHARDSTEIN . 271 A richly poetical nature is evidenced in all his productions, with an opulent and inventive fancy ; but though his in- most spirit overflowed with passionate emotions, he had not the art to stamp on his works either brightness, warmth, or harmony : we stare at, and admire him, but feel ill at ease, after all. Grabbe's most approved compositions are i " Dramatische Dichtungen mit einem Anhange iiber Shakspeareromanie," " Don Juan und Faust," " Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa," " Kaiser Heinrich der VI te ," " Aschenbrodel," "Napoleon, oder die hundert Tage," " Hannibal," " Die Hermannsschlacht." THE PRINCESS AMALIE VON SACHSEN, Born on the 10th of August 1794, daughter of the late Duke Maximilian of Saxony and the Princess Caroline Maria Therese of Parma ; the eldest sister of the present reigning king. This royal authoress has also produced a series of come- dies, which are, for the most part, established favourites upon the stage. The dramas " Liige und Wahrheit," "Die Braut aus der Residenz," "Der Oheim," "Der Landwirth," " Die Flirstenbraut,"* — referable to that better order of plays, designated by Inland's productions, — exhibit elegant and well-drawn sketches of character, and a deep insight into the heart of man and the fabric of society, and this in connexion with an easy and powerful dialogue. FRIEDRICH HALM (Graf Munch von Bellinghauseh) " Griseldis"f has become a favourite piece, and justly. His " Der Adept" and " Camoens" have likewise excited attention, and evince no inconsiderable talent. LUDWIG FRANZ DEINHARDSTEIN (born 1789), Is rather celebrated for the lively language and smart structure of his dramas, than for depth of thought or fulness * Translated by Mrs. Jameson : " Social Life in Germany." f Translated by Sir R. A. Anstruther, Bart., Dresden. 272 DEJNHAEDSTEIN. ZSCHOKKE. of meaning. His plays were expressly designed for the stage, and sound but poorly when subjected to the quiet perusal of the closet. His dramas of" Hans Sachs," "Das Bild der Danae," belong to that order of compositions, to which the title has been given of " Kiintslerdramen," of which (Ehlenschlager's " Correggio" and Goethe's " Tasso" may be regarded as the prototypes. In addition to the above, there are at the present time number of clever writers for the stage, foremost amon^ whom are : Karl Topfer, Castelli, Karl Lebrun, K. Blum, Eduard Bauernfeld, G. A. von Maltitz, F. von Elsholtz, Karl von Holtei, Ferdinand Raimund, Cosmar, &( These all wrote clever vaudeville dramas, Topfer beins perhaps, the most fertile and popular of the set : his plaj are written with much life and skill, and act remarkabh well. TALE-WRITERS AND NOVELISTS. That entertaining order of fiction — the novel — has ad- vanced with equal steps with every other species of litera- i ture. Zschokke, Spindler, Schoppenhauer, Karoline Pichler, Steffens, Rellstab, Laube, Schefer, Alexis, &c, have, as regard both conception and execution, acquitted themselves excellently well. JOHANN HEINRICH DANIEL ZSCHOKKE Was born at Maidenburg, on the 22nd of March, 1771 ; — doctor of philosophy, " Oberberg und Forst, Grosskirchen und Schulrath" of Aargau. All the fictions of this author are finely written, and develop vivacious and diversified portraitures of human character. The personages who circulate through the ele- gant and amusing pages of Zschokke's " Novellen" are. one and all, faithful transcripts from nature, and form a I SPINDLER. — riCHLEIt. 273 garland of diverting characters. His " Bilder aus der Schweiz (Freihoff von Aarau)" are spirited and natural delineations of Helvetian history. " Alamontade," " Cle- mentine," " Addrich im Moos," " Der Kreole," " Das Abentheuer in der Neujahrsnacht,"* are as striking as any of his tales. But besides the few we have named, Zschokke has composed a great number of different stories (they amount to some forty or fifty altogether), all of which exhibit striking beauties, and great liveliness of narration. But, however successful this author may have been in the regions of fiction, he was scarcely so much at home as a dramatist and playwright. In fact his "Julius von Sassen" and " Allalino" ought to be accepted rather as first essays in the theatric style, than as well-considered and mature compositions. His " Schweizerlands Geschichte" and his " Baierische Geschichten" stamp him as one of the most popular of modern historians ; while his highly appreciated work, " Stunden der Andacht," has contributed to render his name eminent as a writer of moral theology. A. R. KARL SPINDLER (born 1795), Is one of the most prolific of the present race of German novelists. His " Der Invalide," " Der Bastard," " Der Jude," " Der Jesuit," are his best productions. Spindler is always careful to make himself master of that particular point of time which he sets himself to depict. His forte lies more particularly in displaying to advantage the phy- sical peculiarities of his personages, but he is not so happy when venturing upon their mental characteristics. KAROLINE PICHLER, Born at Vienna, on the 7th of September 1769 ; daughter of Count von Greiner; married A. Pichler, counsellor of * Translated by the Editor, and published in Blackwood's Lady's Magazine for January 1843. f , T 274 PICHLEE. the regency at Vienna, 1796 ; and died on the 10th of July 1843. K. Pichler's style, like her sentiments, is redolent of the sterling nobility of nature, whilst her language is both lucid and select. She occupies an important station in the imaginative literature of the present age. Her best and most approved work is, unquestionably, the one known to her admirers by the title of " Agathokles." The novel of " Frauenwurde" is meant for an apotheosis of the female- sex, indicating woman's true destiny and value, and also that noiseless, unassuming circle of gentle influences, which is naturally and rightfully her own. " Die Schweden in Prag"* is a stirring historical romance of the thirty years' war. It is with correct taste that Karoline Pichler makes her novels " Die Grafen von Hohenberg," &c, the means for setting forth the history of her own country. "Die Belagerung Wiens in 1683," and " Die Wiedereroberung von Ofen," are interesting ; first, as historical pictures of well-known epochs, and next, as excellent romances. Her " Kleine Erzahlungen" include some fictions of consider- able merit. Of these we would particularly instance " Der Pflegesohn," and its companion " Die Stieftochter."f SOPHIE BRENTANO (1761-1806). This lady's "Eduard und Amanda" and "Spanische und italienische Novellen" are very much liked. Neither was she altogether without some poetic talent, of which her " Gedichte" are sufficient proof. JOHANNA SCHOPPENHAUER, Born at Danzig, 1770 ; died at Weimar, 1840, Was a pleasant novelist, and wrote with elegance. Her * Translated by J. D. Haas, in his " Gleanings from Germany." f Both have been translated by the Editor ; the first for the Metropolitan Magazine (vol. 27), the last for Blackwood's Lady's Magazine (vol. 12). SCHOPPENHAUE R. — STEFFENS. 275 stories contain a noble train of sentiment and exalted medi- tations. Among the most celebrated of her works are "Ausflucht an den Khein," "Gabriele," "Die Xante," " Sidonia," " Der Gunstling," and especially " Johann von Eyk und seine Nachfolger." Although a prose writer, this authoress w r as a veritable poet in thought and feeling ; she is influenced in numberless instances by the sweet har- mony of nature, and is characterised by a constant yearning after the ideal. HEINRICH STEFFENS, Born at Stavanger, in Norway, on the 2nd of May 1773 ; at present professor of philosophy and Scandinavian literature at the Berlin University. The tales and novels of this writer are poetry in prose, and are the effusions of a very imaginative mind. 0. L. B. Wolff says: — " It has been objected against Steffens, that as a philosopher he is too poetical, as a poet too philosophi- cal ; nor are we aware that this defect can be denied. Without this imperfection, however, Steffens would not be the man he is, nor so vigorous and eloquent a writer and thinker as he proves himself to be. He abounds in warmth of feeling, is replete with opulence of invention, with an unusual mastery over the German language, although never able entirely to cast off his foreign character. In his novels we generally find unfolded the precise results of his own thoughts and sensibilities, of his own contemplativeness, and of his own personal experience. Steffens' " Die vier Norweger," " Die Familie Walseth und Leith," and " Malcolm," are his best efforts. In fact, these may vie with any composition of the same kind that the present age has produced. Our author's most recent publication, " Was ich erlebte," is his autobiography, and is very clever and remarkably interesting, owing to the eventful career which is there laid before the reader. 276 EELLSTAB. — SCHEFER. HERMANN FUERST PUECKLER VON MUSKAU, Born at Muskau, in Silesia, on the 30th of October 1785. The writings of this prince are marked by a fund of entertaining recitals, and incidents and adventures in high life, presented in a winning form, and hit off with a bril- liant fluency of expression very much a la Frangaise. His " Briefe eines Verstorbenen," " Tutti Frutti," " Semilasso's VTeltgang," " Der Vorlaeufer," are his principal works. HEINRICH F. L. RELLSTAB, Born at Berlin, on the 13th of April, 1799, Is the author of a series of very clever works of fiction, and distinguished himself more particularly by his historical novel " 1812," the characters of which are drawn with a masterly hand, and are wrought up to a high degree of finish. His novel, " Der Wildschiitz," his " Kunstno- vellen," of a musical tendency, and many others, prove that Rellstab is an ingenious and successful novel-writer. LEOPOLD SCHEFER (born 30th July 1778). Wrote a number of novels in annuals and periodicals, including some highly successful performances. Schefer is deeply contemplative by nature, and the meditations of a richly endowed mind, matured and formed by experience, have conduced to make him a poet. Of late years Schefer has applied himself more particularly to lyric poetiy, as is evidenced by his " Laienbrevier," a work in which he has displayed the true riches of the muse. He has here col- lected the results of his poetical experience into a series of didactic poems. WILIBALD ALEXIS (real name Haring), Born at Breslau, 29th June 1788. This author is a great imitator of Sir Walter Scott. His novel of " Walladmor" actually passed, for some time, for BECHSTEIN. LEWALD. 277 one of the productions of the great Scottish romance-writer. Alexis is endowed with acute and comprehensive powers of observation, and with great tact in developing his scenes and characters in an easy and natural manner. In the description of nature, localities and scenery, he is peculiarly happy. Neither is he less successful in the delineation of manners and customs, and in his characters he not unfre- quently manifests extraordinary talent. " Cabanis," and " Der Roland von Berlin" (The Burgomaster of Berlin) may be accounted as first-rate historical novels. Our author's "Herbstreise durch Scandinavien," " Rosamunde," and " Herr von Sacken," are also skilful romances. LUDWIG BECHSTEIN (1801), Is a clever writer, and his novels, penned in a strain of elegant fluency, class with the superior fictions of the pre- sent day. His impersonations are worked up with a pleas- ing warmth of colouring, and often evince charming naivete, and touches of true sensibility. Bechstein's " Die Weissa- gungen der Libussa," " Die Haimondskinder," " Ara- besken," " Das tolle Jahr," " Der Fiirstentag," are his most approved efforts. Besides these, he has written several works of a legendary nature, such as " Der Sagenschatz des Tiiringerlandes," a work, indeed, that is no mean spe- cimen of his talent in reproducing old traditions in a mo- dern garb, and enlivening them, like Musseus, with a train of poetical, patriotic, and enthusiastic aspirations. JOHANN AUGUST LEWALD (born 1793), Is very forcible in his narrations, and successful in his efforts at realization. His tales are marked by great fresh- ness of style, to which is added the grace of an elaborate and artistic finish, with much smartness and rapidity of in- cident. Lewald's diction is redolent with fine youthful expressions, which, in their simplicity, are often poetically beautiful. He is the editor of the journal entitled " Europa, — 278 DULLER. — HA.HX-HAHN. Chronik der gebildeten Welt," which is one of the best con- ducted of the German literary periodicals. Lewald's most, praiseworthy labours (and which, for the most part, have reference to passages of modern history), are " Lowzinski," " Przebracki der russische Polizeispion," " Georgia," " Schattirungen," " Der Divan," &c. EDUARD DULLER (born 1809), Has written a number of tales, novels, and poems, of no inferior quality. He is certainly possessed of a glowing invention, and of an aptitude for the higher walks of lyric composition, — his personages beiDg generally well delin- eated. In his historical novels, Duller has presented us with good descriptions and impersonations, and has dis- played a knowledge of, and a degree of poetic feeling with the events that he recounts, which is justly praise- worthy. His language is rich and forcible. Duller's novels of " Freund Hain," " Der Antichrist," " Phantasiegemalde" (containing one of his best tales, " Das tonende Bild"), are much admired. EDA GRiEFLN HAHN-HAHN Is a poetess of some renown, besides having written several romances. The works of the Countess refer, al- most exclusively, to the aristocracy, her stories being con- fined to its circle ; but prettily, sensibly, and often poet- ically designed. As respects the tender passion, the countess greatly resembles George Sand, and, whenever she touches upon similar incidents, her style becomes melancholy and ecstatic. Otherwise, she is the reigning chronicler of the fashions of the day, and the principles current in high life. Her novels " Grafin Faustine," " Ulrich," " Reisebilder," " Jenseit der Berge," " Reise- versuch im Norden," " Cacil," &c, are especially well adapted to amuse a leisure hour. NOVELISTS. 279 ALEXANDER FREIHERR VON STERNBERG (1806). In the tales and novels of this writer, also, we are intro- duced to the higher circles. He has written a series of pleasant and entertaining fictions, which are rife with the vis comica, and wherein are set forth the fashions and customs of small courts, the aristocracy being occasionally delineated in a successful manner. Although there may not be any great depth in his " Die Zerrissenen," "Eduard," " Lessing," " Kallenfels," yet these novels are agreeably written. G. VON HEERINGEN (Ernst Wodomerius), Has been successful in his tales and novels, such as " Die Einnahme von Choczym," " Elizabeth und Anna," " Frankische Bilder," " Der Knabe von Luzern," &c. There is truth and deeply-seated feeling in his various scenes, particularly in those which are designed to reflect the lights and shadows " des frankischen Lebens." A considerable number of novel writers are yet left un- noticed, of whom we must rapidly name a few. Tromlitz (von Witzleben), is a very fertile writer : G. Doring distin- guished himself by his novel " Kunsthaus ;" Reinbeck, whose efforts are commendable; Ludwig Buhrlein, whose style is very simple and lucid in his " Bilder aus dem Schwarzwalde ;" Sophie von Knorring (sister of Ludwig Tieck), authoress of a very clever novel, " Evremont ;" Frau von Paalzow, who acquired great celebrity by her novels of " Godwie Castle," " St. Roche," and " Thomas Thyrnau." A novel well calculated for popularity is Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi's " Lienhardt und Gertrud." 280 BIOGRAPHERS AND CRITICS. KARL AUGUST VARNHAGEN VON ENSE. This justly celebrated man was born at Dusseldorf, in 1785 ; he entered upon a course of philosophy at Tubingen ; and afterwards entered the Austrian service, and was wounded at Wagram. Eventually, he held the rank of adjutant and captain, under the Russian general Tettenborn, whom he accompanied to Paris. In addition to his military duties, Varnhagen also discharged several diplomatic functions. He lives now in retirement at Berlin, the patron of all literary men of genius. Vabnhagen's literary criticisms are the finest specimens of writing that the present age can shew, combining ele- gance of expression with depth of thought. His work "Zur Geschichtsschreibung und Literatur" embraces a body of very valuable criticisms. Varnhagen, besides being a critic, is also a biographer, in which character he is, if anything, the greater of the two. Goethe, in speaking of Varnhagen v. Ense's " Biogra- phische Denkmale," asserts, that the grand peculiarity of the style, and its vigorously-designed portraitures, remind him of nothing so much as of the " Lives" of Plutarch. Of these biographies, " Blucher's" is perhaps one of the most reputed. Varnhagen has combined the too -often dis- tinct merits of simplicity and artistic perfection ; these qualities would of themselves secure him a place among the greatest of German prose writers. Varnhagen is also the author of a series of interesting and very entertaining historical treatises, collected in his " Denkwurdigkeiten," and charmingly written ; and of antique simplicity and modesty. GEORG G. GERVINUS (1805). We are bound to place Gerviims among the brightest GERVINUS. — MENZEL. 281 geniuses of the age, and acknowledge him one of the most resplendent stars among critical annalists. Endowed with a sterling judgment, and sound and cor- rect taste, he has carefully investigated the poetical liter- ature of Germany, and has discoursed upon it with much truthfulness and genuine manly power. The decisions propounded by Gervinus in his various critical writings, are highly trustworthy, although, to a certain extent, he may have failed with regard to Goethe. A study of Ger- man literature, and the historical developement of its authors, at once profound and elaborate, conjoined with a noble patriotism, that is prominent in them all, render this author worthy, not only of our esteem as an author, but of our love as a man. In his " Geschichte der poetischen National Literatur der Deutschen," Gervinus has laboured to produce what may fairly be considered a truly national work: for, in the first place, he favours us with a faithful picture of the de- velopement and progress of German poetry, considered as a whole ; and in the second, he exhibits its different poetical achievements from their origin. WOLFGANG MENZEL* (Born 21st of June 1798, at Waldenburg, in Silesia). Unprejudiced judges must pronounce Menzel to be a man of genius, and fine talents for writing, yet they look upon his critical performances as utterly biassed by conclu- sions of his own ; in short, as altogether partial. Not but that this author's " Geschichte der deutschen Literatur" has its merits — and great ones — more particularly from his ge- neralizations. But when Menzel sets himself to criticise individual writers, he must be acknowledged repeatedly to fail. Personal feelings intrude themselves very unbe- * Strauss' " Streitschriften" embraces a most sterling criti- cism of Menzel's genius and writings. — L. Wienbarg, Menzel und die junge Literatur. 1835. 282 MENZEL. comingly, and interfere with his professional duties, so that, instead of attaching his view solely upon the works of an author, he is often engaged in reviewing and attacking the private character of that author himself. This propensity of mind, and the conflict with the Heglianer and " Young Germany," as may be readily supposed, only served to arouse the enmity of the majority of men of letters, and to involve him in a number of controversies. Menzel's opinion of Goethe particularly, has been repudiated by the entire community. Menzel has distiuguished himself as an historiographer by his " Geschichte der Deutschen." LUDWIG BOERNE (Baruch), 1817-1837 * Possessed great talents for criticism and political writings, which latter were mostly inserted in a periodical called " Die Zeitschwingen," and " Die Wage." His labours in criticism are striking and clever, but his liberal tendencies and republican disposition soon drove him from Germany. It was during this compulsory expatriation that Borne pro- duced " Briefe aus Paris," a work devised in a charac- teristic and vigorous manner; indeed there is hardly a crisis of any consequence, that is not observed by his pene- trative glance. Borne's style is simple yet brilliant ; he always writes in the impassioned vein of a fierce republican. NATIVE TRANSLATORS. JOHANN DIETRICH GRIES (Born at Hanover, on the 7th of Eebruary, 1775), Is the chief, and indeed matchless, poetical translator of Calderon de la Barca. Tasso, and Ariosto, have * Gutzkow, Borne's Leben. TRANSLATORS. 283 likewise been treated by him in the same successful manner. Gries's own contributions to poetry are written with con- summate taste and choice of language. ADOLF FRLEDRICH KARL STRECKFUSS. (20th September 1779) His fame rests principally upon his translations of Tasso, Dante, and Ariosto, which are executed in a masterly style. His original poetry : " Ruth," " Zamira," his " Life of Torquatto Tasso," are very worthy performances. K. Kannegiesser, Prince Johann v. Sachsen, and K. Kopitsch, in their versions of Dante ; and Ph. Kaufmann and Simrock, for Shakspeare,* are distinguished translators. Storck's Walter Scott, Zedlitz's Byron's Childe Harold, G. Schwab's Lamartine, A. v.Chamisso's and Gaudy's Songs of Beranger, Freiligrath's Poems of Victor Hugo, Moh- nike's Frithjofsage by Tegner, are also highly considered. WRITERS FOR THE YOUNG. A. L. Grimm's writings, such as " Kindermahrchen," " Lina's Marchenbuch," " Fabelbibliothek fur die Jugend," " Mahrchenbibliothek," may be included among the most successful efforts of the kind. J. Christoph von Schmid (1768), is the author of the well-known and justly-admired " Ostereier," " Der Weih- nachtsabend," " Heinrich von Eichenfels," " Rosa von Tannenburg," " Ida von Toggenburg," " Genovefa," " Fridolin," and many other works of a like description. The adroit manner in which Schmid mingles and com- bines topics of instruction and amusement with moral and religious precepts, and the fascinating style of his simple * Ulrici, Ueber Calderon und Shakspeare. 284 ROTTECK. — BANKE a and beautiful narrative, have wrought for his productions a great and well- deserved popularity. Amalie Schoppe, Campe, Wilmsen, Carove, F. H. Hagen, and Lyser, are also distinguished as writers for the young. HISTORIANS AND GEOGRAPHERS. FRIEDRICH CIIRISTOPH SCHLOSSER (1776), Professor at Heidelberg, The first historian of the age, whether we judge by the profundity of his research, his lucid analysis, vigorous argumentation, or the excellency of his judgment. His " Universalgeschichte der alten Welt"* and " Weltge- schichte in zusammenhangenden Erzahlungen" are both eminent works ; whilst his " Geschichte des 18 ten und 19 ten Jahrhunderts" is even more illustrious. The remarkable discrimination which he has shewn as the chronicler of our times, and his luminous glances at the intellectual progress of Europe, are merits too obvious in this masterly production to require any elucidation at our hands. KARL VON ROTTECK (1775-1840). This celebrated historian's grand achievement, " Die allgemeine Weltgeschichte," has acquired a popularity which no other work of this kind (excepting, perhaps, Becker's Weltgesch.) can ever hope to obtain : but, beyond this, the depth of its critical disquisitions, and the scientific mode in which it deals with history, render it a work unappreciable, save by the careful perusal of the student. FRANZ LEOPOLD RANKE (1796), Professor of history at the Berlin university. Ranke's " Romische Papste" is a work of unrivalled ex- * Gervinus' kleine Schriften enthalt eine kritische Re- cension liber Schlosser. LEO. — RAUMEE. 285 cellence and importance, the value of which may, indeed, be considered as universal : and it is gratifying to know, that two very capital translations* of these learned works have recently appeared in this country. Every English reader, therefore, has it in his power to enter into the pith of this sterling production. We must also notice this author's " Deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter der Reforma- tion," now in course of publication, and his " Serbische Revolution" (1829): both of them are worthy specimens of the literature to which they belong. Ranke's style is commanding in its tone, luminous, yet terse and succinct in its expositions, and, not seldom, very beautiful. HEINRICH LEO (1779), Professor at Halle. Leo's historical productions, " Geschichte der Italie- nischen Staaten," as also his "Lehrbuch der Universal- geschichte," are considered as of classic and standard authority. In style and descriptive talent, they deserve our heartiest commendation ; while they likewise fully es- tablish their author as one of the greatest of German his- toriographers. ERIEDRICH LUDWIG GEORG VON RAUMER, Born on the 14th of May 1781. Professor of history at the Berlin university. This distinguished writer has contributed largely to ex- pand and enrich the circle of history, by his " Geschichte der Hohenstaufen ;" a work that has risen into such repute, as to become the historical text-book of all judicious readers. Raumer is, moreover, the author of " Die Geschichte Europa's seit clem Ende des 15 ten Jahrhunderts," "Eng- land im Jahre 1835," " Italien," &c. These works are highly * The one by Mrs. Sarah Austin ; the other by Walter Kelly, Esq. 286 HISTORIANS. valuable, from their political, historical, and statistical ex- positions. Raumer's style is always elegant. K. H. L. POELITZ (1772), Is a philosophical historian. His " Weltgeschichte," " Staatensysteme Europa's und Amerikas," &c, are cha- racterized by clever arrangement and apt detail. ERXST W. G. WACHSMUTH (1784), professor at Leipzig. This author's " Europaische Sittengeschichte" is among the best of its kind that the present age can shew; his " Hellenische Alterthumskunde" is profoundly learned. HEINRICH LUDEN (1780), Is a philosophical annalist of the historical events of Germany. His " Geschichte des deutschen Volks" is looked upon as a excellent repository of historic lore, and is a most trustworthy and erudite composition. KARL ADOLF MENZEL (1784), Professor at the " Elisabethanum," at Breslau. Menzel's historiographic works, with great force and clearness of narrative, combine a certain vein of patriotism, and a store of profound and impartial decisions. His most famous efforts are his " Geschichte der Deutschen" and " Neuere Geschichte der Deutschen von der Reformation bis zur Bundesacte." JOSEPH VON HAMMER (1774), Is allowed, on all hands, to be the greatest of living German Oriental historians. His " Geschichte des Osma- nischen Reichs" is well known and much admired. ERIEDRICH KOHLRAUSCH'S (1780) Compositions are of a more popular cast, they are chiefly designed for the use of schools and young persons. They have, in this respect, peculiar and striking merits. His " Deutsche Geschichte" is a cleverly-written book, and is evidently penned under a flow of strongly-patriotic feelings. HISTORIANS. 287 J. J. GCERRES (1776), Is a political writer and historian of considerable merit. His writings comprise a fund of noble thoughts and exalted feelings. The reception that his " Deutschland und die Revolution" met with, was such as to drive him into en- forced exile, for a while, in France. His " Europa und die Revolution," which next appeared, is written in a gloomy and fantastic phraseology, although the usual style of this author is pregnant with sterling power, and on most occasions agreeable. Distinguished in historical composition are further: — Lappenberg's " Geschichte Englands," Dahlmann's " Ge- schichte Danemarks," Marheinecke's " Geschichte der deutschen Reformation," J. C. Pfister's " Geschichte der Deutschen," Mailath's " Geschichte der Magyaren" and " Geschichte Oestereichs," Stenzei's " Geschichte der Frankischen Kaiser," Friedrich Wilken's " Geschichte der Kreuzziige," Voigt's " Geschichte Preussens," Manso's " Geschichte Preussens," Rehm's " Mittelalter," etc. KARL RITTER (1779), Is one of the greatest of European geographers. His learned work, " Die Erdkunde im Verhaltniss zur Natur und zur Geschichte des Menschen," is the most complete, elabo- rate, and erudite production of the present age. Ritter has forcibly demonstrated the thesis, that the habits and annals of any one nation of the earth are determined by the physi- cal circumstances of the country which it inhabits, as well as by the specific influence of the climate itself. In fact it is the praise of Professor Ritter to have built up, through the instrumentality of this one work (nine volumes of which only suffice to embrace Africa and part of Asia), geography into the dignity of a real and tangible science of the highest order, while it is the standard authority on all geogra- phical questions. 288 ZEITSCHRIFTEN UND JOURNALE * Certain periodicals that flourished at an antecedent date, but are now extinct, must, nevertheless, be still looked upon as the progenitors of many of the publications of the present day. The fame of these older Zeitschriften having been established in the first instance, upon foundations so broad and lasting, we should scarcely be warranted, when discoursing of German Literature, in passing them over altogether in silence ; the more so, from the consideration, that they formed — as we have before had occasion to re- mark — the central point, whence the different poetic parties or schools of poetry radiated or diverged. One of their num- ber more especially, which bore the denomination of " Die Discussionen der Maler," and which was edited by Bodmer and Breitinger in 1721, was designed to guide the current poetry of the day, and to help it onwards to a state of com- parative perfection by a series of instructive and attractive criticisms. Nevertheless, a really genuine critical age did not dawn upon the literary world anterior to the rise of Les- sing. This writer showed himself to be endowed with re- markable judgment and refinement of taste. He origi- nated, in 1757, " Die Bibliothek der schonen Wissen- schaften." There was also another review, which made its first appearance in 1760, edited by Nicolai, entitled " All- gemeine deutsche Bibliothek," which certainly obtained a considerable sway for a time at least, not only in the de- partment of belles-lettres, but also in the guiding and con- trol of the feelings and opinions of the community at large. Parallel with the foregoing, started up sundry reviews of another order, intended to conduce to the amusement and instruction of the general reader. Such might be denomi- * Prutz. Gcschichte des deutschen Journalisraus. — In the press. JOURNALS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 289 Hated " Die Bremer Beitrage" (published 1741), and edited by Ebert and Cramer. Wieland also made an effective opening with his "Deutschen Merkur." Schiller, in 1784, established " Die Thalia," a work, however, which had not a very long run. Yet shortly after this was given up, he entered into literary cooperation with Goethe, and the friends became joint editors of a journal, which bore the title of " Die Horen" (1795--97) a periodical magazine of the greatest influence on the improvement of public taste generally. Many of Goethe's and Schiller's works were first introduced to the attention of the reading world through the columns of " Die Horen," and these authors also made use of this publication to introduce young beginners of talent. " Kritische Walder," which Herder began in 1769, was of a more critical tendency. " Das Athenaeum," a journal carried on by the two brothers Schlegel, in which they entered into fierce hostilities with all the writers of the time, speaks well for the critical talents of its learned editors. I. JOURNALS OF INSTRUCTION AND ENTERTAINMENT. " Das Morgenblatt." — This is a work of some thirty-five years' standing. Poetical pieces, and original and well- chosen tales and romances, form the staple of this " Zeit- schrift," to which are appended anecdotes and news forwarded by its numerous correspondents from all parts of Europe. The annual issue of the Morgenblatt extends to 365 quarto numbers. Its contents are divided into three main sections, the first designated " Morgenblatt" (for the novel-reader) ; the second, " Das Literaturblatt," for criticism, edited by Wolfgang Menzel ; the last, " Das Kunstblatt," (for all branches of the fine arts), edited by Schorn, and since his death, by Dr. Kugler and Forster. u 290 JOUENALS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC " Die Blatter fur Literarische Unterhaltungen" is, in more respects than one, an edifying and entertaining peri- odical. It issues 365 quarto numbers in the year, which contain a body of nicely-written criticisms on the various belletristic productions of the day, addressed to the well- instructed. The following is a list of those public journals, the fame of which is established for sound and skilfully-written articles, and which enjoy the largest circulation : — " Zei- tung fur die elegante Welt," edited by Kiihne, whose issue is 256 Nos., 4to., a year ; " Die Abendzeitung," edited by Hell, is 3 1 5 Nos. yearly ; " Der Gesellschafter, oder Blatter fur Geist und Herz," edited by Gubitz, is 210 Nos., 4to., every year; " Das Ausland," a journal of a very entertain- ing kind, monthly, 4to. ; "Die Wiener Zeitschrift," a gazette of literature and the fine arts, of the drama and fashion ; " Der Komet," — "Die Rosen" (Zeitschrift fur die gebildete Welt), edited by Heller, 312 Nos. 4to. ; " Das Athenseum," fiir Wissenschaft und Kunst ; " Der Freihafen," Gallerie von Unterhaltungsbildern, aus den Kreisen der Literatur, der Gesellschaft und Wissenschaft; (the articles of this monthly magazine are always particularly good). " Deutsche Monatsschrift," fiir Literatur und 6fFentlicb.es Leben, edited by Biedermann, monthly. " Humoristische Blatter," edited by Kobbe, weekly, 8vo. ; " Europa," Chro- nik der gebildeten Welt, edited by Lewald, weekly, 8vo. ; " Der Humorist," edited by Saphir, 260 Nos. 4to. every year. II. LITERARISCH-KRITISCHE JOURNALE. " Die Goettingenschen gelehrten Anzeigen," is one of the most highly esteemed journals, furnishing criticisms under the superintendence and sanction of the Royal Society of Literature of the University of Goettingen. The suppliers LITERAKISCH-KRITISCHE J0URNALE. 291 of its literary contents are mostly erudite and learned men. Various news, also, relating to universities and matters of general interest, find its way into the pages of this period- ical, whose chief aim, however, is to supply trustworthy critiques upon the literatures respectively of England, France, Italy, Germany, &c. It issues 365 Nos. 8vo. annually. " Die Jenaische Literatur Zeitung," and " Hallesche Literatur Zeitung," now combined, are journals of about the same standing and calibre, of which 12 Nos. 4to., ap- pear annually. This periodical exhibits criticisms on all the branches of literature, and is accompanied by an " In- telligenzblatt" of a very useful nature. " Die Hallische Zeitung," in particular, offers the most full and satisfactory account of what is going on in the universities and colleges of Germany. It supplies accurate reports of the lectures to be delivered during the university terms, imparts intelli- gence of a general scientific character, with personal news, and obituaries of distinguished literary men. " Die Jahrbucher fur wissenschaftliche Kritik,'' addresses itself to the productions of every country, and this in a scientific and philosophical manner. This monthly journal is one of the most learned in the entire circle of critical re- views, besides being the organ of the philosophy of the illus- trious Hegel. " Die Wiener Jahrbucher" is a quarterly periodical ; and its particular aim is, to enlarge, in a scientific manner, on forthcoming literary productions of all countries. The " Jahrbucher" is the more valuable, as it has had reviews of, and disquisitions upon, many most esteemed composi- tions of Germany, — compositions, let it be added, which have eventually raised themselves into the exclusive regions of classic literature. The "Jahrbucher," also opens up the treasures of ancient German literature more decidedly than any other journal of its class, excepting, of course, " Haupt's Altdeutsche Blatter," and his " Zeitschrift fur altdeutsche Literatur." 292 LITERARTSCH-KRITISCHE JOURNALE. " Die Heidelberger Jahrbiicher der Literatur." — Tliis periodical has maintained its position for nearly half a cen- tury, under the combined editorship of F. C. Schlosser, Muncke, and C. Baehr. The scope and bearing of the Jahrbiicher are very wide: these being no less than the entire circle of German literature. The Jahrbiicher also comments upon the most important works that other coun- tries produce. An Intelligenzblatt, which this periodical provides, enhances its general utility. It appears every other month. " Die deutscheVierteljahrsschrift," exhibits long and elabo- rate papers on the more important intellectual interests of the time, on literature and art, politics, history, and sta- tistics. Persons of the highest distinction contribute to the pages of this work. " Die Literarische Zeitung" was originated by Buchner, and appears at Berlin. It is a very useful paper, and is published twice a week, in 4to. It comprises brief yet com- petent information of all the principal forthcoming works, and deals also with foreign literature. A " Beilage," with which the Literarische Zeitung is furnished, presents a comprehensive review of the new publications of all countries. " GersdorfFs Repertorium," is published from eight to twelve times a year, in 8vo. parts, and takes in the entire circle of German literature. While, therefore, the criticisms it contains are necessarily of a miscellaneous character, its presiding principle, nevertheless, is usefulness and brevity. To this journal is added " Brockhaus's Bibliographic/' which gives an accurate catalogue of all new books and publications. This latter work may be had in London, gratis, of Mr. D. Nutt, foreign bookseller. Each branch of Science and Art has, as will naturally be supposed, its own special literary organ. In critical Divinity and Theology there is a vast number of papers, which, in their several kinds, are all candidates for distinction. We THEOLOGICAL MAGAZINES, ETC. 29 may instance as the most celebrated, the theological Quar- terly, entitled " Theologische Studien und Kritiken." This is a work of strictly orthodox opinions, edited and contri- buted to by Ullmann, Umbreit, and others. " Tholuck's Literarischer Anzeiger fur Theologie und Wissenschaft iiberhaupt" examines the new publications in this depart- ment. In addition to these, we may number the following theological journals as among the most ably conducted and best of their kind, viz : — A. THEOLOGICAL MAGAZINES FOR CRITICAL AND HISTORI- CAL INQUIRY INTO THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1. Freimiithige Blatter liber Theologie und Kirchenthum ; ed. by Pflauz. 2. Theolog. Jahrbiicher ; ed. by Zell, a quarterly journal. 3. Allgemeine Kirchenzeitung. Ein Archiv fur die neueste Geschichte und Statistik der christ. Kirche ; ed. by Bretschneider and Zimmermann. Monthly, 4to. 4. Berliner Kirchenzeitung ; ed. by Eheinwald. 104 Nos. 4 to. annually. 5. Kirchenzeitung ; ed. by Hengstenberg. Monthly, 4to. 6. Magazin fur christliche Prediger ; ed. by Rohr. 2 parts 8vo. annually. 7. Kritische Predigerbibliothek : ed. by Rohr. 6 Parts, 8vo. annually. 8. Theologische Quartalschrift ; ed. by Drey, Hefele, etc. 9. Zeitschrift fur die historische Theologie; ed. by Illgen. 4 Parts, 8vo. annually. B. PERIODICALS FOR THE ADVOCACY AND FURTHERANCE OF MISSIONARY LABOURS AT HOME AND ABROAD. 1. Berliner Missionsblatt, 8vo. 2. Missionsblatt der Briidergemeine ; ed.by Holm. 26 Nos. 4to. annually. 3. Calwer Missionsblatt ; ed. by Barth. 26 Nos. 4to. 4. Banner Missionsblatt; ed. by Ball. 26 Nos. 4to. 5. Dresdner Missionsnachrichten. 12 Parts, 8vo. 294 THEOLOGICAL JOURNALS, ETC. 6. Magazin fur die neueste Geschichte der evangelischen Missions und Bibelgesellschaften herausgb. v. Hoff- mann. Quarterly. C. — IN BEHALF OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH. 1 . Der Katholik, eine religiose Zeitschrift ; ed. by Weis. Monthly, 8vo. 2. Katholische Kirclienzeitung ; ed. by Honinghaus. 104 numbers annually. 3. Katholisches Literatur Wochenblatt ; ed. by Scham- berger. Weekly. D. FOR JUDAISM. 1. Der Israelit des 19 ten Jahrh. ; ed. by Hess. Weekly. 2. Der Orient. Berichte, Studienund Kritiken fiir jiidische Literatur und Geschichte ; ed. by Fiirst. Weekly. 3. Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums ; ed. by Philipp- son. Weekly. 4. Kerem Chemed. (in Hebrew) 1 vol. 8vo. annually. 5. Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift fur jiidische Theologie ; ed. by Geiger. Quarterly. V. PHILOSOPBY, CLASSICAL LITERATURE, &c. Every walk of science has, more or less, its periodical papers and publications. In Philosophy, we can present " Die Zeitschrift fiir Philosophic und spekulative Theolo- gie," ed. by Dr. Fichte. For classical studies : 1. Neue Jahrbucher fur Philologie und Paedagogik; ed. by G. Seebode, Jahn, and Prof. Klotz. 2. Rheinische Blatter fiir Erziehung und Unterricht ; ed. by Diesterweg. 6 parts 8vo. annually. 3. Schul-Zeitung herausg. v. Zimmermann. 12 parts, 4to. 4. Zeitschrift fur Alterthumswissenschaft ; ed. by Zim- mermann, continued by Bergk. Monthly. 5. Rheinisches Museum fiir Philologie ; ed. by Welcker and Ritschel. Quarterly. JOURNALS ON MUSIC, ART, ETC. 295 VI. -THE MOST CELEBRATED JOURNALS ON MUSIC AND THEATRICALS. 1. Iris im Gebiete der Tonkin] st ; ed. by Rellstab. Weekly, 8vo. 2. Allgeineine musikalische Zeitung von Bekker. Weekly, 4to. 3. Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik ; ed. by Schumann. 104 parts, 4to. 4. Cacilia. Eine Zeitschrift fur die musikalische Welt. 8 parts, 8vo. 5. Die Wiener Theater Zeitung, von Baeuerle. 6. Blatter fur Musik und Literatur; ed. by Christen. Weekly, 8vo. VII. -JOURNALS ON ART, ARCHITECTURE, etc. 1. Miinchner Jahrbucher fur bildende Kunst; ed. by Marggraff. 2. Das Kunstblatt ; ed. by Kugler. Weekly. 3. Allgemeine Bauzeitung, mit Abbildungen fiir Archi- tecten, Ingenieurs, Decorateurs, &c; ed. by Forster. 1 2 parts, 4to. and Atlasses, folio. 4. Politechnisches Central Blatt ; ed. by Hiilsse and Weinberg. 73 numbers 8vo. annually. 5. Journal fiir die Baukunst ; ed. by Crelle. Quarterly, 4to. 6. Polytechnisches Journal. Eine Zeitschrift zur Ver- breitung gemeinnutziger Kenntnisse im Gebiete der Naturwiss : der Chemie, der Mechanik, &c. ; ed. by Dingier and Schulthess. 24 parts annually. VIII. -POLITICAL JOURNALS & NEWSPAPERS. 1. Central Blatt fur preussische Juristen ; ed. by Strass. 52 numbers annually. 2. Kritische Jahrb. fur deutsche Rechtswissenschaft ; ed. by Richter and Schneider. Monthly. 3. Die Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung, 296 PERIODICALS TOR THE YOUNG. 4. Die Leipziger (now Deutsche) Allgemeine Zeitung. 5. Der Hamburger Correspondent. 6. Die Borsenhalle. 7. Die Vossische Zeitung. 8. Die Preussische Staatszeitung. 9. Die Haucle und Spenersche Zeitung. 10. 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Gesch. d. neuern schonen Liter, in Deutschland. 2 vols. 12mo. 1840. 4s. 6d. Heinsius(T.) Geschichte d. deut. Literatur. 12mo. 1843. 7s. 6c?. Hense (C. C.) Deutsche Dichter der Gegenwart erlautert. 5 parts, 16mo. 1842. lis. Herder (J. G.) Fragmente iiber d. neuere deut. Liter. 3 parts. 1768. 7s. 6rf. Kritische Walder. 3 parts 8vo. 1769. 7s. 6c?. Holtei (K. von) Beitrage zur Gesch. d. dramatischen Kunst und Literatur. 9 parts, 1828. 19s. Horn (F.) Die schone Lit. Deutschl. im 18kn Jahrh. 2 vols. 8vo. 1813. 9s. Gesch. d. deut. Poesie und Beredsamkeit. 1807. 4s. 6c?. Die Poesie u. Beredsamkeit d. Deutschen von Luther bis jetzt. 4 vols. 1829. 11 10s. Jorden (K. H.) Lexicon der deut. Dichter u. Prosaisten. 6 vols. 1811. 3/. 3s. 298 IMPORTANT WORKS ON GERMAN LITERATURE. Jung (A.) Vorlesungen iiber d. moderne Lit. der Deutschen. 8vo. 1842. 5s. 6d. Kannegieszer(K.)Abriss der Gesch. d. deut. Literatur 1838. 2s. Kern (J.) Uebersicht der schonen Lit. Deutschlands seit Lessing. 1839. Is. Koberstein (A.) Grundriss d. Geschichte d. deut. Nat. Lite- ratur, 3te A. 1837. 6s. Koch (E. J.) Compendium der deut, Literaturgesch. 2 vols. 8s. Kiittner (K. A.) Charactere deutscher Dichter und Prosaisten, 2 vols. 1781. 5s. Laube (H.) Geschichte der deut. Literatur, 4 vols. 1841 12. 8s. Lessing (G. E.) Hamburgische Dramaturgic 1839. 6s. Marbach (G. 0.) iiber moderne Literatur, 3 vols. 1838. 9s. Menzel (W.) Geschichte d. deut. Literatur, 4 v. 8vo. II. 10s. Mundt (T.) Geschichte d. Literatur der Gegemvart. 1842. 8s. Nicolai, Briefe iiber die neueste Lit. 1761-66, 24 vols. 1/. 12s. Nodnagel (A.) deut. Dichter der Gegenwart erlautert, 2 parts. 1842. 3s. Nosselt (F. A.) Lehrb. d. deut. Literatur fur das weibl. Ge- schlecht, 4 vols. 1833. 18s. Pischon (F. A.) Leitfaden zur Gesch. d. deut. Literatur. 1841. 2s. 6d Reinbeck (G.) Die Gesch. d. Dichtkunst u. ihre Liter. 1830. 3s. Rinne (K. F.) Innere Gesch. der Entwickelung der deut. National Literatur, 2 vols. 1843. 12s. Roniantik, die, des 19ten Jahrhunderts. 1833. 4s. Rosenkranz (K.) Zur Geschichte d. deut. Literatur. 1836. 6s. Schaefer (J. W.) Grundriss d. Gesch. d. deut. Literatur. 2s. Handbuch d. Gesch. d. deut. Literatur. v. i. 1842. 6s. Scholl, deut. Literatur in Biographien. 1841. 9s. Schlegel (A. W.) Vorlesungen iiber dram. Kunst u. Liter. 3 vols. 1817. 11 Is. (F.) Gesch. der alten u. neuen Literatur. 1842. 8s. Stephani (M.) die neue romantische Schule u. ihre Repriisen- tanten. 1838. 3s. Stober (A.) Gesch. d. schonen Lit. der Deutschen. 1843. 4s. Tieck (L.) dramaturgische Blatter. 2 vols. 1826. 13s. 6d. Vetterlein (C. F. R.) Handbuch der poet. Literat. d. Deut- schen. 8vo. 1799. 5s. Wachler (L.) Handbuch d. Gesch. d. Liter. 4 vols. 1833. 27. 2s. Vorlesungen iiber d. Gesch. d. deut. Nat. Lit. 2 v. 12s. Wienbarg (L.) Die neueste Literatur. 1838. 4s. Winter (H.) Li terargesch. d. deut. Sprachkunst. 1829. 6s. Wolff (0. L. B.) Die schone Lit. Europas in d. neuesten Zeit. 1832. 12s. Geschichte des Romans. 1841. 12s. 299 GENERAL INDEX. Abbt, Th., 50 Abraham a Sancta Clara, 15 Adelung, J. C, 72 Agricola, Johann, 12 Alexander von Wiirtemberg, 259 Alexis, Wilibald, 276 Amalie,Princessin v. Sacbsen, 271 Amnion, 241 Ancillon, J. P., 80 Archenbolz, J. W. von, 70 Arndt, Ernst, Moritz, 218, 231 Johann, 11 240 Arnim, L. A. von, 193 Ast, 238 Baader, T. X. von, 80 Baggesen, Jens, 204 Babr, 238 Bartsch, A., 244 Basedow, 86 Bauer, Bruno, 241, 249 Bauernfeld, E., 272 Baumgarten, A. G. 49 Bayrhofer, 249 Bechstein, L. 260, 277 Beck, Karl, 258 Becker, K. F. 233,240 Bekker, 238 Benecke, G. J. 240 Benzel Sternau, K. C. E. Graf zu, 178 Bergbaus, 242 Bergk, 238 Bernhardy, 239 Bessel, 242 Bettina von Arnim, 225 Blasius, 243 Blum, K. 272 Blumauer, Aloys, 157 Bodmer, 19 I Boeckb, 238 Boje,89 Bopp, 239 Borne, L. 282 Botbe, 238, 239 Bbttiger, K. A., 67, 239, 243 Bouterwek, F., 76 Brachmann, K. Louise, 203 Breitkopf, 244 Brentano, Klemens, 196 Sophie, 274 Bretscbneider, 241 Bronikowsky, A. A. F. von, 229 Bronn, H. G. 242 Buch, L. von, 242 Buble, J. G., 80 Biibrlein, L., 279 Buggenhagen, Johann, 12 Bulau, Th. 243 Bunseu, Chevalier, 243 Burdach, 243 Biirde, S. G. 159 Burger, Gottfried A. 91 Buscbing, 240 Buttmann, 240 Campe, H. C. 73, 284 Carlyle, Th. 136 Carove, 284 Carus, 243 Castelli, 272 Chamisso, L. A. von, 197, 283 Claudius, Matthias, 100 Collin, H. J. von, 208 Conrad von "Wiirzburg, 4 Contessa, Ch. J. Salice, 211 Karl W., 211 Conz, C. P., 160 Cosmar, 272 Couard, 240 Cramer, 91 300 GENERAL INDEX Creuzer, Fr., 239.. 243 Crusius, Ch. A., 49 Dablmann. 242, 2S7 Deinbardstein, L. R, 271 Dieflenbach, 243 Diesterweg, 240 Dindorff, 238 Dingelstadt, F., 259 Ddderlein, 240 Dohm, C. W., 68 Doring, G., 279 Draxler-Manfred, 259 Droysen, G. G. S., 239 Drumann, 239 Duller, E., 278 Eberbard, C. A. G., 162 Eckermann, J. P., 259 Eckbel, 243 Ehrenberg, 243 Eichendorff, J. von, 201 Eicbborn, 241 Elsboltz, F. von, 272 Engel, J, J., 50 Enke, 242 Erdmann, 242 Ericbson. W. E., 242 Eschenburg, J. J., 243 Esenbeck, Nees von, 242 Ess, van, 241 Ewald, H., 239, 241 Fallersleben, Hoffmann von, 258 Faust, 8 Feder, T. G. H., 75 Fernow, 224 Feuerbach, 241, 249 Feucbtersleben, E. von, 260 Ficbte, J. G., 78, 246 Fiorillo, 244 Fiscbart, Jobann, 12 Fleraming, Paul, 13 Fortunatus, 8 Fouque, F. Freiberr, 191, 218 Frauenlob, H., 4 Frauenstadt, 249 Freiligratb, F., 257, 283 Frevtag, G. W., 239 Fries, J. F., 76 Fioriep, 243 Furst, 241 Fussli, 244 Gans, 242 Garve, 50, 75, 260 Gatterer, J. C., 68 Gaudy, F. B. von, 256, 283 Gauss, K. F., 242 Gebler, 243 Geiger, 241, 243 Geiler von Kaisersberg, 10 Gellert, C. F., 21 Gentz, F. von, 69 Gerbard,Ed., 243 Paul, 13 Gerstenberg, H. W., von, 58 Gervinus, G. G.,280 Gesenius, 239, 241 Gessner, Salomon, 55 Gfrorer, 241 Glasbrenner, 179 Gleim, J. W. L., 28 Gmelin, 242 Goller, 238 Goetbe, Jobann- Wolfgang, 86, 103—141,243 Gorres, J. J., 287 Gotter, F. W., 59, 89 Gdttinger — Bardenbuud, 90 Gottscbed, 19 Grabbe, C, 270 Graff, 240 Grasse, T. G., 239 Gries, J. D., 282 Grillparzer, F., 267 Grimm, A. L., 283 Jacob L. K., 236 ■ W. K., 237 Griin, A., 256 Guntber, 14 Gutzkow, K., 261 GENERAL INDEX. 301 Hadlaub, 7 Hagen, F. H. } von der, 236, 240, 284 Hagedorn, Fr. von, 24 Hagenbach, 241 Hahn-Hahn, Ida Grafin, 278 Halem, A. G., 161 Haller, Albrecht von, 26 Halm, F, 271 Haman, 74 Hammer-Purgstall, von, 239, 286 Hand, 240 Hartmann von der Aue, 4, 7 Hauff, Wilhelm, 227 Haupt, M., 240 Havernick, 240 Hebel, Jobann Peter, 159 Hecker, 243 Heeren, A. H. L., 230 Heeringen, G. von, 279 Hegel, G. YV. F., 244— 249 Heinrich von Ofterdingen, 4 Heine, H, 263 Heinse, J. J. W., 212 Heldenbucb, 5 Heller, D., 244 Hengstenberg, 240 Henrici, 244 Herbart, J. Fr., 81 Herder, J. G., 49, 51, S6 Hermann, G. C, 23S Herwegh, G., 259 Heyne, 89, 238, 243 Heyse, J. C. A., 240 Hippel, T. G.,74, 171 Hirt,A.L., 243 Hoffacker, 240. Hoffmann, A. F., 239 Hoffmann, Theodor Amadeus, 177 Hoffmannswaldau, Hoffman v. 14 Holderlin, J. C. F., 81 Holty, L. H. C, 99 Holtei, K., 272 Horn, Franz, 229 Houwald, C. E. von, 210 Hullmann,242 Humbold Alexander von, 233, 242 Humbold, Wilhelm von, 234, 239 Hutten, Ulrich von, 12 Jacobs, F. C. W. 3 64 Jocobi, F. H., 49, 75, 79 Jean Paul (Fr. Richter) 173—17 7 Iffland, A. W., 162 Immermann, K. L., 269 Jobann von Hiklesbeim, 7 , Prinz von Sacbsen, 283 Jost, 241 Jung Stilling, 61, S6 Kaiserkronik, 7 Kannegiesser, 243, 283 Kant, J., 74, 77, 246 Kastner, A. G.,22 Kaufmann, Pb.,283 Kerner, A. J., 251 Kind, Johann F.,160 Klausen, 23S Kleist, E. C. von, 45. , Heinricb von, 206 Klinger, J. M. von, 168 Klopstock, F. G., 31 — 36. Klotz, 239 Knapp, A., 260 Knigge, A. F. F. von, 63 Knorring, Sopbie von, 279 Kohlrauscb, F, 286 Kopiscb, A., 259, 283 Kdrner, K. Theodor, 216 Kosegarten, L. T.,204 Kotzebue, A. F. F. von, 164 Kreysig, 238 Krug, W. T., SO Krummacher, 240 Kugler, Franz, 244 Kiibner, 240 Lachmann, 239,240 Lal'ontaine, A. H. J.,62 Langbein, A. F. E„ 170 Lappenberg, 287 Lassen, 239 302 GENERAL INDEX. Laube, H., 264 Lavater, J. C, 82 Lax, Louis, 179 Lebrun, K., 272 Leibnitz, G. F„ 14, 245 Leisewitz, Johann Anton., 102 Lenau, N.,255 Lenz, J. M. R., 86, 169 Leo, H., 242, 285 Lessing, J. G. E., 36-40, 49,243, 244 Lewald.J.A., 277 Lichtenberg, G. C, 82 Liehtwer, M. G., 57 Liebig, 242 Link, 242 Littrow, 242 Lohenstein, Kasper, 14 Liicke, 241 Luden, H , 242,286 Ludwig, king of Bavaria, 259 Lutber, Dr. Martin, 10 Lyser, 284 Madler, 242 Mailath, 2S7 Maltitz, F. F. A., 259, 272 Mannbeimer, 241 Manso, 287 Marggraff, R. and M., 259 Marbeineke, 241,287 Massmann, H.F., 240 Mattbiae, 240 Mattbisson, Friedrich von, 157 Maurer, G. L.,239 Meiners, C, 68. Meissner,A. G.,63 Meistersauger, 7 Melancbton, Pbilipp, 12 Mendelssobn, Moses, 49, 50 Menzel, Karl Adolpb, 242, 2S6 , Wolfgang, 260, 281 Micbelet, 249 Miller, 91 Minnesanger, 4 Minutoli,243 Mises, (Fecbner,) 179 Mitscberlicb, E., 243 Mobnike, 283 Morike, E.,259 Moscheroscb, J. M., 13 Moser, Justus, 70 Miiller, Johannes, von, 69 J , 243 F. (Maler) 202 Karl, Ottfried, 239, 243 Miincbbausen, K. A., 64 Mundt, T., 265 Mullner, A. G.A., 166 Musaeus, J. K. A., 59 Musculus, 11 Nagler, G. K., 244 Naubert, B., 60 Neander, 240 Nibelungenlied, 5 Nicolai, F. C„ 47, 50, 75, 288 Niebubr, B. G.,232 , Karsten, 71 Nitzscb,240 Novalis (von Hardenberg) 198. Oeblenscblager, A. G„ 208 Oken, L., 242 Olearius, A., 13 Olshausen, 240 Opitz von Boberfeld, 12 Orellius, 23S Ortlepp, E., 259 Otto von Tburne, 4 Oxenford, Jobn, 257 Paalzow, von, 279 Panofka, Th., 243 Passavant, J. D., 244 Passow, 240 Pestalozzi, J. H., 279 Pieflel, K. G., 161 Pfister, J. C, 287 Pfinzig, Melcbior, 8 Pfizer, G.,259 Picbler, Karoline, 273 Plass, F. G., 239 Platen, A., 220 GENERAL INDEX. 303 Platner, E., 75 Plattner, E., 213 Poelitz, K. H.L., 286 Poggendorff, 242 Popp, J., 243 Poppo, 238 Puckler von Muskau, 276 Puttrich, L., 243 Pyrker, J. L., 221 Quandt, J. G. von, 244 Rabener, G. W., 20 Rabel, A. P., 223 Raimund, F., 272 Ramler, C. W., 47 Ramshorn, 240 Ranke, F. L., 242, 284 Rapp, K. M., 240 Ratzynski, A. von, 244 Raumer, F. L. von, 242, 285 Raupach, E. B. S., 267 Rehm, 242, 287 Reiubeck, 279 Reinick, R., 259 Reinecke der Fuchs, S Reinhold, K. L., 75 Reiske, 238 Rellstab, H. F. L.,276 Riepenhausen, F. T., 244 Riesser, 241 Ritter, Heinrich, 81 . Karl, 242, 287 Rollenhagen, 12 Roman tiscbe Scbule, 180 Rose, 242 Rosenmliller, 239 Rosenkranz, 249 Rost, 240 Rotteck, K. von, 242, 284 Riickert, Friedrich, 218, 253 Riidiger von Manesse, 4 Ruge, 249 Rumohr, R. F. von, 243, 244 Ruperti, 238 Sachs, Hans, 1 1 Sacbenspiegel, 7 Salis Seewis, J. G., 158 Salomon, 241 Salomon und Markolf, 7 Saphir, K. F. M., 179 Savigny, 242 Schaaf" 239 Schefer, L., 259, 276 Scbelling, F. W. J.von,76,7S, 246 Schenk von Schenkendorff,M.,217 Schiller, Johann C. F., 142—155 Schilling, F. G., 230 Schlegel, August W. von, 181 Johann Adolph, 23 Johan Elias, 23 K. W. Friedrich von, 183 Schleiermacher, 238, 241 Schlosser, F. C, 242, 284 Schlozer, A. L., 86 Schmalz, M. T., 240 Schmeller, J. A., 240 Schmid, J. C. von, 283 Schneider, Con., 239, 240 Scholl, 239 Scboppe, Amalie, 284 Schoppenhauer, J., 274 Schorn, 244 Schubart, C. Fr. D., 156 Schubert, 242 G. H. von, 242 Schulze, Ernst. K. F., 218 Schwab, G., 252, 283 Schwabenspiegel, 7 Schweighaeuser, 238 Seume, J. G., 212 Simrock, K., 259, 283 Solger, K. W. Fr., 81 Sotzmann, J. D. F., 244 Spalding, 238 Spindler, A. R. K., 273 Spinoza, 245 Spitta, K. J. P., 260 Spittler, L. T., 68 Stagemann, F. A. von, 218 Staid, 242 Stakelberg, O. von, 243 304 GENERAL INDEX. Stallbaum, 238 Sternberg, A. von, 279 Steffens, H., 242, 275 Stein, 242 Stellwag, J. C., 244 Stenzel, 287 Stieglitz, Charlotte, 226 C. L., 243 H., 259 Stollberg, Christian Graf zu, 94 ■ Friedrich L., 95 Storck, 283 Strauss, Fr., 240 David Fr., 241,249 Streckfuss, A, F. K., 283 Streit, 242 Sturm, 240 — - — und Drangperiode, 85 Sturz, H. P., 72 Sulzer, J. G., 49 Tauler, J., 10. Tennemann, W. G., 80 Teuerdank, S Theremin, 240 Thiersch, 240, 243 Tholuck, 240 Thiimmel, M. A. von, 170 Tieck, Ludwig, 187 Tiedemann, 75 Tiedge, C. A., 203 Topfer, K., 272 Tristran und Isalde, S Tromlitz, 279 Twesten, 241 Tyl Eulenspiegel, 8 Uhland, J. L., 250 Ulphilas, 4 Umbreit, 241 Uz, J. Peter, 30 Varnhagen von Ense, 280 Vatke, 249 Velde, van der, K. F., 227 Voigt, 287 Volksbiicher, 8 Voss, Johann Heinrich, 97 Waagen, G. F., 244 Wachler, 239 Wachsmuth, E. W. G., 239, 286 Wackenroder, W. H., 186, 242 Wackeraagel, W., 240, 259 Wagner, 243 Waiblinger, W., 259 Walther, 238 ■ von der Vogelweide, 4 Weissflog, C, 228 Welcker, F. G., 239, 242, 243 Werner, F. L. Z., 167 Wernecke, 14 Wesenberg, von, 260 Wette, De, 225 Wetzel, F. G., 218 Wieland, C. M., 41—44 Wienbarg, L., 266 Wilken, F., 287 Wilmsen, 2S4 Winer, 241 Winkelman, J. J., 65, 243 Witschel, 240 Wohler, 242 Wolf, Chr., 14, 245 Wolfram von Eschenbach, 4, 6 Wunder, 238 Zacharia, J. F. W., 24 Zahn, 243 Zedlitz, J. C. von, 222, 283 Zimmermann, J. G.. 50, 84 Zinkgraf, 13 Zschokke, J. H. D., 272 Zumpt, 240 Zunz, 241 Zwinglius, Ulrich, 12 RICHARDS, PRINTER, ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON. D. NTJTT'S SELECT CATALOGUE OF GERMAN BOOKS. £ s. d. ABRAHAM a St. Clara's auserlesene Werke, 2 vols. 8vo. lb' U Adelunc (J. C. ). Deutsches Wbrterbuch, mit Soltau's Beitiagen, 4 vols. 4to 1811 3 3 Do. 4 vols. Svo. Ltipz. 1802 1 8 Do. kleineres, I vol. Svo ib. 1834 5 Mithridates, oder allgem. Sprach- kunde ; in 500 Sprachen, fortg. von J. S. 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Gedichte, 12mo. . . 1840 8 - ■ Erinnerungen aus dem ausseren Leben, 3rd edit. 12mo 1842 5 Versueh einer vergleich. Volkerge- schichte, 8vo 18-13 9 Arnim (L. A.). Sammtliche Werke, herausgeg. von W. Grimm. Vols. 1 2, 9 to 12, Novellen, 6 vols. Svo. Berlin, 1843 1 13 3, Die Kronenwachter, 1 vol. id. 1840 6 5 and 6. Schaubiihne, 2 vols. ib. 1840 12 7 and 8, Die Grafin Dolores, 2 vols. t'd. 1841 12 BAGGESEN (J.). Poetische Werke, 5 vols. 12mo. . 12 Bechstein ^L.). Gedichte, 8vo. . . Frankf. 1836 8 — Fahrten eines Musikanten, 3 vols. Svo. IS Das tolle Jahr, 3 vols. 8vo. Sluttg. 1833 16 Der Sagenschatz Thiiringens, 4 vols. 8vo. 18 2 Catalogue of German Boohs. Beck (K. ). Nachte. Gepanzerte Lieder, 8vo. Leipz. 1838 Der fahrende Poet, 8vo. . ib. 1838 Becker (W.A. ). Gallus. oder rbmische Scenen aus der Zeit Augustus, 2 vols. 8vo. . . ib. 1838 Charikles, Bilder altgriechischer Sitte. 2 vols. (K.F.). Weltgeschichte, Uvols.bvo. Berlin,\%±\ Beer (Michael ). Briefwechsel mit Immermann, &c, 8vo. 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Herbert's Lied von Troye, 4s. 6. 1825 4 6 Grimm (A.L. ). Mahrchen d. Tausend u. einen Nacht. 12mo London, 1841 3 6 8 Catalogue of German Books. £ s. d. Grimm (W.) Deutsche Sagen, 2 vols. 8vo. Berlin, 1816 15 deutsche Heldensage, 8vo new edit. .080 (Gebriider). Kinder- u. Hausmahrchen, kleine Ausgabe, 16mo Berlin, 1843 3 6 Do.grosse Ausgabe, 2 vols.8vo./awcy boards and plates . . . Gutting. 1844 16 Do. without plates, sewed . . 9 — (W.). Reinbart Fuchs, 8vo. . Berlin, 1834 19 — ( J. ). Weisthiimer, 3 vols. 8vo. Getting . 1842 2 9 Deutsche Grammatik. Vol. I. Part." I. lO.s. Vol. II. (reprinting) Vol. III. 15s. Vol. IV. 18s. 3 Deutsche Mvthologie, 8vo. new edit, part J. 12 Deutsche Rechtsalterthumer, 8vo. ib. 1828 18 Ueber deutsche Runen. Mit 2 Kupf. !2mo. 10 6 Grun ( Anastasius). Gedichte, 5th edit. 8vo. Leipz. 1844 Der letzte Ritter, Romanzenkranz, 2nd edition, 8vo Stnttg. 1838 6 6 Schutt. Dichtungen, 4th edit. 12mo. 4 Gutzkow (K.).OefFentlicheCharactere, I.Th.ir«m6. 1835 7 Blasedow u. seine Sonne. Komisclier Roman, 3 vols. 8vo. . . . Stutt. 1838 1 4 Eeitra^e zur Gesch. d. neuesten Literatur. 2 vols. 16mo 1840 4 6 HADLOUBES (J.). Gedichte, herausg. v. L. Ettmuller, 16mo Zurich, 1841 2 6 Hagedorn's poetische Werke, 5 vols. Svo. Ham b. 1825 10 Hagen (H. v.). Briefe in die Heimath. 4 vols. 1821 1 Hahn-Hahn ( Grafin) . Jenseits der Berge, 2 vols. 8vo. 1840 14 Ulrich, 2 vols. 8vo. . . . 1841 15 Grafin Faustina, 8vo. •. . 1843 8 Reiseversuch im JN'orden . . 1843 6 Aus der Gesellschaf't, 8vo. Berlin, 1838 6 Reisebriefe, 2 vols. . . ib. 1839 18 • Erinnerungenausundan Frankreich, 2 vols. 12 Cecil, 2 vols 1844 16 Halem (G. A.). Schriften, 8 vols. 8vo. Hannover, 1830 1 8 ■ Gedichte, Auswahl . . . .016 Haller (A. ). Gedichte, ISmo. . . Wien, 16 Halm. Griseldis, 2nd edition, 8vo. . . ib. 1837 4 Hamann (J. G. ). Schriften, herausgeg. von Fr. Roth, 8 vols. 8vo Berlin, 1825-43 3 16 Hammer - Purgstall's Gescbiclite des osmanischen Reichs, 2nd edition, 4 vols. 8vo. cloth hoards 1836 2 8 Hartmann (von der Aue). Lieder, u. der arme Heinrich, ed. v. Haupt. 1842 4 Hauff's sammtlicheWeike. Neue Ausgabe, 5 vols. 12mo. sewed Stuttg. 1840 12 10 vols. Svo. . ib. 1838 I 4 Mahrchen, 5th edition, 12mo. . ib. 1839 6 Hebel(J.P. ). Sammtliche Werke.8 vols.Svo. Carlsr. 1837 16 Schatzkastlein, Svo. Stuttgart, 1842 3 6 Allemanische Gedichte, 8th edition 3 6 Heeren (A.H.L. ). Geschichte des Studiums der clas- sischen Literatur, 2 vols. ^vo. . . Gott. 1797 9 D. Nutt t 158, Fleet Street. 9 s. d. Heeren (A.H.L. ). Historische Werke, 15 vols 8vo. Vol. 1—3. Vermischie historische Schriften 1821 1 4 4, 5. Geschichte d. class. Lit. im Mittelalter 1823 16 6. Biographische u. Literatur Denkschriften 8 7. Handbuch d. Geschichte der Staatend. Alter- thums 1828 10 8. 9. Handbuch d. Geschichte des europaischen Staatensystems und seiner Colonien 1821 14 10—15. Ideeniiberd.Politik undd. Handel 1824-6 2 8 Heeringen (G.v.).frankischeBilderaus d. 16tenJahrh. 4 vols. 8vo 1835 1 Hegel (G.W. F. ). Werke, vollstandige Ausgabe, durch einen Verein von Freunden des Verewigten Vol. 1. Philosoph Abhandl. herausg. von K. L. Mi- chelet . . Berlin, 1832 12 2. Phanomenologie des Geistes, von T. Schulze 16 3—5. H issenschaft der Logik, von Lp. v Henniug 1 2 6. Encyclopiidie der philosoph. Wissenschaften von Lp. Henning. Vol. 1. die Logik . 1840 10 6 7. Vol.2. Naturphilosophie 1842 16 8. Grundlinien der Philosophic des Rechts, von Ed. Gans 1833 11 9. Vorlesungen iiber die Philosophic der Ge- schichte von Ed. Gans . . . 1837 11 10. In 3 Parts. — Vorlesungen iiber die Aesthetik, von H. Hotho 1843 1 16 11. 12. Vorlesungen iiber die Philosophie der Re- ligion, von P. Mat heinecke, 2nd edition 1840 1 3 13 — 15. Vorlesungen iiber die Geschichte der Phi- losophie, von K. L. Michelet, 3 vols. 1842 :1 10 16, 17. Vermischte Schriften, von F. Forster und L. Boumann, 2 vols. . . . 1835 1 7 18. Philosophische Prop'adeutik, v. Rosenkranz 4 Philosophie. In wortlichen Ausziigen, herausg. v. Frantz u. Hillert, 8vo. Berlin, 1843 Heine (H. ). Geschichte d. neviern schonen Literatur in Deutschland, 2 vols, in 1, l2mo. . Paris, 1840 Buch der Lieder, 5th edit. 8vo. Hamb. 1845 Reisebilder, 4 vols. 8vo. . . 1840 Heinse (W. ). Sammtliche Schriften. Herausgegeben von Heinrich Laube, new edition, 10 vols. 8vo. Leipz. 1838 Ardinghello und die gliickseligen Inseln. 2 vols. 8vo. '. . ... Heinsius (Dr. T. ). Geschichte der deutschen Literatur, 12mo. Berlin, 1843 Helden Buch, der (im Hochdeutschen). Herausg. von v. d. Hagen, 8vo. . . . . 18! 1 (in der Ursprache). Herausg. von v. d. Hagen u. Primisser, 2 vols. 4to. . . 1825 Henry. Das Leben Johann Calvin's, 3 vols. Hamb. 1843 Herbart (J. F. ). Lehrbuch zur Einleitung in die Phi- losophie, 8vo. .... Kdirigsb. 1837 Psychologie als Wissenschaft, neu ge- griindet auf Erfahrung, Metaphysik u. AJathematik, 2 vols. 8vo ib. 1824-5 1 Kleine philos. Schriften und Nachlass. 3 vols. 8vo 1843 2 Herder. Sammtliche Werke, 60 vols. Itimo. Stutt. 1827-9 3 12 4 6 6 1 8 1 7 5 7 8 1 10 1 14 5 10 Catalogue of German Books. Herder. Ausgewiihlte Werke, in 1 vol. imp. 8vo. 1844 Werke zur schonen Literatur unci Kunst, 1 6 vols. 8vo. Carlsruhe, 1821 Zur Religion unci Theologie, 12voIs.8vo. ?'6.1826 ■ Zur Philos.und Geschichte, 14 vols.Svo. ib. 1826 Ideen zur Philos. der Gesch. der Menschheit, 2 vols. 8vo 1841 Gedichte, 2 vols. 8vo. . . Stuttg. 1827 ■ Volkslieder, eingeleitet von J. Falk, 2 voh. 1 2mo. Der Cid, 1 vol. 12mo. . . 1842 ■ Do. beautifully illustr. royal 8vo. St7ttt. 1844 Herwegh (G. ). Gedichte eines Lebendigen, 18mo. 1843 2ter Band, 8vo. . 1844 Hippel (T. G.). Sammtliche Werke, 12 vols. 8vo. Kreuz-und Querziige, 2 vols. 8vo. 1794 Hoffmann (E. T. A.). Sammtliche Schriften, 1 vol. imp. 8vo. Paris, 1841 ausgewahlte Schriften, 15 vols. 12mo. Vol. 1 — 4. Die Serapions-Brader, Erzahlungen und Marchen, 4 vols. . . . . 16 5. Nachtstucke, 2 parts . . . .040 f). Die Elixiere des Teufels, nachgelassene Pa- piere des Bruders Medardus, eines Capu- ziners, 2 parts . . . .040 7. Fantasiestiicke in C allot 's Manier ; mit Vor- rede von Jean Paul, 2 parts . .040 8. Lebensansichten des Kater Murr, 2 parts 4 ' 9. Klein Zaches, genannt Zinnober. Pnnzessin Brambilla . . . .040 10. Seltsame Leiden eines Theaterdirektors — Meister Floh . . . .040 11 — 15. Erzahlungen aus seinen letzten Lebens- jahren, 5 vols. 8vo . . .10 Fantasiestiicke und Lebensansichten des Kater Murr, imp. bvo . . Pam, 1841 6 Hoffmann von Fallerslebkn's Gedichte, l2mo. 8 — unpolitische Lieder, 2 vols. 8vo Hamburg, 1842 8 . Die Gesellschaftslieder des 15ten und !6ten Jahrh. 12mo. Leipzig, 1843 5 6 Ho ltv (L. H. C. ). Gedichte, ed. von J. H. Voss, 3rd edit. 8vo. Kbnigsberg, 1833 4 Homer's Werke, iibersetzt J. H. Voss, 2 vols, small 8vo. 7 Horatius Werke, iibersetzt v. Voss, 2 vols. Braunsch. 1820 13 6 — v. Wieland, 2 vols.Svo. . 7 6 Horn (F. ). Die schbne Literatur Deutchlands wahrend des 18ten Jahrhunderts, 2 vols. 8vo. Berlin, 1813 9 ■ Geschichte und Kritik. d. deutschen Poesie und Beredsamkeit, 8vo. . . . iA. 1807 4 6 Die Poesie u. Beredsamkeit der Deutschen, v. Luther's Zeit bis zur Gegenvvart, 4 vols. ib. 1822-9 1 1 Houwald. Gesammelte Schriften, 10 vols. P2mo. boards, 10 Das Bild. Trauerspiel, 8vo. Leipzig, 1 822 5 Die Feinde — Der Fiirst und der Burger, 8vo. 2 6 ■ Fluch und Segen — Seinem Schicksal kann INiemand entgehen, 12mo. boards Stuttgart, 1823 2 £ s. 1. 1 12 I 1 Q 1 o ] I 2 o 1 2 o 9 o o 4 o 5 16 Q 2 o g o 1 10 8 1 5 2 12 D. Nutt, 158, Fleet Street. 11 Huber. Skizzen aus Spanien, 3 vols, in 5 parts. Gott. 1834 ( V. A. ) . Die Englischen Universitaten, 2 vols. 8vo. Humboldt (A. von).Ansichten der Natur, 2 vols. 16mo. ( Wilhelm ). Gesammelte Schriften, 4 vols. 8vo. Hutten, Ulrich v. und einige seiner Zeitgenossen, Ge- dichte, 8vo 1824 IDELER. Handbuchd.math.u.techn.Chronologie, 2 vols. 8vo Berlin, 1826 Lehrbuch der Chronologic, 8vo. ib. 1831 Iffland (A. W.). Theater, new edition, 24 vols. 12mo. The plays are to be had separately, at respectively, 2s. & 2s 6d. Immermann's Schriften, vol. 1 to 12, 8vo. Hamb. 1840 Vol. 1 to 4. Gedichte und Novellen . . 1 12 5 to 7. Die Epigonen . . . 14 8 to 11. Miinchhausen .... 1 14 12. Memorabilien, voi. 1. . . . 8 Miscellen, 8vo. . . Stuttg. 1830 Gedichte, 8vo. . . ib. JACOBI (F. H.). Sammtliche Werke, 6 vols. 8vo. (J. A. ). Deutsches Volk, 3 vols. 8vo. Gotha, 1832 Jacobs (F. ). Diebeiden Marien, 2 vols. 12mo. Leipz. 1821 Rosaliens Nachlass, 2 vols. Svo.bds. ?'6.1828 ■ Erzahlungen, 7 vols. 8vo. ib. 1824-36 Jean Paul's sammtliche Werke, new edition, 33 vols. small 8vo. . . Berlin, 1842 Ditto, 4 vols, imp 8vo. . Paris, 1843 Die unsichtbare Loge, 2 vols, in one, 8vo. cloth boards .... 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Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten und Kritik der praktischen Vernunft .050 4 14 14 9 3 16 8 4 18 1 16 12 Catalogue of German Books. Kant's Werke (continued) £ s< d m Vol. 9. Metaphysik der Sitten, in 2 Theilen — u. Pa- dagogik 7 6 10. Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der blossen Vcrnunft, und Streit der Facultaten .060 1 1 . Briefe, Fragmente und Leben . . .080 12. Geschichte der Kantischen Philosophie .080 Kastner (A. G.). Sammtliche schbnwissenschaftliche Werke, 4 vols. 12mo. . . . Leipz. 1841 Gedichte, ISmo. . . Wien Kemfis (T. ). Die Nachfolge Christi von Gossner, 8vo. Kerner ( J. ). Dichtungen, 8vo. . Stuttg. 1834 Reiseschatten, 8vo. . Carlsr. 1811 Kind's Gedichte, 4 vols. 18mo. . . . Wien Kleist (E.G. ). SammtlicheWerke,2 vols.lOmo. Bed. 1830 (H. )'. Sammtliche Werke, 6 vols. 12mo. bds. Gedichte, Svo. sewed . Carlsr. 1826 K linger, (Max.). Sammtliche Werke, 12 vols. 16mo. 1842 Klofstock's sammtliche Werke in einemBande, imp. Svo. new and handsomely printed edition Leipz. 1839 Do. do. 9 vols. 12mo. new pocket edition Oden, 2 vols 8vo. . . Carlsr. 1828 Messias, new ed. 3 vols, in 1, 1 2mo cloth bds. Knigge (A.F. ). Reise nach Braunschweig. Svo. with 36 lithographic sketches by Osterwald Hannover, 1839 Ueber den Umgang mit Menschen, 8vo. Kohlrausch (Fr. ). Die Deutsche Geschichte, fiir Schulen, Svo. .... Paris, 1838 Korner's sammtl. Werke, new edition, 1 vol. imp. 8vo. Do. do. 4 vols. 12mo. very neat,Berlin, 1838 Do. do. 2 vols. 12mo. Leyer und Schwert, ISmo. . Berlin, 1834 Kosegarten's Gedichte, 3 vols l8mo. . Wien Jucunde, 2 vols. Svo. . Leipz. 1806 Kotzebue (Aug. von). Theater, new edition, in 40 vols. 1 2mo. complete ..... Wien Each play may be had separately, at from ls.Gd. to 2s. 6d. per vol. Die beiden Klingsberge . . . .026 Die deutschen Kleinstadter . . .026 Die franzosischen Kleinstadter . .026 Das Kind der Liebe . . . .026 Menschenhass und Roue . . . .026 Blinde Liebe 2 Die edle Luge 2 6 Graf Benjowsky . . . . .026 Die Kreuzfahrer 2 6 Schauspieler wider Widen . . .010 Krug (W. T.). Handbuch d. Philosophie u.d. philosophi- schen Literatur, 3rd edition, 2 vols. 8vo. Leipz. 1828 15 System der theoretischen Philosophie, 3 vols. 8vo Konigsb. 1825-31 1 6 Allgemeines Handworterbuch der philo- soph. Wissenschaften nebst ihrer Literatur und Ge- schichte, 5 vols, in 6 parts, Svo. Braunschw. 1838 3 6 Krummacher (F. A. ). Der Hauptmann Cornelius. Be- trachtungen uber das lOte Kapitel der Apostelere- schichte, Svo. , Brern. 1 829 4 8 6 2 8 4 6 4 16 3 1 16 16 3 7 10 8 8 12 14 8 2 3 6 6 D. Nutt f 158, Fleet Street. 18 £ s. d. Krummacher (F. A. ). Parabeln, 10th edit. 2 vols. 12mo. 7 (F.W. ), EliasderThisbiter,3 vols. Initio, Oil . Elisa, 2 vols. . Elberf. 1837-42 Oil Salomo und Sulamith, 12mo.l843 3 6 Die gute Botschaft, in 45Predigten 6 Kugler (F. ). Handbuch der Geschichte d. Malerei, von Constantin d. Grossen bis auf unsere Zeit, 2 vols. 8vo. 16 — — Geschichte Friedrich des Grossen, illus. von Menzel, imp. 8vo. . . . Leipz. 1841 1 4 Handbuch d. Kunstgeschichte, 8vo. bds. 19 LANGBEIN'S sammtliche Schriften, new edit. 31 vols. with 34 plates, 1 6mo. . . . Stuttg. 1835-8 4 Gedichte, 6 vols. 12mo. . . ib. 8 Laube(H.). Moderne Charakteristiken, 2 vol. 8vo. 12 Das junge Europa, 2 vols. l'imo. Leipz. 1833 9 6 Leibnitz. Deutsche Schriften, herausg. von Guhrauer, 2 vols. 8vo. .... Bed. 1838-40 1 1 Leisewixz (J. A.). Sammtl. Schriften, 1 2mo. with por- trait and fac-simile . . Braunschw. 1838 3 6 Lenau's Gedichte, 2nd edition . . Stuttg. 1834 7 Faust. Ein Gedicht, l2mo. . ib. 1840 5 6 Lenz ( ».M). Gesammelte Schriften, herausg. v. L.Tieck, 3 vols. 8vo ' Bed. 1828 16 Leo (Dr. H.). Lehrb. d. Universalgesehichte, new edit. vol. 1 to 5, 8vo. . . . Halle, 1838-40 2 10 6 Vol. I, 10s., vol. 2, Ss., vol. 3, 10s., vol. 4, 12s.6d. vol. 5, 10s. Lessing's sammtliche Werke, />/a/es,13 vols. 8vo. Ber. 1840 2 8 . new edit. 10 vols. 12mo. 10 I vol. imperial 8vo. . 10 — Literatur und Theologie, 1 1 vols. 8vo. Cads. 1824 1 ■ Poesie und Kunst, 6 vols. 8vo. . ib. 12 Briefwechsel, 4 vols. 8vo. . . ib. 8 Nathan der Weise, 24mo. bnu?id3s.6d. sewed 3s. Emilia Galotti, 2-imo. bound 2s. 6d. sewed 2s. Minna von Barnhelm, bound, 2s. 6d. sewed, 2s. ■ — — Fabeln, 12mo. . . . Berlin, 1844 2 Laocoon, 8vo. .... ib. 1832 5 Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts, 12mo. 1 6 Lewald (A.). Novellen, 3 vols. 8vo. Hamburg, 1833 18 Lichtenberg's vermischte Schriften, 5 vols. 1 8mo. Wien, 10 Lichtwer's Fabeln, 1 vol. ljSmo. . . ib. 2 Lieder und Bilder,by Reinick, containing 30 illustrations, beautifully etched and engraved, 4to. D'dsseldorf, 1838, 1 1 2te Serie (Poems by Modern German Authors) illustrated in 30 etchings, 4to. . . ib. 1843 1 1 This work, embellished by Diisseldorf artists, may, from the re- dundancy of imagination, and exquisite fancy displayed in the designs, be justly considered as perfectly unique in its kind, and a chef d'wuvre of modern German pictorial art. Luden (H. ). Allgemeine Geschichte der Volker und Staaten, 3 vols. 8vo. . . . Jena, 1827 1 4 Geschichte des Teutschen Volkes, 12 vols. 8vo Goiha, 1827-33 5 5 14 Catalogue of German Books. £ s. d. Ludwig (Kbnig von Baiern). Gedichte, 3 vols. 8vo. 16 Luther (M. ). Sammtliche Werke, herausg. von J. G. Plochmann, vols. I to 32, 12mo. Erlang. 1826-4-1 4 Vols. 1—6. Hauspostille . . . . 15 7 — 15. Kirchenpostille . . . 12 6 16—20. Predigten . . . . 12 6 21—23. Katechet. deutsche Schriften 7 6 24 — 2G. Reformations-historische deutsche Schriften *7 6 27—32. Polemische Schriften . . . 15 Ausgewahlte Werke, 10 vols. 16mo.Hamb. 1826 1 ausgewahlt und angeord- net von Pfister, in one vol. royal 8vo. Frankfort, 1839 1 10 SinnreicheTischreden,2 \o\s.8vo. Stuttg. 1838 14 Werke, Auswald seiner Hauptschriften, herausg. von Otto v. Gerlach, Vol. 1 to 12 Berlin, 1844 18 Kirchen-Postille, oderErklarungdersonn-und festtaglichen Evangelien durch dasganze Jahr, 2 vols. 4to. cloth boards . . . Stuttgart, 1839 !8 Geistliche Lieder, (Luther's Hymns) new edition, in the press, aboid . . . . .026 MA CRAY (John). Translations from the Lyric Poets of Germany, 12mo. cloth . . Oxford, 1838 5 Mahrchen und Sagen von Grimm, H. Steffens, &c. her- ausg. von H. Apel, with aGlossary,18mo. cloth boards, 5 Mannert (K. ). Handbueh der alten Geschichte, Svo. 7 T Geogiaphie der Griechen und Rbmer, 10 vols. 8vo. . . . Leipzig, 1821-31 6 Marheineke (Dr.). Geschichte der deutschen Refor- mation, 4 vols. 8vo. . . Berlin, 1321-34 1 4 Matthtson's Gedichte. 12mo. . . Zurich, 1838 3 6 .Melanchthon's ausgewahlte Werke, herausg. von Kbthe, 6 vols. 8vo. .... Leipzig, 1831 12 Menhelssohn (Moses). Sammtl. Werke in einem Bande. imperial 8vo. . . . Wien, 1838 16 gesammelte Schriften, 7 vols. Svo. 1 8 Phaedon,oder iiber dieUnsterblich- keit der Seele, Svo. . . . Berlin, 1821 4 Menzel (K. A.), neuere Geschichte der Deutschen, von der Reformation bis zur Bundes-Acte, 9 vols. 8vo. 4 4 (W.). Geist der Geschichte, Svo. Stuttg. 1«35 5 Geschichte der Deut.schen, 4th edition, royal 8vo ib. 1843 1 1 Geschichte d. deutschen Literatur, 4 vols. 8vo." ib. 1836 1 10 Michelet (K. L.).Einleitung in Hegel's phil. Abhandl. 16 ■ Anthropologic undPsychologie, oder die Philosophie des subjectiven Geistes, Svo. Berlin, 1840 10 Geschichte d. letzten Systeme d. Philosophie in Deutschland, von Kant bis Hegel, 2 vols. Svo. ill838 1 8 Mone (F. J. ). Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte der teutschen Literatur und Sprache, Vol. I. in 2 parts, 8vo . Aachen, 1830 12 D. Nutt, 158, Fleet Street. 15 x a. d. Moscherosch (J.M.). Geschichte Philanders v. Sitten- wald, Iter Band 1830 4 Muller (E. ). Theoried. Kunstbei d. Alten, 2 vols. 8vo. 13 6 (J. von). Geschichte der schweiz. Eidgenossen- schaft, fbrtgesetzt, von Glutz-Blotzheim und J. J. Hottinger, 9 vols. 8vo. . . Leipz. 1825-43 4 Sammtliche Werke 40 vols. \2mo. Stutty. 1836 3 4 24 Biicher allgemeiner Geschichten, 4th edit. 3 vols. 8vo. sewed .... ib. 1828 18 1 vol. 8vo. . . ib. 1840 14 (K.O. ). Die Dorier, new edition, 2 vols. 1844 I Die Etrusker, 2 vols.8vo. Breslau, 1828 18 Handbuch d. Archaologie u. Kunst, 8vo. 11 Geschichte d. Griech. Literatnr, 2vols. 8vo. 18 Mullner (A.), drainatische Werke, 7 vols. l8mo. 10 die Schuld, ein Trauersp. 8vo. Stuttg. 1821 3 Munch (E. von). Konig Enzio, 8vo. . ib. 1841 8 Munchhausen (Fried, v.). Wunderbare Reise und Abenteuer, with 12 highly comic plates, 18mo. 2 6 Mundt (T. ). Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 1 and 2, 8vo. 1844 14 Kritische Walder, 8vo. . Leipz. 1834 6 Geschichte der Literatnr der Gegenwart, 8vo. 7 6 Mus^csVolksmahrchen, herausg. von Jacobs, 6 vols. 12mo. 8 new edition, 8vo. Paris, 1840 5 imp.8vo. illustrated 1842 1 4 NAUBERT (B. ). Volksmahrchen, 1 vol. 18mo. Wien, 2 Neakder ( A. ). Allgemeine Geschichte der christl. Reli- gion und Kirche, 9 vols. t>vo. Hamburg, 1825-41 4 4 Geschichte der Pflanzung und Leitung der christl. Kirche durch die Apostel. 3te Aufl. 2 vols. 16 Nibeluxgenlied (das). Uebersetzt von G. O. Marbach, mit Holzschnitten nach Originalzeichn. von E.Ben- demann und J. Hiibner, 4to. . Leipzig, 18 40 1 12 iibersetztv. G. Pfizer, illustr.v. Neu- reuther, 4to. cloth boards, gilt edges . Stutt. 1843 1 4 von Simrock,3te Aufl. 8vo. Stuttg. 4 von Beta, illustr.von Gubitz, 2 vols. 6 6 Nibelungen Noth und Klage, herausg. von K. Lach- mann, 2nd edition, 8vo.( Vol. I. Text) 8 Vol. II. Zu den Nibelungen und zur Klage (Anmerkungen) .... 1836 8 Nicolai (F.C.).SebaldusNothanker,3 vols. 8vo. Berl. 1814 9 6 Niebuhr (B. 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Christliche Philosophie, 1 to 3 .115 (Dr. C. ). Die Erdkunde, 10 vols. 8vo. Berl. 1821-40 Vol. 1. Africa, reprinting 2. Asien Vol. 1. 2tes Buch Xorden und Nord-Ost 1 3. „ 2. Der Nord Osten und der Siiden von Hoch- Asien . .10 4. „ 3. Der Sud Osten v. ditto . .110 5. „ 4. lte Abth. Indische Welt . 18 6. „ 4. 2te ditto .110 7. „ 5. 3tes Buch. West Asien. Ueber- gang von Ost nach West . 14 8. ., 6. lie Abth. 3tes Buch, West Asien Iranische Welt . 1838 16 9. „ 6. 2te Abth. 3tes Buch. ditto 1838 18 10. „ 7. lte Abth. 3tes Buch. Das Stu- fenland des Euphrat u. Tygris 1843 1 11. „ 7. 2te Abth. ditto 1844 19 Register zu Asien, vol 1 — 6 von Ideler. . 1841 8 Riemer (F. W.). Mittheilungen iiber Gbthe, 2 vols.Svo. 1 C Rollenhagen ( G. ). Der Frosehmausler, 8vo. Strals. 1816 4 C Rom, Reschreibung der Stadt, von E. Platner, C. Bunsen, E.Gerhard, W.Rostell u.Urlichs. vols. 1—3 in 5 parts 6 19 t Vol. 1. Allgemeiner Theil, mit 18 syncron. Tabellen und Stadtplan 1829 16 2. das vatican. 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Geschichte des rbmischen llechts,6 vols. 8vo. 4 Schelling. Anthologieausseinen Werken. 8vo. Ber. 1844 6 Schenk von Schenkendorf, (F. M.). Gedichte, 8vo. 1815 3 poetischer Nachlass, 12mo. 1832 4 Schefer (L.). Vigilien, 8vo. . . Guben, 1843 6 Schiller's sammtliche Werke, new and complete edition, with portrait, fac-simile, and life of the poet, 1 vol. imperial 8vo. sewed . . . Stuttgart, 1840 1 1 new edition, superbly printed, with illustrations, 10 vols. 8vo. sewed . ib. 1843 2 pocket edition, in 12 vols 18mo, sewed ib. 1839 18 ■ Gedichte, 2 vols, miniat. edition, neatly bound, gilt edges Stuttgart, 1 842 7 sewed .046 Geschichte d. 30jahrigen Krieges, 2 vols. 12mo. cloth ....... 1841 6 ■ Jungfrau von Orleans, 8vo. cloth boards 1842 2 6 Lied von der Glocke, with English translation in verse on the opposite page, 12mo, beautifully ■printed and bound, with gilt edges . London, 1842 2 Maria Stuart, 8vo. sewed . 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Nutt, 158, Fleet Street. 21 Shakespear's Werke, iibersetzt von Schlegel undTieck, neue Ausgabe, in 12 vols.Svo. . . . .14 Simrock ( K.). Rheinsagen ans dem Munde des Volks und deutscher Dichter, 2nd edit. 12mo. Bonn, 18-1 1 7 Sophocles Tragodien in deutscher Prosa, 12mo. Erf. 1840 3 b Spindler ( C. ). Sammtlicbe Werke, 57 vols. . . 5 14 Der Invalide, 4 vols. 1/. 12s. -Der Jesuit, 3 vols 1/. 5s.— Der Jude, 3 vols. II. is.— Der Bastard, 3 vols. 1/. Is. Steffens (H.). Novel'.en, Gesammt- Ausgabe, 16 vols. 12mo. . - . . . . Brest. 1837-8 2 4 Vol. 1. Gebirgs-Sagen. Die Trauung . 1837 4 2—6. Die Familien Walseth und Leiih, ein Cy- clus von Novellen . . 12 7—12. Die vier Norweger, Novellen . 1838 16 13—16. Malkolm, eine Norwegische Novelle 12 Was ich erlebte, 10 vols. . . 1843 Sternberg (Freih v.). Die Zerrissenen, Novelle, 12mo. Lessing, Novelle Stuttg. 1834 - . — Eduard, Novelle, 12mo. ib. 18 33 Stieglitz (C. ).Ein Denkmal,- ed. by Mundt, 4to. 1835 Stollberg (die Briider Cb. u. Fr. L. ). 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Weil, herausg. von August L@wald.Mit 2000 Bildern und Vignetten von F. .Gross. 4 vols. imp. 8vo. und ein Tag. Morgenlandische Erzahlungen aus dem Persischen, Tiirkischen, etc. Uebers. v. d. Ha- gen, 11 vols. )2mo. .... 1836-7 Tauler (J.). Gesammelte Werke, herausg. v. Casseder, 2 vols.Svo. . . . . . . 1824 Tegner. Die Frithjofssage, iibers.von Mohnike,Le/joz. 1844 2 6 Tholuck. Predigten iiber Hauptstiicke des christlichen Glaubens und Lebens, 4 vols.8vo. Hamb. 1839-43 1 6 3 5 7 6 6 2 8 1 6 1 6 10 12 9 6 4 1 4 8 8 4 8 1 1 4 14 6 22 Catalogue of German Books. £ 8. d. Tholuck . Commentar zum Evangelio Johannis, 6th edit. 8vo Hamb. 1843 0*7 zum Briefe an die Romer, 4th edit. 1843 12 zum Briefe an dieHebraer, 8vo. 2nd edit. 8 Stunden christlicher Andacht, 2 vols.8vo. 1842 9 Thl mmel. Sammtliche Werke in 8 Banden, 18mo. New edition Leipz. 1839 16 Tieck (L. ).Novellen, 7 vols. 12mo. Dresden, 1826-8 112 Vol. 1. Die Gemalde 4 2. Die Verlobung 3 3. Die Reis^nden 4 4. 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