Du hast mein Herz entflammt (ROMANA) (German Edition)

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In his letters to Caroline during the year in which the three different editions appeared and , Herder refers again and again to the odes, evidently rereading them frequently. See Nachlass III, To Caroline, October-November, To Nicolai — Brw. To Merk, April, It is heavenly, and I am com- pletely carried away by it It has no equal Klop- stock has had a remarkable effect on me" He considers himself highly honored be- cause Merk had compared the duskiness Dammerung of his poetry with the same quality in Klopstock; yet he con- siders his own poetry a combination of thought and feeling, "a mixture of philosophy and emotion".

In the outpouring of pure emotion Herder believes Klopstock far superior to himself ; still, he says, Klopstock's odes leave but a dusky chord Dammerungston of vague, confused dunkele sentiments in the reader's soul! He believes his own poems leave behind a clearer thought and image was Klareres, Funke, Sentenz, Bild, Maxime. Compare Korte, — Sulzer to Bodmer Dec. Klopstock's odes are here considered too "seraphisch". In and he reiterates this even more forcefully, 1 expressing a simi- lar idea in regard to some of Klopstock's love poetry and that of his imitators.

These poems, he says, have soared to the very gates of the Oriental heavens ; to the altars of the protecting spirits, and almost to the throne of light in the chorus of heavenly joys. He sounds a note of warning to the Klopstock school of poets by reminding them that, if they would follow the simplicity and naturalness of the Scotch love-songs, they must put less play-work Spielwerk into their love elegies.

He feels the sharp contrast between this love and that described in the old Scotch songs, full as the latter are of a tenderness and nobility which, in taking complete hold of us, yet makes us nothing less than human. He w r ould have his Eden be rather an old Celtic hut on a rugged mountain among frost and storm and fog than the sweetest Eden which Klopstock and Gessner could paint in the Orient. He emphasizes above all else their marvelous lyrical quality, especially in those youthful poems in which Klopstock pours forth his whole heart and soul.

This universal human spirit he finds breathed through all the poems, but with a different expression in each. Xot only do the spirit and sentiment differ, but the individuality of each is emphasized iLebensbild III, 1, p. Herder to Caroline, Sept. Here human nature reveals itself in all its various moods. The ode, "Ziirchersee", presents a rarely beautiful description of the power of nature and spring-time to create joy and happiness in the human heart. The wavering of the emotions between the deep grief at the thought of separation and the bright hope of a future meeting, which the human heart experiences at bidding farewell to a loved one, is most truthfully described in the ode, "An Fanny".

In some of the poems addressed to God Herder misses the genuinely lyrical qualities common to the other poems ; he considers these "mere tirades of phantasy". Others Herder considers very artistic treat- ments of themes not suitable for lyrical treatment, and hence impossible of consideration as pure lyrics. In all, however, the critic forbears setting a boundary for the poet's fancy; the reader must follow the poet in his flights of imagination, and see things as he saw them. Klopstock's poetry, affirms Herder, has also a more ser- ious side. Into the "torrent of emotion", into the wonder- ful visions created by his fancy, the poet weaves great philosophical thoughts.

In "Gesang an den Konig", "Ziir- chersee", and "Rheinwein" we have a deep inner philosophy of life ; in the odes to Cidli we have a metaphysics of love. In the last book 1 appear a hundred excellent thoughts con- cerning language, poetry, verse, Northern mythology, the fatherland, and many more subjects. But he who seeks only "pensees", Herder says, neglects the better part of the poet's great soul. The critic cannot apply his usual rule to see if each poem answers the requirements of the class- ical ode; the poet has travelled a new path, surveyed by 1 Very probably Herder refers to the edition Bode of Hence Herder believes that from Klop- stock's best poems the most perfect rules of poetic effect, and even a new theory of the ode, could be deduced; for his work contains the formulation of many new laws.

In their simplicity and real lyrical quality Herder believes that many of the hymns and songs in the "Messiah" far outshine similar productions of the poets of neighboring countries. He calls Klopstock the Assaph of the German people, and hopes the poet's lyrical genius will live after him and produce in his own country a second David.


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This edition had undergone many changes; the poems were arranged in chronological order, and many appeared in print for the first time. In some of the odes an older rendering had been restored, because "it was the first and best expression of the author's emotions''. This collection of odes, Herder believes, presents the history of the emotional experiences of a poet's life-time; they give us "a picture of the inner life of a great soul from the iSuphan V, , The poetry itself is a treasure of language and expression: Thought and emo- tion become a unit in the cadence of words and melody ; thus each poem becomes a pure lyric, — a song.

Klopstock's muse, either as harpist and singer "Siona" , or as pro- phetess "Teutone" , appeals to the human heart through the ear; now in soft music, and now in louder tones. In the early poems she utters the language of truth and feeling as a child speaks it. His earliest songs breathe an ideal youthful love of paradise ; in his riper years he sings of deeper things; of friendship, of religion, and of wisdom. But even in the later poems he does not blot out entirely the liveliness of his youthful fancy, for the sweet must of the early poems has but taken on a ripened flavor, as of old wine, in the later odes.

In the latest poems one can detect that the poet is growing old; but they neverthe- less paint the evening-glow of the poet's soul just as beauti- fully as the early poems reflect the more vivid morning- dawn. Abstract or moral truths, much less poems dealing with artistic subjects, could not be sung as psalms and dithyrambs. In the ode, "Mein Vaterland", Herder finds the best pre- sentation of Klopstock's attitude toward his native land. His love for his own people, however, could not shut out from his heart an interest in events which were happening in a neighboring country.

His feeling for humanity exceeded his feeling for nationality. Full of hope for the deliverance of a whole people, he wrote the "Etats Generaux" in , — and how many wise and worthy men in Europe did not share this hope with him! But when things took a different course, when madness and horror caused all humanity to shudder with contempt and disgust ; when the spirit of con- quest broke forth, and the heavens grew black on all sides, then Klopstock pronounced his judgment against it all.

The poem, "Der Geniigsame", proves that the poet's wisdom is not the new philosophy; it is not abstract reasoning, but real life. The poet must always erect his own monument in his work; Klopstock has erected his in the ode, "An Freund und Feind. He recreated the German language of poetry, and freed it from the fetters of rhyme, so that it became worthy of expressing the gen- uinely lyrical nature of the German people ; not in unproso- dic, declamatory style, but in the meter of the ancients.

But Klopstock went further ; he created a modern meter, which, together with the new poetic language, has caused the Ger- man lyrical poem to become a genuine product of the Ger- man nature, worthy to be compared with the classical ode iSuphan XX, , Herder hat so viel iiber Dichter geschrieben, ist bey allem, was man auch gegen ihn einwenden mag, so sehr Philo- soph ; hat so viel Gefuhl des Wahren und Schonen, dass ich mir keinen wiirdigern Aristarchen zu erwahlen weis, wieder dariiber zu richten Denn wie viel ich auch gegen der Detail seiner Critik einzuwenden habe so erkenne ich doch sehr in allem diesen den denkenden Kopf, den Mann, der auf seinen Schriftsteller uberhaupt entrirt, und vor allem den Mann der ihn nicht misverstehen will, und der iiber diesen in Deutschland so verkannten Theil der Dich- terverdienste Klopstocks, das Gesundeste und Beste gesagt, was noch dariiber gesagt worden ist".

His superior gen- ius enabled him to establish his own brilliant position in the literary firmament; 1 and this fact, together with his firm belief in originality as the basis of all genuine art, swept away all false conceptions of artistic production for that great national literature which was to culminate in Goethe and Schiller. More than a hundred years before, to be sure, Opitz, who, like Klopstock, was the "father of a better literary taste in Germany", 2 had emphasized the divine origin of poetry ; but his attempts were largely limited to an examination of the proper vehicle in language for verse, and an attempt to establish metrical reforms.

He him- self was unable to prove the vitality of his belief in his own work, or to effect among his contemporaries a realization of its truth. Indeed, the idea of the Olympic and inspired nature of poetry is as old as the form itself ; it was accepted as an axiom from the time of the ancients. Its real meaning, however, had been entirely forgotten; it had existed for 1 Gunther had failed utterly in his attempt to establish himself as a poet. The Swiss critics, Bodmer and Breitinger, were the first to apply it again in the em- phasis they placed upon the creative fancy ; but this was only theory.

It required a genius like Klopstock to prove by a conclusive application to practice the verity of the spon- taneous creation of genuine poetry. Let us consider Klopstock's conception of genius in the years prior to , when Herder went to Koenigsberg. From the very beginning of his career Klopstock has believed in a special gift with which the poet is favored above ord- inary men, and which is of divine source; 1 he terms it genius, 2 nature, 3 and spirit. The ode, "An Gott", In "Fragen", lines 1 to 2, an older version reads: Die Konigin Luise", In an older version, "Wingolf", I, stanza 2, reads: To do this most successfully it must be a full expression of personality; of the poet's own indi- vidual experiences, as well as a product of divine genius.

The greatest poetry, then, combines with this mysterious ele- ment the human feelings of the poet ; it becomes a vital ex- pression of action, humanity, and life. The imagination must therefore not lose itself in abstractions which pass beyond human experience ; and if it does dominate any particular passage there must be evident a certain ''fire" which can still stir the reader's feelings.

The sublime arouses man's whole inner nature, and that divinely attuned soul, which itself is a partaker of the divine, is most effected and is able to transmit its ardor to others. All of our souls are united in a bond of harmony, and when one of them is aroused the others respond ; the heart flames up ; the whole consciousness expands ; the imagination is quickened ; thoughts and feelings grow larger and rise to a higher plane.

A new harmony of souls is born which raises man- kind above the baser things of this world and brings it into closer relation to truth. We will recall that it was probably during the two years he spent in Koenigsberg that Herder, through Hamann, learned first to appreciate Klopstock's significance for Ger- man literature. In him he found not merely a great genius, but a true representative of his own country as opposed to the great genius of another country whose acquaintance he also made at this time , the native flavor in whose work had succeeded in proving that the German race possessed that spirit which could give expression to original and gen- uine poetry.

In Klopstock's works the young critic was able to find expressed the poet's ideas concerning genius, the source and purpose of the truly beautiful, and the funda- mental principles of originality in the production of the aesthetic. In one of Herder's earliest critical works, in the essay on the ode, written in Koenigsberg, he presents his own interpretation of the true artist, — an interpretation which shows a marked similarity to that of Klopstock.

He, too, considers genius a vital inner impulse Wuth , which ex- presses itself in free creative activity 1 This "fire of the lord" 2 becomes the source of all forms of poetry, — the ode, the drama, and the epic. He recognizes that 1 Lebensbild, I, 3, a, pp. He realizes that the beautiful is closely related to the human emotions ; 3 and the more nearly these approach a unit in the artist's nature, the less easily can a critic reduce the aesthetic qualities of such a creation to principles of artistic production.

If the reader perceives that a poem is built about the frame- work of a classical model, he will feel that there is lacking, in spite of all possible perfection of form, that indefinable spirit which permeates an original creation, and will find nothing of aesthetic value but a few fine thoughts. In his later work Herder continues to interpret genius as 1 Lebensbild I, 3, a, pp. Herder realizes the besetting danger that unfettered fancy and passion would lose themselves in abstractions, and hence failing to stir the reader's emotions, leave his soul cold leer.

Lebensbild I, , — "Schopf ungsgeist". Lebensbild III, 1, pp. Our souls can be united in a common bond of harmony by the awakening of fundamental emotions, which, causing "sparks to chase through the heart and soul", give rise to happiness and to productive activity. This is inspira- tion, — an enlivening of the soul which becomes a creative power and the source of all genuine poetry. Suphan I, , Classic rules are of no assistance, but are rather a hindrance to the genius who makes his own path ; 4 the greatest genius absolutely ignores all convention.

A genius seeks and creates new words; he digs into the bowels of the language, as into a mine, to find gold, 7 and is able to evolve from the crudest dialect a tongue capable of conveying the most artistic poetry. If this soul is destroyed, the form becomes a mere lifeless mask. His great contribution to the literature of criticism was the "Gelehrtenrepublik", published in He writes to Lavater, referring to the poet: Herder believes that God selects certain mortals to act as his regent on earth ; 10 among these chosen few he places the poet, who becomes a god among men. Such a poet has the hearts of his people at his command and can lead them, whither he will, to ends lofty or ignoble.

He, however, who recognizes the true dignity and nobility of his genius ; who loves his people and his fellow-men ; who flees all mean, worldly temptation, and fixes his aim upon the position of Orpheus, Homer, Moses, or one of God's prophets ; who considers nothing more sacred than the voice of nature and of truth, and possesses that spark of creative power and love which flows into his soul from heaven and dwells in every true poet, — Herder declares that when such a chosen one appears and permits his soul to express what it, above all other men, has experienced, he will work mir- acles.

He will give utterance to something more than the feelings of his own human heart. As the magnet attracts iron, so he will attract his fellow-beings ; as the electrical spark penetrates all things, so his "lightning" will strike into the consciousness of men; as the gentle, radiant sun- beam, flooding everything, becomes here light, there warmth, everywhere, however, beauty, splendor, colors, spring-time, life, — so will genuine poetry work its wonders on individ- iSuphan VIII, The more the feeling for beauty is a ruling taste in a nation, and a feel- ing of humanity the guiding principle of the state, the more effective will poetry be in the life of that nation, and the more generally pleasing and useful it will be ; and the poet, as a poet, will be recognized a noble citizen of that country.

ISuphan II, , Among barbarous folks songs are knowledge, history, law, manners, joy, charm, comfort, "hours of heaven on earth" ; and these peoples are often of purer morals than are the civilized races. So Herder sees the prophetic vision of some of Stolberg's "Iamben" and of many of Klopstock's odes, both of his youth and of his later years. He created a new world of thought, of emotion, and happiness; became a teacher of truth and beauty ; a judge and prophet of humanity in a much deeper i Suphan VIII, Herder did not possess that spark of the highest talent which gives expression to original poetry ; yet in the field of criticism his faculty was creative and eminently produc- tive.

Here he acted as an interpreter of the more elevated genius, as individualized in Klopstock, and contributed in an impressive degree toward creating a taste for true art and nature in Germany, and an understanding of the basic principles of original production in the field of literature. During his stay in Strassburg Herder introduced young Goethe to Klopstock's new poetic world, and inspired his genius ; he filled the soul of the man who was to become the greatest poet of Germany with a keen realization of the poet's true position in life and of the mission of poetry for humanity.

See Herder's Nachlass for Goethe's letters to Herder during the years and Whenever the church in its ceremonies so emphasized form and dogma at the expense of feeling that man's re- ligious needs were no longer satisfied by its teachings, the spirit of protest was aroused in certain gifted individuals, who then either attempted to reform the church and its doctrines, as in the great Reformation and in the later Pietistic movement, or else sought satisfaction and gave expression to their religious impulses outside the organized church, as did the mystics of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

A similar spirit of protest is evident in the sev- enteenth century, — a period in which all sorts of religious sects originated and flourished. This was a religious age ; faith in the Bible and in a God, who was conceived as father, protector, and comforter, was the basis of its belief. This philosophy of so-called enlightenment, then, took the place of the older religion. In France, with Voltaire, Helvetius, and Rousseau as in- tellectual leaders, the new movement was religiously destruc- tive; it was directed against the spirit of Christianity and the church itself ; against the belief in the divinity of Christ and in the immortality of man.

Out of this the French character developed an exaggerated self-consciousness and egoism which considered sensual enjoyment the highest and only blessing, and completely maimed the better instincts of the human heart. For the Frenchman of greater spiritual elevation nothing but a doctrine of nature-worship, which regarded only the visible manifestation of nature, remained to satisfy his religious cravings. They did not oppose formal religion, or the church as a representative of formal- ity; but the old spirit of Protestantism animated them, and they resented the intolerant and narrow views of the clergy and of school orthodoxy, which emphasized the nothingness of this world and the terribleness of eternal damnation.

They felt keenly the force of the great message which pure Christianity had to deliver, and believed it their duty to uphold this great religion against the attacks made upon it by their French contemporaries. They aspired to find a new inner relation of man to God by becoming the prophets of a new life with freedom, humanity, and love as its watchwords. They sought the invisible sources of nature; aimed to find God in his own creations ; to awaken the divine in man, and to help it to express itself in vital, noble iGelzer I, ff. Religion was, therefore, not considered and glori- fied as dogma alone, but also as poetry ; indeed, religion and poetry became one.

The whole renaissance of German culture and literature in the eighteenth century had its root in this religious en- thusiasm. They voiced a reaction against the dangers of purely speculative philos- ophy, and of that mockery of religion which had arisen in court circles. Brockes, Drollinger, Haller, Gellert, Uz, Liscow, Rabener, and Kastner, 3 each in his own way, attempted to find God in the active experience of life ; to give religion a live role in the world of actuality and humanity by combining it with poety.

They aimed to bring about a harmony between the finite and the infinite ; between God and man in the beautiful. This new spirit, which animated the poets of Germany, received its most perfect expression in Klopstock's "Mes- siah". Klopstock himself was the greatest prophet of the new gospel of humanity. Letter from Schmidt to Gleim. He attempts to express his feelings of gratitude to God "ewige Gottheit". But at the contemplation of His majesty, he becomes dismayed; a "holy shudder" passes through him and leaves him speechless.

He feels the insignificance of one human soul as compared with the divine spirit. Tears and his faltering voice — coming from his soul transported in rapture — are proof of his desire to express his love and gratitude ; but he cannot come to words. The highest wisdom of humanity is to ac- quire but a trifle of truth, and to worship the most holy of beings. The human soul comes from God; it is part of the divine spirit and is immortal. When it realizes its dignity and dwells in a healthy body, it can create happiness for itself at the contemplation of the glorious world of nature.

Piety and virtue are divine qualities. Klopstock considered religion an essential element of the highest poetry. In "Von der heiligen Poesie" he says: To do this by means of re- ligion is a new height, which for us, without revelation, is covered with clouds. Here the poet and the reader may discover with certainty whether or not they are Christians.

What poet, possessed though he may be of the happiest genius, can touch our hearts to music if he lacks a real feeling for religious beauty and moral purity? He writes to Bodmer in September, These thoughts make me so happy! That is my great re- ward —. Funke writes to the poet from Copenhagen, December 18, He emphasizes again and again that infinity in God which removes him far aloof from the conception of man, and renders even the trees, streams, stars, planets, worlds, however they may rustle and roar, and produce harmonious music, powerless to express all that he embraces.

He presents, not the tradi- tional image of an eternal avenger, but a father of love. In "Von der besten Art iiber Gott zu denken" he states his belief that God can best be comprehended through the emotions, and can never be reached through reason and speculation alone. The wonderful effect of the "Messiah" upon the people of his day proved that Klopstock's religious poem satisfied the needs of the time; his poetry became religion itself.

One example will suffice to show this. Schubart writes to Klopstock from Ulm in , or I began with a few chosen listeners who were pleased with it. The company soon became much too large for my little room; then the magistrate fitted up a public hall for me. All volumes of the 'Messiah', both original prints and copies available in the town were soon bought up How often I made those people happy, and how happy I myself became with them ; and how they rewarded me! You see how much i"Der Erbarmer" In return I shall always love you and treasure you; and when I die, I wish a copy of the 'Messiah' laid on my bosom and buried with me.

I have read your 'Messiah' wholly or in part to princes, men of state, military officers, court ladies, priests, lawyers, physicians, virtuosos, tradesmen, peasants, women and girls at the spinning-wheel and sewing table, and I have always found that he who was most impressed by my reading was of the noblest heart. And that will always be true even if the tongues and hands of all critics of this and later times should become useless forever. He therefore dwells upon a nobility of character which ex- presses itself in deeds, in contradistinction to mere goodness of soul, which is passive and negative and may be accom- panied by mediocre ability.

He alone is noble, 2 he alone 1 Lappenberg, p. Klopstock considers it the real task of the poet to give expression to such a high nobility of soul in his work, and thus to conduct others along a similar path. But is it a blessed gliickselige nation? Not until it is also virtuous tugendhaft. And by what means can it become so? By religion and those moral truths which religion has left to be solved by human understanding. A deed which betrays an evil heart has such a power over him that his disgust finds expression in his countenance.

He so hates mean and foolish people that he avoids them whenever he can.

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Mummsen writes to Elizabeth Smith from Altona, July 2, , and gives a picture of Klopstock during his last years: He was a most agreeable companion. We used to call him 'Den ewigen Jungling', the youth forever! He has lived free all his life time, and has recommended liberty on all occasions! He kept up his gentle spirit, his religious principles, and his serenity of mind, till the end of his life. Klopstock's piety, in its full extent, as it influenced both his heart and his understanding, may clearly be discovered in his odes, 'The Omnipotent', 'Contemplation of God', and in the plan of the Messiah'.

When we contemplate this last in all its dignity and grandeur, and at the same time consider the courage which was requisite in order to adopt it as the sub- ject of an epic poem, we shall even on this account alone, bestow on Klopstock the title of a great poet. The recep- tion the 'Messiah' found in Germany was adequate to its merits; we congratulated ourselves on a work which the most sacred spirit had inspired, and the admiration which was excited by this extraordinary poet restrained the frivo- lous criticism with which the Gottingen school had presumed to attack his work.

He considers Klopstock the most sublime of German poets, "whose song had a powerful and blessed influence on the hearts of humanity, and will continue to have such an effect as long as the German language is alive. His song has uplifted many hearts above the earthly and sensual to God; has bettered them; strengthened and comforted, and fired them to noble deeds ; filled them with a love for the fatherland ; has inspired many a youth, so that he fought against his enemy and himself with greater happi- ness and strength, and conquered at last.

He sought to arouse and nourish the noblest feelings. He himself tells us in the "Reise- journal" 5 This accounts for my predilection for speculation and for the 'sombre' in philosophy, in poetry, in prose Erzahlungen , and in thought! This accounts for my fondness for the shades of antiquity and for the remote past! This explains my first occupations ; the dreams of a water-world of my youth ; the 1 "Klopstock als Mensch und als Dichter", p. Herder to Countess Christine Briihl My life is a passage through Gothic vaults, or at least through an allee of green shades.

The view is always venerable and sublime ; the entrance was dark and forbidding eine Art Schauder ; however, I shall feel another sort of distraction Yerwir- rung , when suddenly the allee opens and I find myself in the open. Xow it is my duty to make use of these im- pressions to the best of my ability; to cultivate still my wealth of reflection, but also to notice the sun which breaks through the leaves, and paints more beautiful shadows ; to give heed to the song-filled meadows mit ihrem Getiimmel ; always, however, to remain in the onward passage.

The last simile was impressed upon me especially in the woods at Nantes I felt myself so filled with great thoughts, that I could imagine the experiences of the Savior in his greatest triumphs ; then I glanced up and saw the allee like a green temple of the Almighty before me, and there arose within me echoes from Kleist's hymn Thither shall my spirit journey back when I read Marmontel's first chapters, and Thomas Daquesceau. Young Gottfried's first volumes of instruction were the Bible and the hymnal. Besides satis- fying his religious needs, these two books aroused his love and understanding for the Orient, as the primitive spot of man's dwelling, and for poetry ; they gave his historical, poetic sense its first impulse.

In Koenigsberg Herder came under the influence of deistic philosophy, and received instruction in the Wolff- Leibniz school from his professors. He found a more helpful teacher in Hamann, who. At the same time, we will recall, the young critic learned from his great teacher to recognize the divine qualities of the human soul, as exemplified in the creative genius, and saw the marvelous effect of such power in the works of the English dramatist, Shakespeare, and of the German poet. Here in Koenigsberg, even thus early in his career.

Herder prac- tised his religion and diffused everywhere the influence of his personality; his friends recognized that "the spirit of religion and humanity surrounded him at all times. Herr Kurella to Pastor Puttlich, Apr. He says in a sermon: We may thank the Creator that we have enough light to continue on the way of life, but also that he kept from us a light which would blind us and make us unsteady. Let reason be our guiding star; but, Oh God, teach me ever to be human also ; — then I shall be happy.

Goethe und Werther: Briefe Goethe's, meistens aus seiner Jugendzeit by Goethe

He was as opposed to the traditional God of the catechism as to the metaphysi- cal God of philosophy. He turned to books which breathe the spirit of nature, and read them in the open to dispel the false deity worshipped by reason ; 4 to the study of history, to drive out the phantoms of churchly form. In Herder terms Klopstock the most sacred of poets, and his "Messiah" the most sacred of poems.

One must attempt, he says, to grasp the spirit of its authors; of the public which read it; of the nation which it represents ; — one must try to interpret its own spirit. He considers it an "ancient, oriental, poet- ical, national, and popular piece", which ought to be con- sidered a vital example of traditional composition, and not a judicial gerichtliches testament.

He never, however, depreciated its value as a most vital force in the moral and spiritual life of the human race. In he defines it as the history of God from the begin- ning to the end of the world; 'we do not comprehend all of it any more than we do nature, but we can understand enough of it to make us believe and hope, and to move us to noble activity.

As time goes on, the history of man's labors on earth becomes longer, and the more easily he will interpret the Bible. Herder considers man a "divine, ennobled creature Thier! In the essay, "Der Redner Gottes", of , Herder pre- sents his picture of the really great preacher of religion. Later, , XIV, The older generations distilled from the Bible a catechism adapted in language and thought to their own age ; and he believed that with just as much right could the younger generation make a catechism suited to its own needs.

The present was just as sacred to him as the past — and even more so, because man lives in the present and for the future. The sim- plest, oldest religions lay bare the bosom of humanity. To make clear how fearful night was to the people for whom the Biblical poet wrote, and why he used it as a symbol of evil, Herder recalls the effect upon the reader of the in- human and awful deed which is performed at mid-night in Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

He places a poet of antiquity, inspired by religion, together with a modern genius, inspired by the poetic muse. Nachlass II, , ; ; His divine nature is not revealed in mere dreams of the future and in idle speculations, but in some noble activity, which constitutes the fulfillment of his mission.

We came from Him, live under His care, and shall sometime, sooner or later, return to Him. He gave us our being, and with it all our capacity for happiness and usefulness in the world. He gave us duties to perform: He gave us our knowledge and taught man 'what he knows' ; He permitted us, when our nature had degenerated, to return to happiness and to His mercy, through the redemption of Jesus ; He lent us a high, divine assistance in order that we might again reach the original dignity of our nature and happiness.

Everything which can make human souls happy depends upon God, We will recall it was here, too, that he read to his friends, and probably to his congregation, those unpublished parts of the "Messiah" iLebensbild I, 3, a, p. In referring in an outline, made, in , for the study of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, to Genesis I, 1 to 3, he makes use of the note, "So gross und weit als eine Klopstock'sche Aussicht" 4 As broad and vast a view as the eye of Klopstock can see. Here again he compares the old Biblical poet with a modern genius ; but this time with a poet of his own people whose inspiration was religion also, and whose imagination succeeded in creating visions equally great and exalted.

We will recall how closely his soul felt itself a part of nature in the woods at Nantes, and this identification with the great world about him has deepened his inner life and reawakened that healthy mysticism which characterized the religion of his childhood. A certain sect, called Bohmists, even believed him one of their number and asked him to attend several of their meetings. But Herder was unfriendly toward all sects, and could not become reconciled to any binding religious views. After instilling a greater freedom of belief into their souls than they had ever before known, he withdrew from their circles.

A half year after his coming the Countess Maria of Buckeburg, who became Herder's great friend, writes to him January 1, See Erinnerungen I, To Lavater, May, Herder says he prefers mysticists to Wolffian philosophers. Where the spirit of God dwells, do I care what external garb it displays? I do not desire the garment, but the life and substance of religion ; I have trusted Herder for a long time to give me nothing else, and to conduct me to the true light. I do not even understand all of these terms ; I hardly know the misused names.

He can find no proof of a future life in the Bible ; it has revealed nothing except- ing what refers to our moral sense, to our humanity. The book of Revelations he considers a poetic book which he cannot understand. He finds no dogma of eternal life. Any teaching of a future world must refer to this life, encourage 1 Erinnerungen III, , Aus dem Herderschen Hause, pp.

Thus it will unite every good soul with eternity. The human soul feels it is immortal ; it does not need proof. Herder attempts to make his sermons human. He writes to Caroline March 21, They are the human feelings of a full heart. Just as his dress bore no insignia of his pastoral position, except a white collar and a black mantle, so his sermons bore no outward sign of their official character beyond the prayer which introduced them and which closed them. He had not in- tended in his sermons to hamper himself with consecrated and ever-misconstrued words, which cause confusion in thought, but to introduce them to the real content of the Scriptures ; their real spirit and life.

Herder to Lavater, Oct. Compare Nachlass II, When she returns the poem she sends a note in which she says that Herder's sermons, referring to the future life, contain more genuine, lasting, and impres- sive truth, than the narration of those things in the "Mes- siah" which no human eye has seen; she refers especially to the nineteenth song.

In Herder's sermons she finds that relig- ious truth which comes close to the human heart. Klop- stock's "Lieder" the Countess considers "quite heavenly" ganz himmlisch. In it he recognizes the divine element in poetry and its close relation to religion. He believes poetry of divine origin ; 3 a revelation of God to man; 4 he calls it "the noble, joy- giving balsam coming from the most secret powers of God's creation.

Countess Marie to Herder, Countess Marie to Herder, Dec, Very early in his career Herder realized the shortcomings of the theology of his youth, and made attempts to bring it out of the schools and closer to man ; he took a broader view than most theologians of his time. He surveyed a new path, and prepared the way for a freer and more human conception of theology.


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He recognized that the essence of Christianity lay in a loving, active, unselfish life; in the development of our inner being according to Christ's example. It is founded on pure benevolence and love, which embraces sympathy, friendship, conviviality, gratitude, magnanimity, i Suphan VIII, It frees us from our greatest enemies, anger, revenge, cruelty, envy, surliness, malice ; it developes a moral sense in us without compulsory rule; it brings us closer to peace of soul.

It is not strict philosophy, but a gentler and more effective training for virtue, and it is the best suited for mankind. He did not deceive his people by flat- tery ; he appeared as a physician to make them whole ; as a shepherd to gather in the strayed sheep ; as a brother and a hero to free and release. With this end in view he founded his church. The religion of Christ, which he himself pro- fessed, taught, and practised, was humanity.

He knew no higher name than "son of man" Menschensohn. He often lamented the fact that the German princes did not give more universal support to the advancement of the knowledge of galvanism, electricity, magnetism, anatomy, physiography, physics, and physiology. He wished he were just beginning life, so that he might hope to see a greater progress in these things.

He was absorbed by these ideas, — the discovery, combination, and harmony of the laws of nature among themslves and in their relation to the universe and man. He often said that the progress in scientific discovery brought the brighter and the more certain light; and that on this path we must con- tinue to build and to seek the truth concerning the great laws of nature.

With this new knowledge Herder also hoped for a new virtue and a new life.

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The more physics enlightens man, he believed, the more firm should his spirit- ual beliefs become, and the higher should his soul rise in its reverence and love for the greatest, original creator of all. Compare Nachlass II, , , Suphan XIII, 15, They brought a gospel of optimism ; of confiding trust in God and nature, and dis- pelled the fear and morbid introspection which tormented the lives of Brockes, Haller, and Giinther.

Morality was no longer to be a matter of rule and compulsion, forced upon the human race by the threat of eternal damnation. They believed in the development of the innate goodness of humanity; a certain inner freedom which controls man's conduct. Nobility of character, which expresses itself in useful, humane deeds, was to take the place of the older moral goodness, which more often was mere passivity.

Klopstock, as poet, occupies the position of the preacher, and gives to poetry the high place of the older moral doc- trines. He combines the religious with the aesthetic, and thus creates a new spirit of humanity, one which animates the lives of his contemporaries and ushers in a new era for Germany. He conducts man outside the walls of the church into the broad world of the beautiful, of nature and God.

Herder follows in Klopstock's foot-steps, and combines the aesthetic with the religious; but he, as scholar and critic, adds philosophy, science, and history to his gospel of humanity. Religion, in Herder's mind, was the beginning of all culture; the goal of all culture he considered the highest humanity.

Full text of "Herder and Klopstock : a comparative study"

Herder gave ex- pression to his belief in his own deeds, in his writings, and in his sermons. Both men were preachers of humanity. Jean Paul Richter says in his "Dammerungen fur 1 T. Would ye bring re- ligion from its heaven and plant it upon the earth through the muses, like Socrates did philosophy, then follow his example, or that of Klopstock Such muses alone can become the means of conversion of so many great spirits. The history of France and England, in this regard, differs very decidedly from that of Germany.

The two former countries had been for centuries complete national and cultural units ; they possessed not only a national literature and culture, but also a constitutional and political individuality. In order, therefore, to forsake the path of cosmopolitanism, they had only to confine their efforts to the study and perfection of those political conditions which already existed. In France, toward the close of the century, both the merchant and literary classes united in the conscious creation of a truly national spirit which, active in all its manifestations from the very beginning, finally sought by force to gain freedom from tyranny and oppression, and so brought about a complete governmental revolution.

Germany, on the other hand, even at the very end of the eighteenth cen- HERDER AND KLOPSTOCK tury, was not a united political power, a "Nationalstaat", but rather a "Kulturstaat", 1 — a heterogeneous collection of many individual states, provinces, and free cities, held together not by the bonds of constitutional government, but by the more natural ties of social characteristics, cultural tradition, and language. These ties, probably stronger in the German people than in the French or English, had never been completely severed — not even during the destructive times of the Thirty Years' War — and in them was pre- served the spirit of the German people, even if the nation, as such, did not exist.

This spirit found its most vital expression in the lives and works of the great thinkers and poets of the eighteenth century, who presented, as in a mirror, that ideal picture of a united fatherland which, in spite of external disruption, stirred the hearts of their countrymen.

Thus German nationalism, finally triumphant in the nineteenth century, was a gradual, unconscious growth, born of the old Germanic ideals of humanity and freedom preserved in the minds and hearts of Germany's scholars and literary men. The general spirit of the eighteenth century was espe- cially unfavorable to the awakening in Germany of that great conscious effort which would have been necessary to form a politically united state. The greatest minds were interested in the universal affairs of mankind ; in humanity and nature; in religion and philosophy; in history and tradition.

Man was studied in his relation to the great world in which he lives ; to the universe and to his God ; and his political relations were considered in the same light, with practically no concern for him as citizen of his country. But the great thinkers and poets only too often neglected the people themselves, "das Volk", in their efforts to find 1 F.

Their idealism had to be made practical. Only when we consider this enthusiasm for the universal can we account for the lack of genuine political interest during this period, and for the fact that the greatest minds commonly referred to the state as a "fragment", and to patriotism as something narrow and useless, — even con- sidering it a moral weakness in man. What we do find in the German writers of the eighteenth century is a manifestation of racial consciousness, of Teutonic spirit; an expression of a love for things German and for Germany, without which modern German nationalism would have been impossible.

If we accept this as the meaning of patriotism, none of the literary men of the country was a truer patriot than were Klopstock and Herder. Both were imbued with a vivid German spirit which expressed itself in an ardent love for the honor and welfare of their fatherland; both probably contributed more toward the awakening and maintenance of a genuine interest in the German nation than any of their contemporaries. Elizabeth Smith, one of the earliest admirers and trans- lators of Klopstock in England, wrote of Klopstock, in 1 Schiller to Korner, Oct. Lessing to Gleim, Dec.

Horn's "Critical History of German Poetry and Eloquence", printed just two years after Klopstock's death, and one of the earliest literary histories to appear in Ger- many, acknowledges the poet's patriotic services: We had accustomed ourselves to consider the poetical compositions of the French as particularly excellent ; and whilst one per- son after another repeated this opinion, all our attempts were imitations of these models ; and the bold, national, poetic spirit of former times was regarded with contempt.

PATRIOTIC ENDEAVORS Klopstock alone had the courage to awaken the attention of his sleeping country-men, by his noble compositions full of ardour and tenderness ; in order that they might resume their ancient force and energy, and that calm dignity, which confides in itself, and is unwilling to borrow from others. He was the man who first animated his native land with the spirit to attain to that degree of excellence in the higher species of poetry, of which it was capable, and to which it has already attained.

The first emphatic expression of Klopstock's love for, and interest in, Germany we find in his Latin farewell address, delivered in Schulpforta, on September 21, , when the poet was still a youth. He laments the fact that with the single exception of Germany all the great nations of Europe have produced great epics, in his opinion the most elevated and commanding form of poetry.

We seek to produce a work of genius by busying ourselves with miserable dawd- lings; with poems which seem to be born for no other purpose than to perish and pass into oblivion, we, quite unworthy of the name 'Germans', venture to gain immor- tality! He prays fervently that a truly great German poet will soon appear. Sie denken nicht edel genug, Zu sehen, wie schon dein Fehler ist l" 1 He knew full well the native genius of the Germans and their great creative power in the field of artistic and intel- lectual endeavor.

Thus early, therefore, he expressed his lofty contempt for those poets who, underestimating their ability, abuse their own talents by slavishly imitating for- eign writers. He directs his rebukes especially against the imitation of the French and English, for he believes German genius of equal rank with that of its neighbors. He is convinced that if they relied on their own powers entirely the German poets would outstrip those of France and Eng- land, — yea, even give rise to a literature as great as that of ancient Greece. He expresses this idea very forcefully in the ode, "Der Nachahmer" Only seven years after the famous address at Schulpforta, in a letter to Gleim February 19, , he points with pride to the fact that Germany has already pro- duced epics equal in worth to those written by the French and English poets, and promises to outdo the work of these nations.

He addresses the French: Das ist nun ungefahr so auch etwas! Allein wir haben Fur's erste: Hermann, Friedrich, Nimrod, Und dann auch die Theresiade! Drum fehlt uns gar nichts mehr s als eure Duncias! When Klopstock, while still at Schulpforta, sought a worthy subject for the epic, which he felt himself called upon to create for Germany, his first choice was the great emperor, Henry the Fowler, whose history he had known from early childhood.

This monarch had founded Qued- linburg, the city which was to become his final resting-place, and many centuries later the scene of Klopstock's birth. But in spite of the poet's love for this great German ruler, 1 See the odes: His careful religious training had brought him to a deep comprehension of the grandeur of the great founder of Christianity who gave up his life in his unbounded love for mankind.

The Savior's ineffable nobility of character inspired Klopstock with the conception of the Messiah as the most exalted hero for a Christian epic. Here, then, the poet's feeling had to give way to his great love for humanity. He him- self tells us of the choice of a subject for the epic he was to write, in the ode, "Mein Vaterland" Allein ich sah die hohere Bahn, Und, entflammt von mehr, denn nur Ehrbegier, Zog ich weit sie vor.

Sie fiihret hinauf Zu dem Vaterlande des Menschengeschlechts. It is the poem which appeared in with the title, "Heinrich der Vogler", but which was first published in the "Bremer Beitrage" with the heading, "Kriegslied zur Nachahmung des alten Liedes von der Chevychase-Jagd", and there celebrated Frederick II of Prussia. This was the first and only time that Klop- stock paid poetic tribute to Frederick the Great. Later he changed title and poem and wiped out all traces of Fred- erick's name; he even denied that he had ever intended to honor the Prussian ruler.

Even if Klopstock could have dealt leniently with Frederick's ma- terialistic philosophy, he could not overlook his disdain for German poetry, which was just beginning to flourish and needed the hearty sympathy of its monarch. The poet's love for Germany and his ardent hope for her future high position among the literary nations of the world was far greater than his love for his own king, when that king did not lend all his support to the complete development of his people, spiritual as well as political.

In Frederick V of Denmark, however, Klopstock found those ideal qualities which he demanded in a great ruler, and which he had missed in the Prussian monarch.

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He cele- brates him in the ode, "Friedrich der Fiinfte" Gott nachahmen und selbst Schopfer des Glikkes seyn Vieler Tausend'! Er hat eilend die H6h' erreicht Und entschliesst sich, wie Gott zu seyn. In his love for humanity he wishes to be a father to his people and in turn to be beloved by them. Above all, the greatest desire of such a monarch is to imitate God in ministering to the happiness 1 Klopstock X, ff. Klopstock writes to Roland of his study of military tactics and maneuvers in his youth and of his early interest in the Seven Years' War. Allein Das ist das Hochste.

Was des Sterblichen Auge Sehn kann: Ein Konig, der Gliickliche macht V Finally, in the "Prayer of a Good King'' , Klopstock, enlarging upon these general ideas, presents a complete picture of his ideal ruler. Beginning with the year , we find Klopstock's poetic genius more actively patriotic than ever before. Religion and love no longer engross his entire attention, and he be- comes more serious in his contemplation of the past history of his country. YVe find traces of Klopstock's interest in old Germanic history and mythology, however, as early as Jahrhunderts aus der Manessischen Samm- lung.

Published again in in Cramer's "Er und iiber Ihn. Schmidt's own interest in Norse and Celtic mythology, as we gather from a letter to Gleim, dated September 12, , 2 had been aroused by reading quotations from Olaus Wormius in Temple's essay "De la vertu heroique. Interest in the historic past was becoming more general; it had never, indeed, been quite dead.

Tacitus, too, was not entirely neglected. A German translation of Mallet's "Introduction a l'histoire de Danemarke" was published in He retorts by accusing her of giving her hand in marriage to Adelberto. Privately, Ottone cannot understand her reaction and wonders who has caused her to turn against him. Emireno and Adelberto have escaped from prison through the underground passage, thanks to a map sent to them by Matilda.

She has also informed them that a boat awaits them. Emireno goes searching for the boat. Matilda and Ottone arrive separately, Matilda looking for the entrance to the tunnel and Ottone searching for Teofane. Adelberto hides at the tunnel entrance when he realizes that others are in the garden. He recognizes Ottone and then Teofane. Matilda and Ottone meet: She hides in the tunnel entrance, uncomfortably, near Adelberto.

Matilda dissuades Ottone from going near the tunnel entrance for fear that the escape might be foiled and her part in it discovered by Ottone. She leads him away. Emireno returns, having found the boat and some of his men.

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Adelberto seizes the fainting Teofane and puts her into the boat. Gismonda sees the departure and meets the returning Matilda. Together they celebrate the success of their plan, though Matilda harbours apprehension over her deceit of Ottone. The writing finds similarities with several of the earlier Italian duets in the rhythmically moving bass line and vocal suspensions: Gismonda taunts Ottone about the escape of Adelberto and Emireno with Teofane, even though she knows that she will be sentenced to death.

Here we have Handel at his most intense: The boat and the three escapees have been unable to get very far due to a storm. Emireno suggests that they wait until the weather improves and says that he will stand guard over Teofane. Adelberto hopes not only that the weather will calm but that love too will brighten for him with Teofane. Adelberto goes in search of shelter from the storm and Teofane tells Emireno that she is the daughter of Romano, King of Byzantium.

Emireno goes to embrace her, because he is in fact her brother, Prince Basilio. This attempted embrace too gives her the wrong idea, for she believes he is attempting to seduce her. Adelberto returns at the most inopportune moment and makes the same presumption. Adelberto jealously attacks Emireno, but is overpowered by him and placed under guard. Matilda tells Ottone that Teofane has been taken by Adelberto.

In a marvellously characterful aria, threatening terrible vengeance, she sings that she does not mind if she kills him. Suddenly Emireno arrives with Adelberto as his prisoner. Gismonda seizes the dagger and tries to kill herself. Teofane arrives before Gismonda has time to commit the deed: The last strands of the plot are unravelled as Teofane explains that Emireno is really her brother Basilio. Ottone finally realizes what has happened, Gismonda and Adelberto swear loyalty to their king, while Matilda again frees Adelberto and accepts his hand in marriage.

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. Don't show me this message again. George Frideric Handel Nicola Francesco Haym April Total duration: Otto II receiving the Homage of the Nations. Handel had finished composing the opera the previous summer, with the first draft completed on 10 August, but he had to make several revisions before the first performance took place.

The problems lay with his all-star cast, several of whom professed themselves unhappy with the nature and character of their roles.