309 Gostwick's (J.) German Literature, post 8vo, cloth, 50c, Edinburgh, 1849. \ 1 Ii V GERMAN LITERATUR E. Digitized by the Internet - Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/germanliterature01gost GERMAN LITERATUR E. BY JOSEPH GOSTICK. AUTHOR OF "THE SPIRIT OF GERMAN POETRY, &.C. &ZC. EDINBURGH: WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS. 1849. EDINBURGH : PEINTED BY W. AND R. CHAMBERS. : PREFACE. The objcct of the present volume is to give, in a concise and populär form, a general view of the Literature of the German people from the earliest to the latest times. Though the study of this literature has rapidly advanced during late years in England and Scotland, it has been confined chiefly to the works of a few modern authors. Many readers may still inquire concerning the characteristics of writers before the time of Herder, Goethe, and Schiller. We em- ploy every day, in our household language, the words of the oldest Teutonic or German ballad-singers who sang of the exploits of Tuisco before the Christian era; the words into which Bishop Ulphilas translated the Bible for the Goths of the fourth Century ; and which were afterwards employed by the writer of the old epic poem, ' The Nibelungen-Lied,' and the minstrels of the time of Frederick II. yet our schoolboys can give a better account of our longest Com- pound words, derived from Greek and Latin roots, than of the most simple and familiär which form the staple of all our ordinary con- versation, and which give energy and beauty to our most populär literature. It is hoped that this little work may serve in some degree to direct attention to the language and other characteristics of our Teutonic forefathers. Though many critical remarks may be found in the following pages, the character of the book was intended to be chiefly descrip- tive, and for this purpose numerous specimens of authors have been introduced. In the translation of these extracts, a Condensed style has been employed. It is well known that diffuseness is the pre- vailing fault of many German authors. In specimens where con- siderable abridgment has been made, the marks .... refer to the omitted passages. Where the original style is marked by great simplicity, it has not been falsified by any attempted decorations. It may be added, that all the translations are entirely original. In a former work on German Literature, by the present author, a few Vi PREFACE. cxceptions to tliis rule were admitted, and consequently the wliole voluine was erroneously described by some reviewers as a 'com- pilation.' AVith a view to reference, great care lias been taken to insure accuracy in the printing of names and dates. While we hardly need say that the opinions offered on the merits of various authors have been impartially formed, we readily admit that the general bias of a writer must in some degree be apparent in every book. In the present case, it will be seen that all the characteristic faults of German literature are freely acknowledged, and sometimes censured ; while we have endeavoured to show that amid all these defects there is a störe of valuable ideas and ten- dencies of mind of vast importance in the present age, when the intellectual productions of various nations are so freely inter- changed. J. G. September 1849. CONTENTS. Paoe INTRODUCTION 9 FIRST PERIOD.—from 360 to 1150, 10 SECOND PERIOD.—from 1150 to 1300, .... 17 THE NIBELUNGEN-LIED, 18 THE ROMANCES OF CHIVALRY, 32 LYRICAL POETRY, 38 DIDACTIC VERSIFICATION, 42 THIRD PERIOD.—from 1300 to 1517, 51 THE DRAMA, 56 PROSE, 58 FOURTH PERIOD.—from 1517 to 1624, .... 64 POETRY, 68 THE DRAMA, 73 PROSE, 74 FIFTH PERIOD.—from 1624 to 1720, 90 POETRY, 91 THE DRAMA, 96 PROSE, 99 SIXTH PERIOD.—from 1720 to 1770, 110 POETRY, 110 THE DRAMA, 115 MISCELLANEOUS PROSE, 117 THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY, .... 143 SEVENTH PERIOD.—from 1770 to 1848, . .154 POETRY, 157 THE DRAMA, 183 NOVELS AND ROMANCES, 196 POPULÄR LEGENDS, 239 HISTORY, 247 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, 263 BIOGRAPHY, 264 PHILOSOPHY, ........ 266 THEOLOGY, 273 LITERARY HISTORY AND CRITICISM, .... 276 VOYAGES AND TRAVELS, 290 MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS, 297 INDEX, 319 GEKM AN LITEKATÜEE. INTRODUCTION. Central Europe, from the Adriatic to the Baltic, is occupied by a people, who, however divided politically into states, form socially, and as respects race and language, but one nation. The name Germans, which we assign to this great people, is that given to themby the Komans : the distinctive appellation which they apply to themselves is Deutsch, a term derived from Teutones, by which they were generally known, as also by the name Goths, in the early history of Europe. A section of this Teutonic or Gothic people from Saxony settled in England, and hence an afimity between the speech of the English and their German ancestors. Some words in the language of the Germans are traced to the Sanscrit, one of the most ancient forms of speech, from which it is reasonable to conclude that the Teutones have an eastern origin. In its vast prolificness of words, however, in its independence of Greek and Latin, or any modern tongue, and what may be called its bold originality, the German language is exceedingly remark- able. French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, are all broken dialects of the Latin English is a Compound of Latin and Anglo-Saxon, ; with modern draughts from Greek and French. The German is one and indivisible its ; excepting for remote connection with the ancient Sanscrit, and for certain mediseval improvements, it might be called, as it Stands, a purely original tongue. It is of the lite- rature—the written thoughts—of the great people who speak this language that we now propose to treat—a literature which has become one of the most varied and extensive in Europe. The History of German Literature may be conveniently divided into Seven Periods. The first, extending from A. D. 360 to 1150, includes all the remains of the Gothic Language and the Old 10 GERMAN LITERATÜRE. High-Gcrman Dialect. The secoud (1150-1300) contains the romances and other poems of the Age of Chivalry, which were written in the Middle High-German Dialect. The third period, including the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (1300-1517), was chiefly remarkable for the populär and satirical versilication which it produced. The time from 1517 to 1624 may be styled the Lutheran Era, and was chiefly occupied with ecclesiastical con- troversies. It was followed by a period of great dulness in litera- ture, extending from 1624 to 1720. In the eighteenth Century, or in the time between 1720 and 1770, many writers improved the tone of literature, though they displayed no great and original genius. Lastly, the seventh period, extending from 1770, or the time of Herder, to the present day, includes the voluminous modern literature of Germany. It would have been inconvenient, in this short and unpretending treatise, to have referred to all the authorities which have been consulted. In a majority of instances critical opinions of authors have been founded on an entire or partial perusal of their writ- ings ; while among the secondary authorities to whom this little book is indebted, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Wackernagel, George Gottfried Gervinus, and Gustavus Schwab, may be named. FIRST PERIOD. FROM 360 TO 1150. Ulphilas (bona in 310, died in 388), the bishop of the Western Goths, translated the greater part of the Scriptures into the Gothic Language between the years 360 and 380. It is said that he omitted the books of Kings, because he feared that their accounts of wars would sthnulate the martial spirit of the Germans or Goths. A considerable portion of this translation remains in the present day, as a solitary and invaluable relic of the Ancient Gothic Language. This book teils indeed a wondrous tale of the world's history. Seventeen hundred years ago, when the Roman world was falling into decay, a rude and primitive people were living amid the forests, mountains, and marshes of the north of Europe. Durmg peace, they were engaged in hunting deer, bisons, and wild boars ; but war was their favourite occupation. Yet their barbarous condition was attended by such virtues as pre- pared them to become the founders of a new world. They pos- sessed health, vigour, and great powers of endurance in body and FIRST PERIOD. 11 nature yct they miiid. Thcir religion was a worship of ; were destined to spread the doctrine of Christianity over the world.. They had no literature, but the hours of peace were sometimes employed in the recital of rüde songs of battle ; and these old bailads contained the primitive words of languages which have spread their literature over the whole of the modern civilised world. The same root-words which were employed, before the Christian era, to celebrate the exploits of the German deity Tuisco, are now spoken by millions of civilised men, from the boundaries of Austria to the western shores of North America. For the clearest evidence of this great fact we depend on the work of Bishop Ulphilas. The history of the preservation of this venerable relic is curious. After the ninth Century, it disappeared from the field of history, leaving no trace of its existence, excepting in the pages of some Greek ecclesiastical writers, who preserved the fact, that ' Ulphilas, a Gothic bishop, had translated the Scriptures in the fourth Cen- tury. 1 At the close of the sixteenth Century, Arnold Mercator, the geometer, heard a rumour of a very old and unintelligible version of the four Gospels which had been preserved in an abbey. The rumour was confirmed, and this portion of the work of Ul- philas emerged into light after a burial of six centuries.