PERIOD SECOND.
THE REFORMATION TO THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (1517-1700).
1. THE LUTHERAN PERIOD.—With the sixteenth century we enter upon the modern history and modern literature of Germany. The language now becomes settled, and the literature for a time becomes national. Luther and the Reformers belonged to the people, who, through them, now for the first time claimed an equality with the old estates of the realm, the two representatives of which, the emperor and the pope, were never more powerful than at this period. The armies of the emperor were recruited from Spain, Austria, Naples, Sicily, and Burgundy while the pope, armed with the weapons of the Inquisition, and the thunderbolts of excommunication, levied his armies of priests and monks from all parts of the Christian world. Against these formidable powers a poor Augustine monk came forth from his study in the small university of Wittenberg, with no armies, no treasures, with no weapon in his hand but the Bible, and in his clear manly voice defied both emperor and pope, clergy and nobility. There never was a more memorable spectacle.
After the Reformation nearly all eminent men in Germany, poets, philosophers, and historians, belonged to the Protestant party, and resided chiefly in the universities, which were what the monasteries had been under Charlemagne, and the castles under Frederic Barbarossa—the centres of gravitation for the intellectual and political life of the country. A new aristocracy now arose, founded on intellectual preëminence, which counted among its members princes, nobles, divines, soldiers, lawyers, and artists. But the danger which threatens all aristocracies was not averted from the intellectual nobility of Germany; the spirit of caste, which soon pervaded all their institutions, deprived the second generation of that power which men like Luther had gained at the beginning of the Reformation. The moral influence of the universities was great, but it would have been far greater if the intellectual leaders of the realm had not separated themselves from the ranks whence they themselves had risen, and to which alone they owed their influence. This intellectual aristocracy manifested a disregard of the real wants of the people, a contempt of all knowledge which did not wear the academic garb, and the same exclusive spirit of caste that characterizes all aristocracies. Latin continued to be the literary medium of scholars, and at the close of the seventeenth century German was only beginning to assert its capabilities as a vehicle of elegant and refined literature.
The sixteenth century may be called the Lutheran period, for Martin Luther (1483-1546) was the most prominent character in the general literature as well as in the theology of Germany. He was the exponent of the national feeling, he gave shape and utterance to thoughts and sentiments which had been before only obscurely expressed, and his influence was felt in almost every department of life and literature. The remodeling of the German tongue may be said to have gone hand in hand with the Reformation, and it is to Luther more than to any other that it owes its rapid progress. His translation of the Bible was the great work of the period, and gives to him the deserved title of creator of German prose. The Scriptures were now familiarly read by all classes, and never has their beautiful simplicity been more admirably rendered. The hymns of Luther are no less remarkable for their vigor of style, than for their high devotional feeling. His prose works consist chiefly of twenty volumes of sermons, and eight volumes of polemical writings, besides his "Letters" and "Table Talk," which give us a view of the singular mixture of qualities which formed the character of the great Reformer.
The literature of that period also owes much to Melanchthon (1497-1560), the author of the "Confession of Augsburg," who by his classical learning, natural sagacity, simplicity and clearness of style, and above all by his moderation and mildness, greatly contributed to the progress of the Reformation. He devoted himself to the improvement of schools and the diffusion of learning, and through his influence the Protestant princes of Germany patronized native literature, established public libraries, and promoted the general education of the people.
The earnest polemical writings of the age must be passed over, as they belong rather to ecclesiastical and political than to literary history. Yet these are the most characteristic productions of the times, and display the effects of controversy in a very unfavorable light. The license, personality, acrimony, and grossness of the invectives published by the controversial writers, particularly of the sixteenth century, can hardly be imagined by a modern reader who has not read the originals. The better specimens of this style of writing are found in the remains of Manuel and Zwingle. Manuel (1484-1530), a native of Switzerland, is an instance of the versatility of talent, which was not uncommon at this time; he was a soldier, a poet, a painter, a sculptor, and a wood- engraver. The boldness and license of his satires are far beyond modern toleration. Zwingle (1484-1531), the leading reformer of Switzerland, was a statesman, a theologian, a musician, and a soldier. His principal work is the "Exposition of the Christian Faith." A celebrated writer of prose satire was Fischart (1530-1590), whose numerous works, under the most extravagant titles, are distinguished by wit and extensive learning. His "Prophetic Almanac" was the selling book at all the fairs and markets of the day, and was read with an excitement far exceeding that produced by any modern novels. In his "Garagantua," he borrowed some of his descriptions from Rabelais; and this extravagant, satirical, and humorous book, though full of the uncouth and far-fetched combinations of words found in his other writings, contains many ludicrous caricatures of the follies of society in his age.
Franck (fl. 1533), one of the best writers of German prose on history and theology during the sixteenth century, was the representative of the mystic school, and opposed Luther, whom he called the new pope. His religious views in many respects correspond with those of the Society of Friends. Rejecting all ecclesiastical authority, he maintained that there is an internal light in man which is better fitted than even the Scriptures to guide him aright in religious matters. He wrote with bitterness and severity, though he seldom used the coarse style of invective common to his age.
Arnd (1555-1621) may be classed among the best theological writers of the period. His treatise "On True Christianity" is still read and esteemed. He belonged to the mystic school, and the pious and practical character of his work made it a favorite among religious men of various sects.
Jacob Boehm (1575-1624) was a poor shoemaker, who, without the advantages of education, devoted his mind to the most abstruse studies, and professed that his doctrines were derived from immediate revelation; his works contain many profound and lofty ideas mingled with many confused notions.
2. POETRY, SATIRE, AND DEMONOLOGY.—In the sixteenth century the old poetry of Germany was in a great measure forgotten; the Nibelungen Lied and the Heldenbuch were despised by the learned as relics of barbarian life; classical studies engaged the attention of all who loved elegant literature, and while Horace was admired, the title of German poet was generally applied as a badge of ridicule. A propensity to satire of the most violent and personal description seems to have been almost universal in these excited times. Hutten (1488-1523) shared the general excitement of the age, and warmly defended the views of Luther. He addressed many satirical pamphlets in prose and verse to the people, and was compelled to flee from one city to another, his life being always in danger from the numerous enemies excited by his severity. Next to invectives and satires, comic stories and fables were the characteristic productions of these times. Hans Sachs (1494-1576), the most distinguished of the Mastersingers of the sixteenth century, excelled in that kind of poetry as well as in all other styles of composition, and following his business as shoemaker, he made verses with equal assiduity. He employed his pen chiefly in writing innumerable tales and fables containing common morality for common people. In one of these he represents the Apostle St. Peter as being greatly perplexed by the disorder and injustice prevailing in the world. Peter longs to have the reins of government in his own hand, and believes that he could soon reduce the world to order. While he is thinking thus, a peasant girl comes to him and complains that she has to do a day's work in the field, and at the same time to keep within bounds a frolicsome young goat. Peter kindly takes the goat into custody, but it escapes into the wood, and the apostle is so much fatigued by his efforts to recover the animal that he is led to this conclusion: "If I am not competent to keep even one young goat in my care, it cannot be my proper business to perplex myself about the management of the whole world."
The best lyrical poetry was devoted to the service of the church. Its merit consists in its simple, energetic language. Hymns were the favorite literature of the people; they were the cradle songs which lulled the children to sleep, they were sung by mechanics and maid-servants engaged in their work; and they were heard in the streets and market-places instead of ballads. Luther, who loved music and psalmody, encouraged the people to take a more prominent part in public worship, and wrote for them several German hymns and psalms.
The belief in demonology and witchcraft, which was universally diffused through Europe in the Middle Ages, raged in Germany with fearful intensity and fury. While in other countries persecution was limited to the old, the ugly, and the poor, here neither rank nor age offered any exemption from suspicion and torture. While this persecution was at its height, from 1580 to 1680, more than one hundred thousand individuals, mostly women, were consigned to the flames, or otherwise sacrificed to this blood-thirsty insanity. Luther himself was a devout believer in witchcraft, and in the bodily presence of the Spirit of Evil upon the earth; all his harassing doubts and mental struggles he ascribes to his visible agency. Germany, indeed, seemed to live and breathe in an atmosphere of mysticism.
Among the mystic philosophers and speculators on natural history and the occult sciences who flourished in this period are Paracelsus (1493-1546), and Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1539). Camerarius was distinguished in the classics and philosophy; Gesner in botany, zoölogy, and the classics; Fuchs in botany and medicine; and Agricola in mineralogy.
Among the legends of the period, that of Faust, or Dr. Faustus, has obtained the most lasting popularity. There are good reasons for believing that the hero of this tale was a real personage, who lived in Suabia in the early part of the sixteenth century. He is frequently mentioned as a well-known character who gained his celebrity by the profession of magic. In the "History of Dr. Faustus," first published 1587, he is represented as a magician, who gained by unlawful arts a mastery over nature. The legend rapidly spread; It was versified by the English dramatist Marlowe, it became the foundation of innumerable tales and dramas, until, transformed by the genius of Goethe, it has acquired a prominent place in German literature.
At the conclusion of the sixteenth century, owing to the disturbed state of religious, social, and political life, and to the fact that the best minds of the age were occupied in Latin writings on theology, while a few, devoted to quiet study, cultivated only the classics, the hopes which had been raised of a national poetry and literature were blighted, and a scholastic and polemical theology continued to prevail. The native tongue was again neglected for the Latin; the national poems were translated into Latin to induce the learned to read them; native poets composed their verses in Latin, and all lectures at the universities were delivered in that tongue. The work of Luther was undone: ambitious princes and quarrelsome divines continued the rulers of Germany, and everything seemed drifting back into the Middle Ages. Then came the Thirty Years' War (1618- 1648), with all its disastrous consequences. At the close of that war the public mind was somewhat awakened, literary societies were organized, and literature was fostered; but the nation was so completely demoralized that it hardly cared for the liberty sanctioned by the treaty of Westphalia, or for the efforts of a few princes and scholars to better its intellectual condition. The population of Germany was reduced by one half; thousands of villages and towns had been burnt to the ground; the schools, the churches, the universities, were deserted; and a whole generation had grown up during the war, particularly among the lower classes, with no education at all. The once wealthy merchants were reduced to small traders. The Hanse League was broken up; commerce was suspended, and intellectual activity paralyzed. Where any national feeling was left, it was a feeling of shame and despair.
3. THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.—During the seventeenth century the German language was regarded by comparatively few writers as a fit vehicle for polite literature, and was reserved almost exclusively for satires, novels, and religious discourses.
Opitz (1597-1639) attempted to introduce the use of his native tongue, and, in a work on German poetry, explained the laws of poetic composition and the mechanism of versification.
Several scholars at length directed their attention to the grammar of the language, which, through their influence, now began to be used in the treatment of scientific subjects. Meantime great mathematical and physical discoveries were made through the Academy of Berlin, which was founded under the auspices of Leibnitz, and scientific and literary associations were everywhere established. Books became a vast branch of commerce and great philologists and archaeologists devoted themselves to the study of classical antiquity. Puffendorf expounded his theories of political history, Kepler, of astronomy, Arnold, of ecclesiastical history; and Leibnitz laid a basis for the scientific study of philosophy in Germany. Wolf shaped the views of Leibnitz into a comprehensive system, and popularized them by publishing his works in the German language. Thomasius, the able jurist and pietistic philosopher, was the first, in 1688, to substitute in the universities the German for the Latin language as the medium of instruction.
Satirical novels form a prominent feature in the prose literature of the time, and took the place of the invectives and satires of the sixteenth century. No work of fiction, however, produced such an excitement as the translation of Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." Soon after its publication more than forty imitations appeared.
During this century the Mastersingers went on composing, according to the rules of their guilds, but we look in vain for the raciness and simplicity of Hans Sachs. Some poets wrote plays in the style of Terence, or after English models; and fables in the style of Phaedrus became fashionable. But there was no trace anywhere of originality, truth, taste, or feeling, except in sacred poetry. Paul Gerhard (1606-1696) is yet without an equal in his sacred songs; many of the best hymns which are still heard in the churches of Germany date from the age of this poet. Soon, however, even this class of poetry degenerated on one side into dry theological phraseology, on the other into sentimental affectation.
This century saw the rise and the fall of the first and the second Silesian schools. The first is represented by Opitz (1597-1639), Paul Flemming, a writer of hymns (1609-1640), and a number of less gifted poets. Its character is pseudo-classical. All these poets endeavored to write correctly, sedately, and eloquently. Some of them aimed at a certain simplicity and sincerity, particularly Flemming. But it would be difficult to find in all their writings one single thought or expression that had not been used before; although the works of Opitz and of his followers were marked by a servile imitation of French and Dutch poets, they exerted an influence on the literary taste of their country, enriched the German language with new words and phrases, and established the rules of prosody.
The second Silesian school is represented by Hoffmanswaldan (1618-1679) and Lohenstein (1635-1683), who undertook to introduce into the German poetry the bad taste of Marini which at that time so corrupted the literature of Italy. Their compositions are bombastic and full of metaphors,—the poetry of adjectives, without substance, truth, or taste.
Dramatic writing rose little above the level of the first period, The Mysteries and Moralities still continued popular, and some of them were altered to suit the new doctrines. Opitz wrote some operas in imitation of the Italian, and Gryphius acquired popularity by his translations from Marini and his introduction of the pastoral drama. The theatrical productions of Lohenstein, characterized by pedantry and bad taste, together with the multitude of others belonging to this age, are curious instances of the folly and degradation to which the stage may be reduced.