PERIOD THIRD.
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT TIME (1700-1885.)
1. THE SAXONIC AND SWISS SCHOOLS.—In contrast to the barrenness of the last period, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries present us with a brilliant constellation of writers in every department of letters, whose works form an era in the intellectual development of Germany unsurpassed in many respects by any other in the history of literature. Gottsched and Bodmer each succeeded in establishing schools of poetry which exerted great influence on the literary taste of the country. Gottsched (1700- 1766), the founder of the Saxonic school, exercised the same dictatorship as a poet and critic which Opitz had exercised at the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was the advocate and copyist of French models in art and poetry, and he used his widespread influence in favor of the correct and so-called classical style. After having rendered good service in putting down the senseless extravagance of the school of Lohenstein, he became himself a pedantic and arrogant critic; then followed a long literary warfare between him and Bodmer (1698-1783), the founder of the Swiss school. Gottsched and his followers at Leipsic defended the French and insisted on classical forms and traditional rules; Bodmer and his friends in Switzerland defended the English style, and insisted on natural sentiment and spontaneous expression. A paper war was carried on in their respective journals, which at length ended favorably to the Swiss or Bodmer's school, which, although the smaller party, obtained a splendid victory over its antagonist.
Many of the followers of Gottsched, disgusted with his pedantry, finally separated themselves from him and formed a new poetical union, called the Second Saxonic School. They established at the same time a periodical, which was at once the channel of their communications and the point around which they centred. The principal representatives of this school were Rabener (1714-1771), very popular for the cheerful strain of wit that runs through his satires, and for the correctness of his language and style; Gellert (1715-1769), whose "Fables" contain great moral truth enlivened by vivid pictures of life, full of sprightliness and humor, and expressed in a style of extraordinary ease and clearness; Kästner (1719-1800), a celebrated and acute mathematician, and the author of many epigrams, elegies, odes, and songs; John Elias Schlegel (1718-1749), distinguished for his dramatic compositions; and Zachariae (1726-1777), endowed with a poetical and witty invention, which he displayed in his comic epopees and descriptive poems.
The following two poets were the most celebrated of them all: Hagedorn (1708-1754), whose fables and poems are remarkable for their fancy and wit; and Haller (1708-1777), who acquired an enduring fame as a poet, anatomist, physiologist, botanist, and scholar. Of inferior powers, but yet of great popularity, were: Gleim (1719-1803), upon whom the Germans bestowed the title of "father," which shows at once how high he ranked among the poets of his time; Kleist (1715-1759), whose poems are characterized by pleasant portraitures, harmonious numbers, great ease, and richness of thought, conciseness of expression, and a noble morality; Ramler (1725-1798), who has been styled the German Horace, from his odes in praise of Frederic the Great; Nicolai (1733-1811), who acquired considerable fame, both for the promotion of literature and for the correction of German taste particularly, through his critical reviews; and Gessner (1730-1787), who gained a great reputation for his "Idyls," which are distinguished by freshness of thought and grace and eloquence of style.
2. KLOPSTOCK, LESSING, WIELAND, AND HERDER.—Klopstock (1724-1803), inspired by the purest enthusiasm for Christianity, and by an exalted love for his fatherland, expressed his thoughts and feelings in eloquent but somewhat mystic strains. He was hailed as the herald of a new school of sacred and national literature, and his "Messiah" announced him in some respects as the rival of Milton. In comparing the Messiah with the "Paradise Lost," Herder says: "Milton's poem Is a building resting on mighty pillars; Klopstock's, a magic picture hovering between heaven and earth, amid the tenderest emotions and the most moving scenes of human nature."
Lessing (1729-1781) produced a reformation in German literature second only to that effected by Luther in theology. He was equally eminent as a dramatist, critic, and philosopher. His principal dramatic productions are "Emilie Galotti" and "Nathan the Wise." As a critic he demanded creative imagination from all who would claim the title of poet, and spared neither friends nor foes in his efforts to maintain a high standard of literary excellence. The writings of Lessing exerted a commanding influence on the best minds of Germany in almost all departments of thought. They mark, and in a great measure produced, the important change in the tone of German literature, from the national and Christian character of Klopstock to the cosmopolitan character which prevails in the writings of Goethe and Schiller.
Wieland (1733-1813) was, in his youth, the friend of Klopstock, and would tolerate nothing but religious poetry; but he suddenly turned to the opposite extreme, and began to write epicurean romances as vehicles of his new views of human life and happiness. Among his tales are "Agathon," "Musarion," and "Aristippus," which last is considered his best work. In all these writings his purpose was to represent pleasure or utility as the only criterion of truth. Although there is much in his prose writings to subject him to severe censure, he maintains his place in the literature of his native country as one of its most gay, witty, and graceful poets. His "Oberon" is one of the most charming and attractive poems of modern times.
Herder (1741-1803) was deeply versed in almost all branches of study, and exercised great influence, not only as a poet, but as a theologian, philosopher, critic, and philologist. He studied philosophy under Kant, and, after filling the offices of teacher and clergyman, he was invited to join the circle of poets and other literary men at Weimar, under the patronage of the Grand Duke Karl August. Here he produced a series of works on various subjects, all marked by a kindly and noble spirit of humanity. Among them are a treatise "On the Origin of Language," an essay on "Hebrew Poetry," and a work entitled "Ideas for the Philosophy of Humanity," besides poetical and critical writings. In his collection of popular ballads from various nations he showed his power of appreciating the various national tomes of poetry.
The most noble feature in Herder's character was his constant striving for the highest interests of mankind. He did not employ literature as the means of satisfying personal ambition, and the melancholy of his last days arose from his lofty and unfulfilled aspirations.