His friend Richter said of him: "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 of the gods."
3. GOETHE AND SCHILLER.—The close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, the age of Herder, Goethe, and Schiller, was one of remarkable intellectual excitement, and it has produced a literature richer, more voluminous, and more important than that of all preceding periods taken collectively.
The time extending between 1150 and 1300 has been styled the First Classic Period, and that we are now entering upon is regarded as the second. These two epochs resemble each other not only in their productiveness, but in the failure of both to maintain a distinct national school of poetry. In the thirteenth century the national epic appeared, but was soon neglected for the foreign legends and sentimental verses of the romancists and minnesingers. In the eighteenth century, when Lessing had made a path for original genius by clearing away French pedantry and affectation, there appeared some hope of a revival of true national literature. But Herder directed the literary enthusiasm of his time towards foreign poetry and universal studies, and a cosmopolitan rather than a national style has been the result; although for thoughtfuless and sincerity, and for the number of important ideas which it has brought into circulation, modern German literature may justly claim the highest honor.
Goethe (1749-1832) was a man of universal genius; he was born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, and of his boyhood he gives a pleasant account in his work entitled "Poetry and Truth." In 1773 the appearance of his "Götz von Berlichingen," a drama founded upon the autobiography of that national and popular hero, was regarded as the commencement of an entirely new period in German dramatic literature. It was followed, in 1774, by the sentimental novel, "The Sorrows of Werther," in which Goethe gave expression to the morbid sentiments of many of his contemporaries. The Grand Duke of Weimar invited him to his court, where he was elevated to an honorable position. Here he produced his dramatic poems, "Iphigenia," "Egmont," "Tasso," and "Faust," besides many occasional poems and other works, and continued writing until his eighty-second year, while he varied his literary life with the pleasures of society.
As a poet, Goethe is chiefly known by his dramas, "Faust," "Tasso," and "Egmont;" his lyrical and occasional poems, and his domestic epic, entitled "Herman and Dorothea." The first part of "Faust" is the poem by which the fame of this author has been most widely extended. Though incomplete, it is remarkably original, and suggests important reflections on human character and destiny. The narrative is partly founded on the old legend of Faust, the magician. We are introduced to the hero at the moment when he despairs of arriving at any valuable result, after years of abstruse study, and is about to put the cup of poison to his lips. The church bells of Easter Sunday recall to his mind the scenes of his innocent childhood, and he puts aside the cup and resolves to commence a new career of life. At this moment, his evil genius, Mephistopheles, appears, and persuades him to abandon philosophy and to enjoy the pleasures of the world. Faust yields to his advice, and after many adventures ends his career in crime and in misery. Many parts of the poem are written in a mystical vein, and intimate rather than express the various reflections to be deduced from it. The second part of "Faust" is remarkable for its varied and harmonious versification.
Goethe was a voluminous writer, and much devoted to the fine arts and the natural sciences, as is attested by his remarkable work on the theory of colors. He extended his wide sympathies over almost every department of literature.
The great merit of Goethe lies not so much in his separate productions, as in the philosophy of life and individual development which pervades his works, all of which, from "Faust," his greatest achievement, to his songs, elegies, and shorter poems, have the same peculiar character, and are tinged with the same profound reflections. The service he rendered to the German language was immense. The clearness and simplicity of his prose style make the best model for the imitation of his countrymen. During his lifetime, professors of various universities lectured on his works, and other authors wrote commentaries on his productions, while his genius has been amply recognized in foreign countries, especially within the last thirty years.
Schiller (1759-1805) was born at Marbach, a town of Wurtemberg. At the age of fourteen he was admitted to the military academy at Stuttgart, where, in spite of its dull routine, he secretly educated himself as a poet. At the age of twenty-two, he gave to the world his tragedy of the "Robbers" (composed when he was only seventeen), in which his own wild longings for intellectual liberty found a turbulent and exaggerated expression. The public received it with great enthusiasm, as the production of a vigorous and revolutionary genius, and Schiller soon after escaped from the academy to try his fortune as a theatrical author. Accompanied by a young musician, with only twenty-three florins in his pocket, he set out for Manheim, on the night when the Grand Duke Paul of Russia paid a visit to Stuttgart, and all the people were too full of the excitement of the royal preparations and illuminations to observe the departure of the young poet. The good citizens did not dream that an obscure youth was leaving the city gate, of whom they would one day be far more proud than of the glittering visit of the Grand Duke. Yet the royal entrance is only now remembered because on that night young Schiller ran away; and the people of Stuttgart, when they would show a stranger their objects of interest, point first of all to the statue of Friedrich Schiller.
After many adventures, Schiller was appointed poet to the theatre at Manheim. At a later period he was made Professor of History at the University of Jena, a position for which his genius eminently fitted him, and every prospect of happiness opened before him. But his health soon failed, and, after a short illness, he expired at the early age of forty- five.
The principal works of Schiller are the dramas of "Wallenstein", "Marie Stuart", "The Maid of Orleans", "The Bride of Messina", and the celebrated ode called the "Song of the Bell". Besides these, he wrote many ballads, didactic poems, and lyrical pieces. The "Song of the Bell" stands alone as a successful attempt to unite poetry with the interests of daily life and industry. In his lyrical ballads and romances, Schiller rises above the didactic and descriptive style, and is inspired with noble purposes. The "Cranes of Ibycus" and the "Fight with the Dragon" may be mentioned as instances. Schiller was so interesting as a man, a philosopher, a historian, and critic, as well as poet, that, as Carlyle observes, in the general praise of his labors, his particular merits have been overlooked. His aspirations in literature were noble and benevolent. He regarded poetry especially as something other than a trivial amusement,—as the companion and cherisher of the best hopes and affections that can be developed in human life.