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Title: The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany
Author: Remy, Arthur F. J., 1871-1954
Language: English
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Transcriber's Note: There are many diacritical marks in this text,
in addition to Greek, Persian and Arabic characters. Many common fonts
should display these more or less correctly, including Times New
Roman, Arial, and Courier New.
Unusual characters that may not display correctly, depending on your
font or software, include H̱ (H with a line underneath), ṛ (r with a
dot underneath), ṇ (n with a dot underneath), ḍ (d with a dot
underneath), and all of the Persian and Arabic characters.
THE INFLUENCE
OF
INDIA AND PERSIA
ON THE
POETRY OF GERMANY
BY
ARTHUR F.J. REMY, A.M., Ph.D.
SOMETIME FELLOW IN COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Copyright 1901, Columbia University Press,
New York
Manufactured in the United States of America
TO
Prof. William H. Carpenter, Ph.D.
Prof. Calvin Thomas, A.M.
Prof. A.V. Williams Jackson, L.H.D., Ph.D.
OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
IN GRATITUDE
PREFACE.
The Oriental movement which manifested itself so strikingly in German
literature during the nineteenth century is familiar to every student of
that literature. Although the general nature of this movement is pretty
clearly understood, no systematic investigation of it, so far as I know,
has ever been undertaken. In the following pages an attempt is made to
trace the influence which the Indo-Iranian East--the Semitic part is not
considered--exerted on German poetry. The work does not claim to be
exhaustive in the sense that it gives a list of all the poets that ever
came under that influence. Nor does it pretend to be anything like a
complete catalogue of the sources whence the poets derived their
material. The performance of such a task would have required far more
time and space than were at my disposal. A selection was absolutely
necessary. It is hoped that the material presented in the case of each
poet is sufficient to give a clear idea of the extent to which he was
subject to Oriental influence, as well as of the part that he took in
the movement under discussion.
It is my pleasant duty to acknowledge the obligations under which I am
to various scholars. In the first place, my sincere thanks are due to
Professor Jackson, at whose suggestion this investigation was undertaken
and whose encouragement and advice have never been wanting. I am also
indebted for helpful suggestions to Professors Carpenter and Thomas of
the Germanic department, who kindly volunteered to read the
proof-sheets. Furthermore, I wish to thank Mr. Yohannan for assistance
rendered in connection with the transliteration of some of the
lithographic editions of Persian authors. And, finally, I am indebted to
the kindness of Dr. Gray for the use of several rare volumes which
otherwise would have been inaccessible to me.
Arthur F.J. Remy.
New York, May 1, 1901.
List of Works most frequently consulted.
Bahāristān. The Bahāristān by Jāmī. Printed by the Kama Shastra Society
for Private Subscribers only. Benares, 1887.
Bhartṛhari. Śatakatrayam, 2d ed. Nirṇaya Sāgara Press. Bombay, 1891.
Quotations are from this edition.
Bodenstedt, Friedr. Martin. Gesammelte Schriften. 12 Bde. Berlin, 1865.
Tausend und ein Tag im Orient in vols. i and ii.
References to Mirza Schaffy songs are based on this edition.
Firdausī. See Shāh Nāmah.
Goethe's Werke. 36 Bde. Berlin (Hempel), 1879.
Quotations are from this edition.
Grundriss der iranischen Philologie. Hrsg. von W. Geiger und E. Kuhn.
Strassburg, 1896 ----.
Gulistān. The Gulistān of Shaiḵẖ Muṣlihu'd dīn Saʻdī of Shīrāz, ed. John
Platts. 2d ed. London, 1874.
Quotations are from this edition.
---- or Rose garden. Printed by the Kama Shastra Society for Private
Subscribers only. Benares, 1888.
H̱āfiḍ. Die Lieder des Hafis. Persisch mit dem Commentare des Sudi hrsg.
von Herm. Brockhaus. Leipzig, 1863.
Quotations are from this edition.
Hammer, Jos. von. Geschichte der schönen Redekünşte Persiens, mit einer
Blüthenlese aus zweyhundert persischen Dichtern. Wien, 1818.
Heine. Heinrich Heines sämtliche Werke in 12 Bden. Stuttgart (Cotta),
s. a.
Herder. Sämmtliche Werke, ed. Bernhard Suphan. 32 Bde. Berlin, 1877.
Hitōpadēśa. The Hitōpades'a of Nārāyana Pandit, ed. Godabole and Parab.
3d ed. Nirṇ. Sāg. Press. Bombay, 1890.
Quotations are from this edition.
Jackson, A.V. Williams. Zoroaster, the Prophet of ancient Iran. New
York, 1899.
Mohl. See Shāh Nāmah.
Piper, Paul. Höfische Epik. 4 pts. KDNL. iv.
---- Spielmannsdichtung. 2 pts. KDNL. ii.
Platen. Platens sämtliche Werke. Stuttgart (Cotta), s. a.
References are based on this edition.
Rückert. Friedrich Rückert's gesammelte poetische Werke. 12 Bde. Fkft.
a. M., 1882.
References are based on this edition.
Schack, Ad. Friedr. Graf von. Gesammelte Werke. 3 Aufl. 10 Bde.
Stuttgart, 1897.
Shāh Nāmah. Firdusii Liber Regium qui inscribitur Shah Name, ed. Vullers
(et Landauer). Tom. 3. Lugd. 1877-1884.
---- Le Livre des Rois par Abou'l Kasim Firdousi, traduit et commenté
par Jules Mohl. 7 vols. Paris, 1876-1878.
Abbreviations.
BLVS. Bibliothek des Litterarischen Vereins in
Stuttgart. Tübingen.
Böhtl. Otto Böhtlingk, Indische Sprüche, St.
Petersburg, 1870-1873. 2 Aufl. 3 Bde.
Grdr. iran. Phil. Grundriss der iranischen Philologie.
Gul. Gulistān, ed. Platts.
H̱. H̱āfiḍ, ed. Brockhaus.
H.E. Höfische Epik, ed. Piper in KDNL.
JAOS. Journal American Oriental Society.
KDNL. Deutsche National-Litteratur, ed. Jos.
Kürschner. (Berlin) u. Stuttgart.
K.S. Translations of the Gulistān and Bahāristān,
printed for the Kama Shastra Society.
Red. Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens.
Sh. N. Shāh Nāmah.
ZDMG. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen
Gesellschaft.
CONTENTS.
Chapter I.
INTRODUCTION.
Page
Information of Mediæval Europe concerning India and
Persia--Travellers--India and Persia in Mediæval
German Poetry, 1
Chapter II.
FROM THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES TO THE TIME OF
SIR WILLIAM JONES.
Travels to India and Persia--Olearius and his Work--Progress
of Persian Studies--Roger--India's Language
and Literature remain unknown--Oriental
Influence in German Literature, 9
Chapter III.
HERDER.
Herder's Interest in the Orient--Fourth Collection of his
Zerstreute Blätter--His Didactic Tendency and
Predilection for Saʻdī, 16
Chapter IV.
GOETHE.
Enthusiasm for Śakuntalā--Der Gott und die Bajadere;
der Paria--Goethe's Aversion for Hindu Mythology--Origin
of the Divan--Oriental Character of the
Work--Inaugurates the Oriental Movement, 20
Chapter V.
SCHILLER.
Schiller's Interest in Śakuntalā--Turandot, 28
Chapter VI.
THE SCHLEGELS.
Friedrich Schlegel's Weisheit der Indier--Foundation of
Sanskrit Study in Germany, 30
Chapter VII.
PLATEN.
His Oriental Studies--Ghaselen--Their Persian
Character--Imitation of Persian Form--Translations, 32
Chapter VIII.
RÜCKERT.
His Oriental Studies--Introduces the Ghasele--Östliche
Rosen; Imitations of H̱āfiḍ--Erbauliches und
Beschauliches--Morgenländische Sagen und
Geschichten--Brahmanische Erzählungen--Die Weisheit des
Brahmanen--Other Oriental Poems, 38
Chapter IX.
HEINE.
Becomes Interested in India through Schlegel--Influence
of India's Literature on his Poetry--Interest in the
Persian Poets--Persian Influence on Heine--His
Attitude toward the Oriental Movement, 57
Chapter X.
BODENSTEDT.
Lieder des Mirza Schaffy--Are Original Poems--Nachlass--Aus
Morgenland und Abendland--Sakuntala,
a Narrative Poem, 64
Chapter XI.
THE MINOR ORIENTALIZING POETS.
Some less known Poets who attempted the Oriental
Manner, 72
Chapter XII.
VON SCHACK.
His Fame as Translator of Firdausī--Stimmen vom
Ganges--Sakuntala, compared with the Original in
the Mahābhārata--His Oriental Scholarship in his
Original Poems--Attitude towards Hafizian Singers, 74
Chapter XIII.
CONCLUSION.
Summary of Results Attained--Persian Tendency predominates
over Indic--Reason for this--Estimate of the Value
of the Oriental Movement in German Literature. 79
TRANSCRIPTION.
For the transcription of Sanskrit words the system of the _Zeitschrift
der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft_ has been followed; for that
of Persian words the system of the Grundriss der iranischen Philologie
has been adopted, with some variations however, e.g. ع is indicated by
ʻ. To be consistent, such familiar names as Hāfiz and Nizāmī appear as
H̱āfiḍ and Nidāmī; Omar Khayyām as ʻUmar Xayyām; and the word ghazal,
the German _Ghasele_, is written _γazal_.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Information of Mediæval Europe Concerning India and
Persia--Travellers--India and Persia in Mediæval German
Poetry.
The knowledge which mediæval Europe had of India and Persia was mostly
indirect, and, as might be expected, deficient both in correctness and
extent, resting, as it did, on the statements of classical and patristic
writers, on hearsay and on oral communication. In the accounts of the
classic writers, especially in those of Pliny, Strabo, Ptolemy, truth
and fiction were already strangely blended. Still more was this the case
with such compilers and encyclopædists as Solinus, Cassiodorus and
Isidorus of Sevilla, on whom the mediæval scholar depended largely for
information. All these writers, in so far as they speak of India, deal
almost entirely with its physical description, its cities and rivers,
its wealth of precious stones and metals, its spices and silks, and in
particular its marvels and wonders. Of its religion we hear but little,
and as to its literature we have only a few vague statements of
Arrian,[1] Aelian[2] and Dio Chrysostomus.[3] When the last mentioned
author tells us that the ancient Hindus sang in their own language the
poems of Homer, it shows that he had no idea of the fact that the great
Sanskrit epics, to which the passage undoubtedly alludes, were
independent poems. To him they appeared to be nothing more than versions
of Homer. Aelian makes a similar statement, but cautiously adds εἴ τι
χρὴ πιστεύειν τοις ὑπὲρ τούτων ἱστορουσιν. Philostratus represents the
Hindu sage Iarchas as well acquainted with the Homeric poems, but
nowhere does his hero Apollonius of Tyana show the slightest knowledge
of Sanskrit literature.[4]
Nor do the classic authors give us any more information about the
literature of Persia, though the Iranian religion received some
attention. Aristotle and Theopompus were more or less familiar with
Zoroastrian tenets,[5] and allusions to the prophet of ancient Iran are
not infrequent in classic writers. But their information concerning him
is very scanty and inaccurate. To them Zoroaster is simply the great
Magian, more renowned for his magic art than for his religious system.
Of the national Iranian legends, glimpses of which we catch in the
Avesta (esp. Yt. 19), and which must have existed long before the
Sassanian period and the time of Firdausī, the Greek and Roman authors
have recorded nothing.
* * * * *
But Europe was not limited to the classic and patristic writers for
information about the Orient. The points of contact between the Eastern
and Western world were numerous even before the Portuguese showed the
way to India. Alexandria was the seat of a lively commerce between the
Roman Empire and India during the first six centuries of the Christian
era; the Byzantine Empire was always in close relations, hostile or
friendly, with Persia; the Arabs had settled in Spain, Southern Italy
and Sicily; and the Mongols ruled for almost two centuries in Russia.
All these were factors in the transmission of Oriental influence.[6]
And, as far as Germany is concerned, we must remember that in the tenth
century, owing to the marriage of the emperor Otto II to the Greek
princess Theophano, the relations between the German and Byzantine
Empires were especially close. Furthermore the Hohenstaufen emperor,
Frederick II, it will be remembered, was a friend and patron of the
Saracens in Italy and Sicily, who in turn supported him loyally in his
struggle against the papacy. Above all, the crusades, which brought the
civilization of the West face to face with that of the East, were a
powerful factor in bringing Oriental influence into Europe. The effect
they had on the European mind is shown by the great number of French and
German poems which lay their scene of action in Eastern lands, or, as
will be shown presently, introduce persons and things from India and
Persia.[7]
Of course it is as a rule impossible to tell precisely how and when the
Oriental influence came into Europe, but that it did come is absolutely
certain. The transformation of the Buddha-legend into the Christian
legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, the migration of fables and stories, and
the introduction of the game of chess furnish the clearest proofs of
this.
* * * * *
But direct information about the East was also available. A number of
merchants and missionaries penetrated even as far as China, and have
left accounts of their travels. Such an account of India and Ceylon was
given as early as the sixth century by Cosmas, surnamed Indicopleustes.
The names of Benjamin of Tudela (about 1160 A.D.) and of Marco Polo
(1271-1295) are familiar to every student of historical geography. The
Mongol rulers during the period of their dominion over China were in
active communication with the popes and allowed Western missionaries
free access to their realm. A number of these missionaries also came to
India or Persia, for instance Giovanni de Montecorvino (1289-1293),[8]
Odorico da Pordenone (1316-1318),[9] Friar Jordanus (1321-1323, and
1330)[10] and Giovanni de Marignolli (1347).[11] In the fifteenth
century Henry III of Castile sent Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo as ambassador
to Timur, and towards the end of that century several Venetian
Ambassadors, Caterino Zeno (1472), Josaphat Barbaro (1473) and Ambrosio
Contarini (1473), were at the Persian Court in order to bring about
united action on the part of Venice and Persia against the Turks.[12]
These embassies attracted considerable attention in Europe, as is shown
by numerous pamphlets concerning them, published in several European
countries.[13] In this same century Nicolo de Conti travelled in India
and the account of his wanderings has been recorded by Poggio.[14]
As we see, most of these travellers are Italians. We know of but one
German, before the year 1500, who went further than the Holy Land, and
that is Johann Schildberger of Munich, whose book of travel was printed
in 1473. Taken prisoner while fighting in Turkish service against Timur
at Angora, he remained in the East from 1395 to 1417, and got as far as
Persia. His description of that country is very meagre; India, as he
expressly states,[15] he never visited, his statements about that land
being mostly plagiarized from Mandeville.[16]
These accounts, however, while they give valuable information concerning
the physical geography, the wealth, size, and wonderful things of the
countries they describe, have little or nothing to say about the
languages or literatures. All that Conti for instance has to say on this
important subject is contained in a single sentence: "Loquendi idiomata
sunt apud Indos plurima, atque inter se varia."[17]
In these accounts it was not so much truthfulness that appealed to the
public, as strangeness and fancifulness. Thus Marco Polo's narrative,
marvelous as it was, never became as popular as the spurious memoirs of
Mandeville, who in serving up his monstrosities ransacked almost every
author, classic or mediæval, on whom he could lay his hands.[18] In fact
a class of books arose which bore the significant name of _Mirabilia
Mundi_ and purported to treat of the whole world, and especially of
India. Such are, for instance, _Les Merveilles de l'Inde_ by Jean
Vauquelin, _Fenix de las maravillas del mondo_ by Raymundus Lullius, and
similar works by Nicolaus Donis, Arnaldus de Badeto and others.[19] But
the great store-house of Oriental marvels on which the mediæval poets
drew for material was the Alexander-romance of pseudo-Callisthenes, of
which there were a number of Latin versions, the most important being
the epitome made by Julius Valerius and the _Historia de Preliis_
written by the archpresbyter Leo in the tenth century. The character of
the Oriental lore offered in these writings is best shown by a cursory
examination of the work last mentioned.[20] There we are introduced to a
bewildering array of _mirabilia_, snakes, hippopotami, scorpions,
giant-lobsters, forest-men, bats, elephants, bearded women, dog-headed
people, griffins, white women with long hair and canine teeth,
fire-spouting birds, trees that grow and vanish in the course of a
single day, mountains of adamant, and finally sacred sun-trees and
moon-trees that possess the gift of prophecy. But beyond some vague
reference to asceticism not a trace of knowledge of Brahmanic life can
be found. While the Brahman King Didimus is well versed in Roman and
Greek mythology, he never mentions the name of any of his own gods. Of
real information concerning India there is almost nothing.
* * * * *
From what we have seen thus far we shall not expect in mediæval
literature conscious imitation or reproduction of works from Persian or
Sanskrit literature. Whatever influence these literatures exerted in
Europe was indirect. If a subject was transmitted from East to West it
was as a rule stripped of its Oriental names and characteristics, and
even its Oriental origin was often forgotten. This is the case with the
greater part of the fables and stories that can be traced to Eastern
sources and have found their way into such works as the _Gesta
Romanorum_, or the writings of Boccaccio, Straparola and Lafontaine.
Sometimes, however, the history of the origin is still remembered, as
for instance in the famous _Buch der Beispiele_, where the preface
begins thus: "Es ist von den alten wysen der geschlächt der welt dis
buoch des ersten jn yndischer sprauch gedicht und darnach in die
buochstaben der Persen verwandelt,...."[21]
Poems whose subjects are of Eastern origin are not frequent in the
German literature of the middle ages. The most striking example of such
a poem is the "Barlaam und Josaphat" of Rudolph von Ems (about 1225),
the story of which, as has been conclusively proved, is nothing more or
less than the legend of Buddha in Christian garb.[22] The well known
"Herzmaere" of the same author has likewise been shown to be of Indic
origin.[23] Then there is a poem of the fourteenth or fifteenth century
on the same subject as Rückert's parable of the man in the well, which
undoubtedly goes back to Buddhistic sources.[24] Besides these we
mention "Vrouwenzuht" (also called "von dem Zornbraten") by a poet
Sībote of the thirteenth century,[25] and Hans von Bühel's "Diocletianus
Leben" (about 1412), the well known story of the seven wise masters.[26]
* * * * *
The great interest which the East aroused in Europe, especially after
the period of the first crusades, is shown by the great number of poems
which have their scene of action in Oriental lands, especially in India
or Persia, or which introduce persons and things from those countries.
To indulge this fondness for Oriental scenery poets do not hesitate to
violate historical truth. Thus Charlemagne and his paladins are sent to
the Holy Land in the "Pèlerinage de Charlesmagne"[27] and in the poem
called the "Karl Meinet," a German compilation of various legends about
the Frankish hero.[28] Purely Germanic legends like those of
Ortnit-Wolfdietrich and King Rother were orientalized in much the same
manner.[29] As might be expected, it is in the court-epic and
minstrel-poetry (_Spielmannsdichtung_) where this Oriental tendency
manifests itself most markedly. A typical poem of this kind is "Herzog
Ernst." The hero, a purely German character, is made to go through a
series of marvelous adventures in the East some of which bear a
striking resemblance to those of Sindbad.[30] The later strophic version
(14th century) and the prose-version of the _Volksbuch_ (probably 15th
century) localize some of these adventures definitely in the _fernen
India_.[31] Probably under the influence of this story the author of the
incompleted "Reinfrit von Braunschweig" (about 1300) was induced to send
his hero into Persia, to meet with somewhat similar experiences.[32]
Heinrich von Neustadt likewise lays the scene of Apollonius' adventures
in the golden valley Crysia bordering on India.[33] In the continuation
of the Parzifal-story entitled "Der Jüngere Titurel," which was written
by Albrecht von Scharffenberg (about 1280), the Holy Grail is to be
removed from a sinful world and to be carried to the East to be given to
Feirefiz, half brother to Parzifal.[34] The meeting of Feirefiz with the
knights furnishes the poet an opportunity of bringing in a learned
disquisition on Prester John and his _drī India die wīten_, and finally
this mythical monarch offers his crown to Parzifal, who henceforth is
called _Priester Johanni_. In the poem of "Lohengrin", of unknown
authorship, the knight when about to depart declares he has come from
India where there is a house fairer than that at Montsalvatsch.[35]
Princes and princesses from India or Persia abound in the poems of the
court-writers and minstrels. Thus in "Solomon und Morolf" Salme is the
daughter of the King of _Endian_;[36] in Wolfram's "Willehalm" King
Alofel of Persia and King Gorhant from the _Ganjes_ figure in the battle
of Alischanz.[37] In Konrad von Würzburg's "Trojanischer Krieg" the
kings Panfilias of Persia and Achalmus of India are on the Trojan
side.[38] In the same poet's "Partenopier" the Sultan of Persia is the
hero's chief rival.[39] In "Der Jüngere Titurel" Gatschiloe, a princess
from India, becomes bearer of the Grail; similarly in a poem by Der
Pleiaere, Flordibel, who comes to the Knights of the Round Table to
learn courtly manners, reveals herself as a princess from India.[40]
According to a poem of the fourteenth century the father of St.
Christopher is king of Arabia and Persia.[41] Even the folk-epic
"Kudrun" knows of Hilde of India, Hagen's wife.[42]
Again, wonderful things from India are abundant in this class of poetry.
The magic lance which Wigalois receives, when he is about to do battle
with a fire-spitting dragon, is from that land.[43] So also is the magic
ring given to Reinfrit when he sets out on his crusade.[44] Wigamur's
bride Dulceflur wears woven gold from the castle Gramrimort in
India,[45] and in the "Nibelungen" Hagen and Dancwart, when going to the
Isenstein, wear precious stones from that land.[46]
To some poets India and Persia are a sort of Ultima Thule to denote the
furthest limits of the earth, as for instance, when in the "Rolandslied"
Ganelun complains that for the ambition of Roland even Persia is not too
far,[47] or, when in the "Willehalm" King Tybalt, whose daughter has
been carried off, lets his complaint ring out as far as India.[48]
Examples might be multiplied. But they would all prove the same thing.
India and Persia were magic names to conjure with; their languages and
literatures were a book with seven seals to mediæval Europe.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Indica, ch. 10.
[2] Var. Hist. xii. 48.
[3] De Homero, Oratio liii., ed. Dindorf, Lips. 1857, vol. ii. p. 165.
[4] Apollonii Vita, iii. 19 et passim.
[5] See Jackson, Zoroaster, p. 8.
[6] See Benfey, Pantschatantra, Vorrede, p. xxiv and note.
[7] See Gaston Paris, La Littérature Française au Moyen Age, Paris,
1888, p. 49 seq. A striking illustration of oral transmission is the
origin of the tradition about Prester John, for which see Cathay and the
Way thither, ed. Henry Yule, Lond. 1866, Hakluyt Soc. No. 36, 37, vol.
i. p. 174 and n. 1.
[8] Yule, op. cit. vol. i. pp. 165-167 and p. 197 seq.
[9] Ib. pp. 1-161; Latin text in appendix i of vol. ii.
[10] Mirabilia Descripta, ed. Henry Yule, London, 1863. Hakluyt Society,
No. 31.
[11] Yule, Cathay, vol. ii. pp. 311-381.
[12] For their accounts see the publications of the Hakluyt Society,
1859 and 1873. Nos. 26 and 49.
[13] See Paul Horn, Gesch. Irans in Islamitischer Zeit, in Grdr. iran.
Phil. II. p. 578 and note 4; also p. 579. See also Bibl. Asiat. et
Afric. par H. Ternaux-Compans, Paris, 1841, under the years 1508, 1512,
1514, 1515, 1516, 1535, 1543, 1579, 1583, etc.
[14] English tr. in R.H. Major, India in the Fifteenth Century, London,
1857. Hakluyt Society, No. 22.
[15] Hans Schiltbergers Reisebuch ed. Val. Langmantel (BLVS. vol. 172)
Tübingen, 1885, p. 79: "In der grossen India pin ich nicht gewesen...."
[16] Ibid. p. 164.
[17] Friedr. Kunstmann, Die Kenntnis Indiens im 15^ten Jahrhunderte,
München, 1863, p. 59; Major, op. cit. p. 31.
[18] See Albert Bovenschen, Quellen für die Reisebeschreibung des Joh.
v. Mandeville, Berl. 1888.
[19] See Grässe, J.G.Th., Lehrbuch einer allgem. Literärgesch., 9 vols.,
Dresd. u. Leipz. 1837-59, Vol. II. pt. 2, pp. 783-785.
[20] Latin text publ. by Oswald Zingerle as an appendix to Die Quellen
zum Alexander des Rudolf v. Ems in Weinhold Germ. Abhandl. Breslau.
1885, pt. iv.
[21] Das Buch der Beispiele der alten Weisen, ed. Wilh. Ludw. Holland,
Stuttg. 1860, BLVS. vol. 56.
[22] Piper, H.E. iii. pp. 562-632. Joseph Langen, Johannes von Damaskus,
Gotha, 1879, pp. 239-255, esp. p. 252, n. 1.
[23] Piper, H.E. iii. pp. 216-219.
[24] Vetter, Lehrhafte Litteratur des 14. u. 15. Jahrhunderts (KDNL.
vol. 12), I. pp. 496-499. For a bibliography of this poem see C. Beyer,
Nachgelassene Ged. Friedr. Rückert's, Wien, 1877, pp. 311-320. For a
translation of the version in the Mahābhārata see Boxberger, Rückert
Studien, p. 94 seq. A translation of a Buddhist sutta on the same
subject is given in Edm. Hardy, Indische Religionsgeschichte, Leipz.
1898, pp. 72, 73. Cf. also E. Kuhn, in Böhtlingks Festgruss, Stuttg.
1888, pp. 74, 75.
[25] Piper, H.E. iii. pp. 531, 532. See also Hagen, Gesammtabenteuer, i.
LXXXV and n. 2.
[26] Edited by Keller, Quedl. 1841. See art. by Goedeke in Orient und
Occident, iii. 2. pp. 385 seq.
[27] See edition by Koschwitz, in Altfranz. Bibl., vol. ii. p. 7 seq.,
and consult Gaston Paris, La Poésie du Moyen Age, Paris, 1887, p. 119
seq.
[28] See ed. Adelb. von Keller, Stuttg. 1858 (BLVS. vol. 45), pp. 507
seq. Cf. also Uhland's König Karls Meerfart.
[29] Jiriczek, Die deutsche Heldensage, Leipz. 1897, pp. 144, 153.
[30] On this see Karl Bartsch, Herzog Ernst, Wien, 1869, Einl. p. cliii.
[31] Bartsch, op. cit. p. 204 seq. and p. 279 seq.
[32] See ed. Bartsch, Tüb. 1871 (BLVS. vol. 108), ll. 16749 seq.
[33] Piper, H.E. iii. p. 389.
[34] Piper, H.E. ii. p. 530 seq.
[35] See ed. by Heinr. Rückert, Quedlinb. u. Leipz. 1858, l. 7141 seq.
p. 189.
[36] Piper, Spielmannsdichtung, I. p. 215. See also ed. by Hagen u.
Büsching in Ged. d. Mittel., Berl. 1808, i. l. 6.
[37] Piper, Wolfr. v. Eschenbach (KDNL, vol. 5), I. p. 214.
[38] See ed. v. Keller, Stuttg. 1858 (BLVS. vol. 44), ll. 24840, 24939,
pp. 296, 298.
[39] Piper, H.E. iii. pp. 299, 300.
[40] Piper, H.E. ii. p. 325.
[41] Piper, Die geistliche Dichtung des Mittelalters (KDNL. vol. 3), ii.
pp. 71, 72.
[42] See ed. Bartsch (KDNL. vol. 6), pp. 26, 27.
[43] Piper, H.E. ii. p. 222.
[44] See ed. Bartsch, l. 15067, p. 440.
[45] See ed. by Hagen in Ged. d. Mittel. i. p. 46, l. 4462 seq.
[46] Das Nibelungenlied, ed. Friedr. Zarncke, Leipz. 1894, p. 62, v. 3.
[47] Piper, Spielm., p. 30.
[48] Piper, Wolfr. v. Eschenbach, i. p. 208; cf. Dante's Paradiso, cant.
29, ll. 100-102.
CHAPTER II.
FROM THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES TO THE TIME OF SIR WILLIAM JONES.
Travels to India and Persia--Olearius and his Work--Progress
of Persian Studies--Roger--India's Language and Literature remain
unknown--Oriental Influence in German Literature.
Little can be said of Oriental influence on German poetry during the
next three centuries after the Great Age of Discovery, and in an
investigation like the one in hand, which confines itself to poetry
only, this chapter might perhaps be omitted. Nevertheless a brief
consideration of this influence on German literature in general during
this period forms an appropriate transition to the time when the
Oriental movement in Germany really began.
After the Portuguese had sailed around Africa, direct and uninterrupted
communication with the far East was established. Portuguese, Dutch,
French and English merchants appeared successively on the scene to get
their share of the rich India commerce. German merchants also made a
transitory effort. The firm of the Welsers in Augsburg sent two
representatives who accompanied the expedition of Francisco d' Almeida
in 1505 and that of Tristão da Cunha in the following year. But
conditions were not favorable and the attempt was not renewed.[49]
Travels to India and Persia now multiplied rapidly, and accounts of such
travels became very common; so common, in fact, that already in the
sixteenth century collections of them were made, the best known being
the _Novus Orbis_ of Grynaeus, and the works of Ramusio and Hakluyt.
Among the more famous travellers of the sixteenth century we may mention
Barthema, Federici, Barbosa, Fitch and van Linschoten for India, and the
brothers Shirley for Persia. In the seventeenth century we may cite the
names of della Valle, Baldaeus, Tavernier, Bernier and the German
Mandelslo for India, while those of Olearius and Chardin are most famous
in connection with Persia. And that books of travel were much read in
Germany is attested by the number of editions and translations which
appeared there. Thus among the earliest books printed there we have a
translation of Marco Polo (Nuremberg), 1477,[50] reprinted repeatedly,
e.g. at Augsburg, 1481, in the _Novus Orbis_, 1534 (Latin version), at
Basle, 1534 (German translation of the preceding), while Mandeville's
memoirs were so popular as to become finally a _Volksbuch_.[51]
The account of Olearius is of special interest to us. It gives an
excellent description of Persia, and above all it gives us valuable
information on the literature and language. Olearius is struck by the
similarity of many Persian words to corresponding words in German and
Latin, and hints at the kinship of these idioms, though, looking only at
the vocabulary and not at the structure, he supposes Persian to be
related to Arabic.[52] He tells us of the high esteem in which poetry
was held by the Persians, and notices that rhyme is an indispensable
requisite of their poetic art. He also mentions some of their leading
poets, among them Saʻdī, H̱āfiḍ, Firdausī and Niḍāmī.[53]
* * * * *
But what interests us most is the translation which he made of the
_Gulistān_, published in 1654, under the title of _Persianischer
Rosenthal_. True, it was not the first in point of time. As early as
1634 du Ryer had published at Paris an incomplete French version, and
shortly afterwards this version was translated into German by Johann
Friedrich Ochsenbach of Tübingen, but apparently without attracting much
notice.[54] In 1644, Levin Warner of Leyden had given the Persian text
and Latin version of a number of Saʻdī's maxims,[55] while Gentius had
published the whole text with a Latin translation at Amsterdam in 1651.
But it was the version of Olearius that really introduced the _Gulistān_
to Europe.
The edition of Olearius, from which we have cited, contains also a
translation of the _Būstān_, called _Der Persianische Baumgarten_, made,
however, not directly from the Persian, but from a Dutch version.
Besides this, the edition contains also the narratives of two other
travellers, Jürgen Andersen and Volquard Iversen, as well as an account
of Persia by the French missionary Sanson. Iversen, in speaking of the
Parsi religion, gives an essentially correct account of the Zoroastrian
hierarchy, of the supreme god and his seven servants, each presiding
over some special element, evidently an allusion to Ahura Mazda and his
six Amesha Spentas, with the possible addition of Sraosha.[56] Sanson
states that the _Gavres_ have kept up the old Persian language and that
it is entirely different from modern Persian,[57] a distinct recognition
of the existence of the Avestan language. The eighteenth century saw the
discovery of the _Avesta_ by Anquetil du Perron, and its close found men
like Jones, Revizky, de Sacy and Hammer busily engaged in spreading a
knowledge of Persian literature in Europe.
* * * * *
India, as far as its literature was concerned, did not fare so well. The
struggles of European nations for the mastery of that rich empire did
little towards promoting a knowledge of its religion or its language.
Nor were the efforts of missionaries very successful. Most of their
attention was devoted to the Dravidian idioms of Southern India, not to
Sanskrit. We have the authority of Friedrich Schlegel for the statement
that before his time there were but two Germans who were known to have
gained a knowledge of the sacred language, the missionary Heinrich Roth
and the Jesuit Hanxleben.[58] Even their work was not published and was
superseded by that of Jones, Colebrooke and others. Most valuable
information on Hindu religion was given by the Dutch preacher Abraham
Roger in his well known book _De Open-Deure tot het Verborgen
Heydendom_, published at Leyden in 1651, two years after the author's
death. This book also gave to the West the first specimen of Sanskrit
literature in the shape of a Dutch version of two hundred maxims of
Bhartṛhari, not a direct translation from the Sanskrit, but based on
oral communication imparted by a learned Brahman Padmanaba.[59] As a
rule the rendering is very faithful, sometimes even literal. The maxims
were translated into German by C. Arnold and were published at Nuremberg
in 1663.
This, however, ended the progress of Sanskrit literature in Europe for
the time being. Information came in very slowly. The _Lettres
Édifiantes_ of the Jesuits, and the accounts of travellers like Sonnerat
began to shed additional light on the religious customs of India, but
its sacred language remained a secret. In 1785, Herder wrote that what
Europe knew of Hindu literature was only late legends, that the Sanskrit
language as well as the genuine Vēda would probably for a long time
remain unknown.[60] Sir William Jones, however, had founded the Asiatic
Society a year before and the first step towards the discovery of
Sanskrit had really thus been taken.
But let us consider what bearing all this had on German poetry. In this
field the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were desperately dreary.
In the former century the leading thinkers of Germany were absorbed in
theological controversy, while in the next the Thirty Years' War
completely crushed the spirit of the nation. There is little poetry in
this period that calls for even passing notice in this investigation.
Paul Fleming, although he was with Olearius in Persia, has written
nothing that would interest us here. Andreas Gryphius took the subject
for his drama "Catharina von Georgien" (1657) from Persian history. It
is the story of the cruel execution of the Georgian queen by order of
Shāh ʻAbbās in 1624.[61] Nor is Oriental influence in the eighteenth
century more noticeable. Occasionally an Oriental touch is brought in.
Pfeffel makes his "Bramine" read a lesson to bigots; Matthias Claudius
in his well-known poem makes Herr Urian pay a visit to the Great Mogul;
Bürger, in his salacious story of the queen of Golkonde, transports the
lovers to India; Lessing, in "Minna von Barnhelm" (Act i. Sc. 12)
represents Werner as intending to take service with Prince Heraklius of
Persia, and he chooses an Oriental setting for his "Nathan der Weise."
* * * * *
In the prose writings of this period Oriental influence is much more
discernible. In the literature dealing with magic Zoroaster always
played a prominent part. The invention of the Cabala was commonly
ascribed to him.[62] European writers on the black art, as for instance
Bodinus, whose _De Magorum Dæmonomania_ was translated by Fischart
(Strassburg, 1591), repeat about Zoroaster all the fables found in
classical or patristic writers. So the Iranian sage figures prominently
also in the Faust-legend. He is the prince of magicians whose book Faust
studies so diligently that he is called a second Zoroastris.[63] This
book passes into the hands of Faust's pupil Christoph Wagner, who uses
it as diligently as his master.[64]
In all this folkbook-literature India is a mere name. Thus in the oldest
Faust-book of 1587 the sorcerer makes a journey in the air through
England, Spain, France, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, India, Africa and
Persia, and finally comes to _Morenland_.[65]
Of all the prose-writings, however, the novel, which began to flourish
luxuriously in the seventeenth century, showed the most marked tendency
to make use of Eastern scenery and episodes, and incidentally to exhibit
the author's erudition on everything Oriental. Thus Grimmelshausen
transports his hero Simplicissimus into Asia through the device of
Tartar captivity. Lohenstein, in his ultra-Teutonic romance of Arminius,
manages to introduce an Armenian princess and a prince from Pontus. The
latter, as we learn from the autobiography with which he favors us in
the fifth book, has been in India. He took with him a Brahman sage, who
burned himself on reaching Greece. Evidently Lohenstein had read
Arrian's description of the burning of Kalanos (Arrian vii. 2, 3). The
_Asiatische Banise_ of Heinrich Anselm von Ziegler-Kliphausen, perhaps
the most popular German novel of the seventeenth century, was based
directly on the accounts of travellers to Farther India, not on Greek or
Latin writings.[66] Other authors who indulged their predilection for
Oriental scenery were Buchholtz in his _Herkules und Valisca_ (1659),
Happel in _Der Asiatische Onogambo_ (Hamb. 1673), Bohse (Talander) in
_Die durchlauchtigste Alcestis aus Persien_ (Leipz. 1689) and
others.[67]
The most striking instance of the Oriental tendency is furnished by
Grimmelshausen's _Joseph_, first published probably in 1667.[68] Here we
meet the famous story of Yūsuf and Zalīχā as it is given in the _Qurān_
or in the poems of Firdausī and Jāmī. The well-known episode of the
ladies cutting their hands instead of the lemons in consequence of their
confusion at the sight of Joseph's beauty is here narrated at
length.[69] In the preface the author states explicitly that he has
drawn, not only from the Bible, but from Hebrew, Arabic and Persian
writings as well.[70] That he should have made use of Arabic material is
credible enough, for Dutch Orientalists like Golius and Erpenius had
made this accessible.[71] That he had some idea of Persian poetry is
shown by his allusions to the fondness of Orientals for handsome
boys.[72] On the other hand, what he says of Zoroaster in the _Musai_
can all be found in Latin and Greek writers.[73] Here we get the
biography of Joseph's chief servant in the form of an appendix to the
novel, and the author displays all the learning which fortunately his
good taste had excluded from the story itself. Of the Iranian tradition
concerning Zoroaster's death as given in the Pahlavī writings or the
_Shāh Nāmah_[74] Grimmelshausen knew absolutely nothing; nor can we find
the slightest evidence to substantiate his assertion that for the work
in question he drew from Persian or Arabic sources.
* * * * *
In the eighteenth century the Oriental tale was extremely popular in
France, and thence it spread to other countries. The translation of the
Thousand and One Nights by Galland (Paris, 1704-1712) and of the Persian
Tales by Pétis de La Croix called into being a host of similar French
productions, which in turn found their way into German literature. The
most fruitful writer in this genre was Simon Gueulette, the author of
_Soirées Bretonnes_ (1712) and _Mille et un quart d'heures_ (1715). The
latter contains the story of a prince who is punished for his
presumption by having two snakes grow from his shoulders. To appease
them they are fed on fresh human brain.[75] Of course, we recognize at
once the story of the tyrant Ẕaẖẖāk familiar from Firdausī. The material
for the _Soirées_ was drawn largely from Armeno's _Peregrinaggio_, which
purports to be a translation from the Persian, although no original is
known to scholars.[76] From these _Soirées_ Voltaire took the material
for his _Zadig_.[77] In most cases, however, all that was Oriental about
such stories was the name and the costume. So popular was the Oriental
costume that Montesquieu used it for satirizing the Parisians in his
_Lettres Persanes_ (1721). Through French influence the Oriental story
came to Germany, and so we get such works as August Gottlob Meissner's
tales of _Nushirvan_, _Massoud_, _Giaffar_, _Sadi_ and others,[78] or
Klinger's _Derwisch_. Wieland used the Eastern costume in his _Schach
Lolo_ (1778) and in his politico-didactic romance of the wise
Danischmende. This fondness for an Oriental atmosphere continues even
into the nineteenth century and may be seen in such works as Tieck's
_Abdallah_ and Hauff's _Karawane_. But this brings us to the time when
India and Persia were to give up their secrets, and when the influence
of their literature begins to be a factor in the literature of Europe.
FOOTNOTES:
[49] See Kunstmann, Die Fahrt der ersten Deutschen nach dem
portugiesischen Indien in Hist. pol. Blätter f. d. Kath. Deutschl.,
München, 1861, vol. 48, pp. 277-309.
[50] For title see Panzer, Annalen d. älteren deutsch. Litt., Nürnb.
1788.
[51] See Grässe, op. cit. ii. 2. pp. 773, 774.
[52] Des Welt-berühmten Adami Olearii colligirte und viel vermehrte
Reise-Beschreibungen etc., Hamb. 1696, chap. xxv.
[53] Ibid. chap. xxviii. p. 327 seq.
[54] Olearius, op. cit., Preface to the Rosenthal. Full title of
Ochsenbach's book in Buch der Beispiele, ed. Holland, p. 258, n. 1.
[55] Proverbiorum et Sententiarum Persicarum Centuria, Leyden, 1644. In
the preface the author says that he undertakes his work, "cum e genuinis
Persarum scriptis nihil hactenus in Latinam linguam sit translatum."
[56] Iversen in op. cit. chap. xi. p. 157 seq. Cf. Jackson, Die
iranische Religion in Grdr. iran. Ph. iii. pp. 633, 634, 636.
[57] Sanson in op. cit. pp. 48, 49.
[58] Fr. Schlegel, Weisheit der Indier, Heidelb. 1808, Vorrede, p. xi.
[59] See preface to op. cit.
[60] Ideen zur Phil. d. Gesch. der Menschheit, chap. iv. ed. Suphan,
vol. 13, p. 415.
[61] The story is given in Chardin's book, though this was not the
source. See Andreas Gryphius Trauerspiele, ed. Herm. Palm, BLVS. vol.
162, pp. 138, 139.
[62] See Zoroasters Telescop oder Schlüssel zur grossen divinatorischen
Kabbala der Magier in Das Kloster ed. J. Scheible, Stuttg. 1846, vol.
iii. p. 414 seq., esp. p. 439.
[63] Widmann's Faust in Das Kloster, vol. ii. p. 296; Der Christlich
Meynende, ibid. ii. p. 85.
[64] Christoph. Wagners Leben, ibid. vol. iii. p. 78.
[65] Ibid. ii. p. 1004.
[66] Ed. by Felix Bobertag, KDNL. vol. 37, Einl. p. 8.
[67] On this see Felix Bobertag, Gesch. des Romans und der ihm
verwandten Dichtungsgattungen in Deutschland, Bresl. 1876, vol. ii. 2.
pp. 110 seq., 140, 160.
[68] In Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus ed. Adalb. Keller, Stuttg.
1862 (BLVS. vol. 66), vol. iv. pp. 707 seq.
[69] Op. cit. pp. 759, 760.
[70] Ibid, p. 710; again p. 841.
[71] The Story of Joseph from the Qurān was published in Arabic with a
Latin version by Erpenius as early as 1617. See Zenker, Bibl. Orient.,
Leipz. 1846, vol. i. p. 169, No. 1380.
[72] Keller, op. cit. p. 742.
[73] See Jackson, Zoroaster, Appendix V (by Gray).
[74] See Jackson, Zoroaster, pp. 127-132.
[75] Rud. Fürst, Die Vorläufer der Modernen Novelle im achtzehnten
Jahrhundert, Halle a. S. 1897. p. 51.
[76] Some of the stories are undoubtedly Oriental in origin. The work
appeared at Venice, 1557, and was translated into German, in 1583, by
Johann Wetzel under the title Die Reise der Söhne Giaffers. Ed. by Herm.
Fischer and Joh. Bolte (BLVS, vol. 208), Tüb. 1895.
[77] Fürst, op. cit. p. 52. The name is derived from the Arabic صد يق
"speaker of the truth," as pointed out by Hammer in Red. p. 326. See
essay L'ange et l'hermite by Gaston Paris in La Poésie du Moyen Age,
Paris, 1887, p. 151.
[78] Fürst, op. cit. p. 154.
CHAPTER III.
HERDER.
Herder's Interest in the Orient--Fourth Collection of his
Zerstreute Blätter--His Didactic Tendency And Predilection For
Saʻdī.
The epoch-making work of the English Orientalists, and above all, of the
illustrious Sir William Jones, at the end of the eighteenth century not
only laid the foundation of Sanskrit scholarship in Europe, but also
gave the first direct impulse to the Oriental movement which in the
first half of the nineteenth century manifests itself so strikingly both
in English as well as in German literature, especially in the work of
the poets. In Germany this movement came just at the time when the idea
of a universal literature had taken hold of the minds of the leading
literary men, and so it was very natural that the pioneer and prophet of
this great idea should also be the first to introduce into German poetry
the new _west-östliche Richtung_.
Herder's theological studies turned his attention to the East at an
early age. As is well known, he always had a fervid admiration for the
Hebrew poets, but we have evidence to show, that, even before the year
1771, when Jones' _Traité sur la poésie orientale_ appeared, he had
widened the sphere of his Oriental studies and had become interested in
Saʻdī.[79] Rhymed paraphrases made by him of some stories from the
_Gulistān_ date from the period 1761-1764,[80] and, as occasional
references prove, Saʻdī continued to hold his attention until the
appearance, in 1792, of the fourth Collection of the _Zerstreute
Blätter_, which contains the bulk of Herder's translation from Persian
and Sanskrit literature, and which therefore will have to occupy our
attention.[81]
Of this collection the following are of interest to us: 1°. Four books
of translations, more or less free, of maxims from the _Gulistān_,
entitled _Blumen aus morgenländischen Dichtern gesammlet_. 2°.
Translations from the Sanskrit consisting of maxims from the
_Hitōpadēśa_ and from Bhartṛhari and passages from the _Bhagavadgītā_
under the name of _Gedanken einiger Bramanen_. 3°. A number of versions
from Persian, Sanskrit, Hebrew and Arabic poets given in the Suphan
edition as _Vermischte Stücke_.
The first three books of the _Blumen_ consist entirely of maxims from
the _Gulistān_, the versions of Gentius, or sometimes of Olearius, being
the basis, while the fourth book contains also poems from Rūmī, H̱āfiḍ
and others (some not Persian), taken mostly from Jones' well known
_Poeseos_.[82] For the _Gedanken_ our poet made use of Wilkins'
translation of the _Hitōpadēśa_ (1787) and of the _Bhagavadgītā_ (1785),
together with the German version of Bhartṛhari by Arnold from Roger's
Dutch rendering.
As Herder did not know either Sanskrit or Persian, his versions are
translations of translations, and it is not surprising if the sense of
the original is sometimes very much altered, especially when we consider
that the translations on which he depended were not always accurate.[83]
In most cases, however, the sense is fairly well preserved, sometimes
even with admirable fidelity, as in "Lob der Gottheit" (_Bl._ i. 1),
which is a version of passages from the introduction to the _Gulistān_.
No attention whatever is paid to the form of the originals. For the
selections from Saʻdī the distich which had been used for the versions
from the Greek anthology is the favorite form. Rhyme, which in Persian
poetry is an indispensable requisite, is never employed.
* * * * *
The moralizing tendency which characterizes all of Herder's work, and
which grew stronger as he advanced in years, rendered him indifferent
to the purely artistic side of poetry. He makes no effort in his
versions to bring out what is characteristically Oriental in the
original; on the contrary, he often destroys it. Thus his "Blume des
Paradieses" (_Bl._ iv. 7 = H̱. 548) is addressed to a girl instead of a
boy. The fourth couplet is accordingly altered to suit the sense, while
the last couplet, which according to the law governing the construction
of the Persian _γazal_ contained the name of the poet, is omitted. So
also in "Der heilige Wahnsinn" (_Verm._ 6 = _Gul._ v. 18, ed. Platts, p.
114) the characteristic Persian phrase
از دريچهء چشم مجنون بجمال ليلی بايستی مطالعه کردن
"It is necessary to survey Laīlā's beauty from the window of
Majnūn's eye"
appears simply as "O ... sieh mit meinen Augen an."
This exclusive interest in the purely didactic side induced Herder also
to remove the maxims from the stories which in the _Gulistān_ or
_Hitōpadēśa_ served as their setting. So they appear simply as general
sententious literature, whereas in the originals they are as a rule
introduced solely to illustrate or to emphasize some particular point of
the story. Then again a story may be considerably shortened, as in "Die
Lüge" (_Bl._ ii. 28 = _Gul._ i. 1), "Der heilige Wahnsinn" (see above).
To atone for such abridgment new lines embodying in most cases a general
moral reflection are frequently added. Thus both the pieces just cited
have such additions. In "Verschiedener Umgang" (_Ged._ 3 = Bhart.
_Nītiś._ 67; Böhtl. 6781) the first three lines are evidently
inspired by the last line of the Sanskrit proverb: _prāyēṇā
'dhamamadhyamōttamaguṇaḥ saṃsargatō jāyatē_ "in general the lowest, the
middle and the highest quality arise from association," but they are in
no sense a translation.
What we have given suffices to characterize Herder as a translator or
adapter of Oriental poetry. His Eastern studies have scarcely exerted
any influence on his original poems beyond inspiring some fervid lines
in praise of India and its dramatic art as exhibited in _Śakuntalā_,[84]
which had just then (1791) been translated by Forster into German from
the English version of Sir William Jones. Unlike his illustrious
contemporary Goethe he received from the East no impulse that stimulated
him to production. His one-sided preference for the purely didactic
element rendered him indifferent to the lyric beauty of H̱āfiḍ and
caused him to proclaim Saʻdī as the model most worthy of imitation.[85]
Yet it was H̱āfiḍ, the prince of Persian lyric poets, the singer of wine
and roses, who fired the soul of Germany's greatest poet and inspired
him to write the _Divan_, and thus H̱āfiḍ became the dominating
influence and the guiding star of the _west-östliche Richtung_ in German
poetry.
FOOTNOTES:
[79] See the edition by Meyer (KDNL. vol. 74) i. 1. pp. 164, 165.
[80] Given by Redlich in the edition by Suphan, vol. 26, p. 435 seq.
[81] We may state here that the work in question has been thoroughly
commented on by such scholars as Düntzer and Redlich, and their comments
may be found in the editions of Suphan and Meyer. The same has been done
for Goethe's Divan by Düntzer and Loeper. The former's notes are in his
Goethe-edition in the Kürschner-series, the latter's in the edition of
Hempel. In this investigation, therefore, the chapters on Herder and
Goethe are somewhat briefer than they otherwise would be, as further
details as to sources, etc., are easily accessible in the editions just
mentioned. In all cases, however, the Sanskrit or Persian originals of
the passages cited have been examined.
[82] Poeseos Asiaticae commentariorum libri vi, publ. at London, 1774.
Reprinted by Eichborn at Leipzig, 1777.
[83] Compare, for instance. Hit. couplet 43 = Böhtl. 3121 with the
rendering of Wilkins in Fables and Proverbs from the Sanskrit, London,
1888 (Morley's Univ. Lib.), pp. 41, 42. And then compare with Herder's
Zwecke des Lebens (Ged. 15).
[84] Indien, ed. Suphan, vol. 29, p. 665.
[85] "An Hafyz Gesängen haben wir fast genug; Sadi ist uns lehrreicher
gewesen." Adrastea vi. ed. Suphan, vol. 24, p. 356.
CHAPTER IV.
GOETHE.
Enthusiasm for Śakuntalā--Der Gott und die Bajadere; Der
Paria--Goethe's Aversion for Hindu Mythology--Origin of the
Divan--Oriental Character of the Work--Inaugurates the Oriental
Movement.
In _Wahrheit und Dichtung_ (B. xii. vol. xxii. p. 86) Goethe tells us
that he first became acquainted with Hindu fables through Dapper's book
of travel,[86] while pursuing his law studies at Wetzlar, in 1771. He
amused his circle of literary friends by relating stories of Rāma and
the monkey _Hanneman_ (i.e. Hanuman), who speedily won the favor of the
audience. The poet himself, however, could not get any lasting pleasure
from monstrosities; misshapen divinities shocked his aesthetic sense.
The first time that Goethe's attention was turned seriously to Eastern
literature was in 1791, when, through Herder's efforts, he made the
acquaintance of Kālidāsa's dramatic masterpiece _Śakuntalā_, which
inspired the well known epigram "Willst du die Blüte des frühen," etc.,
an extravagant eulogy rather than an appreciative criticism. That the
impression was not merely momentary is proved by the fact that five
years later the poet took the inspiration for his _Faust_ prologue from
Kālidāsa's work.[87] Otherwise it cannot be said that the then just
awakening Sanskrit studies exercised any considerable influence on his
poetic activity. For his two ballads dealing with Indic subjects, "Der
Gott und die Bajadere" and "Der Paria", the material was taken, not from
works of Sanskrit literature, but from a book of travel. The former poem
was completed in 1797, though the idea was taken as early as 1783 from
a German version of Sonnerat's travels, where the story is related
according to the account of Abraham Roger[88] in _De Open-Deure_. There
the account is as follows: "'t Is ghebeurt ... dat Dewendre, onder
Menschelijcke ghedaente, op eenen tijdt ghekomen is by een sekere Hoere,
de welcke hy heeft willen beproeven of sy oock ghetrouw was. Hy
accordeert met haer, ende gaf haer een goet Hoeren loon. Na den loon
onthaelde sy hem dien nacht heel wel, sonder dat sy haer tot slapen
begaf. Doch 't soude in dien nacht ghebeurt zijn dat Dewendre sich
geliet of hy stierf; ende storf soo sy meynde. De Hoere die wilde met
hem branden, haer Vrienden en konde het haer niet afraden; de welcke
haer voor-hielden dat het haer Man niet en was. Maer nadien dat sy haer
niet en liet gheseggen, soo lietse het yver toestellen om daer in te
springen. Op't uyterste ghekomen zijnde, ontwaeckte Dewendre, ende
seyde, dat hy hem hadde ghelaten doot te zijn, alleenlijck om te
ondervinden hare trouwe; ende hy seyde haer toe, tot een loon van hare
ghetrouwigheyt, dat sy met hem na Dewendrelocon (dat is een der platsen
der gelucksaligheyt) gaen soude. Ende ghelijck den Bramine seyde, ist
alsoo gheschiet."[89]
It will be seen that Goethe has changed the story considerably and for
the better. How infinitely nobler is his idea of uniting the maiden with
her divine lover on the flaming pyre from which both ascend to heaven!
It may also be observed that Goethe substitutes Mahādēva, i.e. Śiva, for
Dewendre[90] and assigns to him an incarnation, though such incarnations
are known only of Viṣṇu.
* * * * *
The "Paria," a trilogy consisting of "Gebet," "Legende" and "Dank des
Paria," was begun in 1816, but not finished until December, 1821. Even
then it was not quite complete. The appearance of Delavigne's _Le Paria_
and still more of Michael Beer's drama of the same name, spurred Goethe
to a final effort and the poem was published in October, 1823.
The direct source is the legend which Sonnerat tells of the origin of
the Paria-goddess Mariatale.[91] Indirectly, however, the sources are
found in Sanskrit literature. Two parts may be distinguished: The story
of the temptation and punishment, and the story of the interchange of
heads.[92] The former story is that of the ascetic Jamadagni and his
wife Rēṇukā, who was slain by her son Rāma at the command of the ascetic
himself, in punishment for her yielding to an impure desire on beholding
the prince Citraratha. Subsequently at the intercession of Rāma she is
again restored to life through Jamadagni's supernatural power. The story
is in _Mahābhārata_ iii. c. 116 seq.[93] and also in the _Bhāgavata
Purāṇa_, Bk. ix. c. 16,[94] though here the harshness of the original
version is somewhat softened.[95]
The second story is found in the _Vētālapañcaviṃs'ati_, being the sixth
of the "twenty-five tales of a corpse-demon," which are also found in
the twelfth book of the _Kathāsaritsāgara_.[96] It relates how
Madanasundarī, whose husband and brother-in-law had beheaded themselves
in honor of Durgā, is commanded by the goddess to restore the corpses to
life by joining to each its own head, and how by mistake she
interchanges these heads.
The two stories were fused into one and so we get the legend in the form
in which Sonnerat presents it. Goethe followed this form closely without
inventing anything. He did, however, put into the poem an ethical
content and a noble idea. Both the Indic ballads are a fervent plea for
the innate nobility of humanity.
* * * * *
Here the influence of India on Goethe's work ends. The progress of
Sanskrit studies could not fail to excite the interest of the poet whose
boast was his cosmopolitanism,[97] but they did not incite him to
production. For India's mythology, its religion and its abstrusest of
philosophies he felt nothing but aversion. Especially hateful to him
were the mythological monstrosities:
Und so will ich, ein für allemal,
Keine Bestien in dem Göttersaal!
Die leidigen Elephantenrüssel,
Das umgeschlungene Schlangengenüssel,
Tief Urschildkröt' im Weltensumpf,
Viel Königsköpf' auf einem Rumpf,
Die müssen uns zur Verzweiflung bringen,
Wird sie nicht reiner Ost verschlingen.[98]
Goethe classed Indic antiquities with those of Egypt and China, and his
attitude towards the question of their value is distinctly expressed in
one of his prose proverbs: "Chinesische, Indische, Aegyptische
Altertümer sind immer nur Curiositäten: es ist sehr wohl gethan, sich
und die Welt damit bekannt zu machen; zu sittlicher und aesthetischer
Bildung aber werden sie uns wenig fruchten."[99]
After all, Goethe's Orient did not extend beyond the Indus. It was
confined mainly to Persia and Arabia, with an occasional excursion into
Turkey.
To this Orient he turned at the time of Germany's deepest political
degradation, when the best part of its soil was overrun by a foreign
invader, and when the whole nation nerved itself for the life and death
struggle that was to break its chains. The aged poet shrank from the
tumult and strife about him and took refuge in the East. The opening
lines of the first Divan poem express the motive of this poetical
_Hegire_.
The history of the composition of the _Divan_ is too well known to
require repetition. It is given with great detail in the editions
prepared by von Loeper and Düntzer.[100] Suffice it to say that the
direct impulse to the composition of the work was the appearance, in
1812, of the first complete version of Persia's greatest lyric poet
H̱āfiḍ, by the famous Viennese Orientalist von Hammer. The bulk of the
poems were written between the years 1814 and 1819,[101] although in
the work as we now have it a number of poems are included which arose
later than 1819 and were added to the editions of 1827 and 1837.[102]
The idea of dividing the collection into books was suggested by the fact
that two of H̱āfiḍ's longer poems bear the titles مغنی نامه، ساقی نامه,
i.e. "book of the cup-bearer" and "book of the minstrel," as well as by
the seven-fold division which Sir William Jones had made of Oriental
poetry.[103] For the heroic there was no material, nor were some of the
other divisions suitable for Goethe's purpose. So only the _Buch der
Liebe_ and the _Buch des Unmuts_ (to correspond to satire) could be
formed. Other books were formed in an analogous manner until they were
twelve in number. The poet originally intended to make them of equal
length, but this intention he never carried out, and so they are of very
unequal extent, the longest being that of _Suleika_ (53 poems) and the
shortest those of Timur and of the Parsi (two poems each).
The great majority of the Divan-poems are not in any sense translations
or reproductions, but entirely original compositions inspired by the
poet's Oriental reading and study. The thoroughness and earnestness of
these studies is attested by the explanatory notes which were added to
the _Divan_ and were published with it in 1819,[104] and which show
conclusively, that, although Goethe could not read Persian poetry in the
original, he nevertheless succeeded admirably in entering into its
spirit.
We have mentioned Hammer's translation of H̱āfiḍ as the direct impulse
to the composition of the _Divan_. It was also the principal source from
which the poet drew his inspiration for the work. A single verse would
often furnish a theme for a poem. Sometimes this poem would be a
translation, e.g. "Eine Stelle suchte der Liebe Schmerz," p. 54 (H̱.
356. 8); but more often it was a very free paraphrase, e.g. the motto
prefixed to _Buch Hafis_, a variation of the motto to Hammer's version
(H̱. 222. 9). As an example of how a single verse is developed into an
original poem we may cite "Über meines Liebchens Äugeln," p. 55, where
the first stanza is a version of H̱. 221. 1, all the others being free
invention. Other Persian poets besides H̱āfiḍ also furnished material.
Thus the opening passage of Saʻdī's _Gulistān_ was used for "Im
Athemholen," p. 10, where the sense, however, is altered and the line
"So sonderbar ist das Leben gemischt" is added. A number of poems are
based on the _Pand Nāmah_ of ʻAṭṭār, e.g. pp. 58, 60,[105] and two are
taken from Firdausī, namely "Firdusi spricht," p. 75 (Sh. N. i. p. 62,
couplet 538; Mohl, i. 84; Fundgruben. ii. 64) and "Was machst du an der
Welt?" p. 96 (Sh. N. i. p. 482, coupl. 788, 789; _Red._ p. 58). But it
was not only the poetical works of Persia that were laid under
contribution; sayings, anecdotes, descriptions, remarks of any kind in
books of travel and the like were utilized as well. Thus Hammer in the
preface to his version of H̱āfiḍ relates the _fatvā_ or judgment which a
famous _muftī_ of Constantinople pronounced on the poems of the great
singer, and this gave Goethe the idea for his "Fetwa," p. 32.[106] In
the same preface[107] is related the well known reply which H̱āfiḍ is
reported to have given to Timur, when called to account by the latter
for the sentiment of the first couplet of the famous eighth ode, and
this inspired the poem "Hätt' ich irgend wol Bedenken," p. 133.
Similarly "Vom heutigen Tag," p. 94, is based on the words of an
inscription over a caravansery at Ispahan found in Chardin's book. The
story of Bahrāmgūr and Dilārām inventing rhyme[108] gave rise to the
poem "Behramgur, sagt man," p. 153. And so we might cite poems from
other sources, _Qurān_, Jones' _Poeseos_, Diez' _Buch des Kabus_, etc.,
but the examples we have given are sufficient to show how Goethe used
his material.
Throughout the _Divan_ Persian similes and metaphors are copiously
employed and help to create a genuine Oriental atmosphere. The adoration
of the dust on the path of the beloved, p. 23 (cf. H̱. 497. 10); the
image of the candle that is consumed by the flame as the lover is by
yearning, p. 54 (cf. H̱. 414. 4); the love of the nightingale for the
rose, p. 125 (cf. H̱. 318. 1); the lover captive in the maiden's
tresses, p. 46 (cf. H̱. 338. 1); the arrows of the eye lashes, p. 129
(cf. H̱. 173. 2); the verses strung together like pearls, p. 193 (cf.
H̱. 499. 11), are some of the peculiarly Persian metaphors that occur.
Allusions to the loves of Yūsuf and Zalīχā, of Laīlā and Majnūn and of
other Oriental couples are repeatedly brought in. Moreover, a whole book
is devoted to the _sāqī_ so familiar to students of H̱āfiḍ, and Goethe
does not shrink from alluding to the subject of boy-love, p. 181.
A great many of the poems, however, do not owe their inspiration to the
Orient, and many are completely unoriental. Such are, for instance,
those of the _Randsch Namah_, expressing, as they do, Goethe's opinions
on contemporary literary and aesthetic matters. Again, many are inspired
by personal experiences, and, as is now well known, the whole _Buch
Suleika_ owes its origin to the poet's love for Marianne von Willemer;
some of its finest poems have been proved to have been written by this
gifted lady. Such poems, written under the impressions of some actual
occurrence, were sometimes subsequently orientalized. Some striking
illustrations of this are given by Burdach in the essay which we cited
before and to which we refer.
As the _Divan_ was an original work, though inspired by Oriental
sources, Goethe did not feel the necessity of imitating the extremely
artificial forms of his Oriental models. Besides, he knew of these forms
only indirectly through the work of Jones. What Hammer's versions could
teach him on this point was certainly very little. Perhaps he did not
realize what an essential element form is in Persian poetry, that, in
fact, it generally predominates over the thought, and this so much that
the unity of a _γazal_ is entirely dependent on the recurrence of the
rhyme. Instead of such recurrent rhyme he employs changing rhyme and
free strophes. Only twice does he attempt anything like an imitation of
the _γazal_, but in neither case does he satisfy the technical rules of
this poetic form.[109]
From all this we see that Goethe in the _Divan_ preserves his poetic
independence. He remains a citizen of the West, though he chooses to
dwell for a time in the East. As a rule he takes from there only what he
finds congenial to his own nature. So we can understand his attitude
towards mysticism. He has no love for it; it was utterly incompatible
with his own habit of clear thinking. Speaking of Rūmī, the prince of
mystics, he doubts if this poet could give a clear account of his own
doctrine;[110] the grades by which, according to S̱ūfī-doctrine, man
rises to ultimate union with the Godhead he calls follies.[111]
Therefore to him H̱āfiḍ was the singer of real love, real roses and real
wine, and this conception of the great lyric poet was also adopted by
all the later Hafizian singers.[112] Unfortunately it cannot be said
that it is quite correct. For even if we ignore the mystical
interpretation which Oriental commentators give to the wine of H̱āfiḍ,
we cannot possibly ignore the fact that the love of which he sings is
never the ideal love for woman, but mostly the love for a handsome
boy.[113]
With the _Divan_ Goethe inaugurated the Oriental movement in German
poetry, which Rückert, Platen and Bodenstedt carried to its culmination.
These later Hafizian singers remembered gratefully what they owed the
sage of Weimar. Rückert pays his tribute to him in the opening poem of
his _Östliche Rosen_, where he hails him as lord of the East as he has
been the star of the West.[114] And Platen offers to him reverentially
his first _Ghaselen_:
Der Orient sei neu bewegt,
Soll nicht nach dir die Welt vernüchtern,
Du selbst, du hast's in uns erregt:
So nimm hier, was ein Jüngling schüchtern
In eines Greisen Hände legt.[115]
The poetic spirit of the Orient had been brought into German literature;
it was reserved for Rückert and Platen to complete the work by bringing
over also the poetic forms.
FOOTNOTES:
[86] Asia, Oder: Ausführliche Beschreibung, etc. See Benfey, Orient u.
Occident, i. p. 721, note.
[87] See Düntzer, Goethes Faust, Leipz. 1882, p. 68.
[88] This information is given by Düntzer in his Goethe ed. (KDNL. vol.
82), vol. i. p. 167, note. The French ed. of Sonnerat, Paris, 1783, does
not contain the story. The German version to which Düntzer refers has
not been accessible to me.
[89] Roger, De Open-Deure, Leyden, 1651, pp. 166, 167, chap. xi.
[90] It is to be noted that in Sanskrit literature _dēvēndra_ is an
epithet of Śiva as well as of Indra.
[91] Voyage aux Indes et à la Chine, Paris, 1782, i. 244 seq.
[92] See Benfey, Goethes Gedicht Legende und dessen indisches Vorbild in
Or. u. Occ. i. 719-732. Benfey erroneously supposes the material of the
poem to have been derived from Dapper.
[93] Bombay edition; cf. also Engl. trans. of Mahābh. ed. Roy, vol. iii.
p. 358 seq.
[94] Nirṇ. Sāg. Press ed. Bomb. 1898, p. 407 seq. Cf. also Engl. tr. in
Wealth of India ed. Dutt, Calc. 1895, pp. 62, 63.
[95] For other Sanskrit sources see Petersb. Lex. sub voce _rēnukā_.
[96] Nirṇ. Sāg. Press ed., Bombay, 1889, p. 481 seq. Cf. also Engl. tr.
by Tawney, vol. ii. p. 261 seq.
[97] See for instance his discussion of Śakuntalā, Gītagōvinda and
Mēghadūta in Indische Dichtung, written 1821. Vol. 29, p. 809.
[98] Vol. ii. p. 352.
[99] Sprüche in Prosa, vol. 19, p. 112.
[100] See also Konrad Burdach, Goethe's West-Östlicher Divan, Goethe
Jahrbuch, vol. xvii. Appendix.
[101] More than 200 poems out of 284 date from the years 1814, 1815
alone. Loeper in vol. vi. preface, p. xxviii.
[102] Loeper, ibid. p. xv.
[103] Poeseos, The Works of Sir William Jones, ed. Lord Teignmouth,
London, 1807, vol. vi. chapters 12-18.
[104] Based mainly on information contained in Hammer's Gesch. der
schönen Redekünste Persiens, Wien, 1818.
[105] Given in Fundgruben des Orients, Wien, 1809, vol. ii. pp. 222,
495, in the French translation of de Sacy.
[106] Op. cit. p. xxxiv.
[107] Ibid. pp. xvi, xvii.
[108] Red. p. 35; Pizzi, Storia della Poesia Persiana, Torino, 1894,
vol. i. p. 7. This story inspired also the scene between Helena and
Faust. Faust, Act iii. See Düntzer, Goethes Faust, Leipz., 1882, ii. p.
216.
[109] In tausend Formen, p. 169; Sie haben wegen der Trunkenheit, p.
178.
[110] Noten u. Abhandlungen, p. 260.
[111] Ibid. p. 264.
[112] That Goethe knew of the mystic interpretation to which H̱āfiḍ is
subjected by Oriental commentators is evident from "Offenbar Geheimnis,"
p. 38, and from the next poem "Wink," p. 39.
[113] See Paul Horn, Was verdanken wir Persien?, in Nord u. Süd, Sept.
1900, p. 389.
[114] Rückert's Werke, vol. v. 286.
[115] Platen, Werke, i. p. 255.
CHAPTER V.
SCHILLER.
Schiller's Interest in Śakuntalā--Turandot.
While the Orient, as we have seen, cast its spell over Germany's
greatest poet and inspired the lyric genius of his later years for one
of its most remarkable efforts, it remained practically without any
influence on his illustrious friend and brother-poet Schiller. If
Schiller had lived longer, it is not impossible that he too might have
contributed to the West-Eastern literature. As it is, however, he died
before the Oriental movement in Germany had really begun. At no time did
he feel any particular interest in the East. Once, indeed, he mentions
_Śakuntalā_. Goethe had drawn his attention to a German version of the
_Gītagōvinda_ and this reminded Schiller of the famous Hindu drama which
he read with the idea of possibly utilizing it for the theatre.[116]
This idea he abandons owing to the delicacy of the piece and its lack of
movement.
An attempt has been made to prove that to Kālidāsa's drama Schiller was
indebted for the motive of his "Alpenjäger," but it cannot be said to
have been successful.[117]
* * * * *
Though there was no direct Oriental influence on Schiller's poetry,
there is one dramatic poem of his which indirectly goes back to a
Persian source. It is _Turandot_. The direct source for this composition
was Gozzi's play of the same name in the translation of August Clemens
Werthes, which Schiller, however, used with such freedom that his own
play may be regarded as an original production rather than a version.
The Italian poet based his _fiaba_ on the story of Prince Kalaf in the
Persian tales of Pétis de La Croix.[118] Now, as has been pointed out
by scholars,[119] the name of the heroine, who gives the name to the
play, is genuinely Persian, _Tūrān-duχt_, "the daughter of Tūrān,"[120]
and although the scene is laid in China, most of the proper names, both
in Gozzi and Schiller, are not at all Chinese, but Persian or Arabic.
The oldest known model for the story is the fourth romance of Nidāmī's
_Haft Paīkar_, the story of Bahrāmgūr and the Russian princess, written
1197.[121] Whether Schiller was aware of the ultimate origin of the
legend or not, he certainly made no attempt to give Persian local color
to his piece, but on the contrary he studiously tried to impart to it a
Chinese atmosphere.[122] It is interesting nevertheless to notice that
when _Turandot_ was given at Hamburg (July 9 to Sept. 9, 1802) its real
provenence was recognized, and, accordingly Turandot was no longer the
princess of China, but that of Shīrāz, her father being transformed into
the Shāh of Persia and the doctors of the _dīvān_ into Oriental
Magi.[123] At Dresden the same thing happened, and here even Tartaglia
and Brigella, who had been allowed to retain their Italian names in
Hamburg, were made to assume the Oriental names of Babouk and Osmin. The
specifically Chinese riddles disappeared, and instead of Tien and Fohi,
Hormuz was now invoked.[124]
FOOTNOTES:
[116] A Letter dated from Weimar, Feb. 20, 1802. Briefwechsel zwischen
Schiller u. Goethe. Stuttg. (Cotta) s. A., vol. iv. p. 98.
[117] W. Sauer in Korrespondenzblatt f. d. Gelehrten u. Realschulen
Württembergs, XL. pp. 297-304. Against this view Ernst Müller in
Zeitschr. für vgl. Litteraturgesch., Neue Folge, viii. pp. 271-278.
[118] Les Mille et Un Jours, tr. Pétis de La Croix, ed.
Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, Paris, 1843, p. 69 seq.
[119] Hammer, Red. p. 116; Pizzi, Storia della Poesia Persiana, p. 429.
[120] Cf. name of Mihrāb's wife, Sīnduχt, Sh. N. tr. Mohl i. p. 192 et
passim; Pūrānduχt, daughter of Xusrau Parvīz, Mīrχvānd tr. Rehatsek,
vol. i. p. 403.
[121] See Ethé, Gesch. der pers. Litt. in Grdr. d. iran. Phil. ii. p
242.
[122] See Albert Köster's essay on Turandot in Schiller als Dramaturg,
Berl. 1891, p. 201.
[123] Köster, op. cit. p. 212.
[124] Ibid. p. 213.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SCHLEGELS.
Friedrich Schlegel's Weisheit der Indier--Foundation of
Sanskrit Study in Germany.
We have now come to the period of the foundation of Sanskrit philology
in Germany. English statesmanship had completed the material conquest of
India; German scholarship now began to join in the spiritual conquest of
that country. With this undertaking the names of Friedrich and August
Wilhelm Schlegel are prominently identified. The chief work of these
brothers lies in the field of philosophy, translation and criticism, and
is therefore beyond the scope of this investigation. Suffice it to say
that Friedrich's famous little book _Die Weisheit der Indier_, published
in 1808, besides marking the beginning of Sanskrit studies and
comparative grammar in Germany,[125] is also of interest to us because
here for the first time a German version of selections from the
_Mahābhārata_, _Rāmāyaṇa_ and the _Code of Manu_, as well as a
description of some of the most common Sanskrit metres is
presented,[126] and an attempt is even made to reproduce these metres in
the translation. The work of August Wilhelm Schlegel as critic,
translator and editor of important works from Sanskrit literature is too
familiar to need more than mention.[127] It is well known that to his
lectures Heine owed his fondness for the lotus-flowers and gazelles on
the banks of the Ganges.
On the poetry of the Schlegels their Oriental studies exercised very
little influence. Friedrich translated some maxims from the _Hitōpadēśa_
and from Bhartṛhari;[128] August likewise translated from the same
works, as well as from the Epics and Purāṇas.[129] There are only two
original poems of his that have anything to do with India, and both of
these were written before he had begun the study of Sanskrit. The first
is "Die Bestattung des Braminen,"[130] a somewhat morbid description of
the burning of a corpse. It was addressed to his brother Karl August,
who had joined a Hanoverian regiment in the service of the East India
Company. The second of these poems is "Neoptolemus an Diokles" (ii. 13),
written in 1800, and dedicated to the memory of this same brother who
had died at Madras in 1789.[131] As a matter of fact, there is really
nothing Oriental in the spirit of the poem.
Aside from translations, the only poems that are connected with
Schlegel's Sanskrit studies, are the epigrams against his illustrious
contemporaries, Bopp and Rückert. Those against the former (ii. 234) are
of no special interest here. With those against Rückert, however, the
case is different. It is worth while noting that towards the
distinguished scholar-poet Schlegel assumed a patronizing attitude. To
Rückert's masterly renderings from Sanskrit literature he referred
slightingly as "Sanskritpoesiemetriknachahmungen" (ii. 235). But when he
hailed the younger poet as
Aller morgenländ'schen Zäune König,
Wechselsweise zeisigkranichtönig! (ii. 218),
he came much nearer to the truth than he imagined at the time. For,
while it will be conceded that Rückert did not always sing with equal
power, it also is indisputable that he is the leading spirit in the
movement under investigation. But we shall not anticipate a discussion
of this poet's work, which is reserved for a succeeding chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[125] See Benfey, Gesch. der Sprachwissenschaft und orient. Philologie
in Deutschland, München, 1869, pp. 361-369.
[126] The _ślōka_, the _triṣṭubh_ and the _jagati_ metre are described,
the last two, however, not by name. Nārada's speech, p. 236, is in
_ślōka_, 16 syllables to the line; the first distich, p. 233, is in
_triṣṭubh_, 22 syllables to the line. Quantity of course is ignored.
[127] See Benfey, op. cit. pp. 379-405.
[128] Friedr. Schlegel, Sämmtliche Werke, Wien, 1846. vol. ii. p. 82
seq.
[129] Aug. W. Schlegel, Sämmtliche Werke. Leipz. 1846. vol. iii. p. 7
seq.
[130] Ibid. i. p. 82.
[131] Friedr. Schlegel, Weisheit der Indier, pref. pp. xii, xiii. See
also prefatory remarks to the poem in question.
CHAPTER VII.
PLATEN.
His Oriental Studies--Ghaselen--Their Persian
Character--Imitation of Persian Form--Translations.
The first to introduce the _γazal_ in its strict form into German
literature[132] was Rückert, who in 1821 published a version of a number
of _γazals_ from the _dīvān_ of Rūmī.[133] Chronologically, therefore,
he ought to have the precedence in this investigation. If we,
nevertheless, take up Platen first, we do so because the _γazals_ of
this poet were really the first professedly original poems of this form
to appear in Germany (Rückert's claiming to be versions only), and also
because they constitute almost the only portion of his poetic work that
comes within the sphere of this discussion. Moreover, the remarks which
we shall make concerning their content, imagery, and poetic structure,
apply largely to the _γazals_ of Rückert and also to his _Östliche
Rosen_, if we except the structure of the latter.
Platen became interested in the East through the work of Hammer, and
still more through the influence of Goethe's _Divan_. He at once set to
work studying Persian, and his zeal was increased when, on meeting
Rückert in 1820 at Ebern, and again at Nürnberg, he received
encouragement and instruction from that scholarly poet. Above all, the
appearance of the latter's versions from Rūmī gave him a powerful
stimulus, and in 1821 the first series of his _Ghaselen_ appeared at
Erlangen. Others followed in rapid succession. The same year a second
series appeared at Leipzig;[134] a third series, united under the title
_Spiegel des Hafis_, appeared at Erlangen the next year;[135] and,
lastly, a series called _Neue Ghaselen_ appeared in the same place in
1823. A few _γazals_ arose later, some being published as late as 1836
and 1839.[136]
We shall confine our discussion to those _γazals_ that date from the
years 1821 and 1822, the last series being Persian in nothing but form.
The _Ghaselen_ are not at all translations. Like the _Divan_-poems they
are original creations, inspired by the reading of H̱āfiḍ, and, to use
the poet's own words "dem Hafis nachgefühlt und nachgedichtet."[137]
They follow as closely as possible the Persian metrical rules, and make
use throughout of Persian images and metaphors, so much so that we can
adduce direct parallels from the poems of H̱āfiḍ. Thus in 13[138] we
read: "Schenke! Tulpen sind wie Kelche Weines," evidently a parallel to
some such line as H̱. 541. 1:
ساقی بيا که شد قدح لاله پر ز می
"_sāqī_, come! for the tulip-like goblet is filled with wine." In 75 the
words "Weil ihren goldnen Busen doch vor euch verschliesst die Rose" are
an echo of H̱. 300. 2:
چوغنچه سرٌ درونش کجا نهان ماند
"like the rose-bud, how can its inward secret remain concealed?" (cf.
also H̱. 23. 3). And again in 85 "Und nun ... entrinnet dem Herzen das
Blut leicht, das sonst mir den Odem benahm" is to be compared with H̱.
11. 9:
دل دردمند حافظ که زهجرتست پر خون
"the sorrowful heart of H̱āfiḍ, which through separation from thee is
full of blood." Furthermore in 81 we read:
Du fingst im lieblichen Trugnetz der Haare die ganze Welt,--
Als spiegelhaltende Sklavin gewahre die ganze Welt!
For the first line compare H̱. 102. 1:
کس نيست که افتادهً آن زلف دوتا نيست
"there is no one who has not been snared by that doubled tress," and for
the second line compare H̱. 470. 1:
ی آفتاب آينه دار جمال تو
"O, thou of whose beauty the sun is the mirror-holder!" In 86 the idea
of the young men slain like game by the beauty of the beloved is
evidently inspired by H̱. 358. 6:
ناوک چشم تو در هر گوشهً
همچو من افتاده دارد صد قتيل
"in every nook thine eye has a hundred slain ones fallen like me," and
the following lines in the same poem 86:
O welche Pfeile strahlt zu mir dein Antlitz,
Und es befreit kein Schild von deiner Schönheit,
remind us of H̱. 561. 7:
چشم تو خدنگ از سپر جان گذراند
"thine eye causes the arrow (lit. poplar) to pass through the
shield of life."
* * * * *
Again and again we meet with allusions to the famous image of the love
of the nightingale for the rose (35, 75, etc.) so common in Persian
poetry, especially in H̱āfiḍ. We cite only 318. 1:
فکر بلبل همه آنست که گل شد يارش
گل در انديشه که چون عشوه کند در کارش
"the whole thought of the nightingale is that the rose may be his
beloved; the rose has in her thought how she may show grace in her
actions." In 302. 1 the nightingale is called عروس گل "the rose's
bride."
Besides this, the poems teem with characteristic Persian metaphors: the
moth longing for the flame (37, H̱. 187. 7); the tulip-bed glowing like
fire (67, H̱. 288. 1); the tulip-cheek لاله عذار (whence Moore's _Lalla
Rookh_), لاله رُخ (70, H̱. 155. 2); the musk-perfumed hair لاله مشکين
(73, H̱. 33. 4); the garden of the face (73, H̱. 33. 4); the pearl of
Aden درٌ عدن (77, H̱. 197. 10 and 651); wine as a ruby in a golden cup
(82, H̱. 204. 8 ايا پر لعل کرده جام زرٌين "O thou, the golden cup is
made full of ruby"); the eye-brows like the crescent-moon (82, H̱. 470.
5 ابروی همچون هلال "brow like the new moon"); the dust on his love's
threshold (83, H̱. 497. 10 خاک در يار); the sky playing ball with the
moon (14, inspired by some such couplet as H̱. 409. 7); and the verses
like pearls (43). For this compare H̱. 499. 11:
چو سلک درٌ خوشاست نظم پاک توحافظ
"like a string of lustrous pearls is thy clear verse, O H̱āfiḍ." We
might multiply such parallels, but those given bear out our statement in
regard to the imitation of Persian rhetorical figures on the part of
Platen.
In the eagerness to be genuinely Persian, the poet was not content,
however, with imitating only what was striking or beautiful; he
introduces even some features which, though very prominent in Eastern
poetry, will never become congenial to the West. Thus the utter
abjectness of the Oriental lover, who puts his face in the path of his
beloved and invites her (or him) to scatter dust on his head (H̱. 148.
3), is presented to us with all possible extravagance in these lines of
87:
Sieh mich hier im Staub und setze deine Ferse mir auf's Haupt,
Mich, den letzten von den letzten deiner letzten Sklaven, sieh![139]
To the _sāqī_ is assigned a part almost as prominent as that which is
his in the Persian original. It was the introduction of this repulsive
trait (e.g. 82) that gave to Heine the opportunity for the savage,
scathing onslaught on Platen in the well known passage of the
_Reisebilder_.[140]
* * * * *
Otherwise Platen, like Goethe, ignores the mystic side of H̱āfiḍ, and
infuses into his _Ghaselen_ a thoroughly bacchanalian spirit, taking
frequent occasion to declaim against hypocrisy, fanaticism and the
precepts of the _Qurān_. The _credo_ of these poems is the opening
_γazal_ in _Spiegel des Hafis_ (64), where the line "Wir schwören ew'gen
Leichtsinn und ew'ge Trunkenheit" may be taken to reflect the sentiment
of the revelling Persian poet, who begs the _̱sūfī_ not to forbid wine,
since from eternity it has been mingled with men's dust (H̱. 61. 4);
who claims to have been predestined to the tavern (H̱. 20. 4); who asks
indulgence if he turns aside from the mosque to the wine-house (H̱. 213.
4); who drinks his wine to the sound of the harp, feeling sure that God
will forgive him (H̱. 292. 5); who is above the reproach of the boasters
of austerity (H̱. 106. 3); and who, finally, asks that the cup be placed
in his coffin so that he may drink from it on the day of resurrection
(H̱. 308. 8). But when Platen flings away the _Qurān_ he certainly is
not in accord with his Persian model, for, while H̱āfiḍ takes issue with
the expounders of the sacred book, he discreetly refrains from assailing
the book itself.
But perhaps the chief significance of these _Ghaselen_, as well as those
of Rückert, lies in the fact that they introduced a new poetic form into
German literature. It is astonishing to see how completely Platen has
mastered this difficult form. The _radīf_ or refrain, so familiar to
readers of H̱āfiḍ, he reproduces with complete success, as may be seen,
for instance, in 8, where the words "du liebst mich nicht" are repeated
at the end of each couplet, preceded successively by _zerrissen_,
_wissen_, _beflissen_, _gewissen_, _vermissen_, _Narzissen_, exactly in
the style of such an ode as H̱. 100. In those odes called _Spiegel des
Hafis_ the name _Hafis_ is even regularly introduced into the last
couplet, in accordance with the invariable rule of the Persian _γazal_
that the author's name must appear in the final couplet.
Besides the _γazal_ Platen has also attempted the _rubāʻī_ or quatrain,
in which form he wrote twelve poems (_Werke_, ii. pp. 62-64), and the
_qa̱sīdah_. Of this there is only one specimen, a panegyric (for such in
most cases is the Persian _qa̱sīdah_) on Napoleon, and, as may therefore
be imagined, of purely Occidental content.[141]
* * * * *
Of Platen's translations from H̱āfiḍ we need not speak here. But we must
call attention to the attempt which he made to translate from Niḍāmī's
_Iskandar Nāmah_ in the original _mutaqārib_-metre. The first eight
couplets of the invocation are thus rendered, and in spite of the great
difficulty attending the use of this metre in a European language, the
rendering must be pronounced fairly successful. It is also faithful, as
a comparison with the original shows. We cite the first two couplets
from the Persian:
خدايا جهان پادشاهی تراست
زماخدمت آيدخدايی تراست
"O God, world-sovereignty is Thine! From us comes service, Godhead
is Thine. The Protection of high and low Thou art! Everything is
nonexistent; whatever is, Thou art."[142]
Of other Oriental poems, not translations, we notice "Parsenlied,"
dating from the year 1819, when Goethe's _Divan_ appeared, and it is
quite possible that the _Parsi Nameh_ of that work suggested to Platen
the composition of his poem.[143] His best known ballad, "Harmosan,"
written in 1830, has a Persian warrior for its hero. The source for the
poem is probably Gibbon's _Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_ (chap.
li.)[144]
FOOTNOTES:
[132] We might say into European literature. The only previous attempts,
as far as we know, to reproduce this form were made by Jones, who
translated a ghazal of Jāmī (Works, vol. ii. p. 501) into English, and
by a certain Tommaso Chabert, who translated several ghazals of Jāmī
into Italian (Fundgruben, vol. i. pp. 16-19).
[133] In Taschenbuch für Damen, which was already published in 1820,
thus establishing Rückert's priority over Platen. See C. Beyer, Neue
Mittheilungen über Friedrich Rückert, Leipz. 1873, p. 14; also letter to
Cotta, ibid. pp. 113, 114.
[134] Published in Lyrische Blätter.
[135] In Vermischte Schriften.
[136] Platens Werke (Cotta), vol. ii. See p. 7, note, where information
is given as to place and date of these poems.
[137] Dedication of Spiegel des Hafis to Otto von Bülow, vol. i. p. 265.
[138] We cite the Ghaselen by the number in vol. ii. of the edition here
used.
[139] Goethe protested against this Oriental feature. See Noten u. Abh.
to his Divan, vol. iv. p. 273 seq.
[140] Heines Sämtliche Werke, ed. Born (Cotta), vol. vi. pp. 130 seq.
Goethe in his comments on his Saki Nameh (op. cit. p. 307) emphasizes
the purely pedagogical side of this relation of sāqī and master.
[141] Kasside, dated February 3, 1823, ii. p. 60.
[142] Lith. ed., Shīrāz, A.H. 1312.
[143] The Divan appeared August, 1819. Platen's poem is dated Oct. 28,
1819.
[144] See Studien zu Platen's Balladen, Herm. Stockhausen, Berl. (1898),
pp. 50, 51, 53, 54.
CHAPTER VIII.
RÜCKERT.
His Oriental Studies--Introduces the Ghasele--Östliche Rosen;
Imitations of H̱āfiḍ--Erbauliches und
Beschauliches--Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten--Brahmanische
Erzählungen--Die Weisheit des Brahmanen--Other Oriental
Poems.
When speaking of the introduction of the _γazal_-form into German
literature mention was made of the name of the man who is unquestionably
the central figure in the great Oriental movement which is occupying our
attention. Combining the genius of the poet with the learning of the
scholar, Rückert was preeminently fitted to be the literary mediator
between the East and the West. And his East was not restricted, as
Goethe's or Platen's, to Arabia and Persia, but included India and even
China. He is not only a devotee to the mystic poetry of Rūmī and the
joyous strain of H̱āfiḍ, but he is above all the German Brahman, who by
masterly translations and imitations made the treasures of Sanskrit
poetry a part of the literary wealth of his own country. To his
productivity as poet and translator the long list of his works bears
conclusive testimony. In this investigation, however, we shall confine
ourselves to those of his original poems which are Oriental in origin or
subject-matter. A discussion of the numerous translations cannot be
undertaken in the limited space at our disposal.
Like Goethe and Platen, Rückert also owed to Hammer the impulse to
Oriental study. His meeting with the famous Orientalist at Vienna, in
1818,[145] decided his future career. He at once took up the study of
Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, and with such success that in a few years
he became one of the foremost Orientalists in Europe.
The first fruit of these studies were the _Gaselen_ which appeared in
the _Taschenbuch für Damen_, 1821, the first poems of this form in
German literature.[146] They have been generally regarded as
translations from the _dīvān_ of Rūmī, but this is true of only a
limited number; and even these were probably not taken directly from the
Persian, but from the versions given by Hammer in his _Redekünste_.[147]
As a matter of fact, only twenty-eight--less than one-half of the
_Gaselen_,--can be identified with originals in Hammer's book, and a
comparison of these with their models shows with what freedom the latter
were handled.[148] Furthermore in the opening poem, (a version of _Red._
p. 187, "So lang die Sonne") the last couplet:
Dschelaleddin nennt sich das Licht im Ost,
Dess Wiederschein euch zeiget mein Gedicht,
is original with Rückert, and clearly shows that he himself did not
pretend to offer real translations. The majority of poems are simply
original _γazals_ in Rūmī's manner.
Dschelaleddin, im Osten warst du der Salbenhändler,
Ich habe nun die Bude im Westen aufgeschlagen.[149]
These lines, we believe, define very well the attitude which the poet of
the West assumed toward his mystic brother in the East.
* * * * *
The series of _Ghaselen_ signed Freimund and dated 1822 (third series in
our edition) are not characteristically Persian. Hence we proceed at
once to a consideration of the fourth series (p. 253 seq.), which we
shall discuss together with the poems collected under the title of
_Östliche Rosen_ (p. 289 seq.) from which they differ in nothing but the
form. They were, besides, a part of the _Östliche Rosen_ as published
originally at Leipzig, 1822.
These poems are free reproductions or variations of Hafizian themes and
motives. The spirit of revelry and intoxication finds here a much wilder
and more bacchanalian expression than in the _Divan_ of Goethe or the
_Ghaselen_ of Platen. _Carpe diem_ is the sum and substance of the
philosophy of such poems as "Einladung" (p. 287) and "Lebensgnüge" (p.
293); their note is in thorough accord with H̱āfiḍ, when he exclaims
(H̱. 525. 7):
سخن غير مگو با من معشوقه پرست
کز وی و جام ميم نيست بکس پروايی
"to me, who worship the beloved, do not mention anything else; for
except for her and my cup of wine, I care for none." We are admonished
to leave alone idle talk on how and why ("Im Frühlingsthau," p. 261),
for as H̱āfiḍ says (H̱. 487. 11): "Our existence is an enigma, whereof
the investigation is fraud and fable." The tavern is celebrated with as
much enthusiasm (e.g. "Das Weinhaus," p. 290) as the خرابات to which
H̱āfiḍ was destined by God (H̱. 492. 1). Monks and preachers are scored
mercilessly (e.g. "Der Bussprediger," p. 255; "Dem Prediger," p. 295) as
in H̱. 430. 7:
ناصح بطنزگفت حرامست می مخور
گفتم بچشم گوش بهر خر نمی کنم
"The admonisher spoke tauntingly: Wine is forbidden, do not drink!
I said: On my eye (be it); I do not lend my ear to every ass."
The characteristic Persian images and rhetorical figures, familiar to us
from Platen, are also found here in still greater variety and number.
Thus to mention some new ones, the soul is likened to a bird (p. 270,
No. 29, cf. H̱. 427. 5: مرغ روحم); the cypress is invoked to come to the
brook (p. 336, cf. H̱. 108. 3: که سرو سهی را مقام بر لب جوست "the place
of the straight cypress is on the bank of the brook"); the rose-bush
glows with the fire of Moses ("Gnosis," p. 350, cf. H̱. 517. 2: آتش موسی
نمود گل "the rose displays the fire of Mūsā"); _Hafis_ is an
idol-worshipper (p. 305, "Liebesandacht," cf. H̱. 439. 6, where بت شيرين
حرکات "the idol of sweet motions" is addressed). We meet also the
striking Oriental conception of the dust of the dead being converted
into cups and pitchers. In "Von irdischer Herrlichkeit" (p. 257) the
character "der alte Wirth" is the _pīr_ of H̱. 4. 10 et passim, and
when speaking of the fate of Jamšīd, Sulaīmān and Kāʻus Kaī, he says:
Von des Glückrads höchstem Gipfel warf der Tod in Staub sie,
Und ein Töpfer nahm den Staub in Dienst des Töpferrades.
Diesen Becher formt' er draus, und glüht' ihn aus im Feuer.
Nimm! aus edlen Schädeln trink und deiner Lust nicht schad' es!
This very striking thought, as is well known, is extremely common in
Persian poetry. To cite from H̱āfiḍ (H̱. 459. 4):
روزی که چرخ از گل ما گوزها کند
زنهار کاسهً سر ما پر شراب کن
"The day when the wheel (of fate) from our dust will make jugs,
take care! make our skull (lit. the cup of the head) full of
wine."[150]
Some of the poems are versions, more or less free, of H̱āfiḍ--passages,
e.g. "Die verloren gegangene Schöne" (p. 290, H̱. 268), "An die Schöne"
(p. 308, H̱. 160, couplets 2 and 5 being omitted), "Beschwichtigter
Zweifel" (p. 310, H̱. 430. 6), "Das harte Wort" (p. 350, H̱. 77. 1 and
2). Sometimes a theme is taken from H̱āfiḍ and then expanded, as in "Die
Busse" (p. 346), where the first verse is a version of H̱. 384. 1, the
rest being original.
Of course, reminiscences of H̱āfiḍ are bound to be frequent. We shall
point out only a few instances. "Nicht solltest du so, O Rose, versäumen
die Nachtigall" ("Stimme der Sehnsucht," p. 256) is inspired by a verse
like H̱. 292. 2:
ای گل بشکر آن که تويی پادشاه حسن
با بلبلان عاشق شيدا مکن غرور
"O rose, in thanks for that thou art the queen of beauty, display
no arrogance towards nightingales madly in love."
In "Zum neuen Jahr" (p. 260) the last lines:
Trag der Schönheit Koran im offenen Angesicht,
Und ihm diene das Lied Hafises zum Kommentar
are a parallel to H̱. 10. 6:
روی خوبت آيتی از لطف بر ما کشف کرد
زان سبب جز لطف و خوبی نيست در تفسير ما
"Thy beautiful face by its grace explained to us a verse of the
_Qurān_; for that reason there is nothing in our commentary but
grace and beauty."
The opening lines of "Schmuck der Welt" (p. 260):
Nicht bedarf der Schmink' ein schönes Angesicht.
So bedarf die Liebste meiner Liebe nicht
are distinctly reminiscent of H̱. 8. 4:
زعشق ناتمام ما جمال يار مستغنيست
بآب و رنگ وخال وخط چه حاجت روی زيبا را
"Of our imperfect love the beauty of the beloved is independent.
What need has a lovely face of lustre and dye and mole and line?"
Like H̱āfiḍ (H̱. 358. 11; 518. 7 et passim) Rückert also boasts of his
supremacy as a singer of love and wine ("Vom Lichte des Weines," p.
273). Finally in "Frag und Antwort" (p. 258) he employs the form of the
dialogue, the lines beginning alternately _Ich sprach_, _Sie sprach_,
just as H̱āfiḍ does in Ode 136 or 194. The "Vierzeilen" (p. 361), while
they have the _rubāʻī_-rhyme, are not versions. Only a few of them have
an Oriental character. Completely unoriental are the "Briefe des
Brahmanen" (p. 359), dealing with literary matters of contemporary
interest.[151]
The Oriental studies which Rückert continued to pursue with unabated
ardor were to him a fruitful source of poetic inspiration. They
furnished the material for the great mass of narrative, descriptive and
didactic poems which were collected under the titles _Erbauliches und
Beschauliches aus dem Morgenlande_, and again _Morgenländische Sagen und
Geschichten_, furthermore _Brahmanische Erzählungen_, and lastly
_Weisheit des Brahmanen_. We shall discuss these collections in the
order here given.
* * * * *
The first collection _Erbauliches und Beschauliches_ (vol. vi.) consists
of poems which were published between the years 1822 and 1837 in
different periodicals. They appeared in collected form as a separate
work in 1837.[152] The material is drawn from Arabic and Persian
sources, only one poem, "Die Schlange im Korbe," p. 80, being from the
Sanskrit of Bhartṛhari (_Nītiś_. 85).[153]
With the Arabic sources, the _Qurān_, the chrestomathies of de Sacy and
Kosegarten, and others, we are not here concerned. Among the Persian
sources the one most frequently used is the _Gulistān_, from which are
taken, to give but a few instances, "Sadi an den Fürstendiener," p. 57
(_Gul._ i. distich 3), "Mitgefühl," p. 52 (_Gul._ i. 10, _Maθnavī_),
"Kein Mensch zu Haus," p. 52 (_Gul._ vii. 19, dist. 6, Platts, p. 139),
"Gewahrter Anstand," p. 55 (_Gul._ iv. _Maθ_. 5, Platts, p. 96), as well
as many of the proverbs and maxims, pp. 102-108. The poem "Die Kerze und
die Flasche," p. 82, is a result of the poet's studies in connection
with his translation of the _Haft Qulzum_, a fragment of Amīr Šāhī[154]
being combined with a passage cited from Asadī.[155] "Eine Kriegsregel
aus Mirchond," p. 73, is a paraphrase of a _maθnavī_ from Mīrχvānd's
_Raūḍat-us̱s̱afā_.[156] In "Gottesdienst," p. 52, the first two lines
are from Amīr Xusrau (_Red._ p. 229); the remaining lines were added by
Rückert. The fables given on pp. 87-96 as from Jāmī are taken from the
eighth chapter or "garden" of that poet's _Bahāristān_; they keep rather
closely to the originals, only in "Die Rettung des Fuchses" the
excessive naturalism of the Persian is toned down.[157] One of these
fables, however, "Falke und Nachtigall," p. 89, is not from Jāmī, but
from the _Maχsan-ul-asrār_ of Niḍāmī (بلبل با باز حکايت ed. Nathan.
Bland, London, 1844, p. 114; translated by Hammer in _Red._ p. 107).
Some of the poems in this collection are actual translations from
Persian literature. Thus "Ein Spruch des Hafis," p. 59, is a fine
rendering of _qiṭʻah_ 583 in the form of the original.[158] Then a part
of the introduction to Niḍāmī's _Iskandar Nāmah_ is given on p. 65. The
translation begins at the fortieth couplet:[159]
کرا زهرهً آنکه از بيم تو
"Who has such boldness that from fear of Thee he open his mouth
save in submission to Thee?"
This is well rendered:
Wer hat die Kraft, in deiner Furcht Erbebung,
Vor dir zu denken andres als Ergebung?
As will be noticed, Rückert here has not attempted to reproduce the
_mutaqārib_, as Platen has done in his version of the first eight
couplets (see p. 36).
Some of the translations in this collection were not made directly from
the Persian, but from the versions of Hammer. Thus "Naturbetrachtung
eines persischen Dichters," p. 62, is a free rendering of Hammer's
version of the invocation prefixed to Aṭṭār's _Mantiq-uṭ ṭair_ (_Red._
p. 141 seq.) and Rückert breaks off at the same point as Hammer.[160] So
also the extract from the _Iyār-i-Dāniṣ̌_ of Abū'l Faḍl (p. 68) is a
paraphrase of the version in _Red._ p. 397.
A number of poems deal with legends concerning Rūmī, or with sayings
attributed to him. Thus the legend which tells how the poet, when a boy,
was transported to heaven in a vision, as told by Aflākī in the
_Manāqibu'l ʻĀrifīn_,[161] forms the subject of a poem, p. 37. A saying
of Rūmī concerning music prompted the composition of the poem, p. 54 (on
which see Boxberger, op. cit. p. 241), and on p. 62 the great mystic is
made to give a short statement of his peculiar S̱ūfistic doctrine of
metempsychosis.[162] In "Alexanders Vermächtnis," p. 61, we have the
well-known legend of how the dying hero gives orders to leave one of his
hands hanging out of the coffin to show the world that of all his
possessions nothing accompanies him to the grave. In Niḍāmī's version,
however, the hand is not left empty, but is filled with earth.[163]
Finally there are a few poems dealing with Oriental history, of which we
may mention "Hormusan," p. 25, the subject being the same as in Platen's
more famous ballad. It may be that both poets drew from the same source
(see p. 37).
* * * * *
In the same year (1837) as the _Erbauliches und Beschauliches_ there
appeared the _Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten_ (vol. iv.) in seven
books or divisions. In general, the contents of these divisions may be
described as versified extracts from Oriental history of prevailingly
legendary or anecdotal character. Their arrangement is mainly
chronological. Only the fourth, fifth and seventh books call for
discussion as having Persian material. The most important source is the
great historical work _Rauḍat u̱s-̱safā_ of Mīrχvānd, portions of which
had been edited and translated before 1837 by scholars like de
Sacy,[164] Wilken,[165] Vullers[166] and others.[167]
Other sources to be mentioned are d'Herbelot's _Bibliothèque
Orientale_,[168] de Sacy's version of the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_[169] and
Hammer's _Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens_.
* * * * *
The first poem of the fourth book goes back to the legendary period of
Iran. Its hero is Guštāsp, the patron and protector of Zoroaster.
Rückert calls him Kischtasp. He does not give the story directly
according to Firdausī (tr. Mohl, iv. 224, 278-281) but makes his hero go
to Tūrān, whence he returns at the head of a hostile army. At the
boundary he is met, not by his brother Zarīr, but simply by messengers
who offer him Iran's crown. This he accepts and thus becomes king and
protector of the realm he was about to assail.[170]
Most of the other poems in this book deal with legends of the Sassanian
dynasty. Thus "Schapurs Ball," p. 114 (_Mém._ pp. 282-285); "Die Wölfe
und Schakale Nuschirwans," p. 115 (_Mém._ p. 381); "Die abgestellte
Hungersnoth," p. 116 (_Mém._ pp. 345, 346); "Die Heerschau," p. 117
(_Mém._ p. 373). The two stories about Bahrām Čubīn, pp. 119-122, are
also in _Mém._ p. 395 and pp. 396, 397 respectively.[171] "Der Mann mit
einem Arme," p. 124, is in _Mém._ pp. 348, 349. In the last poem
"Yesdegerd," p. 126, Rückert gives the story of the sad end of the last
Sassanian apparently according to different accounts, and not simply
according to Firdausī or Mīrχvānd.
The sixth book opens with the story of Munta̱sir, p. 198, (from d'Herb.
vol. iii. pp. 694, 695) and then we enter the period of the S̱affārid
dynasty. Its founder Yaʻqūb is the subject of a poem, p. 207 (d'Herb.
iv. 459). "Zu streng und zu milde" and "Schutz und Undank," both p. 210,
tell of the fortunes of Prince Qābūs (Wilken, _Sam._ p. 181 and pp.
79-81, 91, 198-200, n. 47). "Die aufgehobene Belagerung," p. 211, brings
us to the Būyids (d'Herb. ii. pp. 639, 640). The story of Saidah and
Mahmūd, p. 212, is from Wilken's _Buj._ c. xii. pp. 87-90, but the order
of the events is changed. Then we come to the history of the Ghaznavid
dynasty, in connection with which the story of Alp Tagīn is told in
"Lokman's Wort," p. 214, according to the account of H̱aidar in Wilk.
Gasnevid. p. 139, n. 1, preceded by an anecdote told of Luqmān (d'Herb.
ii. 488). "Die Schafschur," p. 215, gives a saying of Sabuktagīn from
the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_ (on the authority of ʻUtbī, de Sacy, _Notices et
Extr._ iv. 365). In the story of Mahmūd's famous expedition to
Sōmanatha, p. 215, Rückert has combined the meagre account of Mīrχvānd
with that of Firišta for the story of the Brahman's offer and with that
of H̱aidar for the sultan's reply (Wilk. _Gasnevid._ pp. 216, 217, n.
109). "Mahmud's Winterfeldzug," p. 216, is also from Wilken's book (pp.
166-168, n. 38); in fact Dilχak's reply is a rhymed translation of the
passage in the note referred to. From the same source came also the poem
on the two Dabšalīms, p. 219 (Wilken, _Gasnevid._ pp. 220-225). The
familiar anecdote of the vizier interpreting to Mahmūd the conversation
of the two owls is told in Niḍāmī's _Maχsan-ul-asrār_ (ed. Bland, pp.
48-50), where, however, Anūširvān is the sultan. The title reads: داستان
انوشروان عدل با وزير وجغد.[172] "Abu Rihan" (i.e. Albīrūnī) is taken
from d'Herb. I. 45 and iv. 697.
Then follow stories from the period of the Saljūks: "Des Sultan's
Schlaf," p. 224 (Vullers, _Gesch. der Seldsch._ pp. 43, 44); "Nitham
Elmulks Ehre," p. 228 (ibid. pp. 228-230); "Nitham Elmulks Fall," p. 229
(ib. pp. 123-125 and pp. 128-132); "Die unglückliche Stunde," p. 232
(ibid. pp. 153, 154). "Die unterthänigen Würfel," p. 227, is from the
_Haft Qulzum_ (_Gram. u. Poet. der Perser_, pp. 366, 367). The stories
of Alp Arslan and Romanus, p. 225, and of Malakšāh's prayer, p. 228, are
not given by Mīrχvānd, but occur in the works of Deguignes, Gibbon,
Malcolm and d'Herbelot.[173] The story of the death of Sultan Muhammad
(in 1159 A.D.), p. 232, is in Deguignes, ii. 260, 261.
Then we get stories from the period of the Mongol invasion. "Die
prophezeite Weltzerstörung," p. 237, the legend of Jingis Chān's birth,
is in the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_ (_Notices et Extr._ iv. pp. 408, 409). The
material for the poems concerning Muẖammad Xvārazm Šāh, p. 237, and his
brave son Jalāl ud-dīn, pp. 240, 241, is found in the work of Deguignes
(op. cit. ii. p. 274 and pp. 280-283). Finally we are carried even to
India and listen to the story of the unhappy queen Raziyah, p. 255, who
was murdered at Delhi by her own generals in 1239 A.D.[174]
A few anecdotes about Persian poets are also given. Thus
"Dichterkampf," p 233, gives the amusing story of the literary contest
between Anvarī and Rašīd, surnamed Vaṭvaṭ "the swallow" (Hammer, _Red._
p. 121; David Price, _Chronological Retrospect_, London, 1821, ii. 391,
392), and on p. 243 we are told how Kamāl ud-dīn curses his native city
Ispahān and how the curse was fulfilled. (Hammer, _Red._ p. 159.)
The seventh book contains two of Rückert's best known parables, the
famous "Es ging ein Mann im Syrerland," p. 303,[175] and "Der Sultan
lässt den Mewlana rufen," p. 305 (_Red._ p. 338).
* * * * *
It will be noticed that the Oriental poems which we have thus far
discussed were mainly derived from Arabic and Persian sources. We may
now turn our attention to a collection in which Rückert's studies on
matters connected with India are also represented.
This collection _Brahmanische Erzählungen_, published in the year 1839
(vol. iii.), does not, however, as its title might lead us to suppose,
consist exclusively of Indic material. Some of the poems are not even
Oriental; "Annikas Freier," p. 217, for example, is from the Finnic. Of
others, again, the subject-matter, whether originally Oriental or not,
has long ago become the common property of the world's fable-literature,
as, for instance, "Weisheit aus Vogelmund," p. 239, the story of which
may be found in the _Gesta Romanorum_, and in French, English and
German, as well as in Persian, fable-books.[176] Some are from Arabic
sources, as from the Thousand and One Nights, e.g. "Der schwanke
Ankergrund," p. 357,[177] "Elephant, Nashorn und Greif," p. 367,[178]
"Die Kokosnüsse," p. 359.[179] The poem "Rechtsanschauung in Afrika," p.
221, is a Hebrew parable from the Talmud and had been already used by
Herder.[180]
A considerable number of the poems contain nothing but Persian material.
Thus "Wettkampf," p. 197, is from the _Gulistān_ (i. 28; K.S. tr. p.
27); and from the same source we have "Rache für den Steinwurf," p. 219
(_Gul._ i. 22; K.S. 21), "Fluch und Segen," p. 234 (_Gul._ i. 1), and
"Busurgimihr," p. 225 (_Gul._ i. 32; K.S. 31). "Die Bibliothek des
Königs," p. 405, is from the _Bahāristān_ (K.S., p. 31; _Red._ p. 338).
Three episodes from the _Iskandar Nāmah_ are narrated on pp. 214-217:
the story of the invention of the mirror (_Isk._ tr. Clark, xxiii. p.
247), the battle between the two cocks (ibid., xxii. p. 234 seq.), and
the message of Dara to Alexander with the latter's reply (ibid. xxiv. p.
263).[181]
On p. 329 Rückert offers a free, but faithful, even if abridged version
of selected passages from the introductory chapters of Niḍāmī's work
(_Isk._ tr. Clarke, canto ii, p. 18 seq. and canto vii, p. 53 seq.). In
"Kiess der Reue," p. 421, he paraphrases the episode of Alexander's
search for the fountain of life from the _Shāh Nāmah_ (tr. Mohl, v. pp.
177, 178). The story of Bahrāmgūr in the same work (tr. Mohl, v, pp.
488-492) appears in "Allwo nicht Zugethan," p. 397. It is not taken from
Firdausī, for it relates the story somewhat differently, and introduces
a love-episode of which the epic knows nothing.[182] Again, "Der in die
Stadt verschlagene Kurde," p. 229, is an anecdote which Rückert had
already translated in the _Haft Qulzum_ (see his _Poet. u. Rhet. der
Perser_, pp. 72-74), while "Glücksgüter," p. 233, may have been
suggested by a story of Aṭṭār which he published afterwards (1860, ZDMG.
vol. 14, p. 286). Some anecdotes of Persian princes or poets are also
utilized, e.g. "Das Küchenfeldgeräthe des Fürsten Amer," p. 226 (d'Herb.
iv. 459; Malcolm i. p. 155), "Der Spiegel des Königs," p. 223
(Deguignes, ii. 171), and the story of Jāmī and the mullā, p. 224 (M.
Kuka, _The Wit and Humour of the Persians_, Bombay, 1894, pp. 165, 166).
In one poem, "Ormuzd und Ahriman," p. 344, an Avestan subject is
treated, the later Parsi doctrine of _zrvan akarana_.[183]
* * * * *
The great majority of the poems in this collection are concerned with
India, its literature, mythology, religious customs, geography and
history, and it will be convenient for our purpose to discuss them under
these heads.
In the first group, that which takes its material from Sanskrit
literature, we meet with the story of the flood, p. 298, from the
_Mahābhārata_ (Vana Parva, 187) and the story of Rāma's exploits and
Sītā's love, p. 268, from the _Rāmāyaṇa_. Also a number of fables from
the _Hitōpadēśa_ or _Pañcatantra_ occur, e.g. that of the greedy jackal,
p. 249, familiar from Lafontaine (_Hit._ i. 6; _Pañc._ ii. 3), and that
of the lion, the mouse and the cat, p. 250 (_Hit._ ii. 3). The story of
the ungrateful man and the grateful animals, p. 252, is found in the
_Kathāsaritsāgara_ (tr. Tawney, ii. pp. 103-108; cf. Pālī version in
_Rasavāhinī_, Wollheim, _Die National-Lit. sämtlicher Völker des
Orients_, Berl. 1873, vol. i. p. 370). "Katerstolz und Fuchses Rath," p.
243, has for its prototype the fable of the mouse changed into a girl in
_Pañcatantra_ (iv. 9; cf. the story of the ambitious Caṇḍāla maid in
_Kathās._ tr. Tawney, ii. p. 56). King Raghu's generosity to Varatantu's
pupil Kāutsa, as narrated in the _Raghuvaṃśa_ (ch. v.), is the subject
of a poem on p. 402. Two famous pieces from the _Upaniṣad_-literature
are also offered: the story of how Jājñavalkya overcame nine contestants
in debate at King Janaka's court and won the prize consisting of one
thousand cows with gold-tipped horns, p. 247, from the _Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Up._ iii. (see Deussen, _Sechzig Upan. übers._ Leipz. 1897, p. 428
seq.), and the story of Nacikētas' choice, p. 403, from the _Kāṭhaka
Upaniṣad_. To this group belong also versions of Bhartṛhari, p. 337
(_Nītiś._ 15) and p. 338 (_Nītiś._ 67).
* * * * *
In the mythological group we have two poems telling of the history of
Kṛśṇa, as given in the great _Bhāgavata Purāṇa_. The first one, "Die
Weltliebessonne im Palast des Gottes Krischna," p. 246, gives the legend
of the god's interview with the Sage Nārada (_Bhāgav._ Nirṇaya Sāg.
Press, Bombay 1898, Lib. x. c. 69; tr. Dutt, Calcutta, 1895, pp.
298-302) with a close somewhat different from that of the Sanskrit
original. The second one narrates the romance of the poor Brahman
Sudāman, who pays a visit to the god and is enriched by the latter's
generosity (_Bhāgav._ x. c. 80, 81; tr. Dutt, pp. 346-355. For the
Hindostanee version in the _Premsāgar_, see Wollheim, op. cit. i. p.
421). In the Sanskrit the story is not so ideal as in Rückert's poem.
The poor Brahman is urged on to the visit, not by affection for the
playmate of his youth, but rather by the prosaic appeals of his wife;
yet, though the motive be different, the result is the same. Besides
these, we find the legend of Kāma, the Hindu Cupid, burned to ashes by
Śiva's third eye for attempting to interrupt the god's penance, p. 266
(_Rāmāy._ i. c. 23, _Kumāras._ iii. v. 70 seq.), and Rückert manages to
introduce and to explain all the epithets, _Kāmadēva_, _kandarpa_,
_smara_, _manmatha_, _hṛcchaya_, _ananga_, which Sanskrit authors bestow
upon their Cupid. We also have legends of the cause of the eclipses of
sun and moon, p. 365, of the origin of caste, p. 347 (_Manu_ i. 87), of
the fabulous mountain Mēru in Jambudvīpa, p. 285, of the quarrelsome
mountains Innekonda and Bugglekonda, p. 321 (Ritter _Erdkunde_, iv. 2,
pp. 472, 473). The winding course of the Indus is explained by a typical
Hindu saint-story, p. 335, similar to that told of the Yamunā and Rāma
in the _Viṣṇu Purāṇa_ (tr. Wilson, ed. Dutt, Calc. 1894, p. 386).
* * * * *
Many of the poems describe religious customs practised in India. Of such
customs the practice of asceticism in its different forms is one of the
most striking and could not fail to engage the poet's attention. Thus
the peculiar fast known as _Cāndrāyaṇa_, "moon-penance," is the subject
of a poem, p. 278; so also "Titanische Bussandacht," p. 283, has for its
theme the belief of the Hindus in the supernatural power conferred by
excessive penance, as exemplified by the legend of Śakuntalā's birth.
The practice of _pañcatapas_, "the five fires" (_Manu_, vi. 23. See
Monier Williams, _Indian Wisdom_, Lond. 1876, p. 105) is the subject of
the poem "Des Büssers Läuterungswahn," p. 285. The selfish greed of the
Brahmans (cf. _Manu_, vii. 133, 144; xi. 40) is referred to in two poems
on p. 287. The supposed powers of _cintāmani_, the Hindu wishing-stone,
suggested the poem on p. 275 (cf. Bhartṛhari, _Vāir._ 33). Of other
poems of this sort we may mention "Die Gottverehrung des Stammes
Karian," p. 322 (Ritter, _Erdk._ iv. 1. p. 187), "Vom Genuss der Früchte
nach Dschainas Lehre," p. 307 (ibid. iv. p. 749), and "Die Schuhe im
Tempel Madhuras," p. 301 (ibid. iv. 2. p. 4).
* * * * *
Again, many poems belong to the realm of physical and descriptive
geography. Their source, in most cases, was undoubtedly the great
geographical work of Ritter. To it may be referred the majority of the
purely descriptive poems, e.g., "Das ewige Frühlingsland der Tudas," p.
301 (op. cit. iv. 1. 951), "Das Frühlingsland Kaschmir," p. 315 (ibid.
ii. 1142 and 630), "Die Kokospalme," p. 304 (ibid. iv. 1. 834 seq., 838,
851, 852). The sun and moon lotuses, so famous through Heine's beautiful
songs (see p. 58), are described on p. 343. Animal-life also comes in
for its share, e.g. the ichneumon in "Instinctive Heilkunde der Tiere,"
p. 336.
* * * * *
Lastly, we come to the historical group, poems relating to the history
of India. The poem on the burning of Keteus' wife, p. 382, is evidently
inspired by the reading of Diodorus Siculus (xix. 33). On page 311 we
have a poem celebrating the valor of the Rāja Pratap Singh, who held out
so bravely against Akbar in the mountain fastnesses of Citor, 1567.[184]
The heroic queen-regent of Ahmadnagar, Chānd Bībī, and the romantic
story of her struggle against Akbar, in 1596, is the subject of the poem
on p. 353. Only the bright side is, however, presented; the tragic fate
which overtook the unfortunate princess three years later is not
referred to.[185] The famous battle of Samūgarh, 1658, by which
Aurangzīb gained the Mogul Empire, is narrated on p. 310, according to
the account of Bernier.[186] In this connection we may also mention "Das
Mikroskop," p. 370, the familiar anecdote of the Brahman who refused to
drink water, after the microscope had revealed to him the existence
therein of countless animalcules (Ritter, _Erdk._ iv. 1. p. 749).
* * * * *
Besides the poems falling under the groups discussed above there are
many of purely didactic or moralizing tendency, embodying general
reflections. It would take us too far, were we to attempt to discuss
them, even if their interest were sufficiently great to repay the
trouble. We must, however, point out that even the Sanskrit vocabulary
is impressed into service to furnish material for such poems. Thus the
fact that the word _pāda_ may mean either "foot," "step," or "ray of
the moon or sun," is utilized for the last lines of "Vom Monde," p. 368.
The meaning of the term _bakravratin_, "acting like a crane," applied to
a hypocrite, is used for a poem on p. 363. Similarly the threefold
signification of _dvipa_ as "brahman," "bird," and "tooth" suggests
"Zweigeboren," p. 423, and more instances might be adduced. It is not to
be wondered at that such poetizing should often degenerate into the most
inane trifling, so that we get such rhyming efforts as that on p. 326
with its pun on the similarity of _hima_ "winter" with _hēma_ "gold,"
_Himālaya_ and _himavat_ with _Himmel_ and _Heimat_, or that on p. 385
with its childish juxtaposition of the Vedantic term _māyā_, the Greek
name Μαια, and the German word _Magie_.
* * * * *
If the poems discussed in the preceding pages were found to be largely
didactic and gnomic in character, the great collection called _Die
Weisheit des Brahmanen_ is entirely so. The poems composing this bulky
work appeared in installments during the period 1836-1839, and, while
many of them, as will be shown below, are the outcome of Rückert's
Oriental studies, the majority simply embody general reflections on
anything and everything that happened to engage the poet's attention.
"Es muss alles hinein, was ich eben lese: vor acht Wochen Spinoza, vor
vierzehn Tagen Astronomie, jetzt Grimms überschwenglich gehaltreiche
Deutsche Mythologie, alles unter der nachlässig vorgehaltenen
Brahmanenmaske...."[187] These are the author's own words and render
further detailed characterization of the work superfluous. It is well
known that the sources for the great didactic collection, even for that
part of it which is not composed of reflections on matters of
contemporary history, politics and literature, or relating to questions
of family and friendship, are more Occidental than Oriental.[188] In
fact, the Brahmanic character of the wisdom here expounded consists
mainly in the contemplative spirit of reposeful didacticism which
pervades the entire collection. Nor is there anything Oriental about
the form of the poems,--the rhymed Alexandrine reigning supreme with
wearisome monotony.
A detailed discussion of the _Weisheit_, therefore, even if it were
possible within the limits of this dissertation, will not be attempted;
the less so, as such a discussion, so far as the Oriental side, at
least, is concerned, would be very much of the same nature as that given
of the _Brahmanische Erzählungen_. A general Oriental influence,
especially of the _Bhagavadgītā_-philosophy or of Rūmī's pantheism, is
noticeable enough in many places,[189] but particular instances of such
influence are not hard to find. We shall adduce only a few, taken from
the fifth division or _Stufe_, called _Leben_. Of these there are taken
from the _Hitōpadēśa_ Nos. 25 (_Hit._ i. couplet 179; tr. Hertel, 141),
26 (ib. i. 178; tr. Hertel, 140), 111 (ib. i. couplet 80; Wilkins' tr.
p. 56). From the _Gulistān_ are taken Nos. 290 (_Gul._ i. 13; K.S. dist.
p. 42), 326 (ibid. vii. 20; K.S. dist. p. 230), 366 (ibid. vii. 20; K.S.
p. 232). No. 60 was probably suggested by the fable of the ass and the
camel in Jāmī's _Bahāristān_ (tr. K.S. p. 179). No. 476 draws a moral
from the fact that the Persian title _mīrzā_ means either "scribe" or
"prince," according to its position before or behind the person's name.
In No. 201 we recognize a Persian proverb: بزک ممير که بهار میآيد يونجه
ميخوری "little goat, do not die; spring is coming, you will eat clover."
No. 364:
"Herr Strauss, wenn ein Kameel du bist, so trage mir!"
Ich bin ein Vogel. "Flieg!" Ich bin ein Trampeltier
is also a Persian proverb and is absolutely unintelligible, unless one
happens to know that the Persian word for "ostrich" is شترمرغ, literally
"camel-bird."
Again, to cite from other _Stufen_, Firdausī's lines, already used by
Goethe in his _Divan_ (see p. 25 above), furnish the text for a moral
poem, p. 487 (18). The Persian notion of the peacock being ashamed of
his ugly feet (cf. _Gul._ ii. 8, _qiṭʻah_) is put to a similar use on p.
463 (162). Some poems are moralizingly descriptive of Indic customs,
e.g., p. 157 (11), where reverence for the _guru_ or "teacher" is
inculcated (cf. _Manu_ ii, 71, 228) and pp. 10, 11 (18, 19), where the
conditions are set forth under which the Vēdas may be read (cf. _Manu_
iv. 101-126, or _Yājñ._ i. 142-151). A comparison is instituted between
the famous court of Vikramāditya and his seven gems, of which Kālidāsa
was one, and that of Karl August of Weimar and his poetic circle, p. 148
(39).
Trivial and empty rhyming is of course abundant in such an uncritical
mass of verse, and we also meet with insipid puns, like that on the
Arabic word _dīn_, "religion," and the German word _dienen_, p. 498
(48).
These examples, we believe, will suffice for our purpose. With the
philosophical part of the _Weisheit_ we are not here concerned.
* * * * *
A great many Oriental poems are scattered throughout the collection
which bears the title of _Pantheon_ (vol. vii.). We may mention "Die
gefallenen Engel," p. 286, the legend of Hārūt and Mārūt, "Wischnu auf
der Schlange," p. 286, "Die nackten Weisen," p. 287, and others. Some
poems in this collection are in spirit akin to the _Östliche Rosen_,
e.g. "Becher und Wein," p. 291, "Der Traum," p. 283, and the
"Vierzeilen," pp. 481, 482. Besides this, the _γazal_-form occurs
repeatedly, e.g. "Frühlingshymne," p. 273. So fond does Rückert seem to
have been of this form, that he employs it even for a poem on such an
unoriental subject as Easter, p. 189 (2).
This collection is furthermore of interest from the biographical side,
as often giving us Rückert's opinions. Thus we find evidence that he was
by no means onesidedly prejudiced in favor of things Oriental. Referring
to the myth of fifty-three million Apsarases having sprung from the
sea,[190] he states (p. 24), that if he were to be the judge, these
fifty-three million nymphs bedecked with jewels would have to bow before
the one Aphrodite in her naked glory. And again in "Rückkehr," p. 51,
the poet confesses that having wandered to the East to forget his misery
and finding thorns in the rose-gardens of Persia, and demons, misshapen
gods and monkeys acting the parts of heroes in India, he is glad to
return to the Iliad and Odyssey (cf. also "Zu den östlichen Rosen," p.
153).
Rückert was evidently aware of his tendency to overproduction. He offers
an explanation in "Spruchartiges," p. 157:
Mir ist Verse zu machen und künstliche Vers' ein Bedürfnis,
Fehlt mir ein eigenes Lied, so übersetz' ich mir eins.
And again to his own question, Musst du denn immer dichten?, p. 159, he
answers:
Ich denke nie ohne zu dichten,
Und dichte nie ohne zu denken.
Graf von Schack has aptly applied to Rückert's poems the famous sentence
which a Spaniard pronounced about Lope de Vega, that no poet wrote so
many good plays, but none also so many poor ones.[191]
* * * * *
Whatever defects it may have, Rückert's Oriental work is nevertheless
indisputably of the greatest importance to German literature. More than
any one else he brought over into it a new spirit and new forms; and it
is due primarily to his unsurpassed technical skill that the German
language is to-day the best medium for an acquaintance, not only with
the literature of the West, but also with that of the East.
FOOTNOTES:
[145] See Beyer, Friedrich Rückert, Fkft. a. M. 1868, pp. 101, 102.
[146] Vol. v. pp. 200-237.
[147] So Hammer himself thought at the time. See Rob. Boxberger,
Rückert-Studien, Gotha, 1878, p. 224. Such also was the opinion of the
scholarly von Schack, Strophen des Omar Chijam, Stuttg. 1878, Nachwort,
p. 117, note. A copy of the original _dīvān_ of Rūmī has not been
accessible to me.
[148] Cf. for instance No. 8, in ii. with Red. p. 175, and No. 24 in ii.
p. 235, with Red. p. 188.
[149] Vol. v. ii. 25, p. 236.
[150] Cf. H̱āfiḍ, Sāqī Nāmah, couplets 77, 78 for the three names
mentioned above. The figure is most familiar to the English reader from
Fitzgerald's version, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Boston, 1899, p. 211,
xxxvii. See also ʻUmar Xayyām ed. Whinfield, London, 1883, No. 466.
[151] They were published in Deutscher Musenalmanach, 1838, and do not
belong properly to the collection here discussed.
[152] See essay on this by Robert Boxberger in Rückert-Studien, pp.
210-278. Also Beyer, Neue Mittheil. vol. i. p. 213; vol. ii. pp. 201-204
for the date of many of these poems.
[153] Also a few of the Vierzeilen-Sprüche, pp. 102-108, e.g. No.
30=Nītiś. 31.
[154] Friedr. Rückert, Grammatik, Poetik u. Rhetorik der Perser, ed. W.
Pertsch, Gotha, 1874, p. 187.
[155] Ibid. p. 360.
[156] Fr. Wilken, Hist. Gasnevid. Berol. 1832, p. 13, Latin p. 148.
[157] Cf. transl. of Bahāristān for Kama Shastra Society, Benares, 1887,
p. 180. The Persian text of these fables appeared in 1805 in the
chrestomathy appended to Fr. Wilken's Institutiones ad Fundamenta
Linguae Persicae, Lipsiae, 1805, pp. 172-181.
[158] This poem was mistranslated by Hammer in his Divan des Hafis, Tüb.
1812, vol. ii. p. 553. Bodenstedt has given a version in rhymed
couplets: Der Sänger von Schiras, Berl. 1877, p. 129.
[159] For Niḍāmī I have used a lithographed edition published at Shīrāz,
A.H. 1312. In Wilberforce Clarke's transl. of the Iskandar Nāmah,
London, 1881, the couplet in question is the forty-third.
[160] Cf. for Persian text Garcin de Tassy, Mantic Uttaīr, Paris, 1863.
Also French transl. p. 1 seq.
[161] See Jas. W. Redhouse, The Mesnevi of Mevlānā (our Lord)
Jelālu-d-dīn, Muhammed, er-Rūmī, Lond. 1881, B. i. p. 19. For Rückert's
source see Boxberger, op. cit. p. 224.
[162] See H. Ethé, Neupers. Litt. in Grdr. iran. Phil. vol. ii. p. 289.
[163] Wilh. Bacher, Nizāmis Leben u. Werke, Leipz. 1871, p. 119 and n.
4.
[164] Mémoires sur divers Antiquités de la Perse, et sur les Médailles
des Rois de la dynastie des Sassanides, suivis de l'Histoire de cette
Dynastie traduite du Persan de Mirkhond par A.I. Silv. de Sacy, Paris,
1793.
[165] Mohammedi Filii Chavendschahi vulgo Mirchondi Historia Samanidarum
Pers. ed. Frid. Wilken, Goettingae, 1808.
Mohammedi Filii Chondschahi vulgo Mirchondi Historia Gasnevidarum
Persice ed. Frid. Wilken, Berol. 1832.
Geschichte der Sultane aus dem Geschlechte Bujeh nach Mirchond, Wilken
in Hist. philos. Abh. der kgl. Akad. d. Wissensch. zu Berlin, Berl.
1837. (This work from 1835.)
[166] Mirchonds Geschichte der Seldschuken, aus d. Pers. zum ersten Mal
übers. etc., Joh. Aug. Vullers, Giessen, 1837.
[167] A complete list of the portions of Mīrχvānd's work edited and
published by European scholars before 1837 may be found in Zenker's
Bibl. Orient., Nos. 871-881. Nos 874, 875 and 879 have not been
accessible to me.
[168] A letter given by Boxberger in op. cit. p. 74 shows that Rückert
asked for the loan of this book.
[169] Histoire de Yemineddoula Mahmoud, tr. par A.I. Silv. de Sacy in
Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Bibl. Nat., tom. iv.
[170] For a similar form of the story see Gobineau, Histoire des Perses,
Paris, 1869, vol. ii. pp. 9, 10, where the story is given on the
authority of a Parsi work, the "Tjéhar-e-Tjemen" (i.e. Cahār-i-Caman,
"the four lawns").
[171] For the romance about this man see Th. Nöldeke, Ṭabari, pp.
474-478.
[172] Lithogr. ed., p. 23. See also Malcolm, op. cit. i. 196; Red. p.
107.
[173] Deguignes, Hist. Gén. des Huns, des Turcs, des Mogols, et des
autres Tartares occidentaux, etc. Paris, 1756-1758, vol. ii. pp. 209,
223; Malcolm, op. cit. i. pp. 211, 218.
[174] See Elphinstone's Hist. of India, Lond., 1841, vol. ii. pp. 10-12;
also Elliot, The History of India as told by its own historians, Lond.
1867-1877, vol. ii. pp. 332-335, 337, where the story is not so romantic
as in Rückert's poem.
[175] Taken from Red. p. 183, where it is given as from Rūmī. See above,
p. 6.
[176] Gesta Roman. ed. Herm. Oesterly. Berl. 1872, c. 167. For
bibliography of this fable see W.A. Clouston, A Group of Eastern
Romances, 1889, pp. 563-566, pp. 448-452.
[177] Book of the Thousand and One Nights, by John Payne, Lond. 1894,
vol. v. p. 153.
[178] Ibid. p. 168.
[179] Ibid. p. 199.
[180] In Jüdische Parabeln, vol. 26, p. 359; see also Bacher, Nizāmis
Leben u. Werke, p. 117, n. 4.
[181] These episodes are outlined in Hammer, Red. p. 118; see Malcolm,
op. cit. i. 55, 56.
[182] We call attention to the fact that the fourth division of this
collection (pp. 392-439 in our edition) is made up of poems which really
belong to the Weisheit des Brahmanen.
[183] Jackson, Die iran. Religion in Grdr. iran. Phil. ii. pp. 629, 630.
[184] Elliot, Hist. of India, vol. v. pp. 160-175; 324-328.
[185] Elphinstone, Hist. of India, vol. ii. pp. 229-301 and note, where
the legend of the queen firing silver balls is given on the authority of
Xāfī Xān. Elliot, op. cit. vi. 99-101.
[186] The History of the Late Revolution of the Empire of the Great
Mogul, Lond. 1671, pp. 106-131. See also Elliot, op. cit. vol. vii. pp.
220-224, and Elphinstone, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 425 seq., where a
slightly different account of the battle is given.
[187] Letter to Melchior Meyr, Dec. 25, 1836, cited by C. Beyer in
Nachgelassene Ged. Fr. Rückerts. Wien, 1877, pp. 210, 211.
[188] Koch, Der Deutsche Brahmane, Breslau (Deutsche Bücherei, Serie iv.
Heft 23), p. 22.
[189] Ibid. pp. 18-22. For Rūmī's influence see esp. in vol. viii. of
the edition cited, pp. 544. 7, 566. 74 et al.
[190] In Rāmāy. i. 45, where the story of their origin is briefly given,
we read that sixty _kōtis_, i.e. 600,000,000 (a _kōti_ being
10,000,000), came forth from the sea, not reckoning their numberless
female attendants.
[191] Schack, Ein halbes Jahrhundert, Stuttg. Berl. Wien, 1894, vol. ii.
p. 41. See also Koch, op. cit. pp. 11-13; Rud. Gottschall, Fried.
Rückert in Portraits u. Studien, Leipz. 1870, vol. i. pp. 163-166; Rich.
Meyer, Gesch. der Litt. des 19 Jahrh. Berl. 1890, p. 56.
CHAPTER IX.
HEINE.
Becomes Interested in India through Schlegel--Influence of
India's Literature on his Poetry--Interest in the Persian
Poets--Persian Influence on Heine--His Attitude toward the
Oriental Movement.
"Was das Sanskrit-Studium selbst betrifft, so wird über den Nutzen
desselben die Zeit entscheiden. Portugiesen, Holländer und Engländer
haben lange Zeit jahraus, jahrein auf ihren grossen Schiffen die Schätze
Indiens nach Hause geschleppt; wir Deutsche hatten immer das Zusehen.
Aber die geistigen Schätze Indiens sollen uns nicht entgehen. Schlegel,
Bopp, Humboldt, Frank u. s. w. sind unsere jetzigen Ostindienfahrer;
Bonn und München werden gute Faktoreien sein."
With these words Heine sent forth his "Sonettenkranz" to A.W. von
Schlegel in 1821.[192] These sonnets show what a deep impression the
personality and lectures of the famous romanticist made on him while he
was a student at Bonn, in 1819 and 1820. Schlegel had just then been
appointed to the professorship of Literature at the newly created
university, and to his lectures Heine owed the interest for India which
manifests itself in many of his poems, and which continued even in later
years when his relations to his former teacher had undergone a complete
change.
He never undertook the study of Sanskrit. His interest in India was
purely poetic. "Aber ich stamme aus Hindostan, und daher fühle ich mich
so wohl in den breiten Sangeswäldern Valmikis, die Heldenlieder des
göttlichen Ramo bewegen mein Herz wie ein bekanntes Weh, aus den
Blumenliedern Kalidasas blühen mir hervor die süssesten Erinnerungen"
(_Ideen_, vol. v. p. 115)--these words, with some allowance perhaps for
the manner of the satirist, may well be taken to characterize the
poet's attitude towards India. Instinctively he appropriated to himself
the most beautiful characteristics of Sanskrit poetry, its tender love
for the objects of nature, for flowers and animals and the similes and
metaphors inspired thereby, and he invests them with all the grace and
charm peculiar to his muse. Some of his finest verses owe their
inspiration to the lotus; and in that famous poem "Die Lotosblume
ängstigt,"--so beautifully set to music by Schumann--the favorite flower
of India's poets may be said to have found its aesthetic apotheosis. As
is well known, there are two kinds of lotuses, the one opening its
leaves to the sun (Skt. _padma_, _paṅkaja_), the other to the moon (Skt.
_kumuda_, _kāirava_). Both kinds are mentioned in _Śakuntalā_ (Act. V.
Sc. 4, ed. Kale, Bombay, 1898, p. 141): _kumudānyēva śaśāṅkaḥ savitā
bhōdhayati paṅkajānyēva_ "the moon wakes only the night lotuses, the sun
only the day lotuses."[193] It is the former kind, the nymphaea
esculenta, of which Heine sings, and his conception of the moon as its
lover is distinctively Indic and constantly recurring in Sanskrit
literature. Thus at the beginning of the first book of the _Hitōpadēśa_
the moon is called the lordly bridegroom of the lotuses.[194]
The splendor of an Indic landscape haunts the imagination of the poet.
On the wings of song he will carry his love to the banks of the Ganges
(vol. i. p. 98), to that moonlit garden where the lotus-flowers await
their sister, where the violets peep at the stars, the roses whisper
their perfumed tales into each other's ears and the gazelles listen,
while the waves of the sacred river make sweet music. And again in a
series of sonnets addressed to Friederike (_Neue Ged._ vol. ii. p. 65)
he invites her to come with him to India, to its palm-trees, its
ambra-blossoms and lotus-flowers, to see the gazelles leaping on the
banks of the Ganges, and the peacocks displaying their gaudy plumage, to
hear Kōkila singing his impassioned lay. He sees Kāma in the features of
his beloved, and Vāsanta hovering on her lips; her smile moves the
Gandharvas in their golden, sunny halls to song.
* * * * *
Allusions to episodes from Sanskrit literature are not infrequent in
Heine's writings. The famous struggle between King Viśvāmitra with the
sage Vasiṣṭha for example is mockingly referred to in two stanzas (vol.
i. p. 146).[195] His own efforts to win the favor of a certain Emma
(_Neue Ged._ ii. 54) the poet likens to the great act of penance by
which King Bhagīratha brought down the Ganges from heaven.[196]
* * * * *
Heine's prose-writings also furnish abundant proofs of his interest in
and acquaintance with Sanskrit literature. In the opening chapters of
the _Buch Le Grand_ (c. 4, vol. v. p. 114) he brings before us another
vision of tropical Indic splendor. In his sketches from Italy (_Reiseb._
ii. vol. vi. p. 137) he draws a parallel between the priesthood of Italy
and that of India, which is anything but flattering to either. It is
also not correct; he notices, to be sure, that in the Sanskrit drama (of
which he knows only _Śakuntalā_ and _Mṛcchakaṭikā_) the rôle of buffoon
is assigned invariably to a Brahman, but he is ignorant of the origin of
this singular custom.[197] In his essay on the Romantic School, when
speaking of Goethe's godlike repose, he introduces by way of
illustration the well-known episode from the Nala-story where Damayantī
distinguishes her lover from the gods who had assumed his form by the
blinking of his eyes (vol. ix. p. 52). In the same essay (ibid. pp. 49,
50), he bestows enthusiastic praise on Goethe's _Divan_, and this brings
us to the question of Persian influence upon Heine.
* * * * *
Starting as he did on his literary career at the time when Goethe's
_Divan_ and Rückert's _Östliche Rosen_ had inaugurated the Hafizian
movement in German literature, it would have been strange if he had
remained entirely outside of the sphere of its influence. As a matter of
fact, he took some interest in Persian poetry almost from the outset of
his poetical activity, as his letters clearly show. As early as 1821, he
mentions Saʻdī with the epithet _herrlich_, calls him the Persian Goethe
and cites one of his couplets (_Gul._ ii. 48, _qiṭʻah_; K.S. p. 122) in
the version of Herder.[198] In April, 1823, he writes from Berlin that
during the preceding winter he has studied the non-Semitic part of
Asia,[199] and the following year in a letter to Moser[200] he speaks of
Persian as "die süsse, rosige, leuchtende Bulbulsprache," and goes on to
imagine himself a Persian poet in exile among Germans. "O Firdusi! O
Ischami! (sic for Jāmī) O Saadi! Wie elend ist euer Bruder! Ach wie
sehne ich mich nach den Rosen von Schiras." Such a rose he calls in one
of his _Nordsee_-poems "die Hafisbesungene Nachtigallbraut" ("Im Hafen,"
vol. i. p. 218).
Yet, judging from the familiar epigrams of Immermann, which Heine cites
at the end of _Norderney_ (_Reiseb._ i. vol. v. p. 101) as expressive of
his own sentiments, he seems to have held but a poor opinion of the
West-Eastern poetry that followed in the wake of Goethe's _Divan_. He
certainly never attempted anything like an imitation of this poetry, and
Oriental form appealed to him even less. In the famous, or rather
infamous, passage of the _Reisebilder_ (vol. vi. pp. 125-149), where he
makes his savage attack on Platen, he ridicules that poet's _Ghaselen_
and speaks derisively of their formal technique as "schaukelnde
Balancierkünste" (ibid. p. 136). It is probable, however, that he judged
the _γazal_ form not so much on its own merits as on the demerits of his
adversary. It is certain at any rate that he has nowhere made use of
this form of versification.
Persian influence is not noticeable in his earlier poems;[201] his _Buch
der Lieder_ shows no distinctive traces of it. His later poems, _Neue
Gedichte_ (1844) and _Romanzero_ (1851), on the other hand, show it
unmistakably. The Persian image of the rose and the nightingale is of
frequent occurrence. In a poem on Spring (_Neue Ged._ vol. ii. p. 26) we
read:
Und mir selbst ist dann, als würd' ich
Eine Nachtigall und sänge
Diesen Rosen meine Liebe,
Träumend sing' ich Wunderklänge--.
The image recurs repeatedly in the _Neue Gedichte_, e.g. _Neuer
Frühling_, Nos. 7, 9, 11, 20, 26; _Verschiedene_, No. 7, and in
_Romanzero_ (vol. iii.), pp. 42, 178, 253. Even in the prose-writings it
is found, e.g. _Florentinische Nächte_ (vol. iii. p. 43), _Gedanken und
Einfälle_ (vol. xii. 309).
Again, when Heine speaks of pearls that are pierced and strung on a
silken thread ("Kluge Sterne," _Neue Ged._ vol. ii. p. 106), he is
intensely Persian; still more so when he calls Jehuda ben Halevy's
verses (_Romanz._ vol. iii. p. 136):
Perlenthränen, die, verbunden
Durch des Reimes goldnen Faden,
Aus der Dichtkunst güldnen Schmiede
Als ein Lied hervorgegangen.
The Persian fancy of the moth and candle-flame seems to have been in his
mind when he wrote ("Die Libelle," vol. ii. p. 288):
Knisternd verzehren die Flammen der Kerzen
Die Käfer und ihre liebenden Herzen....
Still another Persian idea, familiar to us from a preceding chapter, is
the peacock ashamed of his ugly feet ("Unvolkommenheit," _Romanz._ vol.
iii. p. 103).
* * * * *
The Persian manner is even employed, and very cleverly, for humorous
effect, for instance, in the poem "Jehuda ben Halevy," cited before. In
this Heine asks Hitzig for the etymology of the name Schlemihl, but
meets with nothing but evasive replies until:
Endlich alle Knöpfe rissen
An der Hose der Geduld,
and the poet begins to swear so profanely that the pious Hitzig
surrenders unconditionally and hastens to supply the desired
information. This image of the "trousers of patience" reminds us
strikingly of such Persian phrases as جيب مراقبه "the cowl of
meditation" (_Gul._ ed. Platts, p. 4), فرش هوس "the carpet of desire"
(ib. p. 113), etc., which are a particular ornament of the highly
artificial rhymed prose, employed in works like the _Gulistān_ and
_Bahāristān_. In the latter, for instance, we read of a youth whose
mental equilibrium had been impaired by the charms of a handsome girl:
لباس دانايی بيفکند و پلاس رسوايی پوشيد "he tore the garment of prudence
and put on the rags of disgrace."[202]
The description of a countess in words like those which Heine puts into
the mouth of a Berlin chamber-musician: "Cypressenwuchs,
Hyacinthenlocken, der Mund ist Ros' und Nachtigall zu gleicher Zeit," ...
(_Briefe aus Berlin_. No. 3, vol. v. p. 205) furnishes another instance
in point.
And lastly, we must mention one of the best known of Heine's poems, the
trilogy "Der Dichter Firdusi," the subject of which is the famous legend
of Mahmūd's ingratitude to Persia's greatest singer and his tardy
repentance. We may add that scholars are not inclined to accept this
legend as historical in all its parts; certainly not in its artistic and
effective ending. This, of course, has nothing to do with the literary
merit of the poem, which is deservedly ranked as one of Heine's happiest
efforts.[203]
* * * * *
After all, however, it is clear that Heine is in no sense an
orientalizing poet or a follower of the Hafizian tendency which became
the vogue under the influence of Goethe, Rückert and Platen. With him
the Oriental element never was more than an incidental feature, strictly
subordinated to his own poetic individuality, and never dominating or
effacing it, as is the case with most of the professedly "Persian"
singers,--those "Perser von dem Main, der Elbe, von der Isar, von der
Pleisse"--who thought, as has justly been remarked, that they had
penetrated into the Persian spirit by merely mentioning _guls_ and
_bulbuls_. Heine had no use for such trivial superficiality. The singer
of the "Loreley" sang as he felt, and in spite of so many apparently
un-German sentiments in his writings he had a right to say (_Die
Heimkehr_, vol. i. p. 131):
Ich bin ein deutscher Dichter,
Bekannt im deutschen Land;
Nennt man die besten Namen,
So wird auch der meine genannt.
FOOTNOTES:
[192] Printed as Nachwort in the Bemerker, No. 10, Suppl. to
Gesellschafter, No. 77. See also H. Heines Leben u. Werke, Ad.
Strodtmann, Hamb. 1883, vol. i. p. 78.
[193] Similarly Bhartṛhari, Nītiś. 74.
[194] _Atha kadācid avasannāyām rātrāv astācalacūdāvalambini bhagavati
kumudinīnāyakē candramasi_.... (ed. Bomb. 1891, p. 7). "Once upon a time
when the night was spent and the moon, the lordly lover of the lotuses,
was reclining on the crest of the western mountain...." Of other
allusions to this lotus we may cite Vikramōrvaṡī, Act 3. ed. Parab and
Telang, Bomb. 1888, p. 79; Śak. Act iii. ed. Kale, p. 81, and Act iv.
ib. p. 96.
[195] The episode occurs in Rāmāy. i. 51-56. It had been translated as
early as 1816 by Bopp in his Conjugationssystem der Sanskritsprache.
[196] Mahābh. iii. 108, 109; Rāmāy. i. 42, 43; Mārkaṇḍēya Pur. and other
works. Heine's acquaintance was due undoubtedly to Schlegel's
translation in Indische Bibliothek, 1820. (Aug. Schlegel, Werke, iii.
20-44.)
[197] See article on this subject by M. Schuyler, Jr., in JAOS. vol. xx.
2. p. 338 seq.
[198] Letter to Friedr. Steinmann, Sämmtl. Werke, Hamb. 1876, vol. xix.
No. 7, p. 43.
[199] Ibid. No. 15, p. 80.
[200] Ibid. No. 38, pp. 200, 201.
[201] One poem of his earliest period, Die Lehre (vol. iii. p. 276),
published in Hamburgs Wächter, 1817 (Strodtmann, op. cit. i. 54), does
seem to show it. In this the young bee, heedless of motherly advice,
does not beware of the candle-flame and so "Flamme gab Flammentod." We
at once recognize a familiar Persian thought, and are reminded of
Goethe's fine line, "Das Lebend'ge will ich preisen das nach Flammentod
sich sehnet." (Selige Sehnsucht, ed. Loeper, iv. 26.)
[202] O.M. v. Schlechta-Wssehrd, Der Frühlingsgarten von Mewlana
Abdurrahman Dschami, Wien, 1846. Persian text, p. 38.
[203] For a discussion of the legend see Nöldeke in Grdr. iran. Phil.
vol. ii. pp. 154, 155, 158.
CHAPTER X.
BODENSTEDT.
Lieder des Mirza Schaffy--Are Original Poems--Nachlass--Aus
Morgenland und Abendland--Sakuntala, a Narrative Poem.
The H̱āfiḍ tendency was carried to the height of popularity by Friedrich
Martin Bodenstedt, whose _Lieder des Mirza Schaffy_ met with a
phenomenal success, running through one hundred and forty editions in
Germany alone during the lifetime of the author, besides being
translated into many foreign languages.[204] These songs have had a
remarkable career, which the author himself relates in an essay appended
to the _Nachlass_.[205]
According to the prevailing opinion, Mirza Schaffy was a great Persian
poet, a rival of Saʻdī and H̱āfiḍ, and Bodenstedt was the translator of
his songs. Great, therefore, was the astonishment of the European, and
particularly the German public, when it was discovered that the name of
this famous poet was utterly unknown in the East, even in his own native
land. As early as 1860, Professor Brugsch, when in Tiflis, had searched
for the singer's grave, but in vain; nobody could tell him where a
certain Mirza Schaffy lay buried. At last, in 1870, the Russian
counsellor Adolph Bergé gave an authentic account of the real man and
his literary activity.[206] Two things were clearly established: first,
that such a person as Mīrzā Šafīʻ had really existed; second, that this
person was no poet. On this second point the few scraps of verse which
Bergé had been able to collect, and which he submitted in the essay
cited above, leave absolutely no doubt. So, in 1874, when Bodenstedt
published another poetic collection of Mirza Schaffy, he appended an
essay wherein he explained clearly the origin and the nature of the
original collection bearing that name.
According to his own statements, these poems are not translations. They
are entirely his own,[207] and were originally not an independent
collection, but part of the biographical romance _Tausend und ein Tag im
Orient_.[208] This should be kept in mind if we wish to estimate them at
their true value.
Nevertheless the poems are genuinely Oriental and owe their existence to
the author's stay in the East, particularly in Tiflis, during the winter
1843-44. But for this residence in the Orient, so Bodenstedt tells
us,[209] a large part of them would never have seen the light.
In form, however, they are Occidental--the _γazal_ being used only a few
times (e.g. ii. 135, or in the translations from H̱āfiḍ in chap. 21: ii.
70=H̱. 8; ii. 72=H̱. 155, etc.) In spirit they are like H̱āfiḍ. "Mein
Lehrer ist Hafis, mein Bethaus ist die Schenke," so Mirza Schaffy
himself proclaims (i. p. 96), and images and ideas from H̱āfiḍ, familiar
to us from preceding chapters, meet us everywhere. The stature like a
cypress, the nightingale and the rose, the verses like pearls on a
string, and others could be cited as instances. Other authors are also
laid under contribution; thus the comparison of Mirza Schaffy to a bee
seems to have been suggested by a maxim of Saʻdī (_Gul._ viii. No. 77,
ed. Platts; K.S. p. 268), where a wise man without practice is called a
bee without honey, and the thought in the last verse of "Die Rose auch"
(vol. ii. p. 85), that the rose cannot do without dirt and the
nightingale feeds on worms, is a reminiscence of a story of Niḍāmī which
we had occasion to cite in the chapter on Rückert (see p. 43). In one
case a poem contains a Persian proverb. Mirza Schaffy criticises the
opinions of the Shāh's viziers in the words: "Ich höre das Geklapper
einer Mühle, doch sehe ich kein Mehl" (i, 85), a literal rendering of
آواز آسيا می شنوم وآرد نمی بينم
Of course the _mullās_ and hypocrites in general are roundly scored,
especially in chapter 27, where the sage, angered by the reproaches
which the _mustahīd_ has made to him for his bad conduct and irreligious
poetry, gives vent to his sentiments of disgust in a number of poems
(vol. ii. p. 137 seq.). Bodenstedt undoubtedly had in mind the
persecutions to which H̱āfiḍ was subject, culminating in the refusal of
the priests to give him regular burial and giving rise to the famous
story of the _fatvā_.
The tavern and the praise of wine are, of course, bound to be prominent
features. In the same _credo_ where Mirza Schaffy proclaims H̱āfiḍ as
his teacher he also proclaims the tavern as his house of prayer (i. p.
96), and so he celebrates the day when he quit the mosque for the
wine-house (i. p. 98; cf. H̱. 213. 4). The well known poem "Aus dem
Feuerquell des Weines" (i. p. 106) is in sentiment exactly like a
quatrain of ʻUmar Xayyām (Bodl. ed. Heron-Allen, Boston, 1898, No. 78;
Whinfield, 195); the last verse is based on a couplet of Saʻdī (_Gul._
i. 4, last _qiṭʻah_, Platts, p. 18) which is cited immediately after the
poem itself (i. p. 107).
A collection of Hafizian songs would scarcely be complete without a song
in praise of Shīrāz. This we get in vol. ii. p. 48, where Shīrāz is
compared to Tiflis; and just as the former was made famous through
H̱āfiḍ, so the latter will become famous through Mirza Schaffy. Little
did the worthy sage of Ganja dream that this would come literally true.
Yet it did. The closing lines of the poem--
Berühmt ist Tiflis durch dein Lied
Vom Kyros bis zum Rhein geworden--
are no empty boast; they simply express a fact.
None of Bodenstedt's later poetic publications ever attained the success
of the Mirza Schaffy songs, and, it may be added, none of them equalled
those songs in merit. In 1874 the author resolved once more to try the
magic of that name and so he launched forth a collection called _Aus dem
Nachlasse Mirza Schaffy's_, and to emphasize the Persian character of
these poems the Persian translation of the title, از اشرار بازماندهً
ميرزا شفيع, appeared on the title-page. In spite of all this, however,
the Orientalism in these poems is more artificial than natural; it is
not felt as something essential without which the poems could not exist.
The praise of wine, which is the main theme of the second book,--for the
collection is divided into seven books,--is certainly not
characteristically Persian; European, and especially German poets have
also been very liberal and very proficient in bibulous verse. The maxims
that make up the third and a portion of the fourth book are for the most
part either plainly unoriental, or else so perfectly general, and, we
may add, so hopelessly commonplace, as to fit in anywhere. Some,
however, are drawn from Persian sources. Thus from the _Gulistān_ we
have in the third book, Nos. 8 (_Gul._ Pref. p. 7, last _qiṭʻah_), 9
(ibid. p. 6, first three couplets), 12 (ibid. iii. 27, _maθ_. p. 89) and
36 (saying of the king in _Gul._ i. 1, p. 13). No. 31 is from the
introduction to the _Hitōpadēśa_ (third couplet).[210] "Die Cypresse,"
p. 103, is suggested by _Gul._ viii. 111 (K.S. 81).
The Oriental stories which form the contents of the fifth book are of
small literary value. Some of them read like versified lessons in
Eastern religion, as, for instance, "Der Sufi," p. 111, which is a
rhymed exposition of a S̱ūfistic principle,[211] and "Der
Wüstenheilige," which enunciates through the lips of Zoroaster himself
his doctrine that good actions are worth more than ascetic
practices.[212] On p. 121 Ibn Yamīn is credited with the story of the
poet and the glow-worm, which is found in Saʻdī's _Būstān_ (ed. Platts
and Rogers, Lond. 1891, p. 127; tr. Barbier de Meynard, Paris, 1880, p.
163). The famous story of Yūsuf and Zalīχā, as related by Jāmī and
Firdausī, is the subject of the longest poem in the book and is told in
a somewhat flippant manner, p. 135 seq. The stories told of Saʻdī's
reception at court and his subsequent banishment through the calumny of
the courtiers, pp. 123-128, seem to be pure invention; at least there is
nothing, as far as we know, in the life or writings of the Persian poet
that could have furnished the material for these poems.[213]
In 1882, still another collection of Bodenstedt's poems, entitled _Aus
Morgenland und Abendland_, made its appearance. Like the _Nachlass_ it
also has seven divisions, of which only the second, fourth and sixth are
of interest for us as containing Oriental material.[214]
One poem, however, in the first book, "An eine Kerze," p. 5, should be
mentioned as of genuinely Persian character. The candle as symbolical of
the patient, self-sacrificing lover is a familiar feature of Persian
belles-lettres (cf. H̱. 299. 4; 301. 5; or Rückert's "Die Kerze und die
Flasche," see above, p. 43). The last line reminds us of a verse of
Jurjānī, cited by Jāmī in the _Bahāristān_ (ed. Schlechta-Wssehrd, p.
111), exhorting the ruler to be like a flame, always pointing upwards.
The second book brings another contribution of sententious wisdom, most
of which is neither new nor Oriental. Of Oriental sources the _Gulistān_
is best represented. From it are taken Nos. 8 (_Gul._ ii. 4, last
couplet), 9 (ibid. i. 1), 41 (ibid. i. 21, prose-passage before the
_maθ_. p. 33; K.S. p. 55), 43 (ibid. i. 17, coupl. 4, p. 29; K.S. p.
49), 52 (ibid. i. 29, coupl. 2; K.S. p. 66). No. 47, which is credited
to Ibn Yamīn, is from the _Bahāristān_ (tr. K.S. p. 46; _Red._ p. 338).
No. 49 is a very free rendering of a quatrain of ʻUmar Xayyām (Whinf.
347; _Red._ p. 81).[215]
The fourth book offers stories, all of which, except the first two, are
from Persian sources. Thus from the _Gulistān_ are "Die Berichtigung"
(_Gul._ i. 31; K.S., p. 67) and "Der Königsring" (_Gul._ iii. 27, last
part, p. 92; K.S. p. 157). "Nachtigall und Falk" is from Niḍāmī, as was
pointed out before (see above, p. 43). "Das Paradies der Gläubigen" is
from Jāmī (_Red._ p. 324; given there as from the _Subẖat ul-abrār_) and
"Ein Bild der Welt" is from Ibn Yamīn (_Red._ p. 236).[216] The longest
story of the book is "Dara und Sara," which gives the legend of the
discovery of wine by King Jamšīd, told by Mīrχvānd in his _Rauḍat
u̱s-̱safā_.[217] Besides changing the name of the king to Dara, in
order to make the poem more romantic, we find that Bodenstedt has made
some decided alterations and has considerably amplified the legend. Thus
in his version the motive of the lady's attempt at suicide is despised
love, while in the original it is only a prosaic nervous headache. In
both cases, however, the sequel is the same.
Finally, the sixth book offers very free paraphrases of poems by Rūmī,
Saʻdī, Amīr Muʻizzī and Anvarī, who, oddly enough, are termed "Vorläufer
des Mirza Schaffy." The source for most of these poems was evidently
Hammer's _Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens_. To realize with
what freedom Bodenstedt has treated his models, it is only necessary to
compare some of the poems from Rūmī with Hammer's versions, e.g. "Glaube
und Unglaube" (_Red._ p. 175), "Der Mensch und die Welt" (ibid. p. 180),
"Des Lebens Kreislauf" (ibid. p. 178), "Wach' auf" (ibid. p. 181). "Die
Pilger," p. 188, attributed to Jāmī, is likewise from Rūmī (_Red._ p.
181; cf. Rückert, _Werke_, vol. v. p. 220). The poems from Saʻdī can
mostly be traced to the _Gulistān_; they are so freely rendered that
they have little in common with the originals except the thought. No. 1
is _Gul._ ii. 18, _qiṭʻah_ 1, to which the words of Luqmān are added;
no. 2 is from _Gul._ iii. 10, couplet (p. 76; K.S. p. 129); no. 3 is
_Gul._ iii. 27, _maθ_. (p. 89; K.S., p. 151); no. 4 is _Gul._ iii. 27,
_qiṭʻah_ (p. 91; K.S., p. 154) and no. 5 is _Gul._ i. 39, _maθ_. The
poem "Heimat und Fremde" is taken from Amīr Muʻizzī,[218] the court-poet
of Malak Shāh, who in turn took it from Anvarī. It is cited in the _Haft
Qulzum_ to illustrate a kind of poetic theft.[219] "Unterschied" is from
Jāmī (_Red._ p. 315, given as from _Subẖat ul-abrār_), "Warum" from Ibn
Yamīn (_Red._ p. 235); "Die Sterne" and "Die Zeit" are both from Anvarī
(_Red._ pp. 98, 99).
* * * * *
So far, Bodenstedt had taken the material for his Oriental poems from
Persia, but now he turned to India and in 1887 appeared _Sakuntala_, a
romantic epic in five cantos. In the main it follows the story of
Kālidāsa's famous drama, but the version in the _Mahābharāta_ is also
used, and a considerable number of episodes are invented. Even where the
account of the drama is followed, changes of a more or less sweeping
nature are frequent. We cannot say that they strike us as so many
improvements on Kālidāsa; they certainly often destroy or obliterate
characteristic Indic features. Thus in the drama the failure of the king
to recognize Śakuntalā is the result of a curse pronounced against the
girl by the irascible saint Durvāsas, whom she has inadvertently failed
to treat with due respect, and the ring is merely a means of breaking
the spell. All this is highly characteristic of Hindu thought. In
Bodenstedt's poem, however, remembering and forgetting are dependent on
a magic quality inherent in the ring itself,--a trait that is at home in
almost any literature.[220]
* * * * *
There are, besides, many minor changes. The _vidūṣaka_, or fun-making
attendant of the king, is left out, and so the warriors express the
sentiments that he utters at the beginning of Act 2. Duṣyanta does not
bid farewell to his beloved in person, but leaves a letter. Again, after
he has failed to recognize her, she returns to the hermitage of Kanva,
whereas in the drama she is transported to that of Kaśyapa on the
Hēmakūṭa mountain. So, of course, the aerial ride of the king in Indra's
wagon is also done away with.
In many places, on the other hand, the poem follows the drama very
closely. For instance, the passage in the first canto describing the mad
elephant (pp. 14, 15)[221] is a paraphrase of the warning uttered by one
of the holy men in Act 1. Sc. 4 (ed. Kale, p. 40). The discourse of
Śakuntalā with her friends (pp. 37, 38), the incident of the bee and
Priyamvadā's playful remark (pp. 38-40) are closely modelled after the
fourth scene of Act 1. Many passages of the poem are in fact nothing but
translations. Thus the words which the king on leaving, writes to
Śakuntalā (p. 78):
Doch mein Herz wird stets zurückbewegt,
Wie die wehende Fahne an der Stange,
Die man vollem Wind entgegenträgt--
are a pretty close rendering of the final words of the king's soliloquy
at the end of Act 1:
_gacchati puraḥ śarīraṃ dhāvati paścād asaṃstutaṃ cētaḥ cīnāṃśukam
iva kētōḥ prativātam nīyamānasya_
"my body goes forward; the mind not agreeing with it flies backward
like the silken streamer of a banner borne against the wind."
A large part of the whole poem is pure invention, designed to make the
story more exciting by means of a greater variety of incident. Such
invented episodes, for instance, are the gory battle-scenes that take up
the first part of the fourth canto, the omen of the fishes in the fifth,
and the episodes in which Bharata plays the chief rôle in that canto.
Some of the things told of this boy, how he knocks down the gate-keeper
who refuses to admit his mother, how he strikes the queen Vasumatī who
had insulted her, and how he slays the assassin whom this jealous queen
had sent against him, are truly remarkable in view of the fact that the
hero of all these exploits cannot be more than six years of age (see pp.
112, 113). The account in the _Mahābhārata_, to be sure, tells of
equally fabulous exploits performed by the youth, but there we move in
an atmosphere of the marvelous. In Bodenstedt's poem, however, the
supernatural has been almost completely banished, and we cannot help
noticing the improbability of these deeds.
FOOTNOTES:
[204] Hebrew by Jos. Choczner, Breslau, 1868; Dutch by van Krieken,
Amst. 1875; English by E. d'Esterre, Hamb. 1880; Italian by Giuseppe
Rossi, 1884; Polish by Dzialoszye, Warsaw, 1888. See list in G. Schenk,
Friedr. Bodenstedt, Ein Dichterleben in seinen Briefen, Berl. 1893, pp.
246-248.
[205] Aus dem Nachlasse Mirza Schaffys, Berl. 1874, pp. 191-223.
[206] In ZDMG. vol. xxiv. pp. 425-432.
[207] With few exceptions, pointed out by Bodenstedt himself, e.g.
"Mullah rein ist der Wein" is from the Tartaric. Nachlass, p. 208.
[208] Friedr. Bodenstedts Gesammelte Schriften, Berlin, 1865, 12 vols.
Vols. i and ii. All references to the Lieder des M.S. are to this
edition.
[209] Nachlass, p. 193.
[210] Or else a saying of Muhammad exactly like it, cited by Prof.
Brugsch in Aus dem Morgenlande, Lpz. Recl. Univ. Bibl. 3151-2, p. 57.
[211] Cf. Bodenstedt's remarks on S̱ūfism in Nachtrag, p. 198 seq.
[212] See my article on Religion of Ancient Persia in Progress, vol.
iii. No. 5, p. 290.
[213] A complete history of Saʻdī's life, drawn from his own writings as
well as other sources, is given by W. Bacher, Saʻdī's Aphorismen und
Sinngedichte, Strassb. 1879. On the relation of the poet to the rulers
of his time, see esp. p. xxxv seq.
[214] We cite from the third edition, 1887.
[215] Translated more closely by Bodenstedt in Die Lieder und Sprüche
des Omar Chajjâm, Breslau, 1881, p. 29.
[216] Schlechta-Wssehrd, Ibn Jemins Bruchstücke. Wien, 1852, pp. 138,
139.
[217] Tr. David Shea, Hist. of the Early Kings of Persia, Lond. 1832,
pp. 102-104; Malcolm. i. p. 10, note b.
[218] Ethé in Grdr. iran. Phil. ii. p. 260; Pizzi, Storia, vol. i. pp.
88, 215.
[219] Rückert, Gram. Poet. u. Rhet. der Perser, p. 363.
[220] Cf. the story of Charlemagne and the magic stone given to him by a
grateful serpent. Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, 1. 130.
[221] We cite from an edition publ. at Leipzig, no date.
CHAPTER XI.
THE MINOR ORIENTALIZING POETS.
SOME LESS KNOWN POETS WHO ATTEMPTED THE ORIENTAL MANNER.
To enumerate the names of all the German poets who affected the Oriental
manner would be to give a list of the illustrious obscure. Most of them
have only served to furnish another illustration of Horace's famous
_mediocribus esse poetis_. A bare mention of such names as Löschke,
Levitschnigg, Wihl, Stieglitz and von Hermannsthal will suffice.[222]
The last mentioned poet gives a striking illustration of the inanity of
most of this kind of work. He uses the _γazal_ form for stories about
such persons as the Gracchi and Blücher,[223] and, what is still more
curious, for tirades against the Oriental tendency.[224] A poet of
different calibre is Daumer, whose _Hafis_ (Hamb. 1846) for a long time
was regarded as a translation, whereas the poems of the collection are
in reality original productions in H̱āfiḍ's manner, just like Rückert's
_Östliche Rosen_.[225] Their sensuous, passionate eroticism, however, is
not a genuine H̱āfiḍ quality, as we before have seen. The same criticism
applies even much more forcibly to Schefer's _Hafis in Hellas_ (Hamburg,
1853).[226] Special mention is due to the gifted, but unfortunate,
Heinrich Leuthold, whose _Ghaselen_ deserve to be placed by the side of
Platen's. Like Platen and Rückert, he too proclaims himself a reveller:
Zur Gottheit ward die Schönheit mir
Und mein Gebet wird zum Ghasel.--
But these _Ghaselen_ do not attempt to be so intensely Persian as to
reproduce the objectionable features of Persian poetry. Thus Leuthold
sings:
Vor allem ein Lebehoch dem Hafis, dem Patriarchen der Zunft!--
D'rum bringe die liebliche Schenkin das Gold gefüllter Becher
hinein![227]
Evidently the poet sees no necessity for retaining the _sāqī_, but makes
the poem more acceptable to Western taste by substituting a "Schenkin"
for Platen's "Schenke."
The Oriental story was cultivated by J.F. Castelli. Many of the subjects
of his _Orientalische Granaten_ (Dresden, 1852) had already been used by
Rückert. Another Oriental storyteller in verse is Ludwig Bowitsch, whose
_Sindibad_ (Leipzig, 1860) contains mostly Arabic material. Friedrich
von Sallet has written a poem on _Zerduscht_[228] which gives the
Iranian legend of the attempt made by the sorcerers to burn the newborn
child.[229] It would, however, lead us too far were we to mention single
poems on Oriental subjects or of Oriental tendency.
* * * * *
Head and shoulders above all these less known poets towers the figure of
Count von Schack, who, like Rückert, combined the poetic gift with the
learning of the scholar, and who thus stands out a worthy successor of
the German Brahman as a representative of the idea of the
_Weltlitteratur_. A discussion of his work is a fitting close for this
investigation.
FOOTNOTES:
[222] On these see Paul Horn, Was verdanken Wir Persien, in Nord u. Süd,
Heft 282, p. 386 seq.
[223] Ghaselen, Leipz. Recl. Univ. Bibl. No. 371, pp. 96, 99.
[224] Ibid. pp. 49-54. An einen Freund.
[225] See von Schack, Strophen des Omar Chijam, p. 117.
[226] Horn in article cited, p. 389; Emil Brenning, Leopold Schefer,
Bremen, 1884, p. 135.
[227] Gedichte, Frauenfeld, 1879, p. 144 (xvi).
[228] Gesammelte Gedichte, Leipz. Reclam. Nos. 551-3, p. 128.
[229] See Jackson, Zoroaster, p. 29.
CHAPTER XII.
VON SCHACK.
His Fame as Translator of Firdausī--Stimmen vom
Ganges--Sakuntala compared with the Original in the
Mahābhārata--His Oriental Scholarship in his Original
Poems--Attitude towards Hafizian Singers.
As an Orientalist, von Schack's scholarship is amply attested by his
numerous and excellent translations from Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit.
His _Heldensagen des Firdusi_, as is well known, has become a standard
work of German literature. In fact, we may say that his reputation rests
more upon his translations than upon his poems.
Though we have consistently refrained from discussing translations, it
is felt that the _Stimmen vom Ganges_, which is a collection of Indic
legends from various sources, especially from the _Purāṇas_, cannot be
left entirely out of consideration.[230] In many respects these poems
have the charm of original work. The models moreover are used with great
freedom. To cite von Schack's own words: "Für eigentliche Übertragungen
können diese Dichtungen in der Gestalt, wie sie hier vorliegen, nicht
gelten, da bei der Bearbeitung bald grössere bald geringere Freiheit
gewaltet hat, auch manches Störende und Weitschweifige ausgeschieden
wurde; doch hielt ich es für unstatthaft, am Wesentlichen des Stoffes
und der Motive Änderungen vorzunehmen. In Gedanken und Ausdruck haben,
wenn nicht der jedesmal vorliegende Text, so doch stets Indische Werke
zu Vorbildern gedient."[231]
A brief comparison of any one of these poems with the Sanskrit original
will show the correctness of this statement. Let us take, as an
illustration, the second, which gives the famous legend of Śakuntalā
from the _Mahābhārata_ (i. 69-74; Bombay ed. i. 92-100).
Schack leaves out unnecessary details and wearisome repetitions. Thus
the elaborate account of the Brahmans whom the king sees on entering the
hermitage of Kanva and their different occupations (_Mbh_. 70, 37-47) is
condensed into fourteen lines, p. 36. Again, in the original, when
Śakuntalā tells the story of her birth, the speech by which Indra urges
Mēnakā to undertake the temptation of Viśvāmitra is given at some length
(_Mbh_. 71, 20-26); so also the reply of the timid nymph (ibid. 71,
27-42); the story of the temptation itself is narrated with realistic
detail in true Hindu fashion (ibid. 72, 1-9). All this takes up
thirty-three _ślōkas_. Schack devotes to it barely five lines, p. 38;
the speeches of Indra and Mēnakā he omits altogether. Again, when the
king proposes to the fair maid, he enters into a learned disquisition on
the eight kinds of marriage, explaining which ones are proper for each
caste, which ones are never proper, and so forth; finally he proposes
the Gandharva form (_Mbh_. 73, 6-14). It is needless to say that in
Schack's poem the king's proposal is much less didactic and much more
direct, pp. 40, 41.
On the other hand, to see how closely the poet sometimes follows his
model we need but compare all that follows the words "Kaum war er
gegangen," p. 42, to "Dem sind nimmerdar die Götter gnädig," p. 47, with
the Sanskrit original (_Mbh_. 73, 24-74, 33).
Minor changes in phrases or words, advisable on aesthetic grounds, are
of course frequent. Similes, for instance, appealing too exclusively to
Hindu taste, were made more general. Thus in Śakuntalā's reply to the
king, p. 51, the faults of others are likened in size to sand grains,
and those of himself to glebes. In Sanskrit, however, the comparison is
to mustard-grains and bilva-fruits respectively. A few lines further on
the maid declares:
"So überragt mein Stamm denn
Weit den deinen, wisse das, Duschmanta!"
which passage in the original reads: _āvayōr antaraṃ paśya mēru
sarśapōr iva_, "behold! the difference between us is like that between
a mustard-seed and Mount Mēru." In the same speech of Śakuntalā the
Sanskrit introduces a striking simile which Schack omits as too
specifically Indic:
_mūrkhō hi jalpatāṃ puṃsāṃ śrutvā vācaḥ śubhāśubhāḥ
aśubhaṃ vākyam ādattē purīṣam iva sūkaraḥ
prājñas tu jalpatāṃ puṃsāṃ śrutvā vācaḥ śubhāśubhāḥ
guṇavad vākyam ādattē haṃsaḥ kṣīram ivāṃbhasaḥ_
(_Mbh_. 74. 90, 91.)
"The fool having heard men's speeches containing good and evil
chooses the evil just as a hog dirt; but the wise man having heard
men's speeches containing good and evil chooses the worthy, just
as a swan (separates) milk from water."[232]
We believe that these illustrations will suffice to give an idea of the
relation which Schack's poems bear to the originals.
* * * * *
His fondness for things Oriental finds also frequent expression in his
own poems. In _Nächte des Orients_ (vol. i. p. 7 seq.),[233] like Goethe
before him, he undertakes a poetic Hegira to the East:
Entfliehen lasst mich, fliehn aus den Gewirren
Des Occidents zum heitern Morgenland!
So he visits the native towns of Firdausī and H̱āfiḍ and pays his
respect to their memory, and then penetrates also into India, where he
hears from the lips of a Buddhist monk an exposition of Nirvāṇa
philosophy, which, however, is unacceptable to him (p. 111). The
Oriental scenes that are brought before our mind, both in this poem as
well as in "Memnon" (vol. vii. p. 5 seq.), are of course portrayed with
poetic feeling as well as scholarly accuracy. The _ẖājī_ who owns the
wonderful elixir,--which, by the way, is said to come from India (p.
33),--and who interprets each vision that the poet lives through from
the standpoint of the pessimistic sceptic, shows the influence of ʻUmar
Xayyām. In fact he indulges sometimes in unmistakable reminiscences of
the quatrains of the famous astronomer-poet, as when he says:
Wie Schattenbilder, die an der Laterne,
Wenn sie der Gaukler schiebt, vorübergleiten,
So zieht die blöde, willenlose Herde,
Die Menschheit mein' ich, über diese Erde. (p. 55.)
This is very much the same thought as in the following quatrain of ʻUmar
(Whinf. 310; Bodl. 108):
اين چرخ فلک که ما درو حيرانيم
فانوس خيال ازو مثالی دانيم
خورشيد چراغ دان و عالم فانوس
ما چون صوريم کاندر و گردانيم
which stands first in Schack's own translation of the Persian poet and
is thus rendered:
Für eine magische Laterne ist diese ganze Welt zu halten,
In welcher wir voll Schwindel leben;
Die Sonne hängt darin als Lampe; die Bilder aber und Gestalten
Sind wir, die d'ran vorüberschweben.[234]
In his _Weihgesänge_ (vol. ii. p. 149) Schack sends a greeting to the
Orient; in another one of these songs he sings the praises of India
(ibid. p. 232), and in still another he apostrophizes Zoroaster (ibid.
p. 133). A division of this volume (ii.) bears the title _Lotosblätter_.
The sight of the scholar's chamber with its Sanskrit manuscripts makes
him dream of India's gorgeous scenery and inspires a poem "Das indische
Gemach" (vol. x. p. 26).
Oriental stories and legends are also offered, though not frequently.
"Mahmud der Gasnevide" (vol. i. p. 299) relates the story of the great
sultan's stern justice.[235] "Anahid" (vol. vii. p. 209) gives the
famous legend of the angels Hārūt and Mārūt, who were punished for their
temptation of the beautiful Zuhra, the Arabic Venus.[236] Schack has
substituted the old Persian name of Anāhita (mod. Pers. _nāhīd_) for
the Arabic name, and has otherwise also altered the legend considerably.
Schack never attempted to write original poems in Oriental form. The
Hafizian movement did not excite his enthusiasm, and for the trifling of
the average Hafizian singer he had no use whatever. In a poem by which
he conveys his thanks to the sultan for a distinction which the latter
had conferred on him he says:
Wär ich, so wie Firdusi, paradiesisch,
Ich bohrte dir die Perlen der Kaside
Und schlänge dir das Halsband der Ghasele;
Allein wir Deutschen singen kaum hafisisch,
Und wenn wir orientalisch sind im Liede,
Durchtraben wir die Wüsten als Kamele. (Vol. x. p. 106.)
Even for Bodenstedt's Mirza Schaffy songs he has no great admiration:
Gar viel bedeutet's nicht, mich dünkt!
Dem nur, was Rückert längst schon besser machte
Und Platen, bist du keuchend nachgehinkt. (Vol. x. p. 47.)
FOOTNOTES:
[230] Stimmen vom Ganges. Eine Sammlung Indischer Sagen, 2 Auflage,
Stuttgart, 1877. The first edition appeared in 1857. There the eleventh
story was Yadu's Meerfahrt (from Harivaṃśa). In the second edition this
was omitted and an imitation of the Nalōdaya substituted as an appendix.
The sources for each poem are given by the author himself in Nachwort,
p. 215, note.
[231] Op. cit. p. 216.
[232] See Lanman, The Milk-drinking Haṅsas of Sanskrit Poetry, JAOS.
vol. 19. 2, pp. 151-158. Goose would be a better translation of the word
_haṃsa_ than swan.
[233] We cite from the edition mentioned on p. vii.
[234] Strophen des Omar Chijam, Stuttg. 1878. The translation itself
dates from an earlier period than the year of publication. The author,
speaking of the delay in bringing it before the public, states that
Horace's nonumque prematur in annum could be applied in threefold
measure to this work (p. 118). Hence the translation was made about
1850, or a little later.
[235] Herder, Briefe zur Beförderung der Humanität, x, ed. Suphan, vol.
18, p. 259; Deguignes, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 172; Francis Gladwin, The
Persian Moonshee, Calcutta, 1801, Pers. and Engl. pt. ii. p. 3.
[236] See Hammer, Fundgruben, vol. i. pp. 7, 8.
CHAPTER XIII.
CONCLUSION.
Now that we have come to the end of our investigation, it may be well to
survey briefly the whole field and to summarize the results we have
reached.
We have seen that to mediæval Europe India and Persia were lands of
magic and enchantment; their languages and literatures were utterly
unknown. Whatever influence these literatures exerted on that of Europe
was indirect and not recognized. Nor did the Portuguese discoveries
effect an immediate change. It was only by slow degrees that the West
obtained any knowledge of Eastern thought. The _Gulistān_ and _Būstān_
of Saʻdī, some maxims of Bhartṛhari and a few scattered fragments were
all that was known in Europe of Indic or Persian literature before the
end of the eighteenth century.
Then the epoch-making discoveries of Sir William Jones aroused the
attention of the Western world and laid the foundations of a new
science. New ideas of world-wide significance presented themselves to
the European mind. Nowhere were these ideas welcomed with more
enthusiasm than in Germany, the home of philological scholarship. Herder
pointed the way, and by means of translations and imitations tried to
introduce the treasures of Oriental thought into German literature. That
he did not meet with unqualified success was due, as we have seen, to
his one-sided didactic tendency. To him, however, belongs the credit of
the first impulse. Then Friedrich Schlegel founded the study of Sanskrit
in Germany, while at the same time Hammer was busily at work spreading a
knowledge of the Persian poets in Europe. The effect of the latter's
work was instantaneous, for, as has been pointed out, it was his
translation of H̱āfiḍ that inspired the composition of Goethe's _Divan_
and thus started the Oriental movement in Germany.
We have examined the share which Rückert, Platen, Bodenstedt and Schack
had in this movement and have touched briefly on the work of some of the
minor lights. It will be noticed that the Persian tendency found a far
greater number of followers than the Indic. And this is but natural. It
was far more easy to sing of wine, woman and roses in the manner of
H̱āfiḍ, such as most of these poets conceived this manner to be, than to
assimilate and reproduce the philosophic and often involved poetry of
India. Add to this the charming form and the rich rhyme of Persian
poetry and we can readily understand why it won favor. But we can also
understand readily enough why most of the so-called Hafizian singing is
of very inferior quality. Those men who did the most serious work for
the West-Eastern movement in Germany, men like Rückert and Schack, were
not one-sided in their studies. It was their earnest intention to offer
to their countrymen what was best in the literatures of both India and
Persia, and that they have carried out this intention nobly no one who
has followed this investigation will be disposed to deny.
* * * * *
It only remains to say a few words on the question of the value of this
Oriental movement to German literature. We are not inclined to put too
high an estimate on the poetry that arose under its influence. In fact,
we do not think that it has produced what may be called really great
poetry. It is significant that the fame of most of the poets considered
in this investigation does not rest on that part of their work which was
inspired by Oriental influence. We cannot possibly agree with the view
that would place Goethe's _Divan_ side by side with the master's best
productions. We do not believe that he ever would have become famous
through that. Platen's _Ghaselen_ have neither the merit nor the
reputation of his sonnets or his ballads. Even among the _Ghaselen_ and
_Östliche Rosen_ of Rückert, the finest poems, such as "Sei mir
gegrüsst" and "Du bist die Ruh," both immortalized by the genius of
Schubert, are precisely those that are least Oriental, and we think it
is safe to say that the _Liebesfrühling_ exceeds in fame any one of
Rückert's Oriental collections, including the _Weisheit des Brahmanen_.
The exception to the rule is Bodenstedt. His reputation rests almost
solely on the Mirza Schaffy songs; but it will scarcely be pretended
that this is great poetry.
From what has been said it may be inferred that the chief value of the
Oriental movement does not consist in its original contributions to
German literature, but rather in the reproductions and translations it
inspired. For it was through these that the treasures of Eastern thought
were made the literary heritage, not of Germany alone, but of Europe. As
far as the literature of Germany itself is concerned, this movement was
of the greatest significance, in that it introduced the Oriental element
and thereby helped powerfully to impart to German letters the spirit of
cosmopolitanism for which men like Herder and Goethe had so earnestly
striven. The great writers of ancient Greece and Rome had long since
been familiar to the German people; Shakespere, Dante and Calderon had
likewise won a place by the side of the German classics through the
masterly work of the Romanticists; and now the spirit and form of a new
literature--light from the East--was brought in by the movement which
has been the subject of this investigation and assumed its place as a
recognized element in the literature of Germany. The fond dream of a
_Weltlitteratur_ thus became a reality, and the German language became
the medium of acquaintance with all that is best in the literature of
the world. The Oriental movement is the clearest proof of that spirit of
universality, which is at once the noblest trait and the proudest boast
of German genius.
[Illustration]
Transcriber's Notes
There are many spelling and capitalization inconsistencies in the
original of this text. These have been retained in this version, except
those noted below.
Page vi: Changed Behāristān to Bahāristān.
Page 2: Added marker for Footnote 2.
Page 6: Changed fourteeth to fourteenth.
Page 7: Changed "ferren India" to "fernen India."
Page 44: Changed "Iskandarnāmah" to "Iskandar Nāmah" in Footnote 159.
Page 52: Changed "Pratap Sinh" to "Pratap Singh."
Changed "d' herb" to "d'herb" where it occurs.
Normalized spelling for "H̱āfiḍ" throughout the text.
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