# History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North/Part 2/Chapter 4

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CHAPTER IV.
HOLBERG AND HIS TIME (1700-1750).
FROM our description given in the preceding chapters of the beginnings of Danish-Norwegian literature it appears that vigorous efforts to establish a literature had already been made in various directions and important results had been attained, but the really decisive impulse was given to the literary activities of these countries when Ludvig Holberg appeared. He not only cleared the ground and winnowed away a vast amount of rubbish which had hindered the development of intellectual life, but what was of chief importance, the barriers were thrown down which had for centuries separated the people from the learned class, and which the Reformation, with its fresh breath sweeping through the northern lands, had not been able to remove, but which yielded to Holberg's powerful attacks, never to rise again. It is true that all that was to be achieved in this direction could not possibly be done by one single man. There was need of the coöperation of a whole generation, but the first mighty impulse was given by Holberg.
Ludvig Holberg was born in Bergen, Norway, December 3, 1684. His father had risen from a common soldier to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and Ludvig, who was the youngest of twelve children, was according to the cus​tom of the time already from his childhood intended for the army. But the boy evinced such decided distaste for military life that his parents yielded to his desires and sent him to the Bergen Latin school. In 1702 he entered the Copenhagen University, but being destitute of means he was unable to continue his studies there, and was soon obliged to return to Norway, where he became private tutor in the house of a country parson. Later he was again able to return to Copenhagen for the purpose of passing his theological examinations, whereupon he once more accepted a tutorship in the house of a Bergen clergyman. The latter had travelled abroad and kept a diary of his journeys. The perusal of this diary aroused in Holberg an irresistible desire of seeing the world, and with a very small purse of money he set out for Holland. He did not, however, remain long in this country. His hope of earning his living by teaching failed him, and he found that the Dutch did not rate learning as high as he had expected. The most learned professor ranked even lower than a common skipper, and the result was that he did not profit much from his journey. To Bergen he would not return for fear of being laughed at by his fellow-citizens on account of his unsuccessful expedition. So he now lived for a short time in Christianssand as a teacher of languages, and he found no difficulty in teaching foreign tongues, for his linguistic talents soon made him as renowned "as Mithridates, King of Pontus, who, as history tells us, spoke twenty-two languages." But, as soon as he had accumulated some money, he again longed to leave Norway, which he was destined never again to see, and now he went to England. Here he remained for some years, chiefly in Oxford, where he was a constant visitor in the libraries and devoted himself to the study of history.
On his return from England he began to deliver private lectures in Copenhagen. By this means he was, however, unable to make his living, for his lectures brought him nothing, though he did not lack listeners. He was therefore ​again compelled to accept a position as private tutor, and this gave him an opportunity of making a short journey to Germany. Finally in 1710 he was admitted to Borch's college for poor students and graduates, and thereby he was enabled to devote himself henceforth exclusively to his studies, and to utilize the materials which he had so diligently collected. In 1711 he made his début as an author, when he published a brief history of the world, entitled "Introduction til de europæiske Rigers Historie," the first Danish work of its kind, and soon afterward he presented to Frederik IV, in manuscript, the history of Christian IV and Frederic III. These and a few other smaller historical works opened the university to him, where in 1714 he was made professor extraordinarius, but still without pay. He soon, however, received a stipend which enabled him to undertake a journey of several years (1714-1716), and now he also visited Paris and Rome. On his return he published his "Jus Naturæ et Gentium," which was based on the works of the great masters in this field, Grotius, Pufendorf, and Thomasius, and in 1718 he was appointed regular professor of metaphysics in the Copenhagen University. On this occasion he delivered an inaugural address which more resembled a funeral sermon than a panegyric on that science, as Holberg was no great admirer of abstract philosophy. Later he became professor of Latin and rhetoric, and finally in 1730, of history and geography, his favorite studies.
Until Holberg obtained his first permanent appointment as university professor he had occupied himself almost exclusively with historical studies, but about this time his intellectual work turned into a completely different channel. As a student he had written verses, but he had soon abandoned the art and for many years he did not produce a line. Poetry was so distasteful to him, that, as he himself relates, he was unable to listen to any poem, however elegantly it might be written, without yawning. After his return from his long journey he entered the field of satire in certain polemical ​writings against the historian and jurist Andreas Höyer, and this aroused in him the desire of finding out whether he possessed the gift of speaking "the language of the Gods." The result of the first attempt, a satire in the style of Juvenal, encouraged him to continue, and now followed with short intervals that series of masterpieces in comical poetry, which more than any other of his numerous literary productions have made his name famous.
First there appeared in 1719-1720, pseudonymous (he called himself Hans Mikkelsen, brewer in Kallundborg, a name which he afterwards retained in his comedies and other humorous compositions), the great comical heroic poem about the grocer Peder Paars of Kallundborg, who, on his journey to Aars (Aarhuus), where he was going to visit his betrothed, is shipwrecked on the island of Anholt in the Kattegat, and thus has to pass through many strange adventures and experiences. The poem was originally intended as a parody on ancient and modern heroic poems, particularly on the epics of Homer and Virgil, which on account of their variety of illustrations and phantastic figures naturally seemed very ridiculous to the sober and decidedly prosy intellect of the eighteenth century, while the conventional epic style appeared bombastic and pedantic in the eyes of the men of that period. Holberg, who had lost all taste for serious poetry, also shared this view. From his standpoint he begins his poem with great humor, but he soon strikes a different key, and with much higher aims before him he enters a far more fertile field. Already in this poem we find a complete gallery of fully developed comical types which are treated with rollicking humor and in which the follies of his time are attacked.
The several cantos of the epic appeared in rapid succession and created an extraordinary sensation, though but few were able to appreciate their real significance as an impersonal and general satire. Many became angry, felt themselves hurt, and interpreted the ridicule which had been aimed at a class ​to which they chanced to belong, as directed against themselves personally, and the matter might easily have resulted in serious consequence to Holberg himself. A certain Frederik Rostgaard, a landed proprietor on the island of Anholt, happened to be among those most incensed, though he was, according to the standard of the time, a man of great culture and a profound student of art. Frederik Rostgaard was particularly offended at Holberg's description of the inhabitants of Anholt, of whom he had said that they lived a Christian life and maintained themselves honestly by shipwrecks,—just as so many of the dwellers on the seaboard had done in the good times of yore. Rostgaard complained in person to King Frederik IV on the appearance of the first canto, and insisted that the poem should be burnt by the hangman, as a libellous and indecent book, and that the author should be punished according to the full rigor of the law as a frivolous satirist "who had scandalized the poor country of Anholt, including its priest and bailiff, with a false, unchristian description, thus disgracing their ancestors, fellow citizens and descendants." Still the matter ended more satisfactorily than it promised in the beginning. The King caused the book to be read to him, and found that it was "a harmless, amusing work," and the state council acquitted the author by a message, in which it was stated, however, that it would have been better if the book had never been written.
In 1722 Holberg began the composition of his plays, that part of his poetical work, in which his talents shone to the greatest advantage. Plays were at that time but little known in Denmark. The school comedies which had had their bloom in the sixteenth century, gradually went out of fashion, and besides, they were not intended for the people at large, especially as the most of them were written in Latin. At the court they kept French and Italian dramatic companies, and the people had to put up with the conventional state plays of the German actors, with the rape of Helen, the ​siege of Troy, and the representation of the whole Odyssey, all of which Holberg has parodied in the most exquisite manner in his comedy, "Ulysses of Ithacia" (sic!).
From the latter half of the seventeenth century, about fifty years before Holberg's plays were produced, we possess an interesting dramatic satire, "Grevens og Friherrens Komedie" (the comedy of the count and the baron), which apparently was written by the nobleman, Mogens Skeel (1650-94). This comedy ridiculed, with a considerable degree of humor, the new fangled, chiefly German, court nobility, which had risen in the time of Christian V, and it is remarkable as the first effort at introducing the new school of drama, which had been created abroad, but it also remained the only effort before Holberg.
In 1720 Etienne Capion, a member of a French theatrical company which had been giving representations at the court, obtained the privilege of building a theatre, where in the beginning French and German plays alternated. Two years later permission was granted to the French actor René Montaigu "to arrange and act comedies in the Danish language." He therefore associated himself with Capion, and on the 23d of September, 1722, the Danish theatre was opened with a translation of Molieve's "l'Avare." In order to secure original plays, they now addressed themselves to the author of Peder Paars, and he was at once ready for the task. Already the same year he furnished five plays, and in the course of a few years he had written more than twenty. Still the theatre was not a financial success, and the greatest effort was necessary to sustain it. When afterward, in 1728, Copenhagen was visited by a great conflagration, and when the puritanic king, Christian VI, a few years subsequently ascended the throne, the taste for the theatre died away, and thus there was for the present an end to Holberg's writing of comedies. ​In Holberg's Comedies the germs, which are already to be found in Peder Paars, are further developed. Precisely as in this poem, we encounter in the comedies a multitude of typical characters taken from the daily life of that period and painted with such fresh and vivid colors that Oelenschlæger justly remarks, that "if Copenhagen had been buried beneath the ground and only Holberg's comedies had remained, we should nevertheless have known the life that stirred within its walls, not only in its broad outlines, but also in many of its minutest details." We here make the acquaintance of the political tinker, Herman von Bremenfeld, whose head has been turned by politics to such a degree that he on this account neglects his work. We further find Jean de France, or Hans Fransen as he was called before he went to Paris, and who afterward is filled with conceits of all sorts; then the boasting, blustering soldier Jakob von Thybo, the peasant lad, Rasmus Berg, or Erasmus Montanus, whom a stay at the University of Copenhagen has turned into a conceited fool, and many other characters from the life of the metropolis. The "Barselstue" (the lying-in room) introduces us to a whole gallery of exquisite female characters, in which the everlastingly feminine element has been comically illustrated and diversified in a truly masterly manner. The pitiable lot of the Danish peasantry, kept down in the basest servitude, has been described in a plastic manner in his "Jeppe paa Berget." We here have a peasant endowed by nature with excellent parts, who, under the terrible oppression resting on his class, has become the very incarnation of wretchedness, and makes in many respects a tragical impression, since, in spite of the irresistible and sparkling humor of the play, we are not able for a moment to lose sight of the contrast between that which this peasant under different circumstances might have been and the deep debasement in which we now behold him. This comedy gives one of the most striking pictures of life that any literature can boast. Among his charter plays of general interest " Den Stundeslöso" (the restless ​man) and "Den Vægelsindede" (the fickle woman), and among other plays "Henrik and Pernille" and "Maskeraden" are especially to be mentioned.
It is, however, no easy matter to classify Holberg's comedies in groups. The most of them have in common not only a leading character (a person affected with some striking human weakness or some individual peculiarly characteristic of the age), but also the secondary figures, which, though constantly recurring, are diversified with great skill and humor (the dignified parent, the cunning servant, the simple domestic, the lovers, etc., etc.), and all are drawn with remarkable distinctness. Every comedy teems with genuine wit, and with exquisite, though sometimes rather broad humor. His exuberant humor was combined with a most profound psychological insight, and his plays abound in traits that evince a rare knowledge of human nature. His prolonged stay abroad necessarily opened the eyes of a man endowed with a gift of keen observation to all that was ridiculous and small in the social life of Denmark. Abroad he also became acquainted with the new dramatic form, and when once the impulse from without had been given, the great dramatist had it entirely in his power to paint the men of his time as they lived and moved, and to paint them in such a manner as to give the dramas immortal value, since, in addition to the particular color belonging to the time and the circumstances, they also embody the common and permanent human element. Like his predecessor, Molière, he does not hesitate to take his materials wherever he can find them, and thus he has borrowed for his plays not only from Molière and from the Italians, but also from Plautus and Terence. His creative talent never forsakes him, however, and what he borrows, he always understands, like the true artist, to use in such a manner that it blends with his own materials, and through this very blending acquires its true lustre.
And yet the poetical point of view was to Holberg a subordinate one. The most important aim of which he was ​conscious was "a good and useful moral," and as a means to this end he created his play. He well understood that it would be fruitless to fling people's faults and follies into their faces, and so he "mixed nonsense into his plays," as he himself asserts, in order to secure a better effect. He frequently in so doing gave offence, and then, as when he published Peder Paars, he had many misunderstandings to contend with. On the one hand it gave great offence that a university professor should occupy himself with "tomfooleries" of this kind, and on the other hand many felt hurt and believed themselves personally held up to public ridicule, so that Holberg repeatedly was compelled to defend himself in writing against false interpretations, and to enlighten the public in regard to the real purport of his plays. The fact that he, in spite of all opposition, continued his work and did not go astray in his vast creative activity, is the strongest proof that he was profoundly convinced of the importance of his task.
When during the reign of Christian VI the puritanism of the court was spread throughout the land and invaded all social relations, Holberg suspended his activity as a playwright and went to Paris to enjoy a holiday. On his return to Copenhagen he resumed his long interrupted historical studies and published a "Danmarks Historie" in three volumes, a thorough, exhaustive, and graphic work, and the first popular history of Denmark ever written. This was followed by a general ecclesiastical history from the introduction of Christianity to the Reformation, an excellent work, which for the first time made this great subject accessible to all, and it was, moreover, written in a thoroughly vivid and fascinating style.
His history of the Jews is of less importance, consisting chiefly in a compilation from other writers. In his comparative sketches of heroes and heroines he followed Plutarch's method, constantly comparing two celebrated men or women. He sketches their lives in a general introduction ​and then institutes a comparison between them. Here, too, as in all that Holberg has written, the moral point of view is of paramount importance. This moral issue is treated independently in several of his last works, as, for instance, in his "moralske Tanker," and in many of his "Epistler." In the latter work, which dates from the last years of Holberg's life, his versatility and learning are displayed for the last time in all their strength and vigor, and he treats the greatest variety of topics with the sober earnestness of a philosopher, and at the same time with the cheerfulness of a humorist.
The same moralizing tendency is the basis of his "Niels Klim's Underground Journey," a satirical romance, excellent also from a poetical standpoint. Holberg does not here, as in his comedies and in his Peder Paars, limit himself to Danish affairs, but he pours out his satire upon all Europe, and for this reason the book, which was published in Leipsic in 1741, was written in Latin. But it was soon translated into the most of the tongues of Europe. The book tells how the sexton Niels Klim in Bergen through an accident was conducted to the lower world, and how he there became acquainted with a number of different kingdoms and nations. The description of the latter gives Holberg an opportunity of expressing in a striking and humorous manner his thoughts upon the state of things in this upper world. The book created an extraordinary sensation, and on account of its broad views on religious subjects it gave great offence to the clergy. But this did not in the least check its circulation or hinder its wholesome influence, for it contributed in a marked degree to the suppression of that reliance on authority which Holberg had always fought, though nowhere with more vigor than in this work.
Among Holberg's works must also be mentioned his autobiography, which is of importance to the history of literature and culture. It consists of three letters written in Latin, of which the first appeared in 1727 and the last in 1743. The ​emancipation of woman found in him a warm advocate, and in his writings he frequently touches on this subject. His humorous poem "Zille Hausdatters Forsvar for Kvindekjörnnet" deals exclusively with this subject. In his poem "Metamorphoses eeller Forvandlinger" he gives a kind of parallel to, or rather a parody on Ovid's well known composition, but the work is of rather inferior literary value.
When the theatre on the accession of Frederik V was reopened in 1747, Holberg was again requested to write for it, and he accordingly furnished several new plays, such as "Plutus," "Abracadabra," "Republiken," etc., but his creative energy was now on the wane and these plays can in no wise be compared with his earlier comedies.
By his vast literary activity Holberg had gradually accumulated a considerable fortune, which was all the more easy for him as he continued to live single and with so great economy that he has been accused of avarice. But in this respect he has been misjudged, for he subjected himself to every manner of privations from a most generous motive, desiring to accumulate a large capital for the erection of an institution of great importance to his country. He first thought of founding a learned society for the advancement of the Danish language, but finding that several such institutions were being established without his help, he abandoned this idea. He finally resolved to bequeath all his wealth to the Sorö academy. The latter had been built by Christian IV for the purpose of counteracting the custom among the nobles of sending their sons abroad to be educated. But after a short existence the academy had been closed in 1665. After the receipt of Holberg's bequest it was reopened and soon gained a great reputation. Throughout the entire latter half of the eighteenth century many of Denmark's most distinguished scholars found at this place their sphere of activity.
Holberg, who in 1747 had been made a noble, died January 29, 1754, and was buried in the Sorö church. His influence on the literature and on the whole intellectual life ​of Denmark cannot be overestimated. His many and various popular scientific works made a deep impression on the laity on account of their clearness and perspicuity and their vivid and attractive style. They found the widest circulation among all classes, and contributed much to render science, which had hitherto been the exclusive property of the learned, accessible to the common man, and to arouse his interest in it. But Holberg achieved still more by his poetry. It is true he had no appreciation of the ideal and it was long before he was able to relish Homer, old heroic poems, or the sagas, for he saw all things in the convex mirror of the comical muse. But he was so great and his eye for the distorted and ridiculous was so keen that the prejudices and follies that had accumulated in the lapse of centuries were completely extirpated by Holberg, and the path was cleared for a more solid and positive development. Holberg's works were greatly benefited by the circumstance that their author was in possession of a general culture and was able to avail himself of all that had been done in his time in all the rest of Europe. Many of his characters are based on foreign models. Thus Peder Paars bears a certain resemblance to Boileau's "Lutrin," Niels Klim to Swift's Gulliver, and in Holberg's plays there are many reminiscences of Molière. But what he appropriated from foreigners, he digested so thoroughly that through him it appeared in a wholly new and original form. All of Holberg's creations carry in their face the unmistakable stamp of his own individuality. In his works, moreover, the Danish element is constantly brought to the front and kept pure and unalloyed. It has rightly been said of him that all the foreign materials which were touched by his hand were so completely Danicised that his works may claim far more originality than those of the most of his predecessors who usually blindly followed some foreign model.
All that which Holberg had acquired by his hard and indefatigable studies was destined to be a blessing to his countrymen. The old barriers were broken down, the mem​tal horizon was enlarged and thousands of healthy germs began their development. But the germs had sprung from the people themselves, and being fertilized by contact with foreign elements they were made to blossom and bear fruit in the vernacular, and Latin was forever dethroned. Through his many sided and stimulating activity as a popular writer Holberg laid a solid foundation on which a truly popular literature would be built. Meanwhile some time was needed before the fruits of his work could ripen. The fermentation which he had provoked must subside before the new elements could become established. But it was he who paved the way, and for this reason and regardless of the immortal intrinsic value of his poetical works he must be considered as the founder of modern Danish literature. Herewith is connected the characteristic circumstance that he stands alone, that he founded no school, and that he had no followers, at least none of any considerable mark. He had a definite task before him, that of preparing the soil for the fulness of time,—an immediate continuation of his work was impossible simply on account of its negative character.
Christian Falster (1690-1752), also distinguished as a linguist, is the one among Holberg's contemporaries who ranks nearest to him as poet. He is the author of a num​ber of very enjoyable and striking satires which never stooped to personal attacks. From the very nature of things the same theme is frequently treated by both poets, but Falster's style is an entirely independent one, and in many instances his poem was written before Holberg's. Among his Latin works the most remarkable was his "Amœnitates philologiæ," a collection of dissertations, some of which are scientific, while others discuss the various questions of the day in the same manner as did Holberg in his "Epistler" and "Moralske Tanker." In these works he proves himself a man by no means inferior to Holberg in point of maturity and intellectual vigor. Though thoroughly original as a writer and thinker, he occasionally reminds us of Holberg by independent views and by the ideas he sets forth; like Holberg he defends the importance of the Danish tongue and advocates its right to be employed in literature. His translation of Ovid's "Tristia" is also worthy of mention on account of its beautiful language, and because it preserves the original elegiac tone of the poem.
Jörgen Sorterup (1662-1723) occupies a peculiar position in this period as the last representative of the national tendency, which was discussed under the head of the period of learning. His satires are of but little value, broad and coarse, though his verses flow easily enough. On the other hand his heroic songs in honor of Frederik IV are really remarkable, for in them the style and character of the popular ballad has been skilfully preserved; but they, too, frequently show a lack of taste and genuine poetic feeling.
A capital rhyme-smith, who "could not live without rhyming," was Töger Reenberg (1656-1742), who during his lifetime and for a long time afterward was regarded as a great poet, though but few of his productions would at present bear the test of criticism. Some of his drinking ​songs and festive poems may, however, still be read with pleasure.
An exceptionally gifted lyric poet, a rare phenomenon indeed in this period, was Ambrosius Stub (1705-58). He was the son of a poor village tailor in Fuhnen, graduated at the gymnasium in his twentieth year, but never advanced any further, probably from lack of means to continue his studies. His youth and the greater part of his manhood he seems to have spent at various country-manors, partly as secretary (Skriverkarl) and partly as tutor. His last years he spent at Ribe teaching the children of respected citizens, and died in this city in the greatest poverty, having all his life struggled with want and adversity, a fact which did not fail to leave some traces in his poetry, though the latter upon the whole bears the stamp of a fresh, cheerful, sanguine disposition that was not easily damped or discouraged. During his lifetime he found but little appreciation beyond the circle of his nearest acquaintances. He is a striking illustration of the complete lack of poetic taste which characterized his time. In all his poems there beats a warm and noble poetic heart, and, in spite of their stiff, obsolete language, many of them are still genuine pearls. It must not be forgotten that Stub was almost the first Danish lyrical poet outside the field of purely religious poetry, and that as such he had many difficulties to overcome both as regards form and language, and we are therefore astonished when we see what progress he made with, as it were, a single bold stroke. A small collection of his poems was printed for the first time in 1771, long after his death, and this little volume contained all that remained of his poetical industry, which must have been very fruitful, but the little book was received with great favor and became very popular. He composed both spiritual and secular songs, and while the former are marked by a warm, noble and pious sentiment, the latter overflow with ​rollicking mirth and fun. To this poet, who had received the talent of song as a gift from heaven, Christian Frederik Wadskjær (1712-79) forms a complete contrast. After producing a countless number of tasteless, soulless rhymes, saturated with classical learning, he became professor of rhetoric in the University of Copenhagen, and at the same time censor of all Danish poetical compositions that were produced by the press. But his was the kind of "poetry" that was demanded by the taste of that age.
The strong puritanic tendency of the age was peculiarly favorable for the composition of religious songs, but the poems produced were mostly of a very inferior quality. The songs of Hans Adolph Brorson, a truly remarkable poet (1694-1764), constitute a solitary exception. They give evidence of genuine poetical talents, and are characterized by deep feeling, at times they even rise to the solemn, sublime heights of Kingo. Through his whole life Brorson had to struggle with severe afflictions, which contributed materially to his natural disposition for melancholy musings, and which his deep piety and firm faith alone enabled him to bear. This sadness is distinctly stamped on the uniformly deep elegiac character of his psalms. He belongs decidedly to the puritanic school, and this circumstance imparts a somewhat polemic character to his psalms, but as a rule, warm, humane feeling pervades them. The sentiment bursts forth so fresh and vivid, and in a key so deep, that it touches our inmost soul. Brorson to this very day justly occupies the front rank among the poets of the Danish church, a place he at once attained in the estimation of the public, and which, moreover, received a public recognition in the fact that it was on account of his psalms that he was promoted to a high position in the church. He died as bishop in Ribe.
During the Holberg period the modern novel literature ​began to invade Denmark from abroad. The taste for old popular books gradually passed away, and they were supplanted by French and English books for entertainment. First appeared Sören Terkelsen's translation of the novel Astræa, which was mentioned in the preceding chapter, and which remained for some time almost alone. Then followed Fénelon's Tèlémaque (1727), Robinson (1744-45), Richardson's Pamela (1743-46), to which there was afterwards added a multitude of similar books containing stupid and affected stories.
Much greater importance was attained by the periodical literature, which also was introduced from abroad about this time. The first Danish journal of any account was "den danske Spectator" (1734—45), a moralizing and critical weekly paper of the same character as the English periodical of the same name. This journal was followed by others, and toward the close of the century the periodical press played a very influential part in Denmark.
Frederik Christian Eilschow (1725-50) was a man who, like Holberg, maintained that knowledge ought not to be kept away from the people, but rather made as accessible and popular as possible. He proposed to expound philosophy in a series of Danish books, and his chief aim was to popularize the philosophical and religious views of Leibnitz and Wolff, but an early death prevented the execution of his plan, and he was only able to make a beginning by the publication of such works as "Philosophiske Breve" and "Forsög til en Fruentimmerphilosophie." Still his influence on the development of Danish literature was very great, for in a pure, terse language he introduced a science, hitherto utterly unknown in Danish literature. Thus he forms, as it were, the connecting link between Holberg, one of whose most ardent admirers he was, and the following period, when the popular enlightenment, to which he was enthusiastically devoted, became the watchword of the age.
​Jens Höjsgaard (1698-1773) rendered important services by his researches in the field of Danish language. Although he was not familiar with the Old Norse, still through his fine faculty of observation and unerring linguistic sense, he attained a marvelous insight into the laws of the language. He wrote the first complete Danish syntax, and contributed important articles on phonology, but his works failed to be properly appreciated by his contemporaries. Not before the present century were they finally rescued from oblivion by the distinguished linguist, Rasmus Rask.
Ekik Pontoppidan (1698-1764) was a fertile and versatile writer, who published both historical and statistical, and scientific and theological works in Danish, German, and Latin. "Den danske Atlas," a large statistical, topographical work, and his explanation of Luther's catechism, the latter of which has long been used as a text-book in parochial schools, are among his best known works. His history of the Danish church, written in German, is still of importance on account of the extensive study of original materials on which it is based. Worthy of mention is also "Menoza," a theological novel with a purpose, which appeared in three volumes in 1742-43. Its hero is an Asiatic prince, who roamed about in the world in search of Christians, but who found but few worthy of that name. The book is dull and heavy, but still it is not without value to the historian of civilization and culture.
While Holberg, through his historical writings, and through his literary activity in general, was chiefly intent on promoting popular enlightenment, much was done during this period in the field of critical and historical research. Particularly was the beginning made in the laying of a solid foundation for a systematic study of history by ​the collection of a vast amount of original materials. The learned Icelander, Arne Magnusson (1663-1730), gained the greatest distinction in this respect. Under the head of "Modern Icelandic Literature," we gave a full account of him.
Hans Gram (1685-1748) distinguished himself by a solid critical treatment of history. He was the son of a priest, and his father instructed him so thoroughly that when he, only eighteen years old, was sent to the university, he astonished the professors with his knowledge of the ancient languages, especially of Greek. In 1714 he was appointed professor in this language, and he soon acquired such renown for scholarship throughout Europe that he was consulted by the most distinguished scholars of the day. It was not long, however, before he entered the field of northern history, where he found his most congenial work. Christian VI made him royal librarian and appointed him royal historiographer, and later he was made privy archivist, or in other words, he obtained a rare opportunity for entering deeply into the study of historical documents and sources to an extent which no man had enjoyed before him, and he availed himself thoroughly of this privilege. It is true he did not write any large independent works, but he furnished the editions of older authors, which he edited with a multitude of most excellent notes. His works are at times so complete that they not only in point of quality, but even in bulk, actually constitute the principal matter. For the Royal Danish Society of Sciences, which he had founded, he contributed a great number of excellent dissertations, in which he endeavors, with remarkable acumen, to root out old errors, and thus to lay a solid foundation for future historians to build upon. Gram was one of the most remarkable and interesting personalities of his age, particularly when we consider that he was able to emancipate himself and his work as an author from the shackles of the old-time pedantry and secure a greater intellectual freedom. In his whole character he, in fact, belonged to the ​old learned period, and yet in his historical work he employed to a great extent his own native tongue, although it was far more difficult for him to write Danish than Latin. Like so many of his contemporaries he was at first for some time wrapped up in prejudices and foolish pedantry to a point that made him blind to Holberg's great merits, and he was a violent opponent of the great dramatist; but later he acknowledged his mistake and became one of Holberg's staunchest friends.
Gram's pupil, Jakob Langebek (1710-75), also rendered conspicuous services to the development of historical studies. Like Gram he was the son of a priest, and from his early childhood he evinced a remarkable talent for history, combined with a considerable taste for languages, as appears from his undertaking on his own hook the study of Icelandic as soon as he became a student at the university. After having passed his examinations in theology, he was admitted to Gram's house, where his linguistic and historical studies assumed still wider proportions. In 1745 he founded the Royal Society of History and Danish Language, the purpose of which, as in the case of the Society of Sciences, was in part to publish the papers of the members in "Danske Magazin." This is an exceedingly valuable collection, for the first series (six volumes) of which Langebek himself furnished nearly all the contributions. But his most important work is his great collection of Danish historical documents from the Middle Ages, "Scriptores rerum Danicarum medii ævi," though he was not himself able to complete the publication of this work. Like Gram, Langebek has written no large connected work, but in his various publications, like the one above mentioned, he has given the results of a vast and most critical research, and he has thus done what was most needed in his time in the field of national history
​Before closing this chapter we must mention two eminent historians, who, although they belong to a somewhat later period, still may very properly be treated in connection with Gram and Langebek. Peder Frederik Suhm (1728-98) belonged to an old noble family, and was at first destined for the court or for a judicial career, but his early developed taste for scientific pursuits, particularly for history, the favorite study of his childhood, was victorious, and having as a very young man married a wealthy lady, his circumstances were exceptionally favorable for the realization of the plan of his life, the plan that had the most charm for him, and which as a child he had given expression to by saying that he wanted to become an author like Holberg. He surely did not become that, but he was a man of indefatigable application and profound learning, and he is very justly surnamed "the first friend of the sciences in Denmark," for he not only did excellent literary work himself, but he also gave liberal and substantial aid to men of science and to scientific undertakings. His chief work is his great history of Denmark, which, though it only extends to the year 1400, still contains fourteen volumes. Notwithstanding all the excellences of the work, there is a lack of system in the treatment. The author handles his materials with a certain clumsiness; but still it is a work to which there are but few parallels. On account of the vast amount of original material it contains it is of inestimable value, and must always remain one of the most important works for historical reference. Suhm has also written a great number of dissertations and edited a multitude of other works, short, moral, critical, and economical essays, idyls, stories, dialogues, etc,., work in which he sought recreation when he was tired of historical studies. The most remarkable are his old Norse tales, which made a certain sensation, not only because they were new, but also on account of their sentimental style, which was anything but genuine Norse, but they happened to satisfy the taste of that period. Suhm was assisted in his labors by the Norwegian scholar, ​Gerhard Schöning (1722-80). Both had agreed to write in partnership the history of the North, Suhm reserving Denmark for himself, while Schöning undertook Norway. But neither was Schöning able to finish his great task, and he did not get farther than the year 1000. The history, however, which was conceived on a grand scale, gives abundant evidence of the author's learning, and it will always remain a work of great importance. Nor did Schöning complete the edition of Heimskringla, with which he had been placed in charge by the government. Most interesting and instructive is the description which he made of the nature, ancient monuments, and economical conditions of Norway, which he studied on a three years' journey undertaken at the expense of his government.
* ↑ Grevens og Friherrens Komedie, edited by S. Birket Smith, Copenhagen, 1874.
* ↑ Ludwig Holberg, Peder Paars, edited by F. L. Liebenberg, Copenhagen, 1879. Den danske Skueplads, edited by F. L. Liebenberg, Copenhagen, 1876. Danmarks Riges Historie (I-III, 1732-1735), edited by J. Levin, Copenhagen. 1856. Almindelig Kirkehistorie (1738), edited by F. L. Liebenberg, I-II, Copenhagen, 1867-1868. Berömmelige Mænds og Heltes sammenlignende Historier (1739), edited by F. L. Liebenberg, Copenhagen, 1864-1865. Heltinders eller navnkundige Damers sammenlignende Historier (1745), edited by G. Rode, Copenhagen, 1861. Moralske Tanker (1744), edited by G. Rode, Copenhagen, 1860. Epistler I-V (1748-1754), edited by Chr. Brnnn, Copenhagen, 1865-1876. Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum, Halfniæ et Lipsiæ, 1741. Epistolæ tres ad virum perillustrem in opuscula Latina, I-II, 1737-1743. C. W. Smith: Om Holberg's Levnet og populære Skrifter, Copenhagen, 1858. R. Prutz: Ludwig Holberg, sein Leben und seine Scbriftin, Stuttgart und Augsburg, 1857. E. K. Werlauff: Historiske Antegnelser til Holbergs atten förste Lystspil, Copenhagen, 1858. K. L. Rahbek: Om Holberg som Lystspildigter og hans Lystspil, I-III, Copenhagen, 1815-1817. O. Skavlan: Holberg som Komedieforfatter, Kristiania, 1872. J. Paludan: Om Holbergs Niels Klim, Copenhagen, 1878. E. Holm: Holbergs statsretslige og politiske Synsmaade, Copenhagen, 1879.
* ↑ Chr. Falster: Amœnitates Philologiæ, Amstelod., 1729-32. Christian Falsters Satirer, edited by Chr. Thaarup, Copenhagen, 1840.
* ↑ Jörgen Sorterup: Ny Heltesange, Copenhagen, 1715.
* ↑ Töger Reenbergs Poetiske Skrifter, I-II, Copenhagen 1769.
* ↑ Ambrosius Stubs samlede Digte, edited by Fr. Barfod, Copenhagen, 1879 (5th edition).
* ↑ Chr. Fr. Wadskjær: Samling af udvalgte Vers, Copenhagen, 1743.
* ↑ H. A. Brorsons Psalmer og Aandelige Sange, edited by P. A. Arlaud, Copenhagen, 1867
* ↑ F. C. Eilschou: Philosophiske Breve over adskilligve nyttige og vigtige Ting, Copenhagen, 1748. Forsög til en Fruentimmerphilosophie, I, Copenhagen, 1749.
* ↑ Jens Höysgaard: Accentueret og raisonneret Grammatica, Copenhagen, 1747. Methodisk Forsög til en fuldstændig dansk Syntax, Copenhagen, 1752.
* ↑ Erik Pontoppidan: Den danske Atlas, I-VII, Copenhagen, 1763-81. Menoza, I-III, Copenhagen, 1743-43.
* ↑ Hans Gram's critical works are chiefly to be found in the publications of Det Kongelig Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, I-V. Jakob Langebek published the first three volumes of his Scriptores, etc., 1772-74, and contributed numerous articles to Danske Magazin, I-VI, 1745-52.
* ↑ P. F. Suhm: Historie af Danmark, I-XI, Copenhagen, 1782-1813. Om de nordiske Folks ældste Oprindelse, Copenhagen, 1T70. Historie om de fra Norden udvandrede Folk, I-II, 1773-73. G. Schöning: Norges Riges Historie, I-III, Sorö, 1771-81.