Daily American telegraph., 1851-12-27
From the Allgemeine Zeitung
HENRY HEINE.
THE GREAT GERMAN WRITER AND POET

p
Heines book, Romancero," long since an
nounced, is now come out and every copy of
it sold. First of all we take from the preface
the following paragraphs, in which Heine in
regard to the repeated assertion by one party,
and the equally frequent denial by the other,
OF his conversion TO piety and the belief in
God, thus expresses himself: Ieu
"When one lies on ones death-bed,he be-
comes very sensitive and easily affected and
one would fain make peace with God and with
the world. confess it, ] have scratched and
bitten many one; was no lamb But be-
lieye me, those praised lambs of meekness
would put on less pious airs, if they had tiger
teeth and claws / can say, in Justice to N.Y.
self that have but seldom made use of such
hereditary weapons. Since Il myself stood in
need of the mercy Of God, have given am
nesty to all my enemies. Many fine poems
directed against very high and very low per-
sons, were by that reason not included in this
collection. Poems which contained in any way
insinuatons against God himself, | have with
anxious zeal given over to the flames. 1t is
better that the verses burn, than the versifex,
Verse maker) lYes) yea,sas with the crea-
ture, so have also made peace with the Crea-
tor, to the greatest scandal and vexation of my
enlightened friends, who reproached me for
this relapse into the old superstition, as they
were pleased to call my return to God. Others,
in their intolerance, expressed themselves yet
more harshly. The whole Of the high priests
Of atheism have pronounced its anathema on
me and there are fanatical priests Of infdelity
who would be willing to put me to the rack, to
make me confess my heresies. Fortunately they
have at their command no other instruments
of torture than their writings. But even with
out torture, will confess all. Yes have
returned to God, like the prodigal son, after
having for a long time fed swine, (,0ith) the
Hegehans. Was it misery that drove me back?
Perhaps a less miserable cause. The heavenly
home-sickness came over me, and drove me
through woods and hollows, over the most
dizzy mountain paths of dialectics On my
way | found the god of Pantheists but could
not use him. This poor dreamy being is in
terwoven and grown together with the world
imprisoned as it were in it and yawns on you
without will, and powerless. To have will
one must be person and to manifest it, (the
willy one must have the elbows free. Now
when one desires God who has the power of
helping and that is certainly the main point,
one must also assume his personality, his extra
mundanity, and his holy attributes, all good
ness, all wisdom, all justice, sc. Then the i'm
mortality Of the soul, our continuation after
death, is given to us as it were into the bar
gain, as u fine marrow-bone is given by the
butcher gratis to his customer, when he is salts
fed with him. Such o fine marrow-bone is
called in the French culinary language Ia re-
iouiSSance, and the best of broths are made of
it, most strengthening and refreshing to the
pining sick That did not refuse such re-
jouissance, enjoyment treat but applied it
eagerly to my heart, every feeling being viii
approve. have spoken of the god of the
Pantheists: but cannot help remarking, that
in reality he is no god as also that tho Pam
theists are only shame-faced atheists who are
less afraid of the thing ITSELF than of its
shadow, the name. The most of the Germans
during the time of the restoration, have played
with God for fifteen years, the same comedy
which the constitutional royalsts who were
the greater part at heart republicans, played
here, in France with royalty. After the July
revolution, the mask was dropped on the other
side as on this side of the Rhine. Since then,
but especially after the fall of Louis Philippe
the best of monarchs that ever wore the con-
stitutional crown of thorns, it became the gen.
eral opinion here in France that but two forms
of government, absolute royalty and q repub-
lie, could stand the test of the criticism of
reason and experience; that one of the two
must be chosen that all intermediate mixed
work was untrue untenable, and ruinous. In
the same manner the view arose in Germany
that choice must be made between religion
and Observation-Disclosures the revealed dogma
of faith and the last result of thought-be-
tween the absolute God of the Bible and
atheism
GThe more decided the minds are the easier
they become the victims of such dilemmas. As
to myself | cannot claim any merit for any
advance in politics. ! have adhered to some
principles to which was devoted in my youth
and to which my attachment has still grown
stronger. But in theology, on the contrary,
have to accuse myself of retrogresson as |
have, as already stated, returned to the old su-
perstition. to personal God. Now this is not
to be hushed up, as many an enlightened and
well-meaning friend has attempted must
however, expressly contradict the report that
my retrograde steps had brought me to the
threshold of any church, or even into its lap
No; my religious convictions and views have
remained free from every church no sound Of
bells has enticed me; no altar candle has
dazzled Inc. have played with no symbols
and have not entirely given up my reason.
have forsworn nothing not even my old hea-
then gods from whom | have turned away
but parting in love and friendship. IL was in
May, 1848, on the day when the last time
walked out when took leave of the fair idols
which adorcd during the times of my pros
perity. With difficulty dragged myself to
the Louvre, and almost broke down as en-
tered the noble saloon, where the blessed god
dess Of beauty, our Lady of Milo, stands on
her pedestal At her feet lay long, and
wept, that stone would pity me. The god
dess looked with compassion down on me, yet
so disconsolately, as if she wanted to say
Seest thou not that have no arms and there
fore cannot helpp
A FREAK OF FoRTuNE.-The New Orleans
"Crescent" says: Thousands of returned Colifor.