Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1859-11-12
The Anniversary Of Schiller's Birth.
Worldwide festivals in honor of the Poet,

times, and may be hailed as good omen
They are kind Of worship of the nobility of
talent-a recognition of the worth and gran |
deur of ideas. Warriors, founders of sects,
orders and systems, have been deiied, and
their festivals observed, for thousands of
years, but only lately has the republic Of let
ters commemorated the natal anniversary Of
the day which gave to the world, and to all
future time the author and poet. The poet
belongs to no single nation or people or coun-
try. Race and tongue are no barriers to
brotherhood, for the poet writes for all the hu
man G,nily-for all future time. His so.,gs
are universal heritage-they penetrate whit .
th. language they were written in and the -
cents of his native country cannot. But a
short time since, all nationalities united in Gel
ebrating the Tooth anniversary of the peasan-
poSt of Scotland, and to-day all again unite in
commemorating the birth Of Germany's sweet
est poet.
Frederick Won Schiller was born at Mar
,ch, Wurtemberg, on Nov. 10, 1859. He
poetic talent In his nineteenth year he CON-
.nenced his Tragedy of The Robber,"-a
dramatic production which has been widely
enacted, but of which he was afterwards HIM
self ashamed. Subsequently, he published
j., succession Don Carlos, poetic Drama
a prose romance entitled the Ghost Seer
historical work called the History of the Re-
volt Of the Netherlands, and later, his cele-
brated History of the thirty years war. Wal
| lenstein, a celebrated DRAMA was written at
,he close Of the last century, and soon after
William Tell, drama every American has
>een played, and admired, was produced.
The great poet did not long survive seeing the
-uccess of the play, for he died about year
afterwards on the 9th of May, 1905, at Wei
mar, aged 46 years.
| Of the literary character Of Schiller
works, Carlysle, the eminent English author,
mas said:
"Of the wild loves and lamentations, and
all the fierce ardor that distinguish, for in
stance, his Scottish contemporary, Burns,
here is scarcely any trace here. In fact, it
vas towards the Ideal, not towards the Ac-
taal, that Schiller's faith and nope were d.
rected. His highest happiness lay not in out
ward honor, pleasure, social recreation, per-
haps not even in friendly affection, such as
the world could show it; but in the reian Of
Poetry, city of the mind, where, for him, all
that was true and noble had foundation. His
habits, accordingly, though far from dissocial
we're solitary his chief business and pleasure
iay in silent meditation
|
"Shiller's intellectual character has, as in.
ity with his moral one. Here too he is sim
pie in his excellence lofty rather than ex
pansive or varied pure, divinely ardent rath ah
en it seems to us, as if poetry were, on the
WHOLE not his essential gift as if his genius
were reflective in still higher degree thar
creative philosophical and oratorical rather
,han poetic. TO the last, there is a stiffness
in him, certain infusibility. His genius is
not An Eolian harp, for the common wind tc
play with, and make wild, free melody bu,
a scientific harmonica, that being artfuly
touched, will yield rich notes, though in limit
ed measure"
Schiller lived the poetry he WROTE pure
and nobl. life--a fervent, constant and devo
ted worship Of the beautiful. He was never
tempted by the alurements Of fortune, mol
the thirst for fame to sacrifice the nobility
the unselfishness of his soul. In this he was
superior to other and cotemporary German
poets. His works, the breathings Of thei
sentiments, show this, and they have beer
translated, and widely read in most of moderr
tongues. 1t is proper that all nationalitie.
too, should unite in the commemorative exer
clses, and We hope to see at the festival thi.
evening, a minglng of the lovers Of poetry
and song Of various races, and tongues, fol
they are no barriers to brotherhood.