Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-11-15
THE SCHILLER FESTIVAL AND RICHMOND
coTTFGE

! ia il. aud those Of American colleges ha"
shared the enthusiastic with which it has hccl
celebrated in the principal cites of our owI
country. 1t was duly commcmoratcd by IL,
. students of Richmond College. and the follow
ing is an address delivered vn the occasion by
Prof w. 5. Chase:
We celebrate tie birthday of Schiller Let
us not, then, forget those TO whom he owed hi,
birth. Let MS pay at least passing trbu;e 70
ms father and mother: To his iathc" 4 piala
!nun. OF limited education, aud. perhaps. >!os
faculties but whose deep sense ot patcrE;.l rc.
SponsibIity inspired, in behalf Of lis son, ~
petition of sublime and pathetic picty, worthy.
SAYS one Of the porSk eulogst>. ito be ~.
rnrInbcrcd BY the side of Agar'> wise prayer
( against the almost equal temptations OF power.
Il :.ad riches; to his mother, who Is dcscgib.
cd aS Of humble origin, but Itch in gifts Of the
heart and the Understanding. S'r. delighted
III poetry. and impaired 10 her beloved and
l"yiu: Soa her own literary tastes, Iuichcnin.,.
il hot bc.towns on him, the prctcrnG;Gra! c:l.
doamentS Of his intellect, But YOU ma" tell
me that genius is not hereditary. and | will
gran. that to Schiller himself were he SON ot
rcgning duke or of army chaplain, OF empress
or oi baNcr daughter, whatever his parcD;!g.r.
the crOwnIn. glory Of this anniversary be.
long>. Even those Of us in England and tins
country, who are not familiar with the copiou>
and flexible language which he enriched by lis
writings are not ignorant Of his righ;iul claim to
tie universal oyallons of this day. Nearly I'll
his productions have been translated into or
unr language Among those thus accessible
TO us are llS Minor Poems, "Fic>c", Tile
Minister" Mary Stuart. The Robbers.
Don Carlos" William Tell. with it> vX.
traortlirary truth Of local coIorns, the more
remarkable from the fact that the poet nc;cr
visited Swi,zcrand) THE Apparitioni>t,
TRANSLATED by Mr. Roscoe, The camp Of Wal
!anstrin." ~; Lord Francis Eaerton.l and,
above all. "ihc WarnStcin.' which even ~
English critic docs not hesitate 10 style an
Immortal! drama, and beyond all competition,
IL" nrarpst. IN point Of excellence, 10 the d!a-
n.a, "f Shakespeare" Tie tra',>lat:on os Inr
syalloa>tcin bv Coicrid-r, i. ncoa:aTa'l" :,
the best ot atl transIation>, rmd a masterpiece
of Eu.liSh literature. Moreover, we nave II.
read the admirable life oi Schiller. by AZ
l:lc, which has been translated into ncrma:,
and i pronounced by ticc:nal!S themselves 10
he the best iarrnOir cXtant "i their lu-i!Iuu>
poet. Their ,oct did say? Schiller Is our poe:
as wcIi--a poet in whom all modern nations
NAV cAult ~ proudly Il, his own ialhc:.anl.-
For, intensely patriotic IS he was, he was also
to tnr widest extent cosmopolitan and human
Anathrma,i,ug. with poets icrvor, h"l:y
abuses Of the past, and singing, with pro.
ph.LS inspiration. the ,oir- o hopeful iu-
turc, he slrlIci, chords l., winch every human
heart may respond. Al a"!: may wc! uu;r,
aS u.cv 10 ante to-day. in doing homage 30 h.>
memory.
And why do We thus homer lis memory -
Ii is chiefly because we cXutingiy and loving,
" and gratefully recognize in tI:n a man, ~"
u man Of the asc.
He Was one main organ VI Tie great rcTr.u-
tiom,yv impulse 81 modern times, and thus,
while ranked in his own land, by those who
undcryaluc him most, as the second maine IN
German literature" to all outside Of Germany
hv holds the first rs the representative "i
German intellect IN its highest form. 10 hi;!
1t * certainly dac that the German intellect has
become II power and power Of growing MAJ
nitudc for the great commonwealth oi ta"is'
tendon"
lie was maIi-a living. breathing. suffering
u
ours. lie dwclt not apart, Scrcnciy >min:
amidst the beauties or collly shining down or
lis from the subimltcS Of ar; like Goethe ii
so many of his finest and sran!cSt manifesto
tions.
Some of the masterpieces %. Goethe that
cons,mmatc artist, are bright and clear "a
icc--anl aS cold. Or to borrow lcncS figure
"rnry a,iorn our believed iithcrland aS statue,
adorn garden, vet they are bG; statues. on'
NAV become cnarnorcd q. them, but they aT,
frrIitcS>: the poems OF Goethe do not give hrti
to action aS do those Of Schiller Action Is thC
child OF words. and the bcautco"s words o
Goethe are chldlcSs" IIcinc compares tilcs,
10 the ancient statues in the loser Eal! OF ia,
Louvre. with pale and silent eyes, Il marble
Smile. Il secret melancholy, pcrchancc sad re
mcInLrance OF Egypt, awaiting the word tiia
is 10 give them back 10 life, TO release then
from their cold and frgd tranquility: Equal
" perfect. majestic cain, they seem, a. th">'
antiques do. 10 feel with anguish that ;Iic
stern, cold forms bar them from tic circle o
busy, Joyous life, that they can part.'>c nrit;i"
our sorrows nor our JOYS, that they are No
men but only unfortunate mixtures o! iivin;t.
and stone
.liocthc." (wrorc Jean Paul 10 friend.
resembles God, who according to Pope, iooh
with an equal eye Oh the fail alike cl awor! an'
a Sparroy." Now. hc adds. "aS our Goc.h
created neither one nor the other, this lin, III
difference costs him but little. Goethe ~.
Ioni oi affecting this indifference during Ia
last twenty years Of his life, ard the calm an
rcpo>c "i his pictures then brca'nc, say !h
lartc ChaScc>, ''thc imposing immob;!ny o.
.od who i>dain> further Communications wi:
mortalS.
Not - with otir Schiller. lis production
are instinct with lie. with humanity. ilo'
often do they thrill us with that touch Of IL
iurre which makes all men kin! Is h""'i",
Il poet OF the people, he is Il unan alnonS men
made, rcycrcuily he 1t said like Hnio IN
brethren, touched Will. the feeling oi oGr ln'r
mites. in all points tempted like rs "c a;e.
Mas, he sometimes yiclicd I" temptation.
Aul even hi> errors brin. him nearer to Ia
level of common sympathy. But they as
administer solemn warning, which are c>l'
cirllv instructive tu ourselves IL Hiunc;tS. All
To- iii who are engaged i'll literary pursuit,
These warnings woull alone justify ~ /
assembling to-day in order to prot by then
/, j. my duty To indicate them, FOR the %.
rule. IL, Hlyriais ri Hj.i bo.vm is not bniin
when the truth may be spoken in IoTc. al!
when 10 point out the errors .! tn" dead =
por;t a moral Tor the living.
some ri SchIllerS errors were such
cXpo.c both body and soul 10 ruin
Equally devoted to philosophical and poe,
cal studies. lac WAS for a long time bcwiiicrc
by the oppo>ition> Of >clcnce. falsely :
called" until his faith was well nigh shit
O., g f,,,'..
revealed in the lo.y Scriptures, would hI'
r:ab"i Inn To add 10 his rare a,thctc..l az
m,tap:iysica acumcn that wisdom whir
p:.>>eth understanding. \ profound stu.!r
Christian ethics would have been iniiu,tcI
imoic profitable to him than his masicry .! u.
>yStcm Of Kant. Staplcr, the truly Christ"
>a2c. TO whom with Ni!!crS. the lir-t ! REM
cApo-itor o; Kant with Ancilon and Hm'
De s;aci. the French public owe their ry'c!
iion ., the most valuable influences oi tenn
that