New-York tribune., 1886-03-12

ton were in the poetry itSell, WHICH PioNe" i''N"
TO its mission when l. flowed the secular loe"I
through the coarse doll gifts of q lax ana lenOble
age DiIactcism does not overthrow art until aFt
has become cnervated by its own oXccsses
In fact a defect of ProfessJr Schc.cr's literary
history is that he writes in spirit too exclusively
literary lie estimates everything by its lninonc6
upon poetry aud in estimating poetry be sets
valne sometimes much 800 nigh upon TIC ife'h AM
unc0uStraned expression of human liir ana las-
sions aud the delights of the visible world, without
considering the intrinsic. .worthness OF the Singers
DESIRES or the ultimate tendency of his aspirations
As we said III the beginning OF THIS notice, our
author overlook, the historical connection
between the progress and decline OF tera.ure and
the changes in society aud Pnblic morals; but III
the critical consideration of literary movements he
is too apt to set aside the ethical aud philosophical
points of the question altogether Ii this di'posl-
ton however to prize art solely for its own sake
leads INN to certain questionable judg IN one
part of his work. it results on the other nan" III d
singularly effective treatment OF tlo latest peru"
of German literature, which fills nearly the "hoIc
of the second volume Lesslng is the In'roducdoh
to this splendid era Goethe presently Oecom"s 'no
central figure in it, and remains so, dominating '"o
productive activity of all German-speah'ns conn
trles until his death. which is the date chosen lor
the close OF this history Professor Scherers arrange
of time. rhns while he gives a connected account
of most of the writers of the period separately hc
distributes the remarks upon Goethe III several sec
tions some of them falling far aIart SO as 10 eN-
hbl5 his relation to the various groups when ap-
peared upon the scene by turns during his long
career This method enables him to present
picture of the literary movement Of the nineteenth
century which could have been produced III no
other way, and it sets forth with remarkable clear
lta
To understand the course of modern Gern"n htera-
ture, We must watch the revolution Oi the lesser
bodies around the of their system
Theological and philosophical speculation, his
tory and scientific research are not overlooked III
this division of the book but it is upon works OF
the ina aginat0n and aesthetic crlt,clsm-in word,
upon the bellies LtfrcS-that Professor Scherer eX-
pends with most evident delight the acuteness OF
his insight and the feryors of his apprecat0n lie
passes over some famous names with speed Whch
Is not the custom, but he puts all that IS Decessary
into a small space and tells US more in parapaph
than most other historians can tell III half dozen
pages HIS remarks upon various schools ana upon
noted literary warfares are free IRON preJndlce'
The battles of ROmantcism with Ciasscalisn. OF
Storm-and-Stress with Enlightenment. do not dis
turb his fair mind lie is not judicial as between
them. but he is impartial lie looks upon them all
equally rs manifestations OF the literary life; aud
here his habit of estimating literature solely by its
intrinsic quality as art does him good service. The
limitation of his view is still more striking, and per
haps we should say still more Useful i'll his manage
ment of the largest aud most difficult topic OF his
work, the product Of the genius OF Goethe. HIS
avoidance of philosophical inquiry into the poets
theories of life into the hard problems of Faust
and many other obscure questions which have
tempted commentators is very remarkable. But Tar
more remarkable are the clearncss and vl2"r OF his
review Of the literary characteristics of that pro
dgious intellectual force, and of GoetheS general
relation to earlier and contemporary workers
through the form the spirit and the literary ten
dency OF his writings His analytical summaries
OF" Wilhelm Mester," Hermann uud DoIothea"
the Elective Afiniti"s" ana the dramas, endng
with Faust," are models OF IerSpcacty The
authors final remarks upon "Fanst are also the
epilogue of the book, aud may fifty close our notice
with Professor Schercrs view OF the present out
look:
Goethe's Faust" contained deep moral lesson
for the German nation in particular. IL expressed
a longing for action IN an age which was poor In
deeds. Many writer's OF the time echO TINS spif!t;
Tor example, We find the Baron Won STEM contlnu-
ally dcpiOrlng the pre- o!ninancc IN germany oi
metaphysics ana speculative science. lhc Ger
mans lie wrote, owing TO their exclusion from All
share in public affairs, had lost all power OF lntia
tive and had taken to idle DTOOdIngS. ANA IN lacl
since the Reformation the German character had
become more and more lntTOSpccilvr ana modern
German poetry has but seldom glCrlHed tue strong
ndomltablc will which belongs 10 men OF action
But under the guidance OF TINS same Baion Won
stein a change set in. W hat Gottnc utlnauucu
began to be fulfilled his lifetime, and oar
times have This iuhlncnt carried iuriher per
haps too far. The brlC harvest OF poetic vig0r
which was sOwn by the deeds Ot Frederick the
Great was but an earnest OF what was TO come, and
the delight in its cts gave To DIVIDED nation the
single common possession which It felt pride and
strength. The poets themselves IN their we. KS
al m uIpIt L
of political greatness The national Consciousness
was quicKened and what seemed n short time
before to be a dream became a welcome
reality. In the nineteenth century as IN the thr-
teenth a period OF literary glory was followed by Il
period of national expansion and economic pros
perity. Now rs then, poetry has suffered thereby.
If in 1900 the nation was ONer-lntclicCtua!. ~
now begins to he OveT-InateTlal, and threatens to
fall under the sway OF those tendencies which bcset
the German world OF the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, to the prejudice both OF ITS culture ana
character
\ s.rvey of all the successive epochs of German
literary history will alone TO reveal to us the
latent capacities of the nation. i'll the harmonious
developnent of all of which lies ITS real p"flrctlon
This perfection may be attained II the 1atal one
sdedness, which easily laws hold OF the German
character can be overcome; or If men VIII restrain
their natural nclinations 10y conscious labor, ana
50 carry into the present and futne te spIIlt
of the age which is expiring. Many Germans 0i 10
day need no spurIing in order to take To the lie oil
generally useful activity, which Faust only EN-
braces after often going aStray; everything now
seems in favor of these practical men Meanwhile |
those who live after GOethes example, and look on
poetry as a sacred. .and national task have to strug
gle against wind aud weather and TO work dOuDly |
hard | ct them too find encouragement IN the !
words which the angels sing as they bear aloit the
soul OF Faust:
"Wer INNER strebend >ich bemuht.
Den kOnuen WIZ crlOsen"