The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany

By Arthur F. J. Remy

The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany is an analytical work on the history of poetry by Arthur F. J. Remy. Excerpt: "The Oriental movement which manifested itself so strikingly in German literature during the nineteenth century is familiar to every student of that literature. Although the general nature of this movement is pretty clearly understood, no systematic investigation of it, so far as I know, has ever been undertaken. In the following pages an attempt is made to trace the influence which the Indo-Iranian East—the Semitic part is not considered—exerted on German poetry. The work does not claim to be exhaustive in the sense that it gives a list of all the poets that ever came under that influence. Nor does it pretend to be anything like a complete catalogue of the sources whence the poets derived their material. The performance of such a task would have required far more time and space than were at my disposal. A selection was absolutely necessary. It is hoped that the material presented in the case of each poet is sufficient to give a clear idea of the extent to which he was subject to Oriental influence, as well as of the part that he took in the movement under discussion."

• Language: English
• Publisher: DigiCat
• Release date: Nov 22, 2022
• ISBN: 8596547421207

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Arthur F. J. Remy

The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany

EAN 8596547421207

DigiCat, 2022

Contact: [e-mail]

Table of Contents

PREFACE.

List of Works most frequently consulted.

Abbreviations.

Transcription.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER II.

FROM THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES TO THE TIME OF SIR WILLIAM JONES.

CHAPTER III.

HERDER.

CHAPTER IV.

GOETHE.

CHAPTER V.

SCHILLER.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SCHLEGELS.

CHAPTER VII.

PLATEN.

CHAPTER VIII.

RÜCKERT.

CHAPTER IX.

HEINE.

CHAPTER X.

BODENSTEDT.

CHAPTER XI.

THE MINOR ORIENTALIZING POETS.

CHAPTER XII.

VON SCHACK.

CHAPTER XIII.

CONCLUSION.

PREFACE.

Table of Contents

The Oriental movement which manifested itself so strikingly in German literature during the nineteenth century is familiar to every student of that literature. Although the general nature of this movement is pretty clearly understood, no systematic investigation of it, so far as I know, has ever been undertaken. In the following pages an attempt is made to trace the influence which the Indo-Iranian East—the Semitic part is not considered—exerted on German poetry. The work does not claim to be exhaustive in the sense that it gives a list of all the poets that ever came under that influence. Nor does it pretend to be anything like a complete catalogue of the sources whence the poets derived their material. The performance of such a task would have required far more time and space than were at my disposal. A selection was absolutely necessary. It is hoped that the material presented in the case of each poet is sufficient to give a clear idea of the extent to which he was subject to Oriental influence, as well as of the part that he took in the movement under discussion.

It is my pleasant duty to acknowledge the obligations under which I am to various scholars. In the first place, my sincere thanks are due to Professor Jackson, at whose suggestion this investigation was undertaken and whose encouragement and advice have never been wanting. I am also indebted for helpful suggestions to Professors Carpenter and Thomas of the Germanic department, who kindly volunteered to read the proof-sheets. Furthermore, I wish to thank Mr. Yohannan for assistance rendered in connection with the transliteration of some of the lithographic editions of Persian authors. And, finally, I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Gray for the use of several rare volumes which otherwise would have been inaccessible to me.

Arthur F.J. Remy.

New York, May 1, 1901.

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List of Works most frequently consulted.

Table of Contents

Bahāristān. The Bahāristān by Jāmī. Printed by the Kama Shastra Society for Private Subscribers only. Benares, 1887.

Bhartṛhari. Śatakatrayam, 2d ed. Nirṇaya Sāgara Press. Bombay, 1891.

Quotations are from this edition.

Bodenstedt, Friedr. Martin. Gesammelte Schriften. 12 Bde. Berlin, 1865.

Tausend und ein Tag im Orient in vols. i and ii.

References to Mirza Schaffy songs are based on this edition.

Firdausī. See Shāh Nāmah.

Goethe's Werke. 36 Bde. Berlin (Hempel), 1879.

Quotations are from this edition.

Grundriss der iranischen Philologie. Hrsg. von W. Geiger und E. Kuhn. Strassburg, 1896 ——.

Gulistān. The Gulistān of Shaiḵẖ Muṣlihu'd dīn Saʻdī of Shīrāz, ed. John Platts. 2d ed. London, 1874.

Quotations are from this edition.

—— or Rose garden. Printed by the Kama Shastra Society for Private Subscribers only. Benares, 1888.

Hāfiḍ. Die Lieder des Hafis. Persisch mit dem Commentare des Sudi hrsg. von Herm. Brockhaus. Leipzig, 1863.

Quotations are from this edition.

Hammer, Jos. von. Geschichte der schönen Redekünşte Persiens, mit einer Blüthenlese aus zweyhundert persischen Dichtern. Wien, 1818.

Heine. Heinrich Heines sämtliche Werke in 12 Bden. Stuttgart (Cotta), s. a.

Herder. Sämmtliche Werke, ed. Bernhard Suphan. 32 Bde. Berlin, 1877.

Hitōpadēśa. The Hitōpades'a of Nārāyana Pandit, ed. Godabole and Parab. 3d ed. Nirṇ. Sāg. Press. Bombay, 1890.

Quotations are from this edition.

Jackson, A.V. Williams. Zoroaster, the Prophet of ancient Iran. New York, 1899.

Mohl. See Shāh Nāmah.

Piper, Paul. Höfische Epik. 4 pts. KDNL. iv.

—— Spielmannsdichtung. 2 pts. KDNL. ii.

Platen. Platens sämtliche Werke. Stuttgart (Cotta), s. a.

References are based on this edition.

Rückert. Friedrich Rückert's gesammelte poetische Werke. 12 Bde. Fkft. a. M., 1882.

References are based on this edition.

Schack, Ad. Friedr. Graf von. Gesammelte Werke. 3 Aufl. 10 Bde. Stuttgart, 1897.

Shāh Nāmah. Firdusii Liber Regium qui inscribitur Shah Name, ed. Vullers (et Landauer). Tom. 3. Lugd. 1877-1884.

—— Le Livre des Rois par Abou'l Kasim Firdousi, traduit et commenté par Jules Mohl. 7 vols. Paris, 1876-1878.

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Abbreviations.

Table of Contents

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Transcription.

Table of Contents

For the transcription of Sanskrit words the system of the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft has been followed; for that of Persian words the system of the Grundriss der iranischen Philologie has been adopted, with some variations however, e.g. ع is indicated by ʻ. To be consistent, such familiar names as Hāfiz and Nizāmī appear as Hāfiḍ and Nidāmī; Omar Khayyām as ʻUmar Xayyām; and the word ghazal, the German Ghasele, is written γazal.

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CHAPTER I.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION.

Table of Contents

Information of Mediæval Europe Concerning India and Persia—Travellers—India and Persia in Mediæval German Poetry.

The knowledge which mediæval Europe had of India and Persia was mostly indirect, and, as might be expected, deficient both in correctness and extent, resting, as it did, on the statements of classical and patristic writers, on hearsay and on oral communication. In the accounts of the classic writers, especially in those of Pliny, Strabo, Ptolemy, truth and fiction were already strangely blended. Still more was this the case with such compilers and encyclopædists as Solinus, Cassiodorus and Isidorus of Sevilla, on whom the mediæval scholar depended largely for information. All these writers, in so far as they speak of India, deal almost entirely with its physical description, its cities and rivers, its wealth of precious stones and metals, its spices and silks, and in particular its marvels and wonders. Of its religion we hear but little, and as to its literature we have only a few vague statements of Arrian,1 Aelian2 and Dio Chrysostomus.3 When the last mentioned author tells us that the ancient Hindus sang in their own language the poems of Homer, it shows that he had no idea of the fact that the great Sanskrit epics, to which the passage undoubtedly alludes, were independent poems. To him they appeared to be nothing more than versions of Homer. Aelian makes a similar statement, but cautiously adds εἴ τι χρὴ πιστεύειν τοις ὑπὲρ τούτων ἱστορουσιν. Philostratus represents the Hindu sage Iarchas as well acquainted with the Homeric poems, but nowhere does his hero Apollonius of Tyana show the slightest knowledge of Sanskrit literature.4

Nor do the classic authors give us any more information about the literature of Persia, though the Iranian religion received some attention. Aristotle and Theopompus were more or less familiar with Zoroastrian tenets,5 and allusions to the prophet of ancient Iran are not infrequent in classic writers. But their information concerning him is very scanty and inaccurate. To them Zoroaster is simply the great Magian, more renowned for his magic art than for his religious system. Of the national Iranian legends, glimpses of which we catch in the Avesta (esp. Yt. 19), and which must have existed long before the Sassanian period and the time of Firdausī, the Greek and Roman authors have recorded nothing.

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But Europe was not limited to the classic and patristic writers for information about the Orient. The points of contact between the Eastern and Western world were numerous even before the Portuguese showed the way to India. Alexandria was the seat of a lively commerce between the Roman Empire and India during the first six centuries of the Christian era; the Byzantine Empire was always in close relations, hostile or friendly, with Persia; the Arabs had settled in Spain, Southern Italy and Sicily; and the Mongols ruled for almost two centuries in Russia. All these were factors in the transmission of Oriental influence.6 And, as far as Germany is concerned, we must remember that in the tenth century, owing to the marriage of the emperor Otto II to the Greek princess Theophano, the relations between the German and Byzantine Empires were especially close. Furthermore the Hohenstaufen emperor, Frederick II, it will be remembered, was a friend and patron of the Saracens in Italy and Sicily, who in turn supported him loyally in his struggle against the papacy. Above all, the