1821.] 



The German Sliulenl, No. XV III.— Herder. 



37 



Flora l(u>kc<l about with levity. O that 

 sh(; liail chosen the beautiful Pha-lxis, 

 who Avas enraptured with tiie love 

 of her ; Init his beauty was too sublime 

 for her taste. Her busy look wandered 

 around, and she chose, who could have 

 th<i«£;ht it ? one of the lowest of the 

 gods, the fickle Zephyr. 



Inconsiderate, said tb.e father, that 

 .thy sex, even in intellectual forms, 

 siiould prefer sliowy sriitterini; charm* 

 t(! the calm energy of t'le highest love. 

 Iladst fhoH chosen liiu), pointing to 

 l'h<chus, thou and thy pro-jeny would 

 have partaken his iinmotaiitj'. 



Zephyr embraced her, and slu- dis- 

 aj)i>ea red. Site iiew hi the form of 

 ihf.vcr-dust into tiie region of (lie god 

 of air. 



Wlie.n Jupiter realised thcidcal forms 

 of his universe, and the lap of earth 

 was ]ir,'pared (o receive tlie seeds of 

 vegetation, he called to Zephyr, who 

 was slnuiberjng over the ashes of his 

 belover'.. Awake, youth, and bring 

 V. ith (Iiee thy favoiiriie, and beliold her 

 rai thiy appearance. Zephyr came with 

 the fiower-dust, and scattered it over 

 the surface of earth. Plicebus recol- 

 lected his love, and conferred on it ani- 

 mation. The gotidesses of springs and 

 streams watered it wi(h sisterly aflec- 

 tipn. Zephyr claspal it, ami Flora ap- 

 peared in a thousand motley springing 

 tioHcrs. 



IIow glad was each again to fiu<l its 

 celestial lover, to lean towards liis play- 

 ful kisses, and to cradle on Jiis waver- 

 ing arm. Short-lived bliss'. As soon 

 as th'> fair had opened her bosom, and 

 had dressed her nuptial l)cd in all the 

 pomps of hr.e and fragrance, the satiate 

 Zejdiyr aliandoiied her; and Ph«pbus, 

 j.'ityiug Jicr disappointed love, put an 

 early end to !;er grief witii his con- 

 SHiniug beam. 



Every spring, yc maids, begins anew 

 tiiP. same history. Ye bh)oin, like 

 Flora; clioose not such a lover as 

 •Zephyr. 



AtJROK.'i. 



Aurora was co!ii plaining to th(! gods, 

 that, although she was much praised by 

 men, she was little beloved or visited by 

 them, and least by those, who loudest 

 sivng iier piaises.. . j)o not grieve about 

 thy lot, .said the («od(hiss«f Vv^lsdoni, is 

 it not the same as mine? And (hen, 

 -Xonliiiued she. look at tliosc^ who sliglit 

 lliee. and at (he rival whom they prefer. 

 Behold (hem, as thou passes(, tioumler- 

 iiig in the enii>race of laziness, and de- 

 caying hutli in body and mind. And 



hast thou not friends, not adorers enow ? 

 Tl:e whole creation worships thee; all 

 the flowers awake, and clothe them- 

 selves by thy roseate beam in bridal 

 beauty. Tlje choir of birds welcomes 

 thee, and s;>enis intent wholly on varied 

 arts to chann thy transient presence. 

 The laborious boor, and the indus- 

 trious sage, never disappoint thee ; they 

 quaff, from the cuj) which thou ofi'erest, 

 health anvd strength, repose and life ; 

 doubly plea-scd that they enjoy theeuu- 

 disturi)*'<l sind uninterruj)(ed by the 

 prating crowd of sleepy fools. Dost 

 tlifiu consi(h;r it as no blessing, tiiat the 

 nnworthy are never seen among (liy ad- 

 mirers ? To be worshij)} ed without 

 profanation is the Iiighest prize of love 

 among gods and men. 



Aurora blushed at her thoughtless 

 murmurs. Let every beauty aspire to 

 her good fortune, who ei[uals her iu 

 purity and innocence. 



Herder left a son, ^bo was educated 

 for medicine, and wrote on midwifery: 

 he superintended in 1S05, a complete 

 edition of iiis father's works, and was 

 a^sistedHby Heync to annotate the criti- 

 cal disquisitions, and by Mnller to .sys- 

 (Ar.atize (he theology; iie died however 

 in ISUf), while engaged in this pious 

 caie. The critical writings, ho\\'ever 

 distinguislied for range of erudition, 

 and for jiulgmcnt, have not added im- 

 portantly (o the theory of taste, or to 

 archeologic science ; but the thcologic 

 writings have powerfully contributed 

 in their restilts to that stupendous revo- 

 lution in all the protestant churches of 

 Germany, which, in our ov.n timesf has 

 in fact changed the supreme object of 

 worship, anniliilated the old divinity 

 of the country, and substitnted the god 

 of the pnntlieists to the god of the 

 Triiiitarians. lierdcr may be charac- 

 terized as tiie Plato of tiiis new Chris- 

 tian world. His blooming and ardent 

 diction, and his graceful imagination 

 liuiformiy cliiig in cievoijt cxtacy about 

 tliose pas.sages of tlic .sacred writings, 

 which are adapted to command our 

 loftiest veneration, or to sympathize 

 with our finest feelings. Yet lie em- 

 ploys them rather like the mythologic 

 allusions and parabolic instructions of 

 an eloquent moralist, than as dogmas 

 of revelation. He binds his brow in- 

 deed with the clusters of Engeddi, 

 strews along his path the ro.ses of Sha- 

 ron, and culls the sweetest lilies of the 

 valley of Trigah : but he receives them 

 rather as (lie gift of human tlian of an- 

 gelic hands: rather as (he luxuries of 



(aste 



