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BCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH CARL VON. 



SCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH CARL VON. 



3Z6 



feelings which forms the true character of that age. Gothe, who 

 never called himself a romantic poet, but was nevertheless the first of 

 all, knew that character much better than the devout Frederic, or the 

 somewhat effeminate Augustus William Schlegel. The excitement of 

 1813 produced a strange effect upon Augustus William : he accepted 

 a secretaryship from Bemadotte, the crown-prince of Sweden, and 

 wrote political essays. No sooner however was Paris taken than he 

 repaired to the country-seat whither Madame de Stael had retired, 

 and kept her company till her death in 1818. She remembered him 

 in her will. About that time he was placed among the titular nobility 

 nf Germany, the privilege of which consists in putting the preposition 

 ' Von ' between the Christian and the family name of the person thus 

 distinguished. 



In 1819 Augustus William von Schlegel was appointed professor of 

 history in the University of Bonn, which had just been founded by the 

 king of Prussia : it is not known why he was made professor of history, 

 for he had never written on history. He had now ceased to be a poet, 

 but still ambitious of the honour of being a European author, he 

 published several critical essays of undoubted merit however in 

 foreign languages. Such are ' Le Couronnement de la Ste. Vierge, et 

 les Miracles de St. Dominique : ^Tableau de Jean de Fiesole ; avec une 

 Notice sur la Vie du Peintre,' fol., Paris, 1817 ; an essay on the famous 

 Venetian horses, which he declared to be of Greek workmanship, in 

 Italian, in the ' Biblioteca Italiana ; ' ' Reflexions sur 1'Etude des 

 Laugues Asiatiques, adresse"es a Sir J. Mackintosh, suivies d'une Lettre 

 h Mr. H. H. Wilson,' Bonn, 1832, &c. To such minor works however 

 he devoted only part of his time, for even previous to his appointment 

 at Bonn, and at the suggestion of his brother Frederic, he had made 

 up his mind to study Sanskrit. He soon attracted a small number of 

 students round him, and thus became one of the principal promoters 

 of the study of that language in Germany : the Sanskrit printing-office 

 at Bonn owes its foundation to Schlegel, who, it is said, purchased the 

 types at his own expense. Although he did not attain the exact 

 knowledge of that difficult language by which Bopp and Lassen have 

 distinguished themselves, he was yet no contemptible Sanskrit scholar, 

 and surpassed Bopp and others in his general views : and it may be 

 said that his principal merit consisted in encouraging students and 

 aiding them in pursuing the study of the Sanskrit, Zend, Pehlvi, and 

 other Indo-Persian languages. Schlegel in his turn was assisted by 

 the superior learning of Professor Lassen. As early as 1820 he founded 

 the ' Indische Bibliothek,' a review exclusively devoted to Indian 

 languages and antiquities. Specimens of Schlegel's Sanskrit scholar- 

 ship are ' liamayana,' with a Latin translation and critical notes, 

 Bonn, 1829; ' Bhagavad-Gita,' an episode of the celebrated Indian epic 

 * Mahabharata.' It is especially to his endeavours to promote the 

 study of the Indian languages, as well as to some of his critical essays 

 on subjects connected with the fine arts and poetry, that Schlegel owes 

 the great esteem which he enjoyed in this country. Some time before 

 his death, which took place on the 12th of May 1845, he published 

 ' Essais litteVaires et historiques,' 8vo, Bonn, 1842. 



Schlegel ranks high among the lyric poets of Germany. ' Arion ' is 

 a wonderful romance or ballad, if the expression cau at all be applied 

 to such a production ; and his sonnets are little pieces of perfection. 

 The smoothness of his style, and his elegant clearness, have not been 

 surpassed in Germany. But as a genius he stands far below the great 

 leader of German literature ; he could appreciate the grand and 

 sublime, but he was unable to create it, as his tragedy of Ion shows. 

 He must have felt his own comparative weakness when he called Gothe 

 a god. Next to Count Platen, Schlegel was the most perfect metrist ; 

 but feeling his superiority in this respect he made too much of it, and 

 sometimes produced most musical sonnets, embodying feelings of 

 such an exquisite delicacy as to leave no impression whatsoever upon 

 the mind of less gifted mortals than the author. His translation of 

 Shakspere, which was continued by Tieck, is the best among the 

 numerous German translations of the great bard ; but Tieck's trans- 

 lations are still better than those of Schlegel, whose version is too 

 elegant, too elaborate, too smooth : his Falstaff, and the like characters, 

 leave an impression as if previous to appearing in public they had 

 received some private lessons from the accomplished translator to 

 behave with decency in his and his equals' company. The work which 

 perhaps does him most credit is the ' Lectures on Dramatic Art and 

 Literature,' which have been translated into all the modern languages : 

 into English by John Black, 3 vols. 8vo, London, 1840, reprinted in 

 one volume in Bohn's ' Standard Library,' 1846. In his criticism on 

 the French drama he is however one-sided. His appointment as pro- 

 fessor of history at Bonn was a mistake : he ought to have remained 

 at Berlin, or Vienna, lecturing before an elegant public of fashionable 

 ladies and gentlemen. Vexed at seeing in Niebuhr, then likewise at 

 Bonn, a star still brighter than his own, he endeavoured to darken him 

 since he could not outshine him, and wrote his critique of Niebuhr's 

 Roman history, which appeared in the ' Heidelberger Jahrbuche ' of 

 1828 ; and he likewise began to lecture on Roman history in the uni- 

 versity : but his critique made him ridiculous among the learned, and 

 his lectures added nothing to his reputation. 



SCHLEGEL, FRIEDRICH CARL WILHELM VON, brother of 

 the preceding, was born at Hanover on the 10th of March 1772. 

 Frederic Schlegel received a very liberal education, although his father 

 wished him to engage in mercantile pursuits. Accordingly he was 



ilaced as apprentice in a mercantile house at Leipzig, but he showed 

 10 little inclination and ability for the buoiness that the father sent 

 lim to Gottingen to study philology, though in the course of his 

 education he had not shown any promising talents. After a year's 

 esidence in this place, Schlegel went to Leipzig, where he continued 

 lis studies with such zeal, that on leaving the university he had read 

 all the important ancient writers in the original language. 



His first publication of any importance was ' Griechen und Romer,' 

 CTamb., 1797, of which his 'Geschichte der Griechen und Romer,' 

 Berlin, 1798, may be considered as a continuation. This was only a 

 fragment, and it has never been completed. At this time all his 

 thoughts seem to have been absorbed by ancient literature, with which, 

 as his early works show, he had formed a moat intimate acquaintance. 

 About the same time he undertook, together with Schleiermacher, to 

 translate Plato into German ; but after the first sheets were printed 

 be abandoned the undertaking, and left the whole in the hands of 

 Schleiermacher. In 1796 he began editing, with his brother August 

 Wilhelm, a literary periodical called the ' Athenaeum,' of which however 

 only three volumes appeared. The object of this publication was to 

 produce an entire change in the literature of Germany. It was of a 

 polemical character, and directed against the moat popular authors of 

 the time, especially Kotzebue and Iffland. The papers which it con- 

 tained were very valuable, but written in an arrogant and contemptuous 

 tone. Another work with the same object was ' Kritiken und Charak- 

 teristiken,' which he likewise edited with his brother. In 1799 Schlegel 

 published at Berlin the first volume of a novel called ' Lucinde,' which 

 created a great sensation. It was admired and commended by men of 

 the highest eminence, such as Schleiermacher, while it was moat 

 severely censured by others, who saw in it nothing but an exaltation 

 of sensual pleasure. The justice of the censure appears to have been 

 felt by Schlegel himself, for he never completed the work. 



In 1800 Schlegel left Berlin and went to Jena, where he delivered 

 a course of lectures on philosophy, which were received with great 

 applause. In 1802 he published at Berlin a tragedy called 'Alarkas,' 

 grand in its conception, but romantic and rather mystic in its whole 

 character. In the same year he travelled with his wife, the daughter 

 of the celebrated M. Mendelssohn, to Paris, where he delivered 

 lectures on philosophy, and edited a monthly periodical called 

 'Europa,' of which only two volumes appeared. (Frankfurt, 1803-5.) 

 At Paris he also studied the arts, the languages of Southern Europe, 

 and more especially the language and literature of the ancient Indians. 

 The fruits of the latter study appeared in his little essay, ' Ueber die 

 Sprache und Weisheit der Indier,' Berlin, 1808, one of the first 

 works which appeared in Germany on the literature of India : it had 

 great defects, and among others it contained the usual exaggerated 

 notions respecting the civilisation of the Indians. The results of his 

 other studies at Paris may be seen in his ' Geschichte der Jungfrau 

 von Orleans/ Berlin, 1802; ' Sammlung romantischer Dichtungen des 

 Mittelalters,' Berlin, 1804 ; and ' Lother und Mailer,' Berlin, 1805. 

 After his return to Germany he published a collection of his poems, 

 Berlin, 1809, which are partly of a dithyrambic and partly of an 

 elegiac character. All these works, as well as his 'Poetisches 

 Taschenbuch,' Berlin, 1806, and his epic poem 'Roland,' show the 

 author's deep veneration for the arts, the poetry, and the whole social 

 life of the middle ages. This feeling had taken strong hold of him, 

 as appeared more manifestly from his wife and himself embracing the 

 Roman Catholic religion at Cologne in 1808. 



He now went to Vienna, where, in 1809, he was appointed im- 

 perial secretary at the head-quarters of the archduke Charles, and in 

 this capacity he exercised a great and beneficial influence upon the 

 national spirit of the Germans by his inspiring proclamations. After 

 the political wreck of Austria he returned to his literary occupations, 

 and delivered a course of lectures on modern history ('Ueber die 

 neuere Geschichte,' published at Vienna, 1811), and on the history of 

 ancient and modern literature (' Ueber die Geschichte der alten und 

 neuen Literatur,' published at Vienna, 1815, in two vols.). The 

 latter work has been translated into English. In the years 1812 and 

 1813 he edited the ' Deutsche Museum,' of which only two volumes 

 appeared. Schlegel also tried his strength as a politician and diplo- 

 matist, and his writings on subjects of this kind were so highly 

 valued by Prince Metternich, that he appointed him councillor of 

 legation to the Austrian embassy at the German Diet at Frankfurt. 

 But he resigned this office in 1818, and returned to Vienna, where 

 he began to edit a new periodical called ' Concordia,' Vienna, 1820- 

 21, with a view of reconciling the various opinions respecting church 

 and state. About this time he also began to prepare a complete 

 edition of his scattered works, which was published in twelve vols., 

 Vienna, 1822, &c. In 1827 he delivered a course of lectures ou 

 practical philosophy (' Philosophic des Lebens,' published at Vienna, 

 1828), and in 1828 another course on the philosophy of history 

 (' Philosophic der Geschichte,' Vienna, 1829, 2 vols.): both these 

 works have been translated into English. Towards the close of this 

 year Schlegel made a journey to Dresden, with a view to deliver u 

 series of lectures on the philosophy of language, but while he was work- 

 ing them out, he died, on the 12th of January, 1829. The Dresden 

 lectures, as far as they were finished, were published in 183 

 Vienna, under the title of ' Philosophische Vorlesungen, insbesondcre 

 liber die Philosophic der Sprache und des Wortes.' His friend Pro- 



