SCH 



556 



Schiller. Man ; on Magic Art ; on the Pathetic ; on the Can'Se 

 s -y ' of our Delight in Tragic Objects ; on Employing the 

 Low and Common in Art. 



After conceiving and abandoning a design of writ- 

 ing an epic poem, of which Gustavus Adolphus was 

 to be the subject, he again returned to the drama, ar.d 

 resolved to compose his Wallenstein. In 1793 he gave 

 up his Thalia, and, with the assistance of Goethe, he 

 began a new periodical work, under the title of Horen. 

 He also undertook the superintendence of the Musen- 

 Almanach, a kind of work very common in Germany, 

 the object of which is to preserve and publish annual- 

 ly a series of short poetical effusions collected from va- 

 rious quarters. The Musen-Almanach was celebrated 

 by a collection of epigrams called the Xenien or Xenia, 

 a sort of German Dunciad, directed against the bad 

 taste, dullness, and affectation, of a stt of inferior 

 authors who had viewed with a jealous eye the union 

 of two such men as Goethe and Schiller. Although 

 the Xenia were never completed, yet the part which 

 did appear excited a great commotion among the dull 

 malignants against whom they were directed. The 

 Musen-Almanach, in which they appeared in 1 797, was 

 continued till Schiller left Jena, and the Horen ceased 

 some months before. 



The great work of Wallenstein, at which he had 

 been busy for seven years, at last appeared in 1797> 

 and is considered by competent judges to be the best 

 performance that he had yet produced. It is regarded 

 indeed by some as the greatest dramatic work of the 

 eighteenth century. It has been translated into French 

 by Benjamin Constant, and the last two parts of it into 

 English by Mr. Coleridge. 



After the publication of Wallenstein, Schiller re- 

 moved to Weimar in quest of a milder winter climate ; 

 and on this occasion the pension which he enjoyed 

 from the Duke of Weimar was increased, as it had been 

 four years before when he received an invitation to the 

 university of Tubingen. He shared along with Goethe 

 the task of superintending the affairs of the stage. He 

 remodelled, in conjunction with Goethe, his Don Car- 

 los ; and he now composed his Mary Stewart, a tra- 

 gedy of much beauty, which appeared in 1800. In 

 1801 was published his Maid of Orleans, which is con- 

 sidered as one of the finest of modern dramas, and is 

 supposed fo evince more genius than any of the other 

 productions of its author. It was highly popular on 

 the stage, and added greatly to his reputation. 



In 1803 he published his Bride of Messina, in which 

 he has introduced the ancient chorus ; but though it 

 contains many fine pieces of lyrical poetry, yet it has 

 found no imitator, and few admirers. 



In the following year appeared his Wilhclm Tell, 

 which is considered by his biographer as one of his 

 very finest dramas, and " as exhibiting some of the 

 highest triumphs which his genius, combined with his 

 art, ever realised." " Less comprehensive and ambi- 

 tious than Wallenslein, less ethereal than the Maid of 

 Orleans, it has a look of nature and substantial truth 

 which neither of its rivals can boast of." 



In 1804, when Schiller was returning from Berlin, 

 where he had been witnessing the exhibition of Wil- 

 helm Tell, he experienced a violent attack of his former 

 complaint ; but he escaped its fury, and again resumed 

 his labours. He executed various translations from 

 the French and Italian, sketched a tragedy on the his- 

 tory of Perkin Warbeck, and finished two acts on D:- 

 mitri of Russia , but in the midst of these occupations 

 he was again arrested by disease. The cold spring of 

 J 805 brought back his complaint, and notwithstanding 

 all the assistance which medical skill could give, he ex- 



5 



pired on the evening of the 9th of May, in the 46th 

 year of his age, leaving behind him a widow, two sons 

 and two daughters. 



There were found among his papers his letters to 

 Balberg, which were published at Carlsruce in a small 

 duodecimo in 181 9. For the preceding facts respect- 

 ing the life of Schiller, we have been indebted to The 

 Lrfe of Frederick Schiller, comprehending an examina- 

 tion of his Works, which appeared in London in 1825". 

 It is an able and well-written piece of biography, which 

 will be read with the deepest interest. 



SCH IRAS, or SHIRAS, a celebrated city of Persia, 

 and capital of the whole empire. It is finely situated 

 between mountains in a rich plain, about seven leagues 

 long and four broad, unrivalled for its beauty and fer- 

 tility. The immediate environs of the city are laid 

 out in magnificent gardens, the most celebrated of 

 which is that of the \ 7 akeel, now the garden of Jehaii 

 Nama. Through this fine foreground of trees and 

 gardens the lofty domes of the mosques have a grand 

 appearance, and excite expectations which are greatly 

 disappointed upon entering the town. The streets are 

 in general narrow, winding and dirty, and the houses 

 are small and mean. The great bazaar or market 

 place, built by Kurim Khan, is about a quarter of a 

 mile long, built of yellow burnt brick, and arched at 

 top, with numerous skylights to admit the light and 

 the air. All the different trades of the city have quar- 

 ters assigned to them in it. The citadel in which the 

 governor resides, is a fortified square eighty yards wide, 

 and is the residence of the governor. The royal pa- 

 lace is no ways elegant. Schiras carries on an ex- 

 tensive trade in sugar, pepper, cinnamon, chintz, piece 

 goods, which it receives from Bushire and India, and 

 transmits them to Ispahan and Yezd, receiving in ex- 

 change the manufactures of these cities. The wine of 

 Schiras has long been celebrated for its fine colour and 

 rich taste. 



Hafiz was buried in a small garden about one mile 

 and a half from the city. His tomb, erected by Ku- 

 rim Khan, is of black and white marble, in the shape 

 of a coffin, having inscribed upon it two of his poems, 

 and the date of his death, &c. A splendid copy of the 

 works of Hafiz is always kept in an adjoining house. 

 Population about 40,000. East long. 52 44', and 

 north lat. 29 36'. See Macdonald Kinneir's Memoirs 

 of the Persian Empire. 



SCH 1R VAN, a province of the north of Persia, of 

 the form of a triangle, the apex of which stretches in- 

 to the Caspian Sea. Its breadth varies from 16' to 

 160 miles. This province has been divided into four 

 districts, 1st, The plain at the foot of the mountains 

 between the Rubas and the Ata ; 2d, The strait ridge 

 of mountains from the Atatschai to the plain on the 

 left bank of the Kur ; 3d, The plain on the river Kur ; 

 and 4th, The lofty mountainous district which limits 

 the other three districts. 



Schirvan is in general fertile, being watered by many 

 rivers, some of which discharge themselves into the 

 Caspian, and others into the Kur. The chief of these 

 are the Samur, Deli, Sugaite, and Pirsagat. The vil- 

 lages in the plain between the Rubas and the Ata are 

 surrounded with orchards, vineyards, and plantations of 

 mulberries. The plain on the left bank of the Kur is, 

 in a great measure, overgrown with rushes. 



The principal towns of Schirvan are New Scha- 

 machi, the capital of Baku. Schamachi is situated in 

 a plain on the river Aksisi. It is of a quadrangular 

 form, each side being 800 paces long. The walls, 

 which are built of unburnt brick, are surrounded with 

 a deep ditch. Baku has already been described under 



Schira*, 



Schirvan. 



