GERMANY. (HISTORY.) 



419 



of quarrels was committed to a general congress, 

 which was never held. 3. In the present German 

 confederation, this judicial power of deciding quar- 

 rels between the members of the union, lias likewise 

 bven intrusted to the general assembly of the con- 

 federation, who are to endeavour to compose them 

 by means of a committee, chosen from their number, 

 and, where a legal sentence shall be necessary, are 

 to establish a regular court. Austria and Prussia 

 endeavoured, even at the congress of Vienna, to 

 bring about the establishment of a permanent tribu- 

 nal for these important affairs ; but the other states 

 preferred a variable court. The system requires 

 that the accused party shall propose to the accusing, 

 tlu'ee impartial members of the confederacy, of 

 which he is to choose one ; and in case he neglects 

 to do so, the choice is to be made by the general 

 assembly. The supreme court of that member of 

 the union which is selected must then undertake a 

 formal investigation and decision of the quarrel, and 

 publish a report ; after which the question cannot be 

 again thrown open, except in the case of new proofs 

 being found. The assembly provides for the execu- 

 tion, by the act of the 3d August, 1820. The same 

 process takes place in case the demands of a private 

 person are not satisfied, in consequence of the obli- 

 gation to give satisfaction being a subject of dispute 

 between several members of the confederacy. Seve- 

 ral disputes have already been decided in this man- 

 ner, and others are still pending. 



Germany, History of. The name Germania was 

 given by the Romans not only to the inhospitable 

 country, covered with forests, morasses, and fens, 

 which is bounded by the Danube, the Rhine, the 

 Northern Ocean, and the Vistula, but also to the 

 region embracing Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Livo- 

 nia and Prussia; all these countries, which form a 

 third part of Europe, being inhabited by nations 

 whose external appearance, manners, and customs, 

 announced a common origin. The inhabitants of the 

 bjiutiful regions of Italy, who had never known a 

 rougher country, could hardly believe that any nation 

 fiad deserted its native soil, to dwell in the forests of 

 Germany, where severe cold prevailed for the greater 

 part of the year, and where, even in summer, impe- 

 netrable forests prevented the genial rays of the sun 

 from reaching the ground. They thought that the 

 Germans (Heermannen, i. e., War-men: see Von 

 Hammer's account of the origin of this name in 

 the Wiener Jahrbucher and Titze in his Vorge- 

 schichte Deutschlands), or, as they called them- 

 selves after their national god, Teut (Thttiscori), 

 the Teutones, must have lived there from the 

 beginning. They, therefore, called them indigenes 

 (natives), and furnished us with accounts of their 

 manner of life, from which we give the following 

 extracts. We ought not to forget that our know- 

 ledge on this subject is derived from authors who 

 wrote mostly with a view to hold a picture of man- 

 liness and virtue before the eye of a degenerated 

 people, and, therefore, extolled many traits of the 

 ancient Germans beyond their real worth, and, also, 

 that the knowledge of Roman authors respecting the 

 Germans, was, after all, scanty, derived from obser- 

 vation of German captives at Rome, and the infor- 

 mation of soldiers who had served in Germany. In 

 order to give these accounts their real value, we 

 have only to call to mind how incorrect the descrip- 

 tions of Indians, in our novels, are considered by 

 those persons who have had a long intercourse with 

 these sons of the forest ; and yet the character of 

 Indians must be better known to Cooper than that 

 of the Germans could be to Tacitus. However, the 

 Teutonic element has become so important an ingre- 

 dient in the institutions and productions of the mid- 



dle ages, in politics, religion, and poetry, and, con- 

 sequently, so important a basis of the institutions of 

 the present time, founded on, or sprung from, those 

 of the middle ages, that all the information which 

 has been transmitted to us respecting the early Ger- 

 mans is of great interest. 



A nation free from any foreign intermixture (say 

 the Roman writers), as is proved by their peculiar 

 national physiognomy, inhabits the countries beyond 

 tlie Rhine, with fierce blue eyes, deep yellow hair, a 

 robust frame and a gigantic height ; inured to cold 

 and hunger, but not to thirst and heat, warlike, 

 honest, faithful, friendly, and unsuspicious towards 

 friends, but towards enemies cunning and dissem- 

 bling ; scorning every restraint, considering inde- 

 pendence as the most precious of all things, and, 

 therefore, ready to give up life rather than liberty. 

 Unacquainted with the arts of civilization, ignorant 

 of agriculture, and of the use of metals and letters, 

 the German lives in his forests and pastures, sup- 

 ported by the chase, and the produce of his herds 

 and flocks ; his life being divided between inaction, 

 sensual pleasures, and great hardships. In time of 

 peace, sleep, and idleness, by day and night, are the 

 sole pleasure of the indolent discontented warrior, 

 who longs for war, and manly, dangerous adven- 

 tures. Till these arrive, he surrenders himself with 

 all the passion of unrestrained nature, to drinking 

 und gaming. A beverage, prepared with little art, 

 from wheat and barley, indemnifies him for the ab- 

 sence of the juice of the grape, which nature has 

 denied him, and exhilarates his noisy feasts. His 

 personal liberty is not too precious to be staked on 

 the cast of a die ; and, faithful to his word, he suffers 

 himself to be fettered, without resistance, by the 

 lucky winner, and sold into distant slavery. The 

 form of government in the greater part of Germany, 

 is democratic. The German obeys general and posi- 

 tive laws less than the casual ascendency of birth or 

 valour, of eloquence or superstitious reverence. 

 On the shores of the Baltic, there are several tribes 

 which acknowledge the authority of kings, without, 

 however, resigning the natural rights of man. Mu- 

 tual protection forming the tie which unites the Ger- 

 mans, the necessity was early felt of rendering indi- 

 vidual opinion subject to that of the majority ; and 

 these few rude outlines of political society are suffi- 

 cient for a nation destitute of high ambition. The 

 youth, born of free parents, and ripened to manhood, 

 is conducted into the general assembly of his coun- 

 trymen, furnished with the shield and spear, and 

 received as an equal and worthy member of their 

 warlike republic. These assemblies, consisting of 

 men able to bear arms, and belonging to the same 

 tribe, are summoned at fixed periods, or on sudden 

 emergencies. The free vote of the members of these 

 councils decides on public offences, the election of 

 magistrates, on war or peace. For, though the 

 leaders are allowed to discuss all subjects previously, 

 yet the right of deciding and executing is solely 

 with the people. Impatient of delay, and obeying 

 the impulse of their passions, without regard to jus- 

 tice or policy, the Germans are quick in adopting 

 resolutions. Their applause or dissatisfaction is 

 announced by the clashing of their arms, or by a 

 murmur. In times of danger a leader is chosen, to 

 whom several tribes submit. The most valiant is 

 selected for this purpose, to lead his countrymen 

 more by his example than his authority. As soon as 

 the danger is past, his authority, reluctantly borr.e 

 by his free minded countrymen, ceases. In times of 

 peace, no other superior is known than the princes, 

 who are chosen in the assemblies to distribute jus- 

 tice, or compose differences in their respective dis- 

 tricts. Every prince has a guard, and a council o 



