Nd tions lately become Literary . 317 



named eminent cultivators of the German lan- 

 guage we might add, Voightel,Fulda,Moritz, 

 and many more, who have published works on the 

 subject, of various degrees of merit, and who are 

 mentioned with honour among the useful philolo- 

 gists of that country. 



But besides the numerous and valuable improve- 

 ments which the German language owes to the 

 professed writers on the subject, mentioned in 

 the preceding paragraphs, much may be ascribed 

 to the circulation and influence of those specimens 

 of good writing in that language, with which the 

 eighteenth century, and especially the latter half 

 of it, abounded. In this list, the first in chrono- 

 logical order which deserve to be mentioned are 

 the publications of Bodmer, Breitinger, Gel- 

 lert, Rabener, Cramer, and a few others, who 

 furnished examples of regular and polished style 

 decidedly superior to any former models. The 

 period in which these men wrote is represented as 

 the first grand epocha in the progress of German 

 prose. It was in this period that the French classic 

 writers began to be better known in Germany, 

 through the medium of translations, by means of 

 which German style was enriched with many new 

 words, idioms and graces. 



The second epocha in German style is repre- 

 sented to be that which was formed by the authors 

 of the Berlinschen Litter aturbrief en, and especially 

 by Lessing and Moses Mendleshon. About 

 this time the British classic writers began to be 

 studied with much ardour in Germany; and many 

 of them being translated, and considered as models 

 by some of the most respectable authors of that 

 country, gave rise to new and important improve- 

 ments in their style. The beauties of Milton, 

 Addison, Swift, and Pope, began not only to be 

 relished, but also to be copied by the German !:- 



