20 pastokaIj IjIteuature prom opitz to okssnek. 



die classes held the German language in contempt; 

 State of Litera- everything was to be written in Latin. The glori- 

 ture at the Be- ous era of German poetry during the Middle Ages 

 ginning of the seemed utterly forgotten. What poetry did exist 

 17th Century. in the Volkslieder ol the time did not interest the 

 ■ Opitz and educated. It was the example set by the neigh- 



Weckherlin. boring countries of using, cherishing, and develop- 



ing their o\ra language, their vernacular, and 

 making it a fit vehicle for their literature, that also turned the 

 attention of the .Germans to their mother-tongue. This was done 

 in the first place by translations of foreign literature into Ger- 

 man. The pastorals occupy a most important place among these 

 translations,* especially as they to a great extent determined 

 the character of German literature for the next century and a 

 half. The two most important poets who usher in this era are 

 Weckherlin and Opitz. 



The author who, more than any one else, established the su- 

 premacy of this foreign and pastoral literature in Germany was 

 Martin Opitz. ^ But as he did this by translations of foreign 

 models into good German, he also stands at the head of the 

 movement whose special aim was to cherish and cultivate the 

 German language. In his first important work, Aristarchus, sive 

 de contemptu linguie Teutoniae,^ 1619, he praises the German 

 language, claimuig that it is just as capable of producing a litera- 

 ture based upon the models of antiquity, as Italian, French, or 

 English. This work, and his Buch der Deatschen Poeterei (pub- 

 lished seven years later), opened the eyes of the educated to the 

 importance of cultivating the German tongue. 



1 We notice the following; Bergeries de Juliette by Nicholas de Montreaux, 

 transl. 1.59.5; Guarini"s Pastor Fido, 1619; D'Urfe's .4sfree, 1619; Sidney's Ar- 

 cadia, 16.31. 



2 1597-1639. Opitz was born in Silesia; early distingaiished himself by the 

 ease and grace with which he wrote Latin poetry; this accomplishment opened 

 to him the doors of famous scholars and of princes, whose fame he sang. Dur- 

 ing the greater part of his life he was in the service of Silesian princes. 



3 It is characteristic of the times that this work, in defence of German, had 

 to be written in Latin, so as to attract the attention of the educated. 



