KLOPSTOCK. 
7 ?G 
played in a very advantageous point of view. Under the 
tuition of an able teacher, who fought to make his pupils 
familiar not only with the language, but alfo with the 
fpirit, of the ancient writers, he acquired a perfeft know¬ 
ledge of the daffies; learned to appreciate their beauties 5 
and, while he followed with tranfport the daring flights 
of their original genius, he fed a flame within himfelf that 
was foon to burft forth in full 1 afire. 
At this early period of life, his ardent genius infpired 
him with the refolution of writing an epic poem, which 
had not then exifted in the German language. His en- 
thufiaftic admiration of Virgil; the glory he protnifed him¬ 
felf in being the firft who fhould produce a work like the 
ZEneid in his native language; warmth of patriotifm 
which early animated him to raife the fame of German li¬ 
terature to a level with that of other countries; his juft 
indignation on reading the work of a Frenchman, who 
had denied to the Germans any talent for poetry ; all 
combined with the confcioufnefs of his own fuperior pow¬ 
ers to ftimulate him to the execution of his fublime plan. 
He was, however, long undecided in the choice of a fub- 
jeft. He firft fought fome celebrated character in Ger¬ 
man hiftory for the hero of his intended work ; but, after 
choofing and rejecting many different fubjefts, he at length 
formed the plan of his Mejfiah. This preference was 
given before he was even acquainted with Milton, whofe 
immortal poem became, foon after this period, his favourite 
and almoft uninterrupted ftudy. 
In 1745 Klopftock left the college of Quedlinburg, and 
repaired to the univerfity of Jena, with the intention to 
ftudy theology. The dull difputes, however, of fcholaf- 
tic divines, but ill agreed with the ftate of his mind at 
this time. He wanted no evidence to prove the truth of 
a religion which had taken entire pofieflion of his heart; 
he could notliften with patience to the cavil's of infidels, 
or the cold reafoning of metaphyficians; and, after ('pend¬ 
ing a few months at Jena, he removed to the univerfity 
of Leipfic. During this fhort interval he had, in the fe- 
clufion of his cloiet, been realizing fome part of his in¬ 
tended plan by fketching out the three firft cantos of the 
Mefliah. As the Alexandrine meafure appeared to him too 
uniform and fatiguing, the trochaic too prolix, and the 
ten-feet iambics not adapted to the conftruttion of the 
German language, he compofed thefe three cantos in profe, 
but was highly diflatisfied with his performance. He was 
fired with a laudable indignation on feeling himfelf fo 
inferior in harmony to his grand models Homer and Vir¬ 
gil. Loft in profound thought, he would frequently 
itroll about the country round Jena; and in one of thefe 
folitary tvalks he came to a determination to emulate the 
great poets of antiquity in the ftrufture of their verfe. 
In a few hours he completed a page of hexameters, and 
from this time decided on compoling his poem in that 
meafure. Thus was he the firft who introduced into 
German poetry a metre fuppofed to be unattainable in 
that language ; and he afterwards triumphantly defended 
this mode of verfification both by example and argument. 
In the fpring of 1746, he carried with him to Leipfic the 
three firft books of the Mefliah, which aftonifhed and 
delighted the few ingenious friends to whom they were 
firft fhown. Thefe young votaries of the Mules had 
formed a literary fociety, in order to improve their 
tafte by mutual criticifms on their various productions, 
the belt of which were printed in the periodical work 
entitled Bremen Contributions. In this work the three 
finifned cantos of the Mefliah were firft fubmitted to the 
world. Germany at this period was not prepared for the 
reception of a poet of fuch a fuperior caft ; the public 
tafte was not fufficiently formed to admire the lofty flight 
of Klopftock’s genius ; but his performance was read 
with enthufiafm by all who poflefled a genuine relifh for 
poetry, and their applaufe animated the youthful bard in 
the profecution of his magnificent plan. Klopftock's re- 
fidence at Leipfic/became unpleafant to him after he had 
loft tfie fociety of his chofen friends, who gradually left 
the univerfity j and in 1748 he removed to the houfe of a 
relation at Langenfalza, for the purpofe of fuperintending 
the education of his children. Here he became acquainted 
with the beautiful After of his kinfman and bofom-friend, 
Schmidt, who is the fubjeft of fome of his molt admired 
odes, in which fire is diftinguifhed by the name of Fanny. 
He never had courage to make propofals of marriage, un¬ 
der the idea that he had no chance or fuccefs ; and the 
lady was foon afterwards united to another. Many of 
his compofitions evince the ardour of this youthful paf- 
fion ; and the pain of not feeing himfelf beloved, together 
with the influence of fevere application on his health, 
threw him into a deep melancholy, and for a time fpread 
a dark colouring over all his poetic effufionsj Ten can¬ 
tos of the Mefliah had now made their appearance, and 
excited fuch a degree of attention as no other book had 
ever awakened in Germany. Friends and enemies, ad¬ 
mirers and critics, ftarted up on every fide ; but the fuc¬ 
cefs of the work was not lei's owing to the facred nature 
of the fubjeCt than to the beauty of the poetry. Young 
divines quoted it from the pulpit; and it was prized by 
Chriftian readers as a book that afforded them, amidft the 
cold arguments of theologians, fome fcope for devout 
feeling. By fome of the flaunchly-orthodox clergy, on 
the other hand, it was condemned as a prefumptuous fic¬ 
tion, tending to contaminate the fcripture hiftory with 
fables. The partifans of Gottfche'd, the grammarian, 
raifed a (till greater clamour againft the work, on account 
of the language; while the Swifs critics, their opponents, 
extolled it in the higheft degree. Bodmer, in particular, 
the tranflator of Milton, el'poufed the caufe of the Ger¬ 
man epic poet with enthufiaftic ardour, and greatly con¬ 
tributed to accelerate the celebrity of his performance. 
Klopftock fuffered his friends and his enemies to write as 
they pleafed ; he profited by their criticifms, but took no 
part in the controverfy. In the fummer of 1750, Klop¬ 
ftock went to Zurich on an invitation from Bodmer, and 
was received in Swiflerland with the molt flattering tefti- 
rnonies of efteem and refpefl. The fublime and enchant¬ 
ing beauties of that romantic country, the friendfhip of 
fome highly-cultivated minds, and the uncorrupted man¬ 
ners of the people in general, would probably have in¬ 
duced him to fettle there for life, had not an unexpected 
circumftance opened to him very different profpefts. The 
illuftrious Danifh ftatefman, count BernftorfF, filled, on 
the firft appearance of the commencement of his great 
work, with admiration of its author, refolved to take him 
under his patronage; and recommended him fo ftrongly 
to his fovereign, Frederic V. that Klopftock received an 
invitation to refide at Copenhagen, with a penfion which 
would fet him above pecuniary care, and leave him at li¬ 
berty to complete bis Mefliah. This offer he accepted, and 
in the fpring of 1751 fet out for Denmark, by the way of 
Brunfvvick and Hamburg. 
It was during this journey that Klopftock became ac¬ 
quainted, in the latter city, with the amiable and accotn- 
plilhed Margaretta Moller, who in 1754 made him the 
liappieft of men. This lady was honoured with the friend¬ 
fhip of our countryman Samuel Richardfon ; and, in his 
Correfpondence, lately publilhed, there is a letter from her 
defcribing her ccurtfhip and marriage. This epiftle dif- 
plays fo much nature and ingenuoufnefs,that we cannotfor- 
bear prefenting it entire. It is dated Hamburg, March 14, 
1758. “You will know all what concerns me. Love, 
dear fir, is all what me concerns ! And love fhall be all 
what I will tell you in this letter. In one happy night I 
read my hufband’s poem, the Mefliah. I was extremely 
touched with it. The next day I afked one of his friends, 
who was the author of this poem ? and this was the firft 
time I heard Klopftock’s name. I believe, I fell imme¬ 
diately in love with him : at the leaft, my thoughts were ever 
with him filled, efpecially becanfe his friend told me very 
much uf his character. But I had no hopes eyer to fee 
him, when quite unexpectedly I heard that he fliould pafs 
through Hamburg. I wrote immediately to the fame 
friend. 
