romannticism and the rise of german

7/29/2019 Romannticism and the Rise of German

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Romanticism and the Rise of German NationalismAuthor(s): Hans KohnReviewed work(s):Source: The Review of Politics, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct., 1950), pp. 443-472Published by: Cambridge University Press for the University of Notre Dame du lac on behalf of Review ofPolitics

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Romanticismand the Riseof GermanNationalism

By Hans Kohn

IROMANTICISM, though in its beginning ittle concernedwith

politics or the state, preparedthe rise of German nationalismafter 1800. It was an aestheticrevolution,a resort to imagination,almostfeminine n its sensibility;t was poetrymoredeeplyindebtedto the spiritof music than the poetryof the eighteenthcenturyhadbeen, rich in emotionaldepth,more potent in magicevocation. ButGermanromanticism as and wished o be more thanpoetry. It wasan interpretation f life, natureand history and this philosophiccharacterdistinguishedt from romanticismn other lands. It wassharplyopposed o the rationalism f the eighteenth entury; t mobil-ized the fascination f the past to fight against he principles f 1789.In that indirectway romanticismame to concern tselfwithpoliticaland social life andwiththe state. It neverdevelopeda programor amodernGermannation-state,but with its emphasison the peculiarityof the Germanmind it helpedthe growthof a consciousnessf Ger-manuniqueness.It started as a movementof intellectuals,many of them of thetype of unsettledbohemianswho areoften foundin the vanguardofmovementsof culturalrenovationwhichcoincidewith the beginningof social change. They were the spiritual hildrenof the StormandStresswhichhadprecededhemby thirtyyears,andtheywere n ardentopposition o the matureGoethewho had long outgrownhis briefStormand Stress period. They admiredhim as a creativeman ofletters,as the embodiment f theprincelyartist,buthis conceptof theindividualthey rejected. Goethe'sgoal of education was the well-roundedharmoniousndividual, he "Persinlichkeit,"he personalitywhichwillinglysubordinatedtselfto binding ormsandto the obliga-tion of universalaw, whichrejoices n measure, ymmetry nd pro-portion,whichacknowledgeshe limitsof the humanandthe humane.The romantic ndividual,on the otherhand,regardedhimselfnot as

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSa representativef theuniversalrder,butas unique, ejectingimitsimposed y measure r societyand demandingull freedomor hiscreativeenius.1But the romanticist,eelinghimselfhemmedn bythesocietywhichhe foundaround r rather eneath imself, idnotaccept hetitaniconelinessf the Stormand Stress.He wasdrawnlonginglyowards communityf like-mindedndividualshowouldlive a full life accordingo their nnermostmotions.The complexityand anguish f this searchor a communityereheightenedy theunderlyingll-demandingubjectivism;he uniquendividualongedfor a totalself-assertionf all his conflictingesires ndyet felt thetragicneedforfulfillmentn the miracle f a trueharmoniousnionin whichall theconflictingppositesf lifewouldbe reconciled,f anewgoldenage whichseemed ccessibleo the magicpowerof theartist. Artbecameo theromanticistshe newreligion.In theirquest orthemiraculoushe romanticistsound heration-alismandcommonenseof theeighteenthenturyhallow ndsuper-ficial. The decisiveorceof the individual,ccordingo theroman-ticists,residedn his sentiments hichdistinguishedimfromothersandrenderedimunique mongmen. Thestrengthf theindividual'sdesiresn whichhis trueegoexpressedtselfvalidatedhem; hepas-sionof longing stablishedheright o itsobject.Themorepassionatemanwas,the more ullyhe lived.Passionwastheprerogativef theartist,poet, seer who obeyeddeep impulsesn his innermostelf.Whilethisdiscoveryf the irrationalnrichedoetryandtheunder-standing f man,it carried, s Goetherecognized, threat o the

1 See on "personality"and "individuality"Fritz Strich, Dichtung und Zivilisation(Munich, 1928), p. 35, and his Deutsche Klassik und Romantik (Munich, 1922). Seeon romanticismn generalthe articlesby Arthur O. Lovejoy,Goetz A. Briefs and EugeneN. Anderson in Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. II, No. 3 (June, 1941). On thepolitical implicationssee Paul Kluckhohn,Persinlichkeit und Gemeinschaft,Studien ZurStaatsauffasungder deutschenRomantik, (Halle, 1925); Carl Schmitt, Politische Roman-tik, 2nd ed. (Munich, 1925); Jakob Baxa, Einfihrung in die romantischeStaatswissen-schaft (Jena, 1923); Gesellschaftund Staat im Spiegel deutscherRomantik,ed. by JacobBaxa (Jena, 1924); Kurt Borries, Die Romantik und die Geschichte (Berlin, 1925);Andries David Verschoor,Die ilteredeutsche Romantikund die Nationalidee, (Amster-dam, 1928); Gottfried Salomon, Das Mittelalter als Ideal in der Romantik (Munich,1922); Reinhold Aris, History of Political Thought in Germany from 1789 to 1815(London, 1936), pp. 205-341; Josef Kmrner,Die Botschaft der deutschenRomantik anEuropa (Augsburg, 1933). Two more general works are Julius Petersen, Wesenbestim-mung der deutschen Romantik (Leipzig, 1926), and Henri Brunschwig, La Crise del'Etat Prussiena la fin du XVIIIe siecle et la genese de la mentaliteromantique (Paris,1947). On the differencebetweenEnglish and German romanticism ee Hoxie N. Fair-child, "The Romantic movement in England," part of a symposiumon romanticism nPMLA, vol. 55 (March, 1940), pp. 1-60.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMrationalrderof lawandsocietyf it luredmanto loseoneselfn itinsteadof challengingimto control t. The desiredasilyappearedto poetic maginations theindispensableo be achievedt anycost;everythingouldbe turnedntoan instrumentf full self-realizationorself-enjoyment.heidealcommunityf theutopian ream efusedto accept he hardlimitationsf realitymposedn the interests fequal ellow-men;t promisedo uniteall in anorganicway n whicheverybody ouldbe fullyhimselfwithout nylimitationsndyet atthe sametimefully partof the whole n a lovingembrace ithoutconflictor friction. In sucha perfectcommunityndividualndsocietywereno longern needof legalandconstitutionaluaranteesin theirrelationship;ndividualndcommunityecamewo sidesoftheoneperfectifewhichwouldbe all in all, farbeyond ndabovealllegaldistinctionsnd heneed or them.The anarchicndividualismfoundits complementn the totalcommunity. oth theseextremesexistedoutside he real societywith its necessarydjustmentsndcompromises;hey eda "pureife" n theimaginationf theromanticartists.To mistakemaginationor desirableealitywas bound ospelldangero thefree ndividualndto a societybasedon law.The romanticmovementbegan as an artisticrevolt againsteighteenthentury ulturewhich eemednot to satisfy he soul andnot to warm he heart. This apparentlyninspirednduninspiringcivilizationeemednflatedwithphilistine ride n the recentprogressof men. The romanticistsoundthereneitherchivalry or poetry,neithermiracle ormystery.French ationalismadcontemptuously.lookeddownuponthe pastandespeciallyponthe MiddleAges.The romanticistsound n theseveryperiodshewondrousairylandwhichtheymissed n the present.Repelledby theircontemporaryworld, heydiscoverednspirationndbeautyn history.On thisroad o thepasttheyfollowed ustusM6serandHerder,the forerunners f Germannationalism.2 But Moserwas a practicalstatesman,ndhis love of the rural reeholdersf theMiddleAgeswasrootedn his native oilandin hispersonalxperience. erder'svisionwas infinitely roader;ike the romanticistse saw creativeforcesat workn everyphenomenonf nature ndhistory, dynamicpantheismf organic rowth, et all theseforceswereheldwithina

2 Hans Kohn, The Idea of Nationalism, pp. 413ff,

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICScontext f enlightenedumanitarianismndrationalmorality,ejectedby the romanticists. utthoughMoserand Herdervalued hepast,theylived n thepresent ndwishedo go forward;heromanticistssuccumbedo thelureof history ndwishedo enrichhepresent yrevivinghepast. They elt it sooverflowingithpoetry,ovenerablewith egendandprophecy,hattheycouldnot study t withrationaldetachment;t seemedo them mpenetrableo theanalyticalpproachof scholarlyeason;t couldbe embracednlyas a wholeby the in-tuitionof great ove which mmersedhe longing ndividualn theflowof the pastwhichwasorganicallyivingon in thepresent ndwascarryingorwardntothefuture.

Thus the individualoundhimself ootedn thepastanddeter-minedby it. He appearedonditionedy the peculiarraditionsfthe national ommunity. hough heyhadno factualoundationorit, the romanticistsereconvincedhatthesenational haracteristicswerenever s pronounceds in theMiddleAges. The artof knightsandguilds eemedo them o expresshetruenationaloul, tscreativeforcenot yetcorruptedya rationalismhichmakes verythinglikeandwhichdeprivest of life. The national astsetthemodel,validonly for the one national ommunity;t gaineda new centralm-portanceor all culturalife. The concept f individuality,niqueandall-containing,astransferredrom heindividualo the nationalcommunity.The nationwasno longera legalsociety f individualsenteringnto unionaccordingo generalprinciplesnd for mutualbenefits;t was now an original henomenonf nature ndhistory,leadingts ownlifeaccordingo the lawsof its growth.Civilizationand awweredeemed ueto the immanentorces f thepeople.Thisnationalindividualitylive,growingand striving,oftenstirredbydesiresor powerandexpansion,ppeareds a manifestationf thedivinewitha specialmission o fulfill; t overcamehe quietstaticcharacter f stillnessand the listeningwithin characteristicfeighteenthenturyGermanyndfollowednstead oicescallingt tounfold ts dynamicorcesandto live andexplore ll itspotentialities.

The national ommunityr the state the romanticistsid notestablishleardistinctions-becamehe source f allaestheticndsoonalso of political ndethicalcreativeness.t was a personalityver-flowingwith ife andpulsatingwithmovement,ota mechanicalnd"dead" onceptas the state of the Enlightenmentppearedo the

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMromanticists.The relationshipf manto the statebecamentimateandhighlypersonal;hestate,an objectof deeploveandadmiringdevotion. Sucha stateeasilyresembledhe feudalpatriarchaltate,a great amily state, eldtogetherytiesof loveandmutualesponsi-bility,deeplyhostile o the spiritof rational apitalismnd to themobility f trade,butagreeableo socialistmeasuresf controlandprotectionf theindividual ithinhecommunity. hisidealwasnota returno thepast, orthepastof whicht talked adhardly nythingin commonwiththepast reality;t wasa poeticdreamwhich rans-figuredhepast ntoa goldenage. Thefirst reatGermanomanticist,FriedrichreiherronHardenberg1772-1801), r Novalis, ived na strange orderandof poeticgenius,mystichought ndconsumingmalady;he hatedthe Prussia f Frederickhe Greatas a soullessrationalmachinendglorifiedhemediocrerederickWilhelmI andhis touchingly eautifulQueenLouiseas the fulfillment f truemonarchy.

IINovalis'close friendand contemporaryarl Friedrich chlegel(1772-1829)definedn 1798theirpoetic ideal. Poetry "can befathomed y no theory, ndonly divinatoryriticismouldpresumeto characterizets ideal. It alone s infinite, ecauset alone s free,andrecognizess its first aw that the arbitraryaprice f the poettolerateso law." Schlegel'srother ugustWilhelm 1767-1845)hadalreadyn 1789bitterly omplainedbout heunpoeticharacterof theage. "The imeswhenapoetbythepresentationf great ventsof antiquityouldbecomehe preserverf folk sagas,the belovedteacher f his nation,areperhapsoneforever. t seemsalmostm-possibleo writea nationalheroicpoem. The wordFatherlandaslostitsmagicpower;heplaceof patriotismasbeen akenbya moregeneralbut therefore lsocoldernterest or mankind.Withthe de-

structionf the folk religionshe old saga perishedoo. We havebeenalienatedromourancestors, hile helaterGreeks ncounteredthe memory f theirHomericheroes n thousands f objects.Butour peacefuleducation,which s entirelydirectedowarddomestic3 In an essay in the periodicalAthenaum (Berlin, 1798-1800), vol. 1, part 2, pp. 28f,quoted by John C. Blankenagel,PMLA, vol. 55, p. 3.

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ROMANTICISM ND GERMANNATIONALISMNovalis'emphasisn the statewasa manifestationf the samelovewhichhe found n idealmarriagendin religiousmysticism,perfectunionand interpenetration.he idealstatewasfor himadivineworkof art. "Atrueprinces the artist f artists.Everymanshouldbecomean artist. Everythingan becomebeautiful rt."6As everymanshouldbecomen artistanda king, his truemonarchywascompatibleitha truerepublic,n facttheywerecomplimentaryfor therepublicemandedhe identificationf every itizenwiththestate. Novaliscomplainedhat in the German itiesonlysmall ocal

eventswerediscussed, hilegreatand generalquestionsroused ointerest."This s betternrepublicsherehestate sthemain oncernof everyperson ndeverybodyeelshisexistenceiedupinan immenselivingwhole,andthusbroadensisimaginationndhisunderstandingwithgreatcausesandalmostinvoluntarilyorgetshis narrowelf inthe greattotality."Truerepublicanismasgeneral articipationnthe whole tate, ntimateontactandharmonyf all membersf thestate. Novaliswasconvincedhata kingwithout republicnd arepublic ithout kingwerenothingbutemptywords.7Neitherofthemexisted or the utilitarianurpose f makingmenhappier;hetruestatemademenbetter ndstronger. t increasedheburdensm-posedupon hem,nothowever ithoutincreasingheir trength."Thebestamong he formerFrenchmonarchs ishedo makehis subjectsso rich hateverypeasantwouldhaveeverySunday hicken ndriceon the table. Butwouldnot a governmentepreferablenderwhicha peasantwouldrather avea sliceof moldybreadhana roast nanotherountry,ndyetthankGodforthegoodluckof having eenborn nthis and?"Novalisnowheretressed Germantateasa desirableoal. "TheEuropeantandsas highover he German s theGerman oesoverthe Saxon, heSaxonovertheresident f Leipzig.Above he Euro-peanis the cosmopolitan."Ourold nationality astrulyRoman.Theinstinctiveniversalolicyandtendencyf theRomanss shared

6 Novalis Werke, p. 175 (Fragment 967). See also Fragment 946, "AlleMenschen sollen thronfiihigwerden,"and Fragment980 which explains that there is onlyone king by reason of economy. "If we were not obliged to proceed economically,wewould all be kings."7 Ibid., pp. 155, 174, 169 (Fragments863, 965, 950).8 Ibid., p. 165 (Fragment 936).

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMChristendomn the thirteenthentury."Thesewerebeautiful ril-lianttimes," he essay began,"whenEuropewas a Christianandinhabited y one Christianity;ne greatcommonnterest nited hemostdistantprovinces f this vast spiritualealm. Withoutgreatearthlypossessionsne supremeead directed nd united he greatpolitical orces. A numerousasteto whicheverybodyad accesswasimmediatelyubmissiveo his orders, eady o executehis hintsandto tryzealouslyo strengthenis benefitsndpower."Herewasa newpicturef theMiddleAges,nolongerheDarkAgeofsavageryandsuperstitionuta haven f peace ndspirituality.he romanticistsrediscoveredheMiddleAgesandpresentedhem n thetransfiguredgloryof magicpoetry.

IIIForNovalis heMiddleAgeswasstilla universaleriod. Soon

however,he romanticistsere to reinterprett as the fountainheadof national ultures.Through omanticismistory stablishedts im-pactovernationalism.EvenNovaliscontributedo thishistoricism."Wecarryheburdensf our fathers venas we havereceivedheirgood,andthusmenactuallyivein thewholepastandin the futureandnowhereess thanin the present.""Thehistorianmustoftenbecomean orator.For he recitesgospelsthe wholehistory s agospel."2 From hisview, t wasonlyone stepto a visionof thenation's astasa gospel o whichhelivinggenerationserebeholdenandto which heywouldhave to betake hemselveso discoverheartisticand spiritualreasureswhichweretheirown. Withinonedecadea pioneerworkwas accomplishedy the romanticists;heliteraturef theMiddleAgeswascollected ndedited,hepoetry fcourtsandknights s well as the talesof thecommonpeople. Theromanticistsounda model n JohannesMullerwhoseGeschichtenschweizerischeridgenossenshaft1786) combinedoveformediaevalhistorywithskill n writing ndabilityo evoke ocalcolor. His rhe-toricalbrilliancy,utslightly upported y exactknowledge,ecuredto hima vastaudiencemonghegenerationnder hespellof Rous-seau'ssentimentalism.he emphasis hichhe puton old chronicles

12 Ibid., pp. 191, 192 (Fragments1064, 1072).

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSendearedhim as much to the romanticistsas his theory that a historianneeds a soul. He wrote with patriotic fervor about the strong Swissmen of the MiddleAges and confirmed he romantic onviction hatthe Middle Ages was a periodof true patriotismand heroic man-hood.13 Muller also drewattention o the importance f the Nibe-lungenliedwhichwas publishedn 1782, afterhavingbeenpracticallyunknownor threecenturies.A fewyears ater,Miillerdeclaredn hisHistoriesof the Swiss Confederationhat the Nibelungenlied ouldbecome the GermanIliad, an opinion in which August WilhelmSchlegel aterconcurred.n an article n FriedrichSchlegel'sDeutschesMuseum n 1812,AugustWilhelmdemandedhatthe Nibelungenliedbe used as the chiefclassic n German ducation, o as to endowGer-man historywith a great poetic background.14His wish was soonfulfilled. FriedrichHeinrichvon der Hagen (1780-1856), one of theearly Germanisticcholarswho popularizedmediaevalpoetry,trans-lated the Nibelungenlied. So did August Zeume (1778-1853), thefounderin 1814 of the Gesellschaftur deutscheSprache,who gaveGermanyouth on theirway to war in 1815 a specialeditionof histranslation,a Feld- und Zeltausgabe, o carrywith them as an in-spiration nto thebattlefield nd into their ents.

The firstdecadeof the newcenturybroughta richcropof editionsof mediaeval iterature.This questfor nationalculturalrootsin thesoil of thepast,offeredan exampleo thenationalawakening f othercentraland easternEuropeanpeoples. LudwigTieck (1773-1853)who with the Schlegelsand Novalis belongedto the oldergeneration

13 Later the romanticistsaccusedJohannesMiller of a lack of patriotism. In reality,Miiller was fundamentallyan eighteenth centuryrationalist and cosmopolitan,an enthusi-ast for human rights and liberty. Adam Miiller in an article in Phoebus, a periodicalwhich he published together with Heinrich von Kleist in Dresden in 1808, blamed thehistorianfor being too impartial. Such an attitude,Adam Miiller conceded,could be ad-mitted while discussing the domestic affairs of the fatherland but it was inadmissibleregardingan externalenemy. The heart of the historian must include hatred besides lovewhich can be easily corrupted. "Every hero, therefore also the scholarly hero, needs afatherland,a firm foundation,on which he could build his armycamp, his place d'armes."An historianmust take a stand; a cosmopolitanmentalitywas contraryto true humanity,Adam Muller maintained.14 Josef Krnmer,Nibelungenforschungenn der deutschenRomantik,Untersuchungenzur neuern Sprach- und Literaturgeschichte,d. by O. Walzel, N.F., no. 9 (Leipzig,1911). Zeume was also the authorof "Der Rheinstrom,DeutschlandsWeinstrom, nichtDeutschlands Rainstrom"("printedon the Rhine in the second year of Germanliberty")whichnever achieved the fame of Amdt's similar book.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMof the romanticists, opened the cycle with his Minnelieder aus demschwibischenZeitalter(1803). "If we look back,"he wrotein theintroduction,"upona periodhardlypast whichwas characterizedyindifferenceo and disregard f the lettersand arts,then we shallbeastonished bout the quickchangewhich in so shorta timehas comeabout,so that one is not only interestedn the monuments f the pastbut appreciateshem." At a time when Germanpoliticalfortunesseemedat so low an ebb as in the ThirtyYearsWar, when therewashardlyanywherean activenationalsentiment, he romanticistsalledup the past to kindlespirits;they went back to the treasureswhichthey believedburiedand yet alive in the mindsof the people,in theVolksgemit whichhad not yet been influencedby the universalra-tional civilizationof the eighteenthcentury.Two yearsafter Tieck'sminnesongs, hereappeareda collectionof folk songs, Des KnabenWunderhorn, ditedby two representativesf the youngerromanticgeneration,he PrussianJunker,LudwigJoachim called Achim) vonAmim (1781-1831), and the Rhinelander,ClemensBrentano(1778-1842).15 In 1807 their friend JosephG6rres (1776-1848) investi-gated popularalmanacsand other old story books; 6 and the nextdecade brought the famous editionsby the brothersGrimm,JacobLudwig(1785-1863)and Wilhelm Karl (1786-1859)the Kinder-undHausmirchen(1812-1815) and the DeutscheSagen (1816-1818), ananalysisof theoldestepictraditions f the Germans.

In 1808 Amim edited the Zeitung fur Einsiedler("Joural forHermits"). In his introductionhe changed hemesannouncedhem-selves the birth of a new patriotism:"Germany,my poor, poorfatherland," e wrote,"andtearsbeganto flow out of our eyes,my

15 Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Alte deutsche Lieder appeared in Heidelberg in thefall of 1805 with the date of 1806. Two further volumes followed in 1808. The firstvolume containedan important ntroductionby Tieck. Arnim's letter "An Herrn Kapell-meister Reichardt"which appearedfirst in Reichardt'sBerlinischeMusikalische Zeitungwas printed as a postscriptto the "Wunderhorn." Both texts are reprinted and easilyaccessible in Deutsche Vergangenheit und Deutscher Staat, ed. by Paul Kluckhohn,Deutsche Literatur n Entwicklungsreihen,Reihe Romantik,vol. 10 (Leipzig, 1935), pp.83-126. Under the impression of romanticism Stendhal wrote in 1807 to his sisterPauline: "Je ne sais pourquoi le moyen age est lie dans mon coeur avec l'idee del'Allemagne."16..Die Deutschen Volksbucher. Nahere Wiirdigung der schonen Historien-, Wetter-,und Arzneibuchlein,welche teils innererWert, teils Zufall Jahnhundertehindurch bis aufunsereZeit erhalten hat. Von J. Gorres, Professor der Physik an der SekondarschulezuCoblenz (Heidelberg, 1807).

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSeverythingby appealingto the newly discoveredmysticallycreativeforces of the folk, of the various Volksgeisterwhich formed anddeterminedharacterndevents,artandreligion, onstitutions ndlaw.

IVEarlier than otherGermanwriters,FriedrichSchlegel found thewayfromrationaluniversalismo a mysticnationalism.20Under theinfluenceof Kant's essay on perpetualpeace he wrote in 1796 an"Essayon the Conceptof Republicanism"n which he regardedpo-

litical liberty and equalityas indispensable onditionsof the goodstate. In the enthusiasm f youthhe wroteto his brotheron May 27,1796: "I can not deny it beforeyou that divinerepublicanisms stilla little nearer o my heart than divinecriticismand the most divinepoetry." LikemanyFrenchmen f that period,he lookedto classicalantiquityas the model for the ideal politicalform which could benothing other than republican.21But he had alreadydiscoveredhepromiseof greatnessof the Germannational character. "One doesnot pay muchattentionyet to the German haracter,"e wroteto hisbrotheron November8, 1791. "Recently thinkI have discoveredthat our peoplehas a verygreatcharacter."He saw it accomplishedso faronly in a fewgreatmen,Frederick,Goethe,Klopstock,Winckel-mann and Kant. "There s not muchfound anywhereo equalthisraceof men, and theyhaveseveralqualitiesof whichwe can find notracein any knownpeople. I see in all the achievementsf the Ger-mans,especially n the field of scholarship,nly the germof an ap-proachinggreat time, and I believe that things will happenamongour peopleas never beforeamongmen. Ceaselessactivity,profoundpenetrationnto the interiorof things,verygreatfitness for moralityand liberty,these I find in our people. Everywhere see tracesofbecoming ndgrowth."

20 Ernst Wieneke, Patriotismusund Religion in FriedrichSchlegels Gedichten (Mun-ich, 1913); Richard Volpers, Friedrich Schlegel als politischer Denker und deutscherPatriot (Berlin-Steglitz,1916). Similar was the developmentof his brotherAugust Wil-helm who first welcomedthe Revolution and the consulate and later changed under theinfluence of Madame de Stael. Otto Brandt, August Wilhelm Schlegel, der Romantikerund die Politik (Stuttgart, 1919).21 The "Versuch iber den Begriffdes Republikanismus eranlasstdurch die KantischeSchrift zum ewigen Frieden"was printed in FriedrichSchlegel, ProsaischeJugendschriften1794-1802, ed. J. Minor (Vienna, 1882), vol. II, pp. 57-71. There on page 68 Schlegelwrote in the Kantian way: "Nur universellerund vollkommenerRepublikanismuswiirdeein giltiger . . . Definitivartikelzum ewigen Frieden sein."

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMThis newtunewasresumedn a poem"Andie Deutschen"n thebeginningf 1800. He calledupontheGermanso rememberheir

spiritualmission ndto create new n religion,hilosophyndpoetrytheformerloweringivilizationsf HellasandIndia. WhileEuropedecayed, e foundin Germanyhe sourceof new life whichwouldawakenhe otherpeoples.22EuropasGeisterlosch: n DeutschlandliesstDer QuellderneuenZeit: Die aus ihm trankenSind wahrhaftdeutsch:Die HeldenscharergiesstSich iiberall:ErhebtdenraschenFranken,Den Italiener ur Naturund RomWird wach.

Schlegel adbeenconvertedo nationalismut t wasa purelyulturalnationalism.Had not theGreeks,withoutdesiring r achievinga-tionalstatehood, ssuredhe leadershipf mankind,nd had theirgreatworksnot borne he stampof theirnational haracter?Couldthe Germans ot follow heirexample ndbecomeheGreeks f thenewage? At about he sametimeSchiller xpressedimilar opesin his fragmentary oem "DeutscheGrosse."3 The Germansweretheuniversaleople,whosemissiont was"to fulfil n themselvesni-versalmankind ndto unite n a wreath he mostbeautifullowersof allpeoples."The changecame withSchlegel'sourneyo Paris in 1802. IncrossingheThuringian ountainsndtheRhine iverhe discoveredGermany.His presencen Francemadehimconscious f the aliencharacterf the newenvironment.He wasdeeplympressedy theruinsof thecastleWartburgearEisenach herehefamous ontestof the Minnesingersad beenheldandwhereLutherstruggledndworked."Ifone seesobjectsikethese,one cannothelprememberingwhat heGermansadformerlyeen,when heman tillhada father-land. Lookingt suchhighcastlesiketheWartburg,netruly eels,andwouldunderstand,hyourancestorslwaysived n theircastleson thetopof mountainsnd what oyof life wasconnected iththeheights.Sincemenhavegatheredn thevalleys ndaroundhegreatroads, reedyor alienwaysandalienmoney,heheights ndcastlesstanddeserted."Thus the MiddleAges and theirruinsbeganto

22 FriedrichSchlegel, SammtlicheWerke, 2. Originalausgabe,15 vols., ed. by E. vonFeuchtersleben Wien, 1846), vol. X, p. 14.23 See The Idea of Nationalism, p. 413.

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSrecalla timeof joyous ivingandhighmorality,while n themodemage people,assembledn thecities,succumbedo thelureof foreigngoldand mmorality. But hepoetry f formerimeshasdisappearedandwith t virtue,ts sister. Instead f thefuror edescowhichhadbeenmentionedo frequentlyy the Italianpoets,patience as nowbecome urfirstnational irtueand besidet humility,n contrastotheformerlyeigningmentality,n account f which Spaniard hotraveledwithEmperorCharlesV throughGermanyalled he Ger-mans osfierosAlemanos.But as faras weareconcerned,e wish oretainirmlyheimage r ratherhe truth f thesegreat imesandnotbecome onfused y thepresentmisery.Perhapsheslumberingionwill wakeuponcemoreandperhapsven f weshouldnot live to seeit, futureworldhistorywillbe fullof thedeedsof theGermans."Schlegelurnedrom heGreek epublicf antiquityo theGermanmonarchyf the MiddleAges, followingNovalis,but witha newemphasis,o longer n Christianpiritualityndunity,butonGermanvirtue. "Amongheworldconqueringationsof thepast,theGer-mansoccupy placeof thefirstrank,andwhetherwe comparehemwiththe Romans r the Arabs hecomparisonillbe in their avor.Whatdistinguisheshemaboveall from heRomanss theirgreaterloveof liberty;t waswith themnot a merewordandrule but aninnate entiment.Though heyweremuch oo high-mindedo wishto impose heircharacterponothernations, t neverthelesstruckrootwherehe soil wasnot toounfavorable,ndthenhonor nd ove,couragendloyaltygrew heremightily.On account f thisoriginallibertyof the Germanife, which s an everlastingharacterf thenation,t appearslso n itsgoodtimemoreoriginallyndenduringlyromantichaneven heorientalairyworld. Itsenthusiasmas ullofjoy,childlikeimplicity,ithoutoveting,otasone-sidednddestruc-tive as theenthusiasmf thoseadmirableanaticswhosettheglobeonfirefasterandwider haneventheRomans.EinegefiihlteRechtlich-keit,die mehr st als die Gerechtigkeites Gesetzes nd der Ehre,einekindlich ufrichtigend unerschiitterlichereueund Herzlich-keitderGesinnungst der tiefsteund hoffentlichie ganzzu vertil-gendeZugdesdeutschenharakters."4

24 Schlegel's "Reise nach Frankreich"appeared in Europa, a periodical which heedited in Frankfurt-am-Mainn 1803. There he wrote also: "How immensely fartherwould Europebe on the road to true libertyand culture, f the center of the Churchin pasttimes had not been in Italy but, as it ought to be, in Germany,where the natural great-ness of the spirit and the freer heart had better fitted the great aim." In Paris Schlegel

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMThe Rhine impressedSchlegel as much as the Wartburg,as asymbolof Germannatureandhistory.His poem"AmRheine" 1802)

marked he beginningof the glorification f the riverwhichhe called"the all too faithfulimageof ourfatherland, urhistoryandourchar-acter.""Deraltevaterlandischetromerscheintuns wie ein machtigerStromnaturverkiindeterichtkunst."5 These sentimentsoundtheirtheoreticalexpression n his PhilosophischeVorlesungenaus denJahren1804bis 1806,in whichhe for the firsttimeexpressed ispolit-ical philosophy.26 Eight yearsbefore,the republichad appeared ohimthe mostperfect ormof government nd the only safe guaranteeof peace. Now, however,republicanismas become "a transientmeteorwhichshinesa few moments n a splendorof light but quicklygoes out in a stormof civildiscordand leavesbehinddestructionndconfusion."Only the monarchy ould be a true guardianof peace,not a constitutionalmonarchybut the mediaevalmonarchyof theEstates,the Standestaat nderthe moralguidanceof the Church. Inthemediaeval nionof Empire ndChurch,heinternationalieamongnationswas guaranteed y the hierarchyf priestsand scholarswhichwas above all national differences. But Schlegelwent far beyondNovalis in his emphasison nationalitywithin this Christianuniver-sality,on the nationas a higherrealityof natureand history. "Theconceptof nationrequireshat all its membershouldform as it wereonly one individual." This fictitiouscorporatepersonalitybecameajealousguardianof the livesof the singleand real individualwhich tcomprised ndwhich t claimed o mold. It imposedconditionswhichwentfar beyondtheconceptof a politicalnationality;t wasintimatelyand intricately ied up with the naturaland spiritual ife of all itsmembers.To form a true nation and this meantto Schlegelto resemblea closely knit and all inclusivefamily-he demanded hat all itsmembers e held togetherby ties of blood, of descentfromthe sameancestors. The antiquityand purityof this commondescentwoulddiscoveredold Germanart; he praisedDiirer because he had decided to paint not like theancients or the Italians but in a German way. He went even so far as to prefer fornational and religious reasons,old Germanpoetryto Greek poetry and old Germanpaint-ing to Italian art.25 See SammtlicheWerke, vol. X, p. 93 and vol. VI, p. 212. Schlegel was also thefirst to sing the glory of the romanticGermanforest, thereinthe precursorof Eichendorff.26 They were edited after his death by his friend C. J. H. Windischmann,professorof philosophyat the University of Bonn, in two volumes (Bonn: 1836-37); a second edi-tion appearedthere in 1846.

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSguaranteehe persistencef, andthe loyalty o, traditionalustomsand habits: the greaterhe communityf blood,andthe strongerthereforeheperseverancef thepast, hemore hepeoplewouldorma nation. Second o a common astandaffinity f blood,Schlegelrated heunityof languagen which forreasons ifficulto under-standbecauseheycontradictll historicalvidence-he saw"theindisputableestimonyf common escent."This newtheory f na-tionalismulminatedn twosummaryndapodicticentencesharac-teristic f the age of nationalism:It is muchmoreappropriateonaturehatthehuman acebestrictlyeparatedstrenge bgesondert)into nations han hatseveral ationshouldbefusedas hashappenedin recent imes .... Eachstate s an independentndividualxistingforitself, t isunconditionallytsownmaster,as tspeculiarharacter,and governs tselfby its peculiaraws,habitsand customs."7 Fromthatpointof viewSchlegel rotestedlsoagainsthe assimilationf adefeated ndbackwardation o thehigher ivilizationf the victor."Thatwouldbe highly mmoral.The originalmoral haracterf apeople,ts customs ndpeculiarities,ustbe regardeds sacred."Asubjectnationalitymust be maintaineds a separate ntitybut itmightbe educatedythevictor, ven orcibly,s faras thatbe com-patiblewith ts character.n thatway,Schlegelmaintained,heGer-mans have educatedmanynations,he Magyars nd others. TheFrench, owever, chlegel hought,wereabusingheirsuperiorityodestroyhe nationalityf otherpeoples. Suchan attitudeustifiedin hisopinionhe unionof all peopleshreatenedy theFrenchn awarwhichwouldlead to the "totalannihilation"f this "corruptnation." Schlegelwasperhapshe firstGermanwriter f renownto issue ucha strong allfor Germanationalitynd ora sacred ar.

Schlegelwas alsothe first o writepatriotic oetry, xhortingheGermanso a confidenttruggle gainstNapoleon'syranny.Thispoeticactivityilledonlya fewyearsof his life, from1805to 1809,whenothersikeAmdt,Schenkendorff,ndRiickertookup the taskof national ards ndsoonsurpassedimbyfar npopularity. uringthoseyearsSchlegel oined heCatholicChurchnd,a northGerman

27 Ibid., vol. II, pp. 358, 382. Schlegel was in his lectures,however, so fascinatedby the mediaevalStandestaatand so hostile to all the innovationsof the French Revolu-tion, that he was against universalmilitaryserviceof citizens and wished, in the interestsof peace, to reservemilitaryserviceto the aristocracy.28 Ibid., p. 385.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMby birth, urned o Austriaas the hopefor German egeneration.Therehe became n officialpropagandistor the Austrian ause; n1809 n strong ndstirringroclamations,ecalledupon he GermansoutsideAustriao standbyherandto brave lldangersn unityandcourage.The same piritbreathedhroughhe fervent ppealof his"Geliibde""The Vow"): 29

Es sei meinHerz undBlutgeweiht,Dich Vaterland u retten....Der deutscheStamm st alt und stark,Voll Hochgefiihlund Glauben;Die Treue ist derEhreMark,Wanktnicht,wennStiirme chnauben....So spottejederderGefahr,Die Freiheit uft uns allen; ...

Though"TheVow"markedheendof Schlegel's atrioticoetry, econtinuedo elaborateistheory f nationalism,n thelectureswhichhedeliverednViennan 1810"OnModer History" ndthe lectureserieson "Historyof AncientandModernLiterature"n 1812.Thoseof 1810 glorified the heroes of German history, especially the Habs-burg princes, Rudolf I, Ferdinand II, and Charles V. "If one doesnot look on details but on the whole, there is no better counterweightagainst the onrush of the age than the memory of a great past. Forthat reason I thought of adding to the interpretationof the three greatworld-shaking periods-the migration of the Germanic tribes, theCrusades and the Reformation- a picture of the former Germannation painted in colors as strong as I could; of its oldest conditionswhen it lived in its original liberty and character,as well as of itsdevelopmentand culture in the Middle Ages. This demanded a spe-

29 Sammtliche Werke, vol. X, p. 159. The poem was also included into"Deutsche Wehrlieder," edited by Jahn in 1813. Schlegel's stepson, Philipp Veit whoserved in the free corps, wrote to him and Dorothea, his mother, from SchonhausennearMagdeburgon July 1, 1813: "Jahnis sending you herewiththe first issue of a collectionof songs which are being sung in our corps or are being rehearsed. You will find thereone of your own which was sung here yesterdayin church to a good melody by Zelter."His brotherAugust Wilhelm had precededSchlegel to Vienna. In a letter from Coppethe wrote in 1807 to CountessLouise von Voss, he declared that he knew only one aimfor a writer in that historicalage, "to presentto the Germansthe image of their ancientglories, their old dignity and liberty, and the mirrorof the past, and thus to kindle everyspark of national sentiment which might be dormant somewhere." Briefe von und anAugust Wilhelm Schlegel, ed. by Josef Kmrner, vols. (Vienna, 1930), vol. I, p. 199f.

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICScial interpretativeoncernfor the great mediaeval orcesand formsof the state, for the relationand unifyingtie of the Churchand ofthe old imperialpositionin Germany, taly and Europe,and for thespiritof knighthood."0 His nationalismhad all the fervorwhichthe age of nationalismaterdevelopedn centraland easternEurope,but it was turnednostalgicallybackwardo the periodwhen the im-perial dea of whichSchlegelthoughtthe Germansaloneworthy-and the universalism f the church till maintainedome ethicalunityamongnations. It washis Catholicreligionwhichprevented imfromglorifyingthe secularizedpopularstate with its unlimitedmoralself-sufficiency.31

The lecturesof 1812-and the periodicalDeutschesMuseumwhichSchlegeledited then were devotedto the thesisthat "everyliteraturemust and shouldbe national;this is its vocationand thisalone can give it its true and full value." The samenationalspiritshould determinelanguageand music,paintingand philosophy.Butthe first place belongedto poetry,it must preserve or a people itsmemories nd legends,embellishhemand perpetuatehe gloriesof agreat past, "as happens n the heroic epics wherethe miraclefreelyoccurs and where the poet attaches himself to mythology." Thespiritualgrowthof a nationdependedon its possessionof greatna-tional memories"whichoften lose themselvesn the darknessof itsoriginsand the preservationnd glorification f whichconstitutes hemostexcellent ask of poetry. Suchnationalmemories,he mostwon-derfulheritagehat a peoplecanhave,are an advantagewhichnothingelse can replace;and if a peoplefindsitself in its own feelingselatedand so to speakennobledby the possessionof a greatpast, of mem-ories from prehistoricimes, in brief by the possessionof poetry, itwill be raisedby this very fact in our judgment o a higher plane.Memorable eeds,greateventsand destiniesaloneare not sufficiento

30 SammtlicheWerke, vol. XI, p. 195.31 FriedrichMeinecke, Weltbirgertum und Nationalstaat, 7th ed. (Munich, 1928),p. 92, objectedfrom the point of view of the modem Germanpower-stateas much to theChristianpoliticalethics of the romanticistsas to the rationaluniversalismof the enlighten-ment. "Beide schalten das als blinde Herrschsucht, was im Wesen des Staates selbstbegriindet ag, was Ausfluss seiner Selbsterhaltungund Selbstbestimmungwar." Meineckeargued that besides universalmorality for individuals there exists an individual moralityfor the state and that this individual morality justifies the apparent immoralityof thepower-egotism f the state. "Denn unsittlich kann nicht sein, was aus der tiefsten indi-viduellen Natur eines Wesens stammt,"which would justify every strong state and everystrongindividualto establishhis own "nature"as a yardstickof all morality.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMkeep our admirationand to determinehe judgmentof posterity;apeople must also gain a clear consciousness f its own deeds anddestinies.This self-consciounsessf a nationwhichexpressestselfin reflective nd descriptive orks, s its history." The romanti-cists pointed o Shakespeare'sistoricplaysas the modelfor theattempto revivehenational astandto maket partof the nationalconsciousness. he theater eemedo themthe most"national"fall the arts;unfortunatelyhe romanticists,uchstrongern Ger-many n reflectionhan n creation,wereunableo create nationaltheater. Eventheirstrongest ramaticalent,Heinrich on Kleist,never eachedhepopularityf a Schiller.32

VThrough he romanticistshe state becameagainan objectofpoetryand adoration;hey regardedt as somethingo lofty and

wondrous,o full of miracle ndmysteryhatit couldno longerbetheworkof men. The words f HugoGrotius efininghe Westernconceptof the state-"Est autemcivitascoetusperfectusiberorumhominumuris ruendi t communistilitatisausa ociatus"-didnotapply o the stateof theromanticists.t was, ikethehuman eing,acreationf the unfathomableill of God andof theelementalorcesof nature, n individualikemanhimself, nlyinfinitelyreater ndmorepowerful.oseph reiherronEichendorff1788-1857), leaderof theyoungerCatholicgenerationf romanticism,alledhestate"aspiritualommunityora lifeasperfect s possible ydevelopinghestrength f mindand soulin a people,whichalonecouldbe calledtrulylife." 3 ZachariasWerner,who started s a discipleof theenlightenmentndlater oined he CatholicChurchnd the romanticmovement,efined he state as "a unionwhich houldmake t pos-32 The Germans owe to the romanticists, o A. W. Schlegel and Tieck, their firstfamous Shakespeare ranslation. Shakespeareas a great national poet was praised by A.W. Schlegel, Sammtliche Werke, ed. by Eduard Bicking, 12 vols. (Leipzig, 1846-47),vol. VIII, p. 145; and by Tieck, KritischeSchriften, (Leipzig, 1848), vol. I, pp. 38, 327.33 "Eine geistige Gemeinschaftzu einem m6glichst vollkommenenLeben durch Ent-wicklung der Geistes- und Gemiitskrafte im Volk, welche ja eben allein Leben genannwerden kann." Joseph Karl Benedikt von Eichendorff, Sammtliche Werke. Historisch-KritischeAusgabe, ed. by Kosch and Sauer, 24 vols. (Regensburg, 1908-13), vol. X,p. 159.

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSsiblefor a groupof humanbeingsto fulfilltheirhighestvocation. Itisolates hisgroupto give it backto mankindn an ennobledorm." 4

Yet the romanticistswere as individuals oo stronglyartistictoallowthe stateto imposea deadeninguniformity. According o theirideal, the individual houldserveand love the statewith all his souland mind,yet he shouldnot be a robotbuta freeindividualivinghisown personaland peculiarway and unitingwith the others withoutlosinghis individuality.35They praised ibertybut it was libertynotrooted n reasonandequalitybut in historyandpeculiarity.n Eichen-doff's novel Ahnung und GegenwartLeontin shouted "Long liveliberty,"but he did not mean the universal,natural,philosophicallibertyof 1789,whichwas the samefor everybody nd in whichevery-bodyfelt himselfproudly ree everywhere.He found this cosmopoli-tan and individualisticlibertyas loathsomeas he found the naturalreligionof that periodwhichregarded ll religionsas equalmanifesta-tionsof the Divine,withoutgradations r preferences.To himlibertywas the ancientand vital freedom(jene uralte,lebendigeFreiheit)whichhe foundin the proudand simple ife of mountainpeopleswhocouldnot live exceptas honor dictates.36 The romanticconceptofthe patriarchaltate and its union of love, was compatiblewith theexistenceof strong and independentndividualsconscious of theirpositionand theirprivileges. But it rejected he new age of individ-ualism,of economicrationalism, f equal rights,approaching ppar-ently from the West; it was a defensiveattitudewhichlookedlong-

34 ZachariasWerner (1768-1823), an east Prussian,served the Prussiangovernmentin Warsaw and in other Prussianparts of Poland where he became one of the first Ger-man poets expressing their sympathy for the Polish cause. See Robert F. Arnold,Geschichte der deutschen Polenliteraturvon den Anfangen bis 1800 (Halle, 1900), p.277.35 "So wird auch der grossenGenossenschaftdes Staates mit innerlichausgewechsel-ten Gesellen nicht gedient, sondern der der liebste sein, der ihr, weil mit ungebrochenerEigentumlichkeit,aus ganzer Seele dient, wie er eben kann und mag." Eichendorff,SdimmtlicheWerke, vol. X, p. 341.36 Ibid., vol. III, p. 325.37 The romanticistsopposed capitalism, commerce and the "influence of money."Schlegel went as far as to oppose taxes because they might give to the moneyed classesthe power to influencethe state. He suggested that the state should receive its incomefrom the ownershipof land and from the monopoly of all foreign trade. To Iniebuhrin his "RomanHistory" the period when the Romans tilled their own fields representedthe ideal, while the later period based upon commerceand trade, representeddecadenceand moral corruption. Another romantic historian Karl Ottfried Muller (1797-1840)found in Greek history his model in Sparta and its constitutionfull of "deepest political

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISM 465ingly to the good old timesand to moreprimitive ommunities hichhadpreservedheirancient raditions ndtheirsocialorder.

Novalis and Eichendorffwere poets, the brothersSchlegel wereliteraryhistoriansand critics; 8 Adam Miller (1779-1829) was thepoliticalphilosopher f romanticism.39With characteristicvaguenessthe limitsbetweenpoetryand scholarship erenot clearlydrawn.Yetamid its contradictions the romanticistswerenot systematichink-ers; their work remainedmostly fragmentsor lectures romanticpoliticalphilosophy eld fast to the thesisthatthestate was not man'sworkor establishedor the benefitof the individualwho on the otherhand was indissolubly art of the state and inevitablydeterminedbyits past. "Man cannot be imagined outside the state. .. The stateis the intimateunion of all physicaland spiritualneeds,of the wholephysicaland intellectualwealth,of the wholeinwardand outwardifeof a nation in a great energeticwholeinfinitelyull of movement ndlife. ... It is the totality of all human concerns" (Der Staat ist dieTotalitat der menschlichenAngelegenheiten)40-in these words

wisdom." A romanticphilosopher,Franz Xaver von Baader (1765-1841) charged in his"OCberas damaligeMissverhaltnisder Vermogenslosenoder Proletars zu den Vermogen-besitzendenKlassen der Sozietat in betreff ihres Auskommens,sowohl in materieller,alsintellektuellerHinsicht, aus dem Standpunkte des Rechts betrachtet" (Munich, 1835)that plutocraticservility to gold under liberalism renderedthe poor into serfs of moneywhose conditions were worse than those of rural serfs. See on his social philosophyDavid Baumgardt,Franz von Baader unde die philosophischeRomantik (Halle, 1927).38 August Wilhelm Schlegel became a student of Sanskrit and Indian literature.FriedrichSchlegel regardedhis Standestaatas relatedto the Indian caste system and bothas an Aryan heritage. SammtlicheWerke, vol. XII, p. 347.39 Adam Muller was practicallyunknownin the second half of the nineteenthcen-tury. The German neo-romanticists f the twentiethcentury rediscoveredhim. See OttoWeinberger, "Das Neue Schrifttum iiber Adam Miiller," Archiv fir Sozialwissenschaftund Sozialpolitik, vol. LI (1924), p. 808 ff; Reinhold Aris, Die Staatslehre AdamMillers in ihrem Verhaltnis zur Deutschen Romantik (Tiibingen, 1929); FerdinandReinkemayer,Adam Millers ethische und philorophische Anschauungen im Lichte derRomantik (Osterwieckam Harz, 1926); Jakob Baxa, Adam Muller, Ein Lebensbildausden Befreiungskriegen nd aus der deutschenRestoration(Jena, 1930). At the same time

many of his works were republished,Von der Notwendigkeit einer theologischenGrund-lage der gesamten Staatswissenschaftenund der Staatswirtschaft nsbesondere (Leipzig,1819) as vol. XVI of the Allgemeine Biicherei der 6sterreichischenLeo-Gesellschaft(Vienna, 1897); his Zwoilf Reden iber die Beredsamkeitund deren Verfall in Deutsch-land (Vienna, 1812) and his Vorlesungeniber die deutsche Wissenschaft und Liter-atur (Dresden, 1907) were edited by Arthur Salz (Munich, 1920); Othmar Spann'sseries "Die Herdflamme" published his Die Elemente der Staatskunst, 2 vols., ed. byJakob Baxa, and his Versuche einer neuen Theorie des Gelds mit besondererRicksichtauf Grossbritannien,d by H. Lieser (Vienna, 1922).40 Die Elementeder Staatskunst,vol. I, pp. 29, 37, 48.



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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSMiillerexpressedomanticppositiono the liberal tate;he andhisfriendswereequally irm n theiruncompromisingejectionf theeconomic octrine f liberalism.He sawin Western apitalismthemostgeneralmanifestationf that anti-socialpirit,of thatarrogantegotism, f that mmoralnthusiasmorfalsereason ndfalseenlight-enment" hichwereherootsof theFrench evolution.41e regardedits liberty ndequalitys a changeromruralerfdomo wage laveryand foundthelatterinfinitelyworse; e hadno doubt hat thecapi-talistic ystemwasincompatibleiththedivineorderof things. Totheoptimismf theeighteenthentury hichookedowardhefuture,Miilleropposed noptimismegardinghepast.Whileboth orms foptimismmightbe equallyunfounded,he pastwasknown o thememory f menandaccessibleo historicalesearch;hefuturewasknown o Godalone, ndthismayexplainwhy nthe ongrunutopiaswhichplacethe goldenage in the future--especiallyn the distantfuture exercise greater ttractionhan hoseplacingt in thepast-especially a nottoodistant ast.

Miiller's evoltagainstheenlightenmentasa revoltagainsthisownyouth. He wasborn,a sonof a Prussianfficial,n theBerlinof FrederickI. Whilea studentn Gottingen,e cameunder heinfluence f AdamSmith;onlylater,under he influencef Burkeandof his friendshipithGentz,he turnedo an organic heoryofthestate. "Ifoneregardshestateas a greatndividualncompassingallthesmallndividuals,"ewrote,"then neunderstandshathumansociety annotbe conceivedxcept s anaugustandcompleteerson-alityand one will neverwishto subjecthe inward ndoutwardpeculiaritiesf thestate, heformof its constitutiono arbitrarypecu-lation." In 1805he joined heCatholicChurch; e remainedor afewyearsongern Dresden ndBerlin n close touchwithPrussianconservativeircles eforehe found n Austriahispolitical ndspir-itualhome. After1817hebecamevermoreraditionalistndremovedfromthe mainstream f Germanntellectualndpoliticalife,bentexclusivelypon hepraise f thepastandthevainhope oritsreturn.But between 806and 1810,yearsof decisivemportancen the de-velopmentf theGermanmind,hehelpedo arouse ationalesistanceto Westerndeasandto strengthen ermanonfidencen itsmission.After1806,when he German ause eemedostandfound carcely

41 Ausgewihlte Abhandlungen,ed. by Jakob Baxa (Jena, 1921), p. 21.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMfriendn Germany,Miillerdeliveredn Dresdenecturesn Germanscholarshipnd literaturen whichhe proclaimed:thedevelopmentof thescholarly indn Germanys themost mportantvent n mod-em intellectualistory. It is certain hatforeignntellectualife inall itsvarietywillhave o attachtself n the course f time o thatofGermany,ndthat,justas Germanribeshavefoundedhepoliticalorderof Europe, he Germanmindwill sooneror laterdominatet."42Politicallyrostrate,ermany asdestinedo spiritualeadership.heGermanmind,more hananyother,Mullerclaimed,wasa universalmind,in whichotherculturesoundtheirconsummationnd theirharmoniousediation, mind olerantowardsll others ndinfinitein its longing. "TheGermanminds forcedo ascribeo itselfas anadvantageverall othernationsts obedient ndpiousunderstandingof everythinglien,even if thispenetrationndunderstandingaysometimesegeneratento theidolatry f foreignhabitsandpersons.We findourownhappinessot in thesuppressionutin thehighestfloweringf the civilizationf ourneighbors,ndthusGermany,hefortunateeartland,illnotneedto deny tsrespectorotherswhenit willdominateheworld yitsspirit."3

WhenMiillerdeliveredisaddresses, ermanolitical ndsociallifeseemedna processf transformationnderhe mpactf Westernideas. Even the German overnmentseemed ager o introducee-forms. Against heserationalnnovations hichMiillercondemnedas inorganic,e calledupthepower f thedeadandthenecessityfcontinuity. "Onlythe traditions nd the historyof the past (dieGeschichteerVorwelt) antransformhemeaninglessetterof pres-enttimes, lsoof thestate,ntoa wordof light. Theancestorsvokedby historyarenot merelywitnesses alledto testify; heyrespond,theycontinueo actfull of thewarmthf life,becausehespellof the

42 Adam Miiller, Vorlesungen ber die deutsche Wissenschaftund Literatur,p. 4.43 Ibid., pp. 14f. See also pp. 48, 59f. and passim. What Germanyis to Europe,Europeis to the world. "Die gesamteErdoberflacheunseresPlaneten strebt offenbarnacheiner grossenGesellschaft,bei deren ErrichtungEuropaim Ganzen dieselbeVermittlerrollespielen wird, nach der sich, unserer neulichen Auseinandersetzungzufolge, die deutscheBildung im Verhaltnis zu dem Staat von Europa hinneigt. Mittelpunkt der Zivilisationder Welt, nicht bios ihr Gipfel, soll Europa werden." Ibid., p. 38. About the pan-geringeresangelegt als die Vorziige der verschiedenenNationalitatenzu vereinigen,sich inhumanismof the Germanssee also A. W. Schlegel in Europa, I, 269: "Es ist auf nichtsalle hineinzudenkenund hineinzufiihlenund so einen kosmopolitischenMittelpunkt desmenschlichenGeistes zu stiften."

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICShearthas roused hem: in theirpresenceone performsn a loftierwayand withgreaterreedom. Man shouldnot act for himselfand out ofhimselfalone,as an absolutelynew beginning:his deedsshouldonlycontinue the deeds of the ancestors;he shouldattach himself to acommunitywhichhas alreadybeen in existence all communitiesreone but the nearest s the best to him; he should derive he bloodofhis instinctive dvice, hespiritof hisdecision romolderandeverolderancestors. This is the immortality f all greatnessand goodnessonearththat whereverworthynew life stirs,the old one always iveson,and that only cold and vile soulsspeakof it as if it had gone foreverand crumblednto dust. The greatandimmortaloul,for the welfareof whichthe heroexposedhis mortalbody, must be called his truebody,"for only in the immortalityf the nationalcommunity, f thestate couldthe passing ndividual ind his own immortalitynd couldhis lifeandactionsreceivemeaning.44In this subordinationf the present o the past,MiillerfollowedBurke;in his identification f the individual'simmortalitywith thecontinuityof the fatherland,he anticipatedFichte. He calledBurke"the greatest, profoundest, most powerful and most human statesmanof all periodsand all nations"who belongedmore to the Germansthan to the British who neverunderstoodhim fully.45 But of thepracticalwisdomof Burke,of his respectfor individual ibertyandconstitutionalrights,of his understandingor the living forces ofhistory,Mullerknew little. His politicalsense washardlydeveloped.Like Fichte,he wishedto call the Germans o a fatherlandof themind, first to be built in some awakenedheartsand throughsomemiraculous ransformationriumphingover the enemy.46 The vic-torious statewhichwouldemergewashardlydefinedas a state of theGerman nation-Muller was little concerned with the problem of

44 Vorlesungen ber die deutscheWissenschaftund Literatur,p. 163 f.45 Ibid., p. 165 f. See also Zwolf Reden iber die Beredsamkeit,pp. 124 ff.

(describinghis oratoryduel with Fox in the night of February11th to 12th, 1891), 135ff., 167 ff., 186 f. He paid his tribute also to the oratoryof Fox and of the two Pittsbut Burke was the greatestof all to him. He called him "Stellvertreterdes unsichtbarenEnglands,Geisterseher einerGeschichte,ProphetseinerZukunft; . . . Wenn die weltlicheBeredsamkeit . . in Fox einen Gipfel erreichthat: so hat die heilige Beredsamkeit ndiesemJahrhundertnur durch Einen Mund geredet,durch den Mund Burkes."46 "Bilde dein angewiesenesWerk nur ruhig fort, du vielfach verwundetesund unter-dricktes, aber auch jetzt schon mit Guitern,die die spitesten Enkel deiner Unterdriickernoch segnen werden, vielfach entschadigtesVolk .. ." Vorlesungen uber die deutscheWissenschaftund Literatur,p. 167, p. 169.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMGermannification it wasa stateopposedneverythingo the deasof 1789 and to economic iberalism, theocratic tate much less in-spiredby Burkethanby the Vicomtede Bonald and his TheorieduPouvoirPolitiqueet Religieuxdans la socie'te ivile which had ap-peared n Constance n 1796, twelveyearsbefore Miiller delivered-in the winter of 1808-09 his lectureson Die Elementeder Staats-kunst. There he developedat lengthhis theory hat "the stateis notonly the union of manyfamiliesliving togetherat one time but alsofollowingeach otherthrough ime,a union not only infinitelygreatinspacebut alsoimmortaln time." Againstthe emphasis n thepresentand on the pursuitof happinesshe stressedeternityand duty: "Apeople is the augustcommunityof a long endurance f past, livingand future generations,who all hang togetherin a great intimateunion for life and death,of whom eachsinglegeneration, nd in eachsinglegenerationagaineachindividual, uaranteehe commonunion,and are again guaranteedby it in theirwholeexistence; his beautifulimmortalcommunity epresentstself to the eyes and senses n a com-mon language, n commoncustomsand laws, in thousandsof bene-ficent nstitutions,n many ong-flourishingamilieswhichareespeciallydesignedto link the periodsof historymoreclosely,finally n the oneimmortalfamilywhichformsthe centerof the state,the royalfamily,and to makethe true center of the whole even morevisible,in thepresentking of that family."47 Thus the hereditarynobility,andabove all the royalhouse,was proclaimedhe guaranteeof the con-tinuityand identityof stateandnation.

Miillerbelieved hat the tragicerrorsof the Revolutionoriginatedin the belief that the state was designedto assurethe securityandprosperityof its members. If that were true, the individualcoulddirectthe life of the state into new channels,and everygenerationwouldbe freeto beginanew. But in reality, n the immutable atureof things,the individual adnoneof thesefreedoms nd the statewas,Miillerproclaimed,o inextricablyinkedup with everythinghuman,so indispensableor the fulfillmentof the most elementaryneeds ofman'sheart,mind and body, that at no time could he hearor see,thinkor feel, live or love without the state. Nor could scienceandscholarshipxist as "pure" ffortsor responsibilitiesf the individual

47 Die Elemente der Staatskunst,3rd and 7th lectures. Adam Miiller, Vom Geisteder Gemeinschaft,ed. by FriedrichBillow (Leipzig, 1931), pp. 41, 81.

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THE REVIEW OF POLITICSmind, ndependentf the state.48Theywould oseall vigor f theyevertriedto developn their ownrightwithout ervinghe societyand the state. The political ndthe intellectualife wereonlytwosidesof bodyandsoulwhich ouldexistbut asone.Thehighest oodof a nationwasaccordingo Miiller he ideaofits peculiarity,he wayin which t was differentromall others,tsuniqueness.A worldn which herewouldbe onlyonegovernment,onelaw,onesystem f weights ndmeasuresll over heearthwouldlack thatcreative orceof movement hichspringsromdifferenceand conflict. Mullerregarded erpetual eace,whether ssuredbya universal onarchyr bya leagueof republicanationspermanen-ten Volker-Kongress),s a misfortunehichwouldbringhuman e-velopmento a standstill.Nothing eemedo hima firmerementingof nationsand statesthan "the truewar,"because ommon eril,sorrow nd tearsbindbetter hanluck andprosperity,ndbecauseeverythinghat can be hiddenn peacemust n warbecomemanifestandgiven o thewhole. A truewarmore hananyother ventwouldfill andsaturateheexistencef every ndividual iththelifeof thestate.49 ThoughMiillerbelievedn waras a vitaland beneficialforcewhich nhanceshe characterf thestate,he acceptedt othertimes,as the Holy Alliancedid, a supra-nationalhristian rderwithinwhichnations ouldnot isolate hemselves."Theconcept fthefatherland,s deeplyas it mightbefelt,is not sufficient:heresonlyoneworld-idea,hecenterof all orderbecauset is the ideaofworld rdertself:theChristianeligion."0FromDresdenMiiller eturnedora shortwhile o Berlin.Therein thelike-mindedompanyf Prussianoblemennd romanticoetshe couldnotewithsatisfactionhat "thebetteronesamongus havebeen ortunatelyuredof cosmopolitanism;t was thechapterf ourhistory hroughwhichwe hadto pass." Understandablye foundmuch o blamen Frederickhe Greatwhohadrationalizedhe ad-

48 2nd lecture,pp. 20-23, 28, 34f.49 Treitschke, Deutsche Geschichte im neunzehnten Jahrhundert,vol. I, p. 589,praised very highly a book Vom Kriege by Riihle von Lilienstern (1780-1847): "No-where did the keen political idealism of the War of Liberationfind a nobler expressionthan in that book," which in Treitschke'sopinion "provedvictoriouslythe indestructibleblissful necessity of war." He proposed to "nationalize the armies and militarize thenations." In reality the book was largelyplagiarizedfrom Adam Muller.50 34th lecture,p. 236.

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ROMANTICISM AND GERMAN NATIONALISMministration f the state and had felt himselfculturally o be a dis-cipleof the Frenchenlightenment.In thelectures n thekingand thenatureof the Prussianmonarchywhichhe deliveredn Berlin n 1810,he stressed hat it mustbe for everyman a point of honorto haveadefinite fatherland; to declare that one has none or that one belongsto a cosmopolitan society of independent rational minds, must be asinsulting as to declare that one was without sex or honor.51 As regardsa European community,Muller believed that it could be realized onlythrough German ideas. "I, too, dreamt much of a union of that greatnation of which we are only a branch,"he declared, "I, too, expectedrevolutions and heroes and changes in the mentalitiesof peoples whichwould come and favor the realization of my dream. The great con-federation of European nations will come some future day, and astruly as we live, will also wear German colors; for everything great,thorough and lasting in all European institutions is German- that isthe only certainty which has remained from all those hopes." TheGermans have sown their seeds over Europe; their growth should beleft to the care of nature. "Our concern is the nearest and concrete,an enthusiasmfoe, our own fatherland,for our own royal lord and forhis centenary crown which with royal devotion he regards as some-thing higherthan himself."52

Miiller, while paying his respectsin Berlin to the Prussianmonarch,was soon to follow the Schlegels to Austria but whether in Berlin orin Vienna, whether praising the Hohenzollern or serving the Habs-burgs, he did not alter his fundamental conviction. He waged war

51 Ober Konig FriedrichII und die Natur, Wirde und Bestimmungder PreussischenMonarchie. Offentliche Vorlesungen gehalten zu Berlin im Winter 1810 von AdamMuller (Berlin, 1810), 1st lecture,p. 5.5:2 2nd lecture, p. 52f. There is something of the spirit of Fichte's "Reden" inMiiller's eighth lecture: "Um die Zukunft mit Kraft und Bestimmtheit zu empfinden,muss man erst das Nationalleben empfunden haben. Was der Privatmann "Zukunft"nennt, ist ein weites Feld des Zufalls, woriiberdie Wetter Gottes und seine Winde undZeiten walten, wovon das Herz nichts ahndet: eben weil es ein isoliertesHerz, ein Privat-herz ist, und weil es den unendlichenGott von sinem einsamenStandpunkenicht fassenkann, sein Gesetz in den Erziehungscalciilnicht aufnehmen kann. Was der nationaleBurger "Zukunft" nennt, ist dagegen etwas sehr Bestimmtesund Besonderes;das Vater-land, d.h. Gott selbst und sein Gesetz, ist ja in der Rechnung. Nicht also der Privat-mann, sonder nur der nationale Burger, kann erziehen; also ist die Nationalitat selbstconditio sine qua non aller Erziehung. Wie moigt hr denn erziehen,bevor ihr einen Altar,ein Heiligtum, ein vaterlandischesh6chstes Gut fest und fur die Ewigkeit erkannt habt?Ohne so ein Mittelstes, Nationales, Religioses, worauf alles bezogen werde, und welchesdie junge Generationund ihr ganzes Streben ordne und festhalte, erzieht Ihr nur Privat-manner,und ereuert die alte Misere."

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472 THE REVIEW OF POLITICSagainst Western ideas. After 1813 he was happyto see-partlythroughhis efforts the tide turn. There"grewup in betternationsa tremendouslonging for the discreditedbarbarians f the MiddleAges. Burke and some Germansdivinedthat there the lost jewelmightbe found. Thus the idea of nobilityagain reappeared."Butwith it also the theoriesand the realityof an anti-liberal,nti-Westernnationalism, Germanophilismhichbecamethe modelof the laterSlavophilism,a nationalismunknownto the Middle Ages and toBurke.The esotericthoughtsof theGerman omanticistsurneda cen-turylater,undera differentleadership nd with a differentemphasis,into people's mysticalnationalisms n centraland easternEurope.Theiruniting inkwas"thewaragainst heWest."

romannticism and the rise of german

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