The Influence of India and Persia on the Poetry of Germany Part 2

After the Portuguese had sailed around Africa, direct and uninterrupted communication with the far East was established. Portuguese, Dutch, French and English merchants appeared successively on the scene to get their share of the rich India commerce. German merchants also made a transitory effort. The firm of the Welsers in Augsburg sent two representatives who accompanied the expedition of Francisco d' Almeida in 1505 and that of Tristo da Cunha in the following year. But conditions were not favorable and the attempt was not renewed.[49]

Travels to India and Persia now multiplied rapidly, and accounts of such travels became very common; so common, in fact, that already in the sixteenth century collections of them were made, the best known being the _Novus...o...b..s_ of Grynaeus, and the works of Ramusio and Hakluyt.

Among the more famous travellers of the sixteenth century we may mention Barthema, Federici, Barbosa, Fitch and van Linschoten for India, and the brothers Shirley for Persia. In the seventeenth century we may cite the names of della Valle, Baldaeus, Tavernier, Bernier and the German Mandelslo for India, while those of Olearius and Chardin are most famous in connection with Persia. And that books of travel were much read in Germany is attested by the number of editions and translations which appeared there. Thus among the earliest books printed there we have a translation of Marco Polo (Nuremberg), 1477,[50] reprinted repeatedly, e.g. at Augsburg, 1481, in the _Novus...o...b..s_, 1534 (Latin version), at Basle, 1534 (German translation of the preceding), while Mandeville's memoirs were so popular as to become finally a _Volksbuch_.[51]

The account of Olearius is of special interest to us. It gives an excellent description of Persia, and above all it gives us valuable information on the literature and language. Olearius is struck by the similarity of many Persian words to corresponding words in German and Latin, and hints at the kinship of these idioms, though, looking only at the vocabulary and not at the structure, he supposes Persian to be related to Arabic.[52] He tells us of the high esteem in which poetry was held by the Persians, and notices that rhyme is an indispensable requisite of their poetic art. He also mentions some of their leading poets, among them Sa?di, H_afi?, Firdausi and Ni?ami.[53]

But what interests us most is the translation which he made of the _Gulistan_, published in 1654, under the t.i.tle of _Persianischer Rosenthal_. True, it was not the first in point of time. As early as 1634 du Ryer had published at Paris an incomplete French version, and shortly afterwards this version was translated into German by Johann Friedrich Ochsenbach of Tubingen, but apparently without attracting much notice.[54] In 1644, Levin Warner of Leyden had given the Persian text and Latin version of a number of Sa?di's maxims,[55] while Gentius had published the whole text with a Latin translation at Amsterdam in 1651.

But it was the version of Olearius that really introduced the _Gulistan_ to Europe.

The edition of Olearius, from which we have cited, contains also a translation of the _Bustan_, called _Der Persianische Baumgarten_, made, however, not directly from the Persian, but from a Dutch version.

Besides this, the edition contains also the narratives of two other travellers, Jurgen Andersen and Volquard Iversen, as well as an account of Persia by the French missionary Sanson. Iversen, in speaking of the Parsi religion, gives an essentially correct account of the Zoroastrian hierarchy, of the supreme G.o.d and his seven servants, each presiding over some special element, evidently an allusion to Ahura Mazda and his six Amesha Spentas, with the possible addition of Sraosha.[56] Sanson states that the _Gavres_ have kept up the old Persian language and that it is entirely different from modern Persian,[57] a distinct recognition of the existence of the Avestan language. The eighteenth century saw the discovery of the _Avesta_ by Anquetil du Perron, and its close found men like Jones, Revizky, de Sacy and Hammer busily engaged in spreading a knowledge of Persian literature in Europe.

India, as far as its literature was concerned, did not fare so well. The struggles of European nations for the mastery of that rich empire did little towards promoting a knowledge of its religion or its language.

Nor were the efforts of missionaries very successful. Most of their attention was devoted to the Dravidian idioms of Southern India, not to Sanskrit. We have the authority of Friedrich Schlegel for the statement that before his time there were but two Germans who were known to have gained a knowledge of the sacred language, the missionary Heinrich Roth and the Jesuit Hanxleben.[58] Even their work was not published and was superseded by that of Jones, Colebrooke and others. Most valuable information on Hindu religion was given by the Dutch preacher Abraham Roger in his well known book _De Open-Deure tot het Verborgen Heydendom_, published at Leyden in 1651, two years after the author's death. This book also gave to the West the first specimen of Sanskrit literature in the shape of a Dutch version of two hundred maxims of Bhart?hari, not a direct translation from the Sanskrit, but based on oral communication imparted by a learned Brahman Padmanaba.[59] As a rule the rendering is very faithful, sometimes even literal. The maxims were translated into German by C. Arnold and were published at Nuremberg in 1663.

This, however, ended the progress of Sanskrit literature in Europe for the time being. Information came in very slowly. The _Lettres edifiantes_ of the Jesuits, and the accounts of travellers like Sonnerat began to shed additional light on the religious customs of India, but its sacred language remained a secret. In 1785, Herder wrote that what Europe knew of Hindu literature was only late legends, that the Sanskrit language as well as the genuine Veda would probably for a long time remain unknown.[60] Sir William Jones, however, had founded the Asiatic Society a year before and the first step towards the discovery of Sanskrit had really thus been taken.

But let us consider what bearing all this had on German poetry. In this field the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were desperately dreary.

In the former century the leading thinkers of Germany were absorbed in theological controversy, while in the next the Thirty Years' War completely crushed the spirit of the nation. There is little poetry in this period that calls for even pa.s.sing notice in this investigation.

Paul Fleming, although he was with Olearius in Persia, has written nothing that would interest us here. Andreas Gryphius took the subject for his drama "Catharina von Georgien" (1657) from Persian history. It is the story of the cruel execution of the Georgian queen by order of Shah ?Abbas in 1624.[61] Nor is Oriental influence in the eighteenth century more noticeable. Occasionally an Oriental touch is brought in.

Pfeffel makes his "Bramine" read a lesson to bigots; Matthias Claudius in his well-known poem makes Herr Urian pay a visit to the Great Mogul; Burger, in his salacious story of the queen of Golkonde, transports the lovers to India; Lessing, in "Minna von Barnhelm" (Act i. Sc. 12) represents Werner as intending to take service with Prince Heraklius of Persia, and he chooses an Oriental setting for his "Nathan der Weise."

In the prose writings of this period Oriental influence is much more discernible. In the literature dealing with magic Zoroaster always played a prominent part. The invention of the Cabala was commonly ascribed to him.[62] European writers on the black art, as for instance Bodinus, whose _De Magorum Daemonomania_ was translated by Fischart (Stra.s.sburg, 1591), repeat about Zoroaster all the fables found in cla.s.sical or patristic writers. So the Iranian sage figures prominently also in the Faust-legend. He is the prince of magicians whose book Faust studies so diligently that he is called a second Zoroastris.[63] This book pa.s.ses into the hands of Faust's pupil Christoph Wagner, who uses it as diligently as his master.[64]

In all this folkbook-literature India is a mere name. Thus in the oldest Faust-book of 1587 the sorcerer makes a journey in the air through England, Spain, France, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, India, Africa and Persia, and finally comes to _Morenland_.[65]

Of all the prose-writings, however, the novel, which began to flourish luxuriously in the seventeenth century, showed the most marked tendency to make use of Eastern scenery and episodes, and incidentally to exhibit the author's erudition on everything Oriental. Thus Grimmelshausen transports his hero Simplicissimus into Asia through the device of Tartar captivity. Lohenstein, in his ultra-Teutonic romance of Arminius, manages to introduce an Armenian princess and a prince from Pontus. The latter, as we learn from the autobiography with which he favors us in the fifth book, has been in India. He took with him a Brahman sage, who burned himself on reaching Greece. Evidently Lohenstein had read Arrian's description of the burning of Kalanos (Arrian vii. 2, 3). The _Asiatische Banise_ of Heinrich Anselm von Ziegler-Kliphausen, perhaps the most popular German novel of the seventeenth century, was based directly on the accounts of travellers to Farther India, not on Greek or Latin writings.[66] Other authors who indulged their predilection for Oriental scenery were Buchholtz in his _Herkules und Valisca_ (1659), Happel in _Der Asiatische Onogambo_ (Hamb. 1673), Bohse (Talander) in _Die durchlauchtigste Alcestis aus Persien_ (Leipz. 1689) and others.[67]

The most striking instance of the Oriental tendency is furnished by Grimmelshausen's _Joseph_, first published probably in 1667.[68] Here we meet the famous story of Yusuf and Zali?a as it is given in the _Quran_ or in the poems of Firdausi and Jami. The well-known episode of the ladies cutting their hands instead of the lemons in consequence of their confusion at the sight of Joseph's beauty is here narrated at length.[69] In the preface the author states explicitly that he has drawn, not only from the Bible, but from Hebrew, Arabic and Persian writings as well.[70] That he should have made use of Arabic material is credible enough, for Dutch Orientalists like Golius and Erpenius had made this accessible.[71] That he had some idea of Persian poetry is shown by his allusions to the fondness of Orientals for handsome boys.[72] On the other hand, what he says of Zoroaster in the _Musai_ can all be found in Latin and Greek writers.[73] Here we get the biography of Joseph's chief servant in the form of an appendix to the novel, and the author displays all the learning which fortunately his good taste had excluded from the story itself. Of the Iranian tradition concerning Zoroaster's death as given in the Pahlavi writings or the _Shah Namah_[74] Grimmelshausen knew absolutely nothing; nor can we find the slightest evidence to substantiate his a.s.sertion that for the work in question he drew from Persian or Arabic sources.

In the eighteenth century the Oriental tale was extremely popular in France, and thence it spread to other countries. The translation of the Thousand and One Nights by Galland (Paris, 1704-1712) and of the Persian Tales by Petis de La Croix called into being a host of similar French productions, which in turn found their way into German literature. The most fruitful writer in this genre was Simon Gueulette, the author of _Soirees Bretonnes_ (1712) and _Mille et un quart d'heures_ (1715). The latter contains the story of a prince who is punished for his presumption by having two snakes grow from his shoulders. To appease them they are fed on fresh human brain.[75] Of course, we recognize at once the story of the tyrant ?a??ak familiar from Firdausi. The material for the _Soirees_ was drawn largely from Armeno's _Peregrinaggio_, which purports to be a translation from the Persian, although no original is known to scholars.[76] From these _Soirees_ Voltaire took the material for his _Zadig_.[77] In most cases, however, all that was Oriental about such stories was the name and the costume. So popular was the Oriental costume that Montesquieu used it for satirizing the Parisians in his _Lettres Persanes_ (1721). Through French influence the Oriental story came to Germany, and so we get such works as August Gottlob Meissner's tales of _Nushirvan_, _Ma.s.soud_, _Giaffar_, _Sadi_ and others,[78] or Klinger's _Derwisch_. Wieland used the Eastern costume in his _Schach Lolo_ (1778) and in his politico-didactic romance of the wise Danischmende. This fondness for an Oriental atmosphere continues even into the nineteenth century and may be seen in such works as Tieck's _Abdallah_ and Hauff's _Karawane_. But this brings us to the time when India and Persia were to give up their secrets, and when the influence of their literature begins to be a factor in the literature of Europe.

FOOTNOTES:

[49] See Kunstmann, Die Fahrt der ersten Deutschen nach dem portugiesischen Indien in Hist. pol. Blatter f. d. Kath. Deutschl., Munchen, 1861, vol. 48, pp. 277-309.

[50] For t.i.tle see Panzer, Annalen d. alteren deutsch. Litt., Nurnb.

1788.

[51] See Gra.s.se, op. cit. ii. 2. pp. 773, 774.

[52] Des Welt-beruhmten Adami Olearii colligirte und viel vermehrte Reise-Beschreibungen etc., Hamb. 1696, chap. xxv.

[53] Ibid. chap. xxviii. p. 327 seq.

[54] Olearius, op. cit., Preface to the Rosenthal. Full t.i.tle of Ochsenbach's book in Buch der Beispiele, ed. Holland, p. 258, n. 1.

[55] Proverbiorum et Sententiarum Persicarum Centuria, Leyden, 1644. In the preface the author says that he undertakes his work, "c.u.m e genuinis Persarum scriptis nihil hactenus in Latinam linguam sit translatum."

[56] Iversen in op. cit. chap. xi. p. 157 seq. Cf. Jackson, Die iranische Religion in Grdr. iran. Ph. iii. pp. 633, 634, 636.

[57] Sanson in op. cit. pp. 48, 49.

[58] Fr. Schlegel, Weisheit der Indier, Heidelb. 1808, Vorrede, p. xi.

[59] See preface to op. cit.

[60] Ideen zur Phil. d. Gesch. der Menschheit, chap. iv. ed. Suphan, vol. 13, p. 415.

[61] The story is given in Chardin's book, though this was not the source. See Andreas Gryphius Trauerspiele, ed. Herm. Palm, BLVS. vol.

162, pp. 138, 139.

[62] See Zoroasters Telescop oder Schlussel zur grossen divinatorischen Kabbala der Magier in Das Kloster ed. J. Scheible, Stuttg. 1846, vol.

iii. p. 414 seq., esp. p. 439.

[63] Widmann's Faust in Das Kloster, vol. ii. p. 296; Der Christlich Meynende, ibid. ii. p. 85.

[64] Christoph. Wagners Leben, ibid. vol. iii. p. 78.

[65] Ibid. ii. p. 1004.

[66] Ed. by Felix Bobertag, KDNL. vol. 37, Einl. p. 8.

[67] On this see Felix Bobertag, Gesch. des Romans und der ihm verwandten Dichtungsgattungen in Deutschland, Bresl. 1876, vol. ii. 2.

pp. 110 seq., 140, 160.

[68] In Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus ed. Adalb. Keller, Stuttg.

1862 (BLVS. vol. 66), vol. iv. pp. 707 seq.

[69] Op. cit. pp. 759, 760.

[70] Ibid, p. 710; again p. 841.

[71] The Story of Joseph from the Quran was published in Arabic with a Latin version by Erpenius as early as 1617. See Zenker, Bibl. Orient., Leipz. 1846, vol. i. p. 169, No. 1380.

[72] Keller, op. cit. p. 742.

[73] See Jackson, Zoroaster, Appendix V (by Gray).