CHAPTER VIII

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RÜCKERT.

His Oriental Studies--Introduces the Ghasele--Östliche Rosen; Imitations of H̱āfiḍ--Erbauliches und Beschauliches--Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten--Brahmanische Erzählungen--Die Weisheit des Brahmanen--Other Oriental Poems.

When speaking of the introduction of the _γazal_-form into German literature mention was made of the name of the man who is unquestionably the central figure in the great Oriental movement which is occupying our attention. Combining the genius of the poet with the learning of the scholar, Rückert was preeminently fitted to be the literary mediator between the East and the West. And his East was not restricted, as Goethe's or Platen's, to Arabia and Persia, but included India and even China. He is not only a devotee to the mystic poetry of Rūmī and the joyous strain of H̱āfiḍ, but he is above all the German Brahman, who by masterly translations and imitations made the treasures of Sanskrit poetry a part of the literary wealth of his own country. To his productivity as poet and translator the long list of his works bears conclusive testimony. In this investigation, however, we shall confine ourselves to those of his original poems which are Oriental in origin or subject-matter. A discussion of the numerous translations cannot be undertaken in the limited space at our disposal.

Like Goethe and Platen, Rückert also owed to Hammer the impulse to Oriental study. His meeting with the famous Orientalist at Vienna, in 1818,[145] decided his future career. He at once took up the study of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, and with such success that in a few years he became one of the foremost Orientalists in Europe.

The first fruit of these studies were the _Gaselen_ which appeared in the _Taschenbuch für Damen_, 1821, the first poems of this form in German literature.[146] They have been generally regarded as translations from the _dīvān_ of Rūmī, but this is true of only a limited number; and even these were probably not taken directly from the Persian, but from the versions given by Hammer in his _Redekünste_.[147] As a matter of fact, only twenty-eight--less than one-half of the _Gaselen_,--can be identified with originals in Hammer's book, and a comparison of these with their models shows with what freedom the latter were handled.[148] Furthermore in the opening poem, (a version of _Red._ p. 187, "So lang die Sonne") the last couplet:

Dschelaleddin nennt sich das Licht im Ost, Dess Wiederschein euch zeiget mein Gedicht,

is original with Rückert, and clearly shows that he himself did not pretend to offer real translations. The majority of poems are simply original _γazals_ in Rūmī's manner.

Dschelaleddin, im Osten warst du der Salbenhändler, Ich habe nun die Bude im Westen aufgeschlagen.[149]

These lines, we believe, define very well the attitude which the poet of the West assumed toward his mystic brother in the East.

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The series of _Ghaselen_ signed Freimund and dated 1822 (third series in our edition) are not characteristically Persian. Hence we proceed at once to a consideration of the fourth series (p. 253 seq.), which we shall discuss together with the poems collected under the title of _Östliche Rosen_ (p. 289 seq.) from which they differ in nothing but the form. They were, besides, a part of the _Östliche Rosen_ as published originally at Leipzig, 1822.

These poems are free reproductions or variations of Hafizian themes and motives. The spirit of revelry and intoxication finds here a much wilder and more bacchanalian expression than in the _Divan_ of Goethe or the _Ghaselen_ of Platen. _Carpe diem_ is the sum and substance of the philosophy of such poems as "Einladung" (p. 287) and "Lebensgnüge" (p. 293); their note is in thorough accord with H̱āfiḍ, when he exclaims (H̱. 525. 7):

سخن غير مگو با من معشوقه پرست کز وی و جام ميم نيست بکس پروايی

"to me, who worship the beloved, do not mention anything else; for except for her and my cup of wine, I care for none." We are admonished to leave alone idle talk on how and why ("Im Frühlingsthau," p. 261), for as H̱āfiḍ says (H̱. 487. 11): "Our existence is an enigma, whereof the investigation is fraud and fable." The tavern is celebrated with as much enthusiasm (e.g. "Das Weinhaus," p. 290) as the خرابات to which H̱āfiḍ was destined by God (H̱. 492. 1). Monks and preachers are scored mercilessly (e.g. "Der Bussprediger," p. 255; "Dem Prediger," p. 295) as in H̱. 430. 7:

ناصح بطنزگفت حرامست می مخور گفتم بچشم گوش بهر خر نمی کنم

"The admonisher spoke tauntingly: Wine is forbidden, do not drink! I said: On my eye (be it); I do not lend my ear to every ass."

The characteristic Persian images and rhetorical figures, familiar to us from Platen, are also found here in still greater variety and number. Thus to mention some new ones, the soul is likened to a bird (p. 270, No. 29, cf. H̱. 427. 5: مرغ روحم); the cypress is invoked to come to the brook (p. 336, cf. H̱. 108. 3: که سرو سهی را مقام بر لب جوست "the place of the straight cypress is on the bank of the brook"); the rose-bush glows with the fire of Moses ("Gnosis," p. 350, cf. H̱. 517. 2: آتش موسی نمود گل "the rose displays the fire of Mūsā"); _Hafis_ is an idol-worshipper (p. 305, "Liebesandacht," cf. H̱. 439. 6, where بت شيرين حرکات "the idol of sweet motions" is addressed). We meet also the striking Oriental conception of the dust of the dead being converted into cups and pitchers. In "Von irdischer Herrlichkeit" (p. 257) the character "der alte Wirth" is the _pīr_ of H̱. 4. 10 et passim, and when speaking of the fate of Jamšīd, Sulaīmān and Kāʻus Kaī, he says:

Von des Glückrads höchstem Gipfel warf der Tod in Staub sie, Und ein Töpfer nahm den Staub in Dienst des Töpferrades. Diesen Becher formt' er draus, und glüht' ihn aus im Feuer. Nimm! aus edlen Schädeln trink und deiner Lust nicht schad' es!

This very striking thought, as is well known, is extremely common in Persian poetry. To cite from H̱āfiḍ (H̱. 459. 4):

روزی که چرخ از گل ما گوزها کند زنهار کاسهً سر ما پر شراب کن

"The day when the wheel (of fate) from our dust will make jugs, take care! make our skull (lit. the cup of the head) full of wine."[150]

Some of the poems are versions, more or less free, of H̱āfiḍ--passages, e.g. "Die verloren gegangene Schöne" (p. 290, H̱. 268), "An die Schöne" (p. 308, H̱. 160, couplets 2 and 5 being omitted), "Beschwichtigter Zweifel" (p. 310, H̱. 430. 6), "Das harte Wort" (p. 350, H̱. 77. 1 and 2). Sometimes a theme is taken from H̱āfiḍ and then expanded, as in "Die Busse" (p. 346), where the first verse is a version of H̱. 384. 1, the rest being original.

Of course, reminiscences of H̱āfiḍ are bound to be frequent. We shall point out only a few instances. "Nicht solltest du so, O Rose, versäumen die Nachtigall" ("Stimme der Sehnsucht," p. 256) is inspired by a verse like H̱. 292. 2:

ای گل بشکر آن که تويی پادشاه حسن با بلبلان عاشق شيدا مکن غرور

"O rose, in thanks for that thou art the queen of beauty, display no arrogance towards nightingales madly in love."

In "Zum neuen Jahr" (p. 260) the last lines:

Trag der Schönheit Koran im offenen Angesicht, Und ihm diene das Lied Hafises zum Kommentar

are a parallel to H̱. 10. 6:

روی خوبت آيتی از لطف بر ما کشف کرد زان سبب جز لطف و خوبی نيست در تفسير ما

"Thy beautiful face by its grace explained to us a verse of the _Qurān_; for that reason there is nothing in our commentary but grace and beauty."

The opening lines of "Schmuck der Welt" (p. 260):

Nicht bedarf der Schmink' ein schönes Angesicht. So bedarf die Liebste meiner Liebe nicht

are distinctly reminiscent of H̱. 8. 4:

زعشق ناتمام ما جمال يار مستغنيست بآب و رنگ وخال وخط چه حاجت روی زيبا را

"Of our imperfect love the beauty of the beloved is independent. What need has a lovely face of lustre and dye and mole and line?"

Like H̱āfiḍ (H̱. 358. 11; 518. 7 et passim) Rückert also boasts of his supremacy as a singer of love and wine ("Vom Lichte des Weines," p. 273). Finally in "Frag und Antwort" (p. 258) he employs the form of the dialogue, the lines beginning alternately _Ich sprach_, _Sie sprach_, just as H̱āfiḍ does in Ode 136 or 194. The "Vierzeilen" (p. 361), while they have the _rubāʻī_-rhyme, are not versions. Only a few of them have an Oriental character. Completely unoriental are the "Briefe des Brahmanen" (p. 359), dealing with literary matters of contemporary interest.[151]

The Oriental studies which Rückert continued to pursue with unabated ardor were to him a fruitful source of poetic inspiration. They furnished the material for the great mass of narrative, descriptive and didactic poems which were collected under the titles _Erbauliches und Beschauliches aus dem Morgenlande_, and again _Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten_, furthermore _Brahmanische Erzählungen_, and lastly _Weisheit des Brahmanen_. We shall discuss these collections in the order here given.

* * * * *

The first collection _Erbauliches und Beschauliches_ (vol. vi.) consists of poems which were published between the years 1822 and 1837 in different periodicals. They appeared in collected form as a separate work in 1837.[152] The material is drawn from Arabic and Persian sources, only one poem, "Die Schlange im Korbe," p. 80, being from the Sanskrit of Bhartṛhari (_Nītiś_. 85).[153]

With the Arabic sources, the _Qurān_, the chrestomathies of de Sacy and Kosegarten, and others, we are not here concerned. Among the Persian sources the one most frequently used is the _Gulistān_, from which are taken, to give but a few instances, "Sadi an den Fürstendiener," p. 57 (_Gul._ i. distich 3), "Mitgefühl," p. 52 (_Gul._ i. 10, _Maθnavī_), "Kein Mensch zu Haus," p. 52 (_Gul._ vii. 19, dist. 6, Platts, p. 139), "Gewahrter Anstand," p. 55 (_Gul._ iv. _Maθ_. 5, Platts, p. 96), as well as many of the proverbs and maxims, pp. 102-108. The poem "Die Kerze und die Flasche," p. 82, is a result of the poet's studies in connection with his translation of the _Haft Qulzum_, a fragment of Amīr Šāhī[154] being combined with a passage cited from Asadī.[155] "Eine Kriegsregel aus Mirchond," p. 73, is a paraphrase of a _maθnavī_ from Mīrχvānd's _Raūḍat-us̱s̱afā_.[156] In "Gottesdienst," p. 52, the first two lines are from Amīr Xusrau (_Red._ p. 229); the remaining lines were added by Rückert. The fables given on pp. 87-96 as from Jāmī are taken from the eighth chapter or "garden" of that poet's _Bahāristān_; they keep rather closely to the originals, only in "Die Rettung des Fuchses" the excessive naturalism of the Persian is toned down.[157] One of these fables, however, "Falke und Nachtigall," p. 89, is not from Jāmī, but from the _Maχsan-ul-asrār_ of Niḍāmī (بلبل با باز حکايت ed. Nathan. Bland, London, 1844, p. 114; translated by Hammer in _Red._ p. 107).

Some of the poems in this collection are actual translations from Persian literature. Thus "Ein Spruch des Hafis," p. 59, is a fine rendering of _qiṭʻah_ 583 in the form of the original.[158] Then a part of the introduction to Niḍāmī's _Iskandar Nāmah_ is given on p. 65. The translation begins at the fortieth couplet:[159]

کرا زهرهً آنکه از بيم تو

"Who has such boldness that from fear of Thee he open his mouth save in submission to Thee?"

This is well rendered:

Wer hat die Kraft, in deiner Furcht Erbebung, Vor dir zu denken andres als Ergebung?

As will be noticed, Rückert here has not attempted to reproduce the _mutaqārib_, as Platen has done in his version of the first eight couplets (see p. 36).

Some of the translations in this collection were not made directly from the Persian, but from the versions of Hammer. Thus "Naturbetrachtung eines persischen Dichters," p. 62, is a free rendering of Hammer's version of the invocation prefixed to Aṭṭār's _Mantiq-uṭ ṭair_ (_Red._ p. 141 seq.) and Rückert breaks off at the same point as Hammer.[160] So also the extract from the _Iyār-i-Dāniṣ̌_ of Abū'l Faḍl (p. 68) is a paraphrase of the version in _Red._ p. 397.

A number of poems deal with legends concerning Rūmī, or with sayings attributed to him. Thus the legend which tells how the poet, when a boy, was transported to heaven in a vision, as told by Aflākī in the _Manāqibu'l ʻĀrifīn_,[161] forms the subject of a poem, p. 37. A saying of Rūmī concerning music prompted the composition of the poem, p. 54 (on which see Boxberger, op. cit. p. 241), and on p. 62 the great mystic is made to give a short statement of his peculiar S̱ūfistic doctrine of metempsychosis.[162] In "Alexanders Vermächtnis," p. 61, we have the well-known legend of how the dying hero gives orders to leave one of his hands hanging out of the coffin to show the world that of all his possessions nothing accompanies him to the grave. In Niḍāmī's version, however, the hand is not left empty, but is filled with earth.[163]

Finally there are a few poems dealing with Oriental history, of which we may mention "Hormusan," p. 25, the subject being the same as in Platen's more famous ballad. It may be that both poets drew from the same source (see p. 37).

* * * * *

In the same year (1837) as the _Erbauliches und Beschauliches_ there appeared the _Morgenländische Sagen und Geschichten_ (vol. iv.) in seven books or divisions. In general, the contents of these divisions may be described as versified extracts from Oriental history of prevailingly legendary or anecdotal character. Their arrangement is mainly chronological. Only the fourth, fifth and seventh books call for discussion as having Persian material. The most important source is the great historical work _Rauḍat u̱s-̱safā_ of Mīrχvānd, portions of which had been edited and translated before 1837 by scholars like de Sacy,[164] Wilken,[165] Vullers[166] and others.[167]

Other sources to be mentioned are d'Herbelot's _Bibliothèque Orientale_,[168] de Sacy's version of the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_[169] and Hammer's _Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens_.

* * * * *

The first poem of the fourth book goes back to the legendary period of Iran. Its hero is Guštāsp, the patron and protector of Zoroaster. Rückert calls him Kischtasp. He does not give the story directly according to Firdausī (tr. Mohl, iv. 224, 278-281) but makes his hero go to Tūrān, whence he returns at the head of a hostile army. At the boundary he is met, not by his brother Zarīr, but simply by messengers who offer him Iran's crown. This he accepts and thus becomes king and protector of the realm he was about to assail.[170]

Most of the other poems in this book deal with legends of the Sassanian dynasty. Thus "Schapurs Ball," p. 114 (_Mém._ pp. 282-285); "Die Wölfe und Schakale Nuschirwans," p. 115 (_Mém._ p. 381); "Die abgestellte Hungersnoth," p. 116 (_Mém._ pp. 345, 346); "Die Heerschau," p. 117 (_Mém._ p. 373). The two stories about Bahrām Čubīn, pp. 119-122, are also in _Mém._ p. 395 and pp. 396, 397 respectively.[171] "Der Mann mit einem Arme," p. 124, is in _Mém._ pp. 348, 349. In the last poem "Yesdegerd," p. 126, Rückert gives the story of the sad end of the last Sassanian apparently according to different accounts, and not simply according to Firdausī or Mīrχvānd.

The sixth book opens with the story of Munta̱sir, p. 198, (from d'Herb. vol. iii. pp. 694, 695) and then we enter the period of the S̱affārid dynasty. Its founder Yaʻqūb is the subject of a poem, p. 207 (d'Herb. iv. 459). "Zu streng und zu milde" and "Schutz und Undank," both p. 210, tell of the fortunes of Prince Qābūs (Wilken, _Sam._ p. 181 and pp. 79-81, 91, 198-200, n. 47). "Die aufgehobene Belagerung," p. 211, brings us to the Būyids (d'Herb. ii. pp. 639, 640). The story of Saidah and Mahmūd, p. 212, is from Wilken's _Buj._ c. xii. pp. 87-90, but the order of the events is changed. Then we come to the history of the Ghaznavid dynasty, in connection with which the story of Alp Tagīn is told in "Lokman's Wort," p. 214, according to the account of H̱aidar in Wilk. Gasnevid. p. 139, n. 1, preceded by an anecdote told of Luqmān (d'Herb. ii. 488). "Die Schafschur," p. 215, gives a saying of Sabuktagīn from the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_ (on the authority of ʻUtbī, de Sacy, _Notices et Extr._ iv. 365). In the story of Mahmūd's famous expedition to Sōmanatha, p. 215, Rückert has combined the meagre account of Mīrχvānd with that of Firišta for the story of the Brahman's offer and with that of H̱aidar for the sultan's reply (Wilk. _Gasnevid._ pp. 216, 217, n. 109). "Mahmud's Winterfeldzug," p. 216, is also from Wilken's book (pp. 166-168, n. 38); in fact Dilχak's reply is a rhymed translation of the passage in the note referred to. From the same source came also the poem on the two Dabšalīms, p. 219 (Wilken, _Gasnevid._ pp. 220-225). The familiar anecdote of the vizier interpreting to Mahmūd the conversation of the two owls is told in Niḍāmī's _Maχsan-ul-asrār_ (ed. Bland, pp. 48-50), where, however, Anūširvān is the sultan. The title reads: داستان انوشروان عدل با وزير وجغد.[172] "Abu Rihan" (i.e. Albīrūnī) is taken from d'Herb. I. 45 and iv. 697.

Then follow stories from the period of the Saljūks: "Des Sultan's Schlaf," p. 224 (Vullers, _Gesch. der Seldsch._ pp. 43, 44); "Nitham Elmulks Ehre," p. 228 (ibid. pp. 228-230); "Nitham Elmulks Fall," p. 229 (ib. pp. 123-125 and pp. 128-132); "Die unglückliche Stunde," p. 232 (ibid. pp. 153, 154). "Die unterthänigen Würfel," p. 227, is from the _Haft Qulzum_ (_Gram. u. Poet. der Perser_, pp. 366, 367). The stories of Alp Arslan and Romanus, p. 225, and of Malakšāh's prayer, p. 228, are not given by Mīrχvānd, but occur in the works of Deguignes, Gibbon, Malcolm and d'Herbelot.[173] The story of the death of Sultan Muhammad (in 1159 A.D.), p. 232, is in Deguignes, ii. 260, 261.

Then we get stories from the period of the Mongol invasion. "Die prophezeite Weltzerstörung," p. 237, the legend of Jingis Chān's birth, is in the _Tārīχ-i-Yamīnī_ (_Notices et Extr._ iv. pp. 408, 409). The material for the poems concerning Muẖammad Xvārazm Šāh, p. 237, and his brave son Jalāl ud-dīn, pp. 240, 241, is found in the work of Deguignes (op. cit. ii. p. 274 and pp. 280-283). Finally we are carried even to India and listen to the story of the unhappy queen Raziyah, p. 255, who was murdered at Delhi by her own generals in 1239 A.D.[174]

A few anecdotes about Persian poets are also given. Thus "Dichterkampf," p 233, gives the amusing story of the literary contest between Anvarī and Rašīd, surnamed Vaṭvaṭ "the swallow" (Hammer, _Red._ p. 121; David Price, _Chronological Retrospect_, London, 1821, ii. 391, 392), and on p. 243 we are told how Kamāl ud-dīn curses his native city Ispahān and how the curse was fulfilled. (Hammer, _Red._ p. 159.)

The seventh book contains two of Rückert's best known parables, the famous "Es ging ein Mann im Syrerland," p. 303,[175] and "Der Sultan lässt den Mewlana rufen," p. 305 (_Red._ p. 338).

* * * * *

It will be noticed that the Oriental poems which we have thus far discussed were mainly derived from Arabic and Persian sources. We may now turn our attention to a collection in which Rückert's studies on matters connected with India are also represented.

This collection _Brahmanische Erzählungen_, published in the year 1839 (vol. iii.), does not, however, as its title might lead us to suppose, consist exclusively of Indic material. Some of the poems are not even Oriental; "Annikas Freier," p. 217, for example, is from the Finnic. Of others, again, the subject-matter, whether originally Oriental or not, has long ago become the common property of the world's fable-literature, as, for instance, "Weisheit aus Vogelmund," p. 239, the story of which may be found in the _Gesta Romanorum_, and in French, English and German, as well as in Persian, fable-books.[176] Some are from Arabic sources, as from the Thousand and One Nights, e.g. "Der schwanke Ankergrund," p. 357,[177] "Elephant, Nashorn und Greif," p. 367,[178] "Die Kokosnüsse," p. 359.[179] The poem "Rechtsanschauung in Afrika," p. 221, is a Hebrew parable from the Talmud and had been already used by Herder.[180]

A considerable number of the poems contain nothing but Persian material. Thus "Wettkampf," p. 197, is from the _Gulistān_ (i. 28; K.S. tr. p. 27); and from the same source we have "Rache für den Steinwurf," p. 219 (_Gul._ i. 22; K.S. 21), "Fluch und Segen," p. 234 (_Gul._ i. 1), and "Busurgimihr," p. 225 (_Gul._ i. 32; K.S. 31). "Die Bibliothek des Königs," p. 405, is from the _Bahāristān_ (K.S., p. 31; _Red._ p. 338). Three episodes from the _Iskandar Nāmah_ are narrated on pp. 214-217: the story of the invention of the mirror (_Isk._ tr. Clark, xxiii. p. 247), the battle between the two cocks (ibid., xxii. p. 234 seq.), and the message of Dara to Alexander with the latter's reply (ibid. xxiv. p. 263).[181]

On p. 329 Rückert offers a free, but faithful, even if abridged version of selected passages from the introductory chapters of Niḍāmī's work (_Isk._ tr. Clarke, canto ii, p. 18 seq. and canto vii, p. 53 seq.). In "Kiess der Reue," p. 421, he paraphrases the episode of Alexander's search for the fountain of life from the _Shāh Nāmah_ (tr. Mohl, v. pp. 177, 178). The story of Bahrāmgūr in the same work (tr. Mohl, v, pp. 488-492) appears in "Allwo nicht Zugethan," p. 397. It is not taken from Firdausī, for it relates the story somewhat differently, and introduces a love-episode of which the epic knows nothing.[182] Again, "Der in die Stadt verschlagene Kurde," p. 229, is an anecdote which Rückert had already translated in the _Haft Qulzum_ (see his _Poet. u. Rhet. der Perser_, pp. 72-74), while "Glücksgüter," p. 233, may have been suggested by a story of Aṭṭār which he published afterwards (1860, ZDMG. vol. 14, p. 286). Some anecdotes of Persian princes or poets are also utilized, e.g. "Das Küchenfeldgeräthe des Fürsten Amer," p. 226 (d'Herb. iv. 459; Malcolm i. p. 155), "Der Spiegel des Königs," p. 223 (Deguignes, ii. 171), and the story of Jāmī and the mullā, p. 224 (M. Kuka, _The Wit and Humour of the Persians_, Bombay, 1894, pp. 165, 166). In one poem, "Ormuzd und Ahriman," p. 344, an Avestan subject is treated, the later Parsi doctrine of _zrvan akarana_.[183]

* * * * *

The great majority of the poems in this collection are concerned with India, its literature, mythology, religious customs, geography and history, and it will be convenient for our purpose to discuss them under these heads.

In the first group, that which takes its material from Sanskrit literature, we meet with the story of the flood, p. 298, from the _Mahābhārata_ (Vana Parva, 187) and the story of Rāma's exploits and Sītā's love, p. 268, from the _Rāmāyaṇa_. Also a number of fables from the _Hitōpadēśa_ or _Pañcatantra_ occur, e.g. that of the greedy jackal, p. 249, familiar from Lafontaine (_Hit._ i. 6; _Pañc._ ii. 3), and that of the lion, the mouse and the cat, p. 250 (_Hit._ ii. 3). The story of the ungrateful man and the grateful animals, p. 252, is found in the _Kathāsaritsāgara_ (tr. Tawney, ii. pp. 103-108; cf. Pālī version in _Rasavāhinī_, Wollheim, _Die National-Lit. sämtlicher Völker des Orients_, Berl. 1873, vol. i. p. 370). "Katerstolz und Fuchses Rath," p. 243, has for its prototype the fable of the mouse changed into a girl in _Pañcatantra_ (iv. 9; cf. the story of the ambitious Caṇḍāla maid in _Kathās._ tr. Tawney, ii. p. 56). King Raghu's generosity to Varatantu's pupil Kāutsa, as narrated in the _Raghuvaṃśa_ (ch. v.), is the subject of a poem on p. 402. Two famous pieces from the _Upaniṣad_-literature are also offered: the story of how Jājñavalkya overcame nine contestants in debate at King Janaka's court and won the prize consisting of one thousand cows with gold-tipped horns, p. 247, from the _Bṛhadāraṇyaka Up._ iii. (see Deussen, _Sechzig Upan. übers._ Leipz. 1897, p. 428 seq.), and the story of Nacikētas' choice, p. 403, from the _Kāṭhaka Upaniṣad_. To this group belong also versions of Bhartṛhari, p. 337 (_Nītiś._ 15) and p. 338 (_Nītiś._ 67).

* * * * *

In the mythological group we have two poems telling of the history of Kṛśṇa, as given in the great _Bhāgavata Purāṇa_. The first one, "Die Weltliebessonne im Palast des Gottes Krischna," p. 246, gives the legend of the god's interview with the Sage Nārada (_Bhāgav._ Nirṇaya Sāg. Press, Bombay 1898, Lib. x. c. 69; tr. Dutt, Calcutta, 1895, pp. 298-302) with a close somewhat different from that of the Sanskrit original. The second one narrates the romance of the poor Brahman Sudāman, who pays a visit to the god and is enriched by the latter's generosity (_Bhāgav._ x. c. 80, 81; tr. Dutt, pp. 346-355. For the Hindostanee version in the _Premsāgar_, see Wollheim, op. cit. i. p. 421). In the Sanskrit the story is not so ideal as in Rückert's poem. The poor Brahman is urged on to the visit, not by affection for the playmate of his youth, but rather by the prosaic appeals of his wife; yet, though the motive be different, the result is the same. Besides these, we find the legend of Kāma, the Hindu Cupid, burned to ashes by Śiva's third eye for attempting to interrupt the god's penance, p. 266 (_Rāmāy._ i. c. 23, _Kumāras._ iii. v. 70 seq.), and Rückert manages to introduce and to explain all the epithets, _Kāmadēva_, _kandarpa_, _smara_, _manmatha_, _hṛcchaya_, _ananga_, which Sanskrit authors bestow upon their Cupid. We also have legends of the cause of the eclipses of sun and moon, p. 365, of the origin of caste, p. 347 (_Manu_ i. 87), of the fabulous mountain Mēru in Jambudvīpa, p. 285, of the quarrelsome mountains Innekonda and Bugglekonda, p. 321 (Ritter _Erdkunde_, iv. 2, pp. 472, 473). The winding course of the Indus is explained by a typical Hindu saint-story, p. 335, similar to that told of the Yamunā and Rāma in the _Viṣṇu Purāṇa_ (tr. Wilson, ed. Dutt, Calc. 1894, p. 386).

* * * * *

Many of the poems describe religious customs practised in India. Of such customs the practice of asceticism in its different forms is one of the most striking and could not fail to engage the poet's attention. Thus the peculiar fast known as _Cāndrāyaṇa_, "moon-penance," is the subject of a poem, p. 278; so also "Titanische Bussandacht," p. 283, has for its theme the belief of the Hindus in the supernatural power conferred by excessive penance, as exemplified by the legend of Śakuntalā's birth. The practice of _pañcatapas_, "the five fires" (_Manu_, vi. 23. See Monier Williams, _Indian Wisdom_, Lond. 1876, p. 105) is the subject of the poem "Des Büssers Läuterungswahn," p. 285. The selfish greed of the Brahmans (cf. _Manu_, vii. 133, 144; xi. 40) is referred to in two poems on p. 287. The supposed powers of _cintāmani_, the Hindu wishing-stone, suggested the poem on p. 275 (cf. Bhartṛhari, _Vāir._ 33). Of other poems of this sort we may mention "Die Gottverehrung des Stammes Karian," p. 322 (Ritter, _Erdk._ iv. 1. p. 187), "Vom Genuss der Früchte nach Dschainas Lehre," p. 307 (ibid. iv. p. 749), and "Die Schuhe im Tempel Madhuras," p. 301 (ibid. iv. 2. p. 4).

* * * * *

Again, many poems belong to the realm of physical and descriptive geography. Their source, in most cases, was undoubtedly the great geographical work of Ritter. To it may be referred the majority of the purely descriptive poems, e.g., "Das ewige Frühlingsland der Tudas," p. 301 (op. cit. iv. 1. 951), "Das Frühlingsland Kaschmir," p. 315 (ibid. ii. 1142 and 630), "Die Kokospalme," p. 304 (ibid. iv. 1. 834 seq., 838, 851, 852). The sun and moon lotuses, so famous through Heine's beautiful songs (see p. 58), are described on p. 343. Animal-life also comes in for its share, e.g. the ichneumon in "Instinctive Heilkunde der Tiere," p. 336.

* * * * *

Lastly, we come to the historical group, poems relating to the history of India. The poem on the burning of Keteus' wife, p. 382, is evidently inspired by the reading of Diodorus Siculus (xix. 33). On page 311 we have a poem celebrating the valor of the Rāja Pratap Singh, who held out so bravely against Akbar in the mountain fastnesses of Citor, 1567.[184] The heroic queen-regent of Ahmadnagar, Chānd Bībī, and the romantic story of her struggle against Akbar, in 1596, is the subject of the poem on p. 353. Only the bright side is, however, presented; the tragic fate which overtook the unfortunate princess three years later is not referred to.[185] The famous battle of Samūgarh, 1658, by which Aurangzīb gained the Mogul Empire, is narrated on p. 310, according to the account of Bernier.[186] In this connection we may also mention "Das Mikroskop," p. 370, the familiar anecdote of the Brahman who refused to drink water, after the microscope had revealed to him the existence therein of countless animalcules (Ritter, _Erdk._ iv. 1. p. 749).

* * * * *

Besides the poems falling under the groups discussed above there are many of purely didactic or moralizing tendency, embodying general reflections. It would take us too far, were we to attempt to discuss them, even if their interest were sufficiently great to repay the trouble. We must, however, point out that even the Sanskrit vocabulary is impressed into service to furnish material for such poems. Thus the fact that the word _pāda_ may mean either "foot," "step," or "ray of the moon or sun," is utilized for the last lines of "Vom Monde," p. 368. The meaning of the term _bakravratin_, "acting like a crane," applied to a hypocrite, is used for a poem on p. 363. Similarly the threefold signification of _dvipa_ as "brahman," "bird," and "tooth" suggests "Zweigeboren," p. 423, and more instances might be adduced. It is not to be wondered at that such poetizing should often degenerate into the most inane trifling, so that we get such rhyming efforts as that on p. 326 with its pun on the similarity of _hima_ "winter" with _hēma_ "gold," _Himālaya_ and _himavat_ with _Himmel_ and _Heimat_, or that on p. 385 with its childish juxtaposition of the Vedantic term _māyā_, the Greek name Μαια, and the German word _Magie_.

* * * * *

If the poems discussed in the preceding pages were found to be largely didactic and gnomic in character, the great collection called _Die Weisheit des Brahmanen_ is entirely so. The poems composing this bulky work appeared in installments during the period 1836-1839, and, while many of them, as will be shown below, are the outcome of Rückert's Oriental studies, the majority simply embody general reflections on anything and everything that happened to engage the poet's attention. "Es muss alles hinein, was ich eben lese: vor acht Wochen Spinoza, vor vierzehn Tagen Astronomie, jetzt Grimms überschwenglich gehaltreiche Deutsche Mythologie, alles unter der nachlässig vorgehaltenen Brahmanenmaske...."[187] These are the author's own words and render further detailed characterization of the work superfluous. It is well known that the sources for the great didactic collection, even for that part of it which is not composed of reflections on matters of contemporary history, politics and literature, or relating to questions of family and friendship, are more Occidental than Oriental.[188] In fact, the Brahmanic character of the wisdom here expounded consists mainly in the contemplative spirit of reposeful didacticism which pervades the entire collection. Nor is there anything Oriental about the form of the poems,--the rhymed Alexandrine reigning supreme with wearisome monotony.

A detailed discussion of the _Weisheit_, therefore, even if it were possible within the limits of this dissertation, will not be attempted; the less so, as such a discussion, so far as the Oriental side, at least, is concerned, would be very much of the same nature as that given of the _Brahmanische Erzählungen_. A general Oriental influence, especially of the _Bhagavadgītā_-philosophy or of Rūmī's pantheism, is noticeable enough in many places,[189] but particular instances of such influence are not hard to find. We shall adduce only a few, taken from the fifth division or _Stufe_, called _Leben_. Of these there are taken from the _Hitōpadēśa_ Nos. 25 (_Hit._ i. couplet 179; tr. Hertel, 141), 26 (ib. i. 178; tr. Hertel, 140), 111 (ib. i. couplet 80; Wilkins' tr. p. 56). From the _Gulistān_ are taken Nos. 290 (_Gul._ i. 13; K.S. dist. p. 42), 326 (ibid. vii. 20; K.S. dist. p. 230), 366 (ibid. vii. 20; K.S. p. 232). No. 60 was probably suggested by the fable of the ass and the camel in Jāmī's _Bahāristān_ (tr. K.S. p. 179). No. 476 draws a moral from the fact that the Persian title _mīrzā_ means either "scribe" or "prince," according to its position before or behind the person's name. In No. 201 we recognize a Persian proverb: بزک ممير که بهار میآيد يونجه ميخوری "little goat, do not die; spring is coming, you will eat clover." No. 364:

"Herr Strauss, wenn ein Kameel du bist, so trage mir!" Ich bin ein Vogel. "Flieg!" Ich bin ein Trampeltier

is also a Persian proverb and is absolutely unintelligible, unless one happens to know that the Persian word for "ostrich" is شترمرغ, literally "camel-bird."

Again, to cite from other _Stufen_, Firdausī's lines, already used by Goethe in his _Divan_ (see p. 25 above), furnish the text for a moral poem, p. 487 (18). The Persian notion of the peacock being ashamed of his ugly feet (cf. _Gul._ ii. 8, _qiṭʻah_) is put to a similar use on p. 463 (162). Some poems are moralizingly descriptive of Indic customs, e.g., p. 157 (11), where reverence for the _guru_ or "teacher" is inculcated (cf. _Manu_ ii, 71, 228) and pp. 10, 11 (18, 19), where the conditions are set forth under which the Vēdas may be read (cf. _Manu_ iv. 101-126, or _Yājñ._ i. 142-151). A comparison is instituted between the famous court of Vikramāditya and his seven gems, of which Kālidāsa was one, and that of Karl August of Weimar and his poetic circle, p. 148 (39).

Trivial and empty rhyming is of course abundant in such an uncritical mass of verse, and we also meet with insipid puns, like that on the Arabic word _dīn_, "religion," and the German word _dienen_, p. 498 (48).

These examples, we believe, will suffice for our purpose. With the philosophical part of the _Weisheit_ we are not here concerned.

* * * * *

A great many Oriental poems are scattered throughout the collection which bears the title of _Pantheon_ (vol. vii.). We may mention "Die gefallenen Engel," p. 286, the legend of Hārūt and Mārūt, "Wischnu auf der Schlange," p. 286, "Die nackten Weisen," p. 287, and others. Some poems in this collection are in spirit akin to the _Östliche Rosen_, e.g. "Becher und Wein," p. 291, "Der Traum," p. 283, and the "Vierzeilen," pp. 481, 482. Besides this, the _γazal_-form occurs repeatedly, e.g. "Frühlingshymne," p. 273. So fond does Rückert seem to have been of this form, that he employs it even for a poem on such an unoriental subject as Easter, p. 189 (2).

This collection is furthermore of interest from the biographical side, as often giving us Rückert's opinions. Thus we find evidence that he was by no means onesidedly prejudiced in favor of things Oriental. Referring to the myth of fifty-three million Apsarases having sprung from the sea,[190] he states (p. 24), that if he were to be the judge, these fifty-three million nymphs bedecked with jewels would have to bow before the one Aphrodite in her naked glory. And again in "Rückkehr," p. 51, the poet confesses that having wandered to the East to forget his misery and finding thorns in the rose-gardens of Persia, and demons, misshapen gods and monkeys acting the parts of heroes in India, he is glad to return to the Iliad and Odyssey (cf. also "Zu den östlichen Rosen," p. 153).

Rückert was evidently aware of his tendency to overproduction. He offers an explanation in "Spruchartiges," p. 157:

Mir ist Verse zu machen und künstliche Vers' ein Bedürfnis, Fehlt mir ein eigenes Lied, so übersetz' ich mir eins.

And again to his own question, Musst du denn immer dichten?, p. 159, he answers:

Ich denke nie ohne zu dichten, Und dichte nie ohne zu denken.

Graf von Schack has aptly applied to Rückert's poems the famous sentence which a Spaniard pronounced about Lope de Vega, that no poet wrote so many good plays, but none also so many poor ones.[191]

* * * * *

Whatever defects it may have, Rückert's Oriental work is nevertheless indisputably of the greatest importance to German literature. More than any one else he brought over into it a new spirit and new forms; and it is due primarily to his unsurpassed technical skill that the German language is to-day the best medium for an acquaintance, not only with the literature of the West, but also with that of the East.

FOOTNOTES:

[145] See Beyer, Friedrich Rückert, Fkft. a. M. 1868, pp. 101, 102.

[146] Vol. v. pp. 200-237.

[147] So Hammer himself thought at the time. See Rob. Boxberger, Rückert-Studien, Gotha, 1878, p. 224. Such also was the opinion of the scholarly von Schack, Strophen des Omar Chijam, Stuttg. 1878, Nachwort, p. 117, note. A copy of the original _dīvān_ of Rūmī has not been accessible to me.

[148] Cf. for instance No. 8, in ii. with Red. p. 175, and No. 24 in ii. p. 235, with Red. p. 188.

[149] Vol. v. ii. 25, p. 236.

[150] Cf. H̱āfiḍ, Sāqī Nāmah, couplets 77, 78 for the three names mentioned above. The figure is most familiar to the English reader from Fitzgerald's version, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Boston, 1899, p. 211, xxxvii. See also ʻUmar Xayyām ed. Whinfield, London, 1883, No. 466.

[151] They were published in Deutscher Musenalmanach, 1838, and do not belong properly to the collection here discussed.

[152] See essay on this by Robert Boxberger in Rückert-Studien, pp. 210-278. Also Beyer, Neue Mittheil. vol. i. p. 213; vol. ii. pp. 201-204 for the date of many of these poems.

[153] Also a few of the Vierzeilen-Sprüche, pp. 102-108, e.g. No. 30=Nītiś. 31.

[154] Friedr. Rückert, Grammatik, Poetik u. Rhetorik der Perser, ed. W. Pertsch, Gotha, 1874, p. 187.

[155] Ibid. p. 360.

[156] Fr. Wilken, Hist. Gasnevid. Berol. 1832, p. 13, Latin p. 148.

[157] Cf. transl. of Bahāristān for Kama Shastra Society, Benares, 1887, p. 180. The Persian text of these fables appeared in 1805 in the chrestomathy appended to Fr. Wilken's Institutiones ad Fundamenta Linguae Persicae, Lipsiae, 1805, pp. 172-181.

[158] This poem was mistranslated by Hammer in his Divan des Hafis, Tüb. 1812, vol. ii. p. 553. Bodenstedt has given a version in rhymed couplets: Der Sänger von Schiras, Berl. 1877, p. 129.

[159] For Niḍāmī I have used a lithographed edition published at Shīrāz, A.H. 1312. In Wilberforce Clarke's transl. of the Iskandar Nāmah, London, 1881, the couplet in question is the forty-third.

[160] Cf. for Persian text Garcin de Tassy, Mantic Uttaīr, Paris, 1863. Also French transl. p. 1 seq.

[161] See Jas. W. Redhouse, The Mesnevi of Mevlānā (our Lord) Jelālu-d-dīn, Muhammed, er-Rūmī, Lond. 1881, B. i. p. 19. For Rückert's source see Boxberger, op. cit. p. 224.

[162] See H. Ethé, Neupers. Litt. in Grdr. iran. Phil. vol. ii. p. 289.

[163] Wilh. Bacher, Nizāmis Leben u. Werke, Leipz. 1871, p. 119 and n. 4.

[164] Mémoires sur divers Antiquités de la Perse, et sur les Médailles des Rois de la dynastie des Sassanides, suivis de l'Histoire de cette Dynastie traduite du Persan de Mirkhond par A.I. Silv. de Sacy, Paris, 1793.

[165] Mohammedi Filii Chavendschahi vulgo Mirchondi Historia Samanidarum Pers. ed. Frid. Wilken, Goettingae, 1808.

Mohammedi Filii Chondschahi vulgo Mirchondi Historia Gasnevidarum Persice ed. Frid. Wilken, Berol. 1832.

Geschichte der Sultane aus dem Geschlechte Bujeh nach Mirchond, Wilken in Hist. philos. Abh. der kgl. Akad. d. Wissensch. zu Berlin, Berl. 1837. (This work from 1835.)

[166] Mirchonds Geschichte der Seldschuken, aus d. Pers. zum ersten Mal übers. etc., Joh. Aug. Vullers, Giessen, 1837.

[167] A complete list of the portions of Mīrχvānd's work edited and published by European scholars before 1837 may be found in Zenker's Bibl. Orient., Nos. 871-881. Nos 874, 875 and 879 have not been accessible to me.

[168] A letter given by Boxberger in op. cit. p. 74 shows that Rückert asked for the loan of this book.

[169] Histoire de Yemineddoula Mahmoud, tr. par A.I. Silv. de Sacy in Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Bibl. Nat., tom. iv.

[170] For a similar form of the story see Gobineau, Histoire des Perses, Paris, 1869, vol. ii. pp. 9, 10, where the story is given on the authority of a Parsi work, the "Tjéhar-e-Tjemen" (i.e. Cahār-i-Caman, "the four lawns").

[171] For the romance about this man see Th. Nöldeke, Ṭabari, pp. 474-478.

[172] Lithogr. ed., p. 23. See also Malcolm, op. cit. i. 196; Red. p. 107.

[173] Deguignes, Hist. Gén. des Huns, des Turcs, des Mogols, et des autres Tartares occidentaux, etc. Paris, 1756-1758, vol. ii. pp. 209, 223; Malcolm, op. cit. i. pp. 211, 218.

[174] See Elphinstone's Hist. of India, Lond., 1841, vol. ii. pp. 10-12; also Elliot, The History of India as told by its own historians, Lond. 1867-1877, vol. ii. pp. 332-335, 337, where the story is not so romantic as in Rückert's poem.

[175] Taken from Red. p. 183, where it is given as from Rūmī. See above, p. 6.

[176] Gesta Roman. ed. Herm. Oesterly. Berl. 1872, c. 167. For bibliography of this fable see W.A. Clouston, A Group of Eastern Romances, 1889, pp. 563-566, pp. 448-452.

[177] Book of the Thousand and One Nights, by John Payne, Lond. 1894, vol. v. p. 153.

[178] Ibid. p. 168.

[179] Ibid. p. 199.

[180] In Jüdische Parabeln, vol. 26, p. 359; see also Bacher, Nizāmis Leben u. Werke, p. 117, n. 4.

[181] These episodes are outlined in Hammer, Red. p. 118; see Malcolm, op. cit. i. 55, 56.

[182] We call attention to the fact that the fourth division of this collection (pp. 392-439 in our edition) is made up of poems which really belong to the Weisheit des Brahmanen.

[183] Jackson, Die iran. Religion in Grdr. iran. Phil. ii. pp. 629, 630.

[184] Elliot, Hist. of India, vol. v. pp. 160-175; 324-328.

[185] Elphinstone, Hist. of India, vol. ii. pp. 229-301 and note, where the legend of the queen firing silver balls is given on the authority of Xāfī Xān. Elliot, op. cit. vi. 99-101.

[186] The History of the Late Revolution of the Empire of the Great Mogul, Lond. 1671, pp. 106-131. See also Elliot, op. cit. vol. vii. pp. 220-224, and Elphinstone, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 425 seq., where a slightly different account of the battle is given.

[187] Letter to Melchior Meyr, Dec. 25, 1836, cited by C. Beyer in Nachgelassene Ged. Fr. Rückerts. Wien, 1877, pp. 210, 211.

[188] Koch, Der Deutsche Brahmane, Breslau (Deutsche Bücherei, Serie iv. Heft 23), p. 22.

[189] Ibid. pp. 18-22. For Rūmī's influence see esp. in vol. viii. of the edition cited, pp. 544. 7, 566. 74 et al.

[190] In Rāmāy. i. 45, where the story of their origin is briefly given, we read that sixty _kōtis_, i.e. 600,000,000 (a _kōti_ being 10,000,000), came forth from the sea, not reckoning their numberless female attendants.

[191] Schack, Ein halbes Jahrhundert, Stuttg. Berl. Wien, 1894, vol. ii. p. 41. See also Koch, op. cit. pp. 11-13; Rud. Gottschall, Fried. Rückert in Portraits u. Studien, Leipz. 1870, vol. i. pp. 163-166; Rich. Meyer, Gesch. der Litt. des 19 Jahrh. Berl. 1890, p. 56.

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