Chapter III · OSSIAN’S INFLUENCE UPON KLOPSTOCK AND THE SO–CALLED BARDS. (continued 2)

Ossian’s warriors are ‘terrible’ and ‘dark’ in battle, they “stand like a rock”[243] and roll back the foe. Compare “Temora,” Bk. ii, p. 318, ll. 17–8: “Conar was a rock before them: broken they rolled on every side;” etc. Another stanza, the twenty–second, shows a close resemblance to an Ossianic image (p. 112):

Compare “Fingal,” Bk. vi, p. 265, ll. 22–4: “Like the sun in a cloud, when he hides his face ..., but looks again on the hills of grass!” Furthermore we have in the same poem (p. 113) a “Stein des Ruhmes,”[244] Ossian’s “stone of fame”[245] or “stone of renown.”[246]

The following poem, “Theresia die Fromme,” contains but few traces of Ossian’s influence. An expression borrowed directly from Ossian, however, is the “enge Haus,”[247] the “narrow house,” the grave, occurring continually in the poems of Ossian, e. g., “Oithona,” p. 173, l. 36, etc., etc. “Theresia die Weise” also contains a direct borrowing from Ossian, viz., Denis calls the echo (p. 128) “die Tochter des Felsen” just as Ossian styles it “the son of the rock.” Another Ossianic reminder is contained in the second stanza of this poem. The bard remarks (p. 126):

Ossian’s bards “mourn those who fell”[248] and the warrior’s resting–place is marked by a hill or stones.—“Krümmungen heller Bäche” (p. 126) recall Ossian’s “bright winding streams.”[249]

I have had occasion several times to refer to the transitoriness of the warrior’s life as continually harped upon by Ossian. The soldier’s name is preserved in two ways, as was that of Fingal, i. e., in the song of the bards, and secondly by the stones over his grave. Bearing in mind that Denis translates ‘stones’ by ‘Trümmer,’ note the following lines (p. 131):

Ossianic is the phrase in “Theresia die Gütige” (p. 138):

So Fingal, Bk. v, p. 256, l. 27: “My footsteps [shall] cease to be seen;” etc.

The collection of occasional poems that follows the “Bardenfeyer” is addressed to Joseph II. Bardic properties are employed here in a similar manner as in the poems of the preceding series, but otherwise Ossian’s influence is almost inappreciable. The opening lines (p. 144), beginning “O Geist der Lieder!”[250] are truly Ossianic. A comparison borrowed from Ossian is found in “Josephs Erste Reise” (p. 151):

And now for a few passages from “Temora.” Bk. ii, p. 319, ll. 32–3: “The eyes of Morven do not sleep. They are watchful, as eagles, on their mossy rocks;” p. 321, ll. 31–3: “Descending like the eagle of heaven, ... the son of Trenmor came.” Bk. iii, p. 330, ll. 11–2: “They return ..., like eagles to their ... rock, after the prey is torn on the field.” Another Ossianic comparison is the following (p. 155): “Die Fürsten stehn, Zwo Sonnen.” See “Temora,” Bk. vi, p. 349, l. 27: “Yet is the king ... a sun ...,” etc. The “Zweite Reise” contains a stanza that is modeled closely after a passage in Ossian (“Temora,” Bk. ii, p. 323, ll. 11–20):

In the poem, “Die Säule des Pflügers,” we encounter the following Ossianic reminiscences (p. 166): “In der Seele des Barden ist Licht des Liedes.”[251] And (p. 167):

In the same poem we have the Ossianic comparison (p. 168): “Die Seele so still, Wie scheidende Sonnen.”[253]

The poem “Auf den Oberdruiden an der Rur” and the following ones written in the bardic spirit contain Ossianic touches here and there in much the same way. “An einen Bardenfreund,” contains some verses of Ossianic description (p. 175):

The autumn, the darkening evening, the lonely wanderer in the grove and on the heath, the sighing pines, “the breeze in the reeds of the lake,”[254] combine to form an ideal Ossianic picture. More of the same kind is found in the poem.—“Der Strahl aus Osten” referring to the sun, as employed in the next poem, “Auf das Haupt der Starken bei den Markmännern” (p. 180) is undoubtedly Ossian’s “beam of the east.”[255]

In a poem addressed to Gleim, “Auf den Bardenführer der Brennenheere,” Denis refers to his translation of Ossian and to the favorable reception accorded it by Gleim (p. 186):

On pp. 189–90 we read:

“An Friedrichs Barden” (Ramler) breathes the bardic spirit more intensely than some of the others we have been considering. When Denis calls ‘Thaten’ ‘Flammen’ (p. 191), we recall Ossian’s “Our deeds are streams of light.”[257] Denis’s druids dwell in caves, as they do in Ossian. “Druiden locket er hervor Aus ihrer Höhle,” he sings (p. 195) in “An den Oberbarden der Pleisse” (Weisse) and so Ossian addresses the druid as the “dweller of the rock.”[258]

The next song is addressed “An den Beredtesten der Donaudruiden” (Ignaz Wurz). The word ‘schwellen’ in the expression “Thränen Schwellen in ... Augen” (p. 199) no doubt goes back to Ossian; compare “Dar–Thula,” p. 286, l. 17: “Tears swell in her ... eyes!” Denis uses the word frequently in other connections.[259]

Kretschmann’s poem, “Rhingulphs Lied an Sined,” which follows, is answered by Denis in “Sineds Gesicht, Rhingulphen dem Freunde der Geister gewidmet,” a poem teeming with Ossianic properties, the ghosts playing an especially prominent part. Intensely Ossianic is the following comparison (p. 207):

The ghost tells Denis that Rhingulph (p. 209):

In a note to “Sineds Gesicht,” Denis quotes Kretschmann’s reply, in which the latter addresses him as “Sined, treuster Freund von Fingals Sohne!” and exclaims: “Hätt’ ich Ullins Lieder, böth ich dir sie an.”[261]—The succeeding poem, “An einen Jüngling,” enjoins a youth to conduct himself so that his fame may go down in the songs of the bards, that darkness may not dwell around his grave, that his name may not die like the thunder echoed by the hills, and gives him much similar advice such as Ossian was accustomed to extend to his Celtic heroes.

“Sineds Vaterlandslieder,” a series of four poems, contain the never–failing Ossianic paraphernalia as before. The bard sings in a grove, reclining upon moss in the shade of an oak, with the breeze trembling through the leaves and sighing in the harp.[262] In the opening line of the next poem, “Sineds Morgenlied,” the poet calls upon the harp to descend (p. 232): “Harfe! steig nieder.” Compare “Urlaub von der sichtbaren Welt” (p. 283):

The ‘Schattenharfe’[263] is Ossian’s ‘shadowy harp,’ “Temora,” Bk. vii, p. 361, l. 4, and in “Temora,” Bk. v, p. 340, l. 2, we read: “Descend from thy place, O harp.” The harp may hang on a branch, as in “Berrathon,” p. 380, l. 31.[264]—“Das Donnerwetter” contains occasional Ossianic nature touches. This poem is followed by six laments, “Sineds Klagen,” in which the grief now and again takes an Ossianic tone, as witness the opening verses of the first, an elegy on Gellert’s death (p. 253):

Ossianic also is the tone of the opening lines of the second complaint, sung on a cloudy autumn day (p. 258):

Ossian calls the sun “the son of heaven,” not the “daughter,” but Denis made similar changes of this nature, e. g., in the opening line of “Dar–Thula” and elsewhere he translates “daughter of heaven,” referring to the moon, by “Sohn der Nacht.”[266] Denis adds a note to his translation in “Dar–Thula,” explaining that he took the liberty to institute the change, because moon in German, forsooth, is of the masculine gender.[267] And thus we arrive at ‘Himmelstochter.’ Compare furthermore “Carric–Thura,” p. 152, ll. 12–3: “Grey mist rests on the hills,” and the like; also the oft repeated ‘columns’ and ‘pillars’ of mist.—In the same complaint the line (p. 259): “Ein Seufzer reisst sich aus der Brust”[268] recalls Ossian’s “The sigh bursts from their breasts.”[269] In this poem Denis laments the taste of those to whom Witz is everything. He can not follow in their footsteps, because (p. 261):

The fourth complaint is an elegy on the death of Joh. v. Nep. Hohenwart, a friend of Denis, whose ghost is asked to appear.—The concluding stanza of the fifth contains an Ossianic comparison (p. 276): “Sein Leben bleibt ... ein Strom von ewighellem Lichte.” Compare “Temora,” Bk. i, p. 311, ll. 22–3: “My life shall be one stream of light.” Several Ossianic touches in the last poem of the collection, “Urlaub von der sichtbaren Welt,” have been referred to. Ossianic furthermore is the following picture (p. 284):

‘Silent’ as a standing epithet frequently goes with ‘hill’ in Ossian, and the hill covering the dead has been noticed; we have it again on pp. 287–8.

Having now considered the poems of the first collection, we are ready to turn our attention to the new offspring of Denis’s muse that found a place in the first edition of Ossians und Sineds Lieder (1784), the first three volumes of which contain the translation of Ossian, revised with reference to the English edition of 1773.[270] Aside from the alterations necessitated by the conformity to the new English edition and the working over of “Comala” referred to above (p. 124), the changes are inconsiderable. The fragment of a Norse poem, “Fithona,” given by Macpherson in the preface to the edition of 1773, is translated and inserted among the songs of Sined, Vol. 4, pp. 98–100.—In his preface “An den Leser” in the first volume, Denis defends his choice of the hexameter in a few words and states: “Er [Denis] glaubt noch Ossians Aechtheit, obwohl er sich, als ein Zeitgenoss des XVIII. Jahrhundertes freuen müsste, wenn dieses Jahrhundert einen solchen Genius hervorgebracht hätte.” He is strengthened in his belief by the statement made by Sturz that he (Sturz) had seen the originals.[271] The preface contains also a chronological bibliography of Ossianic publications from 1762 to 1783, which is by no means complete and contains several errors. The Fragments of 1760 are not mentioned at all. The songs of the five bards given by Macpherson in his note to “Croma” are translated and placed at the end of the third volume under the title “Die Octobernacht. Eine alte Nachahmung Ossians.”

I shall point out the most striking Ossianic characteristics in the poems that have not yet been dwelt upon. The poem “An Gott,” the first in the list,[272] contains nothing deserving of attention. In “Sined und der Tag seiner Geburt” (pp. 113–5), we have the hill covering the dead, the grove of oaks, druids, ghosts, etc. Towards the end Denis addresses his father:

In “Der Fremde und Heimische,” the stranger asks whether the native has ever heard of Denis (p. 131):

Next we have a series of five poems, “Sineds Träume,” in which we shall find occasional traces of Ossian’s influence, particularly in the second dream.

A typical bardic song is “Der Neugeweihte und Sined,” which contains several passages worthy of note. In the one beginning (p. 164):

Denis speaks of the reception of his Ossianic imitation. The following comparison at the end of the passage (p. 164) is Ossianic: “Und steht so fest Dem Tadel, wie den Wogen Morvens Fels.”—“Das Kunstfeuer” contains a reference (p. 207) to an episode in the songs of Ossian, viz., Fingal’s encounter with Swaran, “Cath–Loda,” Duan i:

In “Der Jugendgefährte” Denis’s lament (p. 216) sounds truly Ossianic:

Ossianic touches also occur in the poems that have been added to the fifth volume. In the “Fünfte Reise” Denis speaks of bad advice disappearing “gleich dem Nebel” (p. 89); Ossian has frequent comparisons to the departure of mist. The first line (p. 91) of the “Sechste Reise” is typical: “Das Grau der Vorzeit hellt sich dem Barden auf.” “Der Zwist der Fürsten,” a series of three poems, contains several things of interest. In the first song we have Ossian’s striking on the shield as a sign of battle (p. 111). In the second Joseph’s shield is said to be “gleich dem Monde Mitten in Gewittern” (p. 113). Compare “Temora,” Bk. i, p. 306, ll. 4–5: “His shield is ... like the ... moon ascending through a storm,” and numerous other comparisons of a shield to the moon.—The lines (p. 117):

recall “Fingal,” Bk. iv, ll. 2–3: “The heath flamed wide with their arms.” Ossianic in “Wiens Befreyung” (p. 124) is “Die Wolke des Tods,” “the cloud of death.”[273]—The line (p. 132): “Dein Rath ist Licht, und Flamme dein Muth,” reminds us of “Fingal,” Bk. ii, p. 228, l. 12: “Thy counsel is the sun,” and “Temora,” Bk. iv, p. 338, l. 23: “Valour, like a ... flame.”—Ossian calls the dew the “drops of heaven,”[274] and so Denis in “Der Blumenstrauss” (p. 157) “des Himmels Tropfen.”

The sixth volume, the Nachlese zu Sineds Liedern compiled and edited by Joseph von Retzer, contains but little that demands our attention. It includes several religious songs, a few translations, and a number of occasional poems. Some of the poems were written prior to Denis’s acquaintance with Ossian, and these of course do not concern us here, but even the bardic songs contain little that is Ossianic, only now and then do we meet with a trace of the bard’s influence, as e. g., in “Der Heldentempel Oesterreichs” (p. 54): “Aus jeder Brust gedrängte Seufzer steigen,” reminding us of Ossian’s “The crowded sighs of his bosom rose.”[275]

The edition of 1791–2 is virtually identical with that of 1784. Testimony to the high rank the poems of Ossian still occupied in the minds of the German people is given in the preface, where we read: “Auch nur ein Wort von dem Werthe der Werke, ... zu sagen, wäre von mir eine unverzeihliche Kühnheit. Ossians Gesänge haben das Alter äherner Denkmaale überlebt, ...”

A cursory perusal of the facts collected above will at once lead us to the conclusion that Ossian meant much more to Denis than he did either to Klopstock or to Gerstenberg. When we consider the fact that Denis became wholly saturated with Ossian while working on his well–known translation, we no longer marvel at the circumstance that the characteristics of Ossian took such firm hold of him in the composition of his own songs. Again, it requires but a glance to see that at no time was Ossian’s influence stronger than during the years in which the translation was under way and those immediately following, that is, the influence is more noticeable in the poems contained in the edition of 1772 than in those written between 1772 and 1784. While the majority of his productions are of a mediocre character, they nevertheless furnish an extremely interesting picture of the extent to which the imitation of the old bard could be carried. And when we compare his original poems with his translation—instead of with Macpherson’s original—the similarity will appear even more pronounced. As Klopstock later on turned to the Revolution, as Gerstenberg found solace in the study of Kant, so Denis later in life became engrossed in bibliographical labors, and his Ossianic poetry fell into neglect.

§4. Karl Friedrich Kretschmann.[276]

In the same year that the first two volumes of Denis’s translation made their appearance and created such a stir in the literary world of Germany, another prominent example of bardic literature loomed up in a different quarter, “Der Gesang Rhingulphs des Barden als Varus geschlagen war,” which was published in the autumn of 1768, although the title–page bears the date 1769. This is the first instance we have of the employment of a bardic pseudonym. Kretschmann tells us that he received his impulse through Gerstenberg, whose “Gedicht eines Skalden” had appeared two years previously, and we can easily see that the form and conception of Kretschmann’s song are borrowed from Gerstenberg’s poem. The “Gesang” was followed in 1771 by “Rhingulphs Klage,” which served to establish firmly the contemporary fame the “Gesang” had gained for its author. In both of these poems the influence of Klopstock goes hand in hand with that of Ossian, just as is the case in so much of Denis’s poetry. But while Denis’s original poetic efforts were confined almost exclusively to vers d’ occasion, Kretschmann tried his hand not only at bardic and lyric poetry, but also at epigrams, fables, allegories, and even dramas and tales. The bardic fever thus forms a mere episode in Kretschmann’s poetic activity, and, although stray pieces in the bardic vein appear later, the influence of Ossian did not last much beyond the middle of the seventies. As it was, Kretschmann borrowed fewer poetic motifs and expressions from Ossian than Denis did and, on the whole, was influenced less by him. He was extremely sensitive to the opposition that the Bardengebrüll evoked, and he turned his attention into other channels just about the time that Denis began to devote most of his time to bibliographical researches.

Kretschmann’s epigrams, fables, dramas and tales do not, of course, concern us here, nor do the hymns, in which Klopstock’s influence predominates, and, although in his lyric poetry Gleim’s influence reigns supreme, the latter’s anacreontic tone occasionally appears side by side with Ossianic machinery and Klopstockian grandeur. We have, therefore, in addition to the bardic songs to consider mainly his lyric productions.[277] Most of that portion of Kretschmann’s work in which the influence of Ossian is traceable is contained in the first volume of his collected writings. The poetical productions in the volumes are preceded by a sketch “Ueber das Bardiet.” It goes without saying, that Kretschmann was a firm believer in the authenticity of the poems of Ossian, and his admiration for the Celtic bard is apparent, when, in the strife over the priority of the bardic work of Klopstock, Gerstenberg, and himself, he takes the stand that “Vater Ossian war doch eher, denn wir alle!”[278] His theories as to the characteristics of the old Germanic bardic songs are based largely upon Ossian. “Vater Ossian, ein Kelte so gut als die Barden Germaniens,” he says, “überzeugt uns, dass dieses wirklich der Charakter der teutschen Bardenlieder gewesen seyn müsse.”[279] Ossian’s great success he attributes largely to the combination of the epic and lyric elements in his poems. Of course the venerable Ossianic fragments must be regarded as the great models of the new Bardiet. While he opposes the hexameter as the form in which the Bardiet shall be cast, yet, because of the beauty of the verse–structure, he cannot condemn Denis’s translation. Of Ossian’s fame in the days that are to come he is assured.[280]

The first poetic production in the volume is “Der Gesang Rhingulphs,” to some of the Ossianic touches in which attention will be called. Norse mythology is introduced in the song, but not to the same extent as in Gerstenberg’s or Klopstock’s synchronous work along similar lines. The bardic paraphernalia, the moon, the grove, the oak, the echo, the harp, and so forth, meet us here as they do in Denis, and it will not be necessary to point them out. Laying aside these bardic properties, there really is little in the song that can be traced directly back to Ossian. In the first four cantos as well as in “Rhingulphs Klage” and other poems of Kretschmann, we meet with the form Tohro for Thor.[281] Scheel is no doubt correct in attributing this odd form to the frequency of names in –o found in Saxo Grammaticus and to the fondness of Ossian for similar forms,[282] e. g., Aldo, Artho, Branno, Brumo, etc., etc.

A real bardic scene is presented in the following lines of the first song (p. 51):

And in the same song we have the “Geist der Lieder” (p. 56)[283] as well as a typical Ossianic ghost (p. 55). In the second canto we read (p. 62):

Compare “Carric–Thura,” p. 152, l. 20: “Thy family grew like an oak.”—In this song we have two Ossianic pictures, the one (p. 64):

And the other (p. 72):

The echo makes its appearance in the second canto (p. 72): “Und Fels und Wald erklang,” in the third (p. 79), the fourth (p. 107), and elsewhere.[284] I do not wish to imply that the author thought of Ossian each time he employed the echo, but there can be no doubt of the fact that Ossian is in large measure responsible for the fondness which the bardic poets had for the echo.[285] “Die mosigte Höle” (p. 72) goes back to Ossian’s mossy cave.[286] In the fourth canto we come to the battle proper and here Ossianic imagery is not lacking, e. g., the lines (p. 96):

suggest Ossian’s “Their heroes follow, like the gathering of the rainy clouds;”[287] “Like the clouds, that gather to a tempest ...! so met the sons of the desert round ... Fingal;”[288] etc. Further along we have (p. 97): “Sein Schwert ... strahlt wie Blitz.”[289] When we read of warriors being hewn down like thistles by the mower (p. 100), we are reminded of the passage in “Fingal,” Bk. ii, p. 231, ll. 12–3: “Cuthullin cut off heroes like thistles.”—The fifth song opens with a comparison in the Ossianic vein (p. 111):

The comparison of wrath to a storm is not foreign to Ossian,[290] and the entire passage bears a resemblance to a paragraph in “The Songs of Selma.”[291] In the same song we have druids (p. 115) and the thistle again (p. 117),[292] also the compound “Schild–Zerbrecher” (p. 118), which is Ossian’s “breaker of the shields.”[293]

The next poem to be considered is “Die Klage Rhingulphs des Barden,” which is divided into four cantos and shows Ossian’s influence in much the same way as the “Gesang.” Ghosts are introduced at the very beginning (p. 131). Both Ossian and Klopstock no doubt are represented in the lines (p. 132):

The lines (p. 133):

recall Ossian’s “fame, that fled like the mist.”[295] The following comparison is Ossianic (p. 134):

Ossian’s frequent “melting of the soul” may be responsible for (p. 137):

Compare “Croma,” p. 178, ll. 14–5: “Thy song is lovely! ... but it melts the soul.”—Thusnelda sheds ‘tears of joy’ and embraces her father with “schneebeschämenden” (p. 139) arms. He strikes the shield (p. 141) to summon warriors, and Hermann feels “Die sanfte Wehmuth” (p. 147).—In the second canto we notice the following (p. 155):

‘Burning’ or ‘flaming wrath’ occurs frequently in Ossian, where rage is also occasionally compared to a fire. Notice also “They were consumed in the flames of thy wrath,”[297] “His rage was a fire that always burned,”[298] etc. Ossianic are the tone and atmosphere in the following passage (p. 159):

and again (p. 161):

The “Strahl von seinem Ruhme” (p. 173) in the third canto recalls Ossian’s “beam of fame.”[299]—Ossian’s warriors continually lean on their shields, and Kretschmann may have had this in mind when he wrote the line (p. 179): “Siegmund stand, gelehnt auf seinen Schild.” Certain it is that the comparisons in the line (p. 179) “Dein Schild der Mond, dein Schwert der Blitz”[300] are Ossianic.—In the fourth canto the stanza beginning (p. 196): “Ich lag, und schlief so süss” is decidedly Ossianic. As he slept ‘grey ghosts arose’ (p. 197):

It is the face of Irmgard, of which he says (p. 197): “Der Vollmond scheint so lieblich nicht!” Ossian also compares the face to a moon and speaks of a maiden “fair as the full moon.”[301] The spirit departs in good Ossianic style (p. 200):

A typical Ossianic picture is the following (p. 206), in which the form of comparison also savors of Ossian:

Likewise in Ossian we have an oak “clothed in mist”[303] and the comparison of a warrior to a “leafless oak.”[304] Compare also: “But now he is pale and withered like the oak.”[305] Ossian again and again arranges comparisons in exactly the manner we have here, i. e., the first member is followed by an independent sentence in the indicative mode. Take, e. g., such a passage as the following: “As rushes a stream of foam from the dark shady deep of Cromla ... Through the breaches of the tempest look forth the dim faces of ghosts. So fierce,” etc.[306] Likewise Ossianic is this scene (pp. 207–8):

as are also the following comparisons (p. 210):

Compare such expressions as “Ryno as lightning gleamed along,”[307] “brightened, like the full moon of heaven; when the clouds vanish away,”[308] “risen ... from battle, like a meteor from a stormy cloud,”[309] and the like.—The poem that follows, “Die Jägerin,” includes anacreontic as well as bardic elements, without containing anything specifically Ossianic. It has the ‘grove of oaks’ (p. 224), the ‘snowy breast’ (p. 232), the ‘Geist der Lieder’ (p. 229), the unavoidable echo (p. 227), and other bardic phrases that had by this time become quite common.

The last poem of the first volume is “Kleist,” in three cantos, which cannot be said to have been strongly influenced by Ossian, although the same old bardic paraphernalia of harps and spirits and the like are employed and occasional Ossianic reminders occur e. g., the expression (p. 259): “Ihrer Waffen Schein War furchtbar,” reminds us of Ossian’s “Terrible was the gleam of the steel,”[310] etc. We must again point out that although similar expressions occur also in Homer and elsewhere, Ossian served to intensify the impression. Kretschmann and most of the other bardic poets certainly knew their Ossian better than they did their Homer, and I think we can give Ossian the benefit of the doubt in most instances.—The figure of the stars trembling: “Da bebten die Sterne” (p. 259), also probably goes back to Ossian, as does the line “Thauvoll war sein Haar” (p. 259), with which compare, e. g., “Filled with dew are my locks.”[311]

In the second volume of Kretschmann’s works, which contains “Hymnen,” “Scherzhafte Lieder,” “Sinngedichte,” and a few other poems, there are but scattered signs of Ossian’s influence scarcely worthy of mention. Only in the “Anhang einiger kleinen Bardenlieder” do we find the bardic tendency more strongly pronounced and in consequence more frequent traces of Ossian. In the first of these bardic poems, “Die teutsche Schamhaftigkeit,” we have a “Mädchen, rabenschwarz von Haaren,”[312] but the comparison was a common one by this time and need not be referred to Ossian. In the one “An den ersten Weinstock” we have the echo once more (p. 230); likewise in “Das Traumgesicht” (p. 236). In the “Frühlingslied” the nightingale is called the bardic bird, “Du Bardenvogel Nachtigall” (p. 232), the expression no doubt going back to Klopstock’s Bardale.[313] In the same poem the bard lies on the moss in the cave of the rock (pp. 232–3), and we have the following Ossianic lines (p. 233):

Compare Ossian’s “the sun looks through mist.”[314] In the last poem of the Anhang, “Das Traumgesicht,” the bardic character stands out more prominently than in any of the preceding ones. The very first line gives us “Zukunftspähende Druiden” (p. 236), and soon the ghost of the dreamer’s father hovers from the dark oaks (p. 237).—In all these bardic songs Gleim’s influence is distinctly noticeable. In the second stanza of the “Friedenslied” (p. 147), we have “tiefgestimmte Saiten,” whereas the original version in the Leipziger Musen Almanach for 1780 (p. 40) had “Distelumkränzte Saiten.”

Volumes 3 and 4 of the works contain comedies. In the fifth volume we have first some “Vermischte Gedichte und Fragmente,” one of which is addressed to Denis: “An Sined den Harfen–Druiden.” It is written in the bardic spirit with here and there an Ossianic touch. At the beginning we have an imitation of the Ossianic mood of forsakenness and wildness.[315] The spirit of song again appears[316] and also the echo (p. 14). The poet hears the call of the harp, he follows the sound, until he sees “den Sänger am Eichenbaum” (p. 14).—On pp. 15–6 we read:

Another bardic song is that “An Telynhardt,”[317] addressed to Hartmann,[318] and containing the lines (p. 50):

The following poem “An den Herrn B. von F. * * *” sets up Ossian as a model and ends with the exclamation (p. 53):

The following passage is worthy of note (p. 52):

We see from the above lines that Kretschmann also was not inclined to set Ossian below Homer or Vergil, and that it was Ossian’s naturalness that appealed to him, his freedom from rules and conventions.[319]

The remainder of the fifth volume does not offer anything for our purpose. The sixth and last volume, which was not published until 1799, is made up of “Fabeln,” and of “Lyrische, Vermischte und Epigrammatische Nachlesen.” In these later poems no traces of Ossian’s influence are discernible, except in the cycle of the Seasons, where we encounter an Ossianic description now and then, although no distinct imitation is traceable.

I believe that the examples given have borne out the statement made in the introduction. Kretschmann was really never saturated with Ossian as Denis was. That he admired the Gaelic bard, he does not hesitate to admit, but aside from his fondness for the poems that were in everybody’s mouth in his day, he felt no scientific curiosity to enter more deeply into the question of their authenticity. The fact that Klopstock and Herder regarded the poems as genuine, satisfied him completely. And when the bardic ghost stalked through the land, he willingly paid his tribute—wrote a number of bardic songs—and then retired on his laurels to seek new fields of poetical activity distinctly hostile to a continuation of Ossianic influence. Even his later lyric poems, where we might look for lingering tokens of its presence, reveal nothing of the sort. The bard and the grove and the oak of course still make their bow upon occasion, but these were so firmly engrafted in the lyric poetry of Germany by this time, that Ossian can no longer be called to account for each individual occurrence. More of this when we reach the Göttinger Hain.

§5. Minor Bards.

The paragraphs on Denis and Kretschmann have amply demonstrated just how the so–called bards were dependent upon Ossian. There is little difference between the bardic work of these two and that of the remaining bards, the names of many of whom have been consigned to oblivion, and it would serve little purpose to take up the entire work of each separately. I shall therefore content myself with pointing out some of the more striking Ossianic characteristics in a number of selections of bardic poetry taken at random.

Lorenz Leopold Haschka (1749–1827), in whose lyric poetry the influence of Klopstock and Denis is visible, has a bardic poem in the Litterarische Monate,[320] “Cronnan und Minona[321] an Annas Hügel” (pp. 8–14), the very title of which proclaims Ossian’s presence. The first two names are taken from “Carric–Thura.” The hill we have encountered before, and in the poem we even have the four stones at the corners of the grave.[322] Then we read (pp. 11–2):

The sound emitted by the harp to herald a person’s approaching death,[323] the desire of the ghost to hear the voice of fame are both taken from Ossian. Then we have ‘Disteln’ (p. 10) and a “Tochter der Schattenharfe” (p. 12), Ossian’s shadowy harp again.[324] Anna’s ghost hovers over Tonthena (p. 13), the star mentioned several times in Ossian.[325]

In the same magazine we have several other bardic songs by Haschka. In the one “Bei Annas von Gluck Hügel,” we have the echo called the “Sohn des Felsen” (p. 14) as in Ossian;[326] likewise in “Auf Elisabeth von H.” (p. 307) the echo is the “Bergsohn.”—“An den Gespielen meiner Harfe” contains the image of the youth standing tall “der luftigsten Eiche gleich” (p. 18), with which compare “He stands tall, ... as an oak.”[327] After his death, the youth lies “unter den graulichten Vier Steinen” (p. 19), Ossian’s “four grey stones.”[328] Note also the following (p. 19):

As for the first stanza, see supra, pp. 93–4. When we strike an imitator of one of the leading bards, the chances of a direct influence on the part of Ossian are naturally lessened. More than likely Haschka was in this instance indebted to Klopstock more than to Ossian directly, or to Homer or the Bible, for that matter. The situation in the second stanza is thoroughly Ossianic and calls for no further comment.

In “Die Kraft der Tonkunst” we encounter the bardic machinery again as well as Ossianic rhetorical figures. The moon, e. g., is called the “Nachtschild” (p. 210). Then we have the ‘sending round the shell’ (p. 212),[329] “der Wehmut ... Wonne” (p. 215),[330] and the following noteworthy passage (p. 215):

In the poem “Auf Elizabeth von H.,” Elizabeth is said to resemble the morning–sun (p. 307). In the same poem we have the ‘snow of the bosom’ (p. 308) and in the “Geburtslied” the ‘hand of snow’ (p. 310).[331]

In Karl Mastalier’s (1731–95) “Ode auf den Freyherrn von Laudon,” we have Ossian’s ‘trembling harp’ several times.[332] “Das Nationaltheater” shows traces of Ossian’s influence in the bardic paraphernalia and the imagery. The moon is termed the ‘daughter of the silent night.’[333] On the whole, Mastalier’s poems were but little influenced by Ossian, and there is nothing that distinguishes his poetry particularly from the usual run of bardic productions.

Knorr’s[334] “Der Barde an seinen Freund K * * *,” which appeared in the Leipziger Musenalmanach for 1776, is written in the Ossianic vein. The bard sits by the grey oak and asks the breeze to lift his black locks. “Wie Sänger Ossian Hebt er sich vom heiligen Eichbaum,” we read on p. 95.

In the same number of the almanac we have a bardic song by Brown, entitled “Die Nacht,” in which we find Ossianic description and Norse mythology side by side. In the opening lines of the poem, the Ossianic Stimmung is imitated to prepare for the appearance of the ghost.[335] A few quotations from the poem may not be amiss:

The mossy hill, the wings of the storm, the lonely wanderer are all Ossianic, as is the lament (p. 216):

In “Das Gesicht,” a bardic poem that appeared anonymously in the Almanach der deutschen Musen for 1773 (pp. 23–5), we have a splendid illustration of how far the imitation of Ossianic apparitions was carried.—The situation of a ghost appearing upon a stream of light and the beholder trembling in terror, as presented in “Die Erscheinung” by N——ch,[337] is Ossianic.

The Barden–Almanach der Teutschen for 1802 contains a bardic poem, “Wodan und Braga,” with Ossianic nature touches, as the following extract will show (pp. 174–6):

Sufficient examples have been given to show the nature of Ossianic imitation as practiced by the minor bardic poets. Among the features they admired in Ossian was his independence of all rules and conventions, and here they approach the writers of the Storm and Stress. Nor did they hesitate to place him on a level with Homer. Interesting in this connection is the following statement by Bernold: “Und wo nahm denn Ossian seine Regeln her? aus der Natur—und doch übertrifft dieser Dichter in meinen Augen noch einigermassen den Homer selbst und taugt wenigstens für einen Schweizer besser zu einem Vorbild als jener, indem seine besungenen Gegenstände, sowohl in als ausser der Natur, den unsrigen näher kommen und ungleich ähnlicher sind, als jene der Griechen und Römer oder anderer Nationen.”[338] What Ossian meant to them is laid down in a poem “An Heyder,” by J. G. Schulz, published in the Leipziger Musenalmanach for 1783, with a striking quotation from which (pp. 152–3) we shall leave this portion of our subject.—Grim sickness has chased the joyous muses away from the poet’s side; no friend can aid, no book console him: