Thou art as a tender floweret,
So gentle, and pure, and fair;
I gaze on thee, and sadness
Comes over me unaware.
I feel, as though I should lay, sweet,
My hands on thy head with a prayer,
That God may keep thee, my darling,
As gentle, and pure, and fair^[170-2].
Several poems of Heine, which are coloured with what is called in modern
phrase the “Weltschmerz,” show even more clearly that their author has
inherited something of the sombre spirit of the prophets. Any one who has,
for instance, read the Book of Lamentations, or the 137th Psalm beginning
with the words “By the river of Babylon there we sat down, and when we
thought of Zion our tears did flow,” will hardly fail to detect an
identity of feeling in the fine verses of Heine on Zion. One of these
poems runs in the original German as follows:—
Brich aus in tiefe Klagen,
Du düsteres Martyrlied,
Das ich so lang getragen
Im flammenstillen Gemüth!
Es dringt in alle Ohren
Und durch die Ohren ins Herz;
Ich habe gewaltig geschworen
Den tausendjährigen Schmerz.
Es weinen die Grossen und Kleinen,
Sogar die alten Herr'n,
Die Frauen und Blumen weinen,
Es weinen am Himmel die Stern'.
Und all die Thränen fliessen
Nach Süden im stillen Verein,
Sie fliessen und ergiessen
Sich all in den Jordan hinein.
From the examples given it may be seen that whether Heine sang the praises
of his lady-love, or whether he lamented the sad fate of his
long-suffering people, he was imbued with the same spirit which abode in
the old singers of Israel. Similarly he would seem to have gone to the
Bible for his inspiration when he took the wonders of nature for his
theme. If, for instance, the 104th and the 107th Psalms, in which the
moods of nature in her opposite aspects are so effectively described, are
compared with those poems of Heine which deal with the same subjects, it
will readily be seen how close is the resemblance between Heine and the
Biblical models.
As in his poems so also in his sketches are found extraordinary visions,
which have, moreover, frequently witty turnings. All these have something
of Jewish Talmudism about them, and are in the true Rabbinic vein. Similar
visions, fancies, and witticisms are common in that section of the Talmud
which is generally called the _Agada_, wherein the grave Rabbis often
enlivened their learned discussions with curious and fantastic tales,
love-songs, and sometimes even with facetious and satirical digressions.
From them, therefore, Heine seems to have inherited much of the humour and
incisive satire, which he now and again employs as a weapon against his
own detractors and the enemies of the Jewish race.
Invested with something of a Jewish colouring are also some of his
epigrams, _bons mots_, and witty descriptions of persons and things. Of
these the following example may serve as a specimen. Speaking of Fortune
and Misfortune, Heine offers the following amusing definitions: “Fortune,
or Good Luck,” he says, “is like a young and lively girl, a relative of
ours, who is staying with us on a visit. By her unaffected merriment,
sweet singing, and airy gossip she makes her surroundings extremely happy,
and her presence is therefore hailed by us with much delight. But, alas,
she is, like a golden butterfly, flighty and restless, and cares not much
to abide in one place for any length of time. Quite different, however, is
Dame Misfortune, who may be likened to an aged relative, and a spinster to
boot, that has a bitter look about her, and a sour temper. When _she_ is
paying us a visit, she considers herself quite at home, and would thus
sit, and knit, and chatter, and moan, from morning till night. Oh, how
ardently we all long for her speedy departure from among us; but she, for
her part, is fully determined to stay on and on, for ever and ever.”
Even on his death-bed Heine could not refrain from a jest. Reviewing his
by no means irreproachable past, he said he hoped that his heavenly Father
would readily overlook his peccadillos, for _c'est son métier_. This
remark is typically Jewish, and it recalls a similar one once made by a
dying Rabbi, who had been all his lifetime extremely religious, but had
likewise always suffered much want and misery. “Do you know,” he said to
those in the sick room, “if, after all the sad experiences I have had in
the past, there is no future life, I shall be greatly amused.”
There is still one further remark to be made in conclusion. While there is
much that is fine, much that is genuinely charming in Heine's work, it
must be admitted that there is also much in which he might be said to
rival Rabelais and Swift for licence. If any excuse for this be possible
it may, perhaps, be regarded as an extenuating circumstance that he merely
reproduced in his own language some faint reminiscences from the contents
of certain parts of the Book of Ezekiel, of the Talmud, and the Midrash.
Footnotes:
[166-1] Among these may specially be mentioned _Im eshkacheych
Yerush'layim tishkach yemini_, “If ever I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my
right hand wither”; _Lecha dodi likrath kallah_, “Come, my friend, to meet
the bride”; _Mosheh Rabbenu_, “Moses, our teacher.”
[167-1] Cp. _Heine über Börne_ in Heine's collected works.
[169-1] The author of this translation is Mr. C. G. Montefiore.
[170-1] Cp. _Song of Songs_, iv and vi.
[170-2] See the previous note.