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.
* * * * *
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.