TWO GERMAN SCHOLARS: THEODOR MOMMSEN--RUDOLF EUCKEN
The prize of 1902 has been awarded:
Mommsen, Theodor, Professor of History at the University of Berlin,
born 1817, died November 1, 1903: “the greatest living master of the
age in the art of representing history, taking into especial regard
his monumental work, _Römische Geschichte_.”[22]
France was the first country to be honored by the Nobel prize in
literature; Germany was the second. In 1902, Theodor Mommsen, whose
records of scholarship included history, law and archeology, was
the chosen candidate. He was eighty-four years old and lived for
only a year after the award. While there was gratification among his
countrymen and friends in other lands, at his recognition and this high
honor, yet there were adverse comments in several journals about the
perversion of the intent of Nobel’s will. The recipient had finished
his work; the award could never quicken him to further research or
expression of idealism. This choice showed the intention of the
Swedish Academy to consider “literature” in a broad sense, including
contributions of scientific value as well as those of artistic merit.
Garding, in Schleswig, was the birthplace of Mommsen; his school days
were spent at Kiel. Before he was thirty years old he had been employed
by the Berlin Academy to decipher and examine Roman inscriptions in
Italy and France, because of marked accuracy and zest in research. He
combined the reading of law with that of history and, in 1848, was
called to the department of law at Leipzig University. Always fearless
in political convictions and ardent in Liberalism, he was obliged
to retire from this University because of active participation in
the political issues of 1848-1849. Two years later he was called to
professorship of Roman law at Zürich; after service here for two years
he accepted a similar position at Breslau. In all these places he
was recognized as magnetic in the classroom and inspirational in his
contact with University students from all parts of the civilized world.
In 1858, he went to the University of Berlin as Professor of Ancient
History and there extended his influence among scholars and lay readers.
Although specific in his interests and a student of deep earnestness,
he had read and traveled widely; as conversationalist he excelled,
informed upon topics in almost every branch of learning and activity.
To him has been attributed the oft quoted sentence, “Each student must
choose his special field of labour but he must not imprison himself
within its confines.”[23] He was called “the modern Erasmus” because
of his versatile knowledge. He wrote with facility and grace, as well
as vigor, whether his theme was a monumental _History of Rome_, or
a journalistic discussion of current affairs. In political creed he
belonged to the National Liberal Party. He was, however, never partisan
in his ultimate purposes and hopes for future union of factions. He
opposed Bismarck in his tenets and sometimes won over him in courts of
law and in the Prussian House of Delegates, by his keen, logical mind.
At the same time, he admired the Chancellor very much and said, “What a
calamity it is for us all that political animosity should deprive us of
the privilege of mixing socially with such a man!” On principle, he was
opposed to British attitude towards the Boers, and gave his allegiance
to the revolutionists. Again, he deplored the strained relations at
times between his country and England and asserted, “What a pity that
two great nations of kindred race should remain at loggerheads!”[24] He
detested slavery and considered the Civil War in the United States “a
holy crusade.”[25]
More than one hundred volumes of original writing and translations
from the Latin and Germanic languages are listed under Mommsen’s name
in large German libraries. Edward A. Freeman, a critic and historian
of international repute, has called Mommsen “the greatest scholar
of our times, well-nigh the greatest scholar of all times.” His
writings show mastery of law, languages, customs, archeology, coins,
inscriptions and monuments, that are of inestimable value to students.
He was editor of _Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum_ which was issued
by the Berlin Academy of which he was secretary for many years. To
the average reader, however, the name of Theodor Mommsen will always
be associated with his _History of Rome_, written 1854-1856, which
still maintains its authenticity and popularity. As a writer, Mommsen
was always illumining, with a vivid style; he was often dramatic. He
touched descriptive scenes with grace and color but he was convincingly
realistic in his portrayal of events and characters. He unfolded a
large canvas but he kept a true focus and threw a strong light upon
both individuals and group-pictures, from the early days of Rome to the
death of Julius Cæsar.
Although his masterwork was entitled _History of Rome_, he explained,
in the Introductory Chapter, that he intended “to relate the history
of Italy, not simply the record of the city of Rome.” While the Romans
represented the most powerful branch of the Italian stock, yet they
were only a branch--but this civic community of Rome gained sovereignty
over Italy and the world of its day. Like the historian Freeman,
Mommsen insisted upon “the unity of history,” the similarity of human
nature from 1800 B. C. to modern times. Few writers have surpassed him
in revivifying historical characters. He had strong likes and dislikes,
prejudices which he could impress upon the reader, although he was
generally justified in his statements and balanced in his estimates.
The portrait of Cicero, which “was bitten with vitriolic energy,” as
Mr. Buchan has said, in _Some Eighteenth Century Byways and Other
Essays_, has been most widely quoted; it is less impartial than his
characterizations of Hannibal, Sully, and Cæsar. By temperament and
political bias, Mommsen was an admirer of Julius Cæsar; he has given to
him a living portraiture.
The pictorial Chapter IV in Book III, descriptive of Hannibal’s Passage
of the Alps, is a world-famous extract from this _History of Rome_.
In the same chapter is the analysis of Hannibal’s character, so often
quoted: “He was primarily marked by that inventive craftiness, which
forms one of the leading traits of the Phœnician character; he was
fond of taking singular and unexpected routes: ambushes and stratagems
of all sorts were familiar to him; he studied the character of his
antagonists with unprecedented care.... The power which he wielded
over men is shown by his incomparable control over an army of various
natives and many tongues.... He was a great man; wherever he went, he
riveted the eyes of all.”[26]
There is history of dramatic incident, written with pictorial skill,
in such passages as the Battle of Cannæ, the story of the Gracchi, and
the Crossing of the Rubicon. The breadth of Mommsen’s interests are
suggested by such later chapters as those on Roman Religion, Manners,
and Literature and Art. While he was deeply interested in the past,
and informed about its aspects and personalities, he was alert in all
movements of the present and their trends. He looked to the future
with prevision and optimism. In the Introductory Chapter to his famous
_History of Rome_ he contrasts modern history with past cycles of
culture which will be repeated and adds: “And yet this goal will only
be temporary: the grandest system of civilization has its orbit, and
may complete its course; but not so the human race, to which, just
when it seems to have reached its goal, the old task is ever set anew,
with a wider range and with a deeper meaning.”[27] In spirit, Mommsen
was entitled to rank as an idealist, a worker “to benefit mankind.”
In literary achievements he richly deserved the Nobel prize; his
researches had enriched human knowledge beyond those of other scholars;
his writings appealed to the reader of ordinary mentality as well as
to the more intellectual; his vision and faith in human progress were
undimmed.
RUDOLF EUCKEN
German Philosopher
The prize of 1908 has been awarded:
Eucken, Rudolf, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Jena,
born 1846: “because of the sincerity of his search for truth, the
penetrating power of thought, the clarity of vision, the warmth and
force of interpretation with which he has, in his numerous works,
cultivated and developed an ideal world philosophy.”[28]
In 1908, six years after the Nobel prize came to Mommsen, it was again
awarded to a German scholar, Rudolf Eucken. By translation and lectures
in countries other than his own, this recipient was no stranger to
readers of current literature. Born in 1846, in Aurich, East Friesland,
Eucken was younger than the majority of the earlier winners; he
accomplished much writing and lecturing after the honor had been given.
His mature life was devoted to a struggle against the materialistic
philosophy of his day. He was a worthy winner of a prize for “the most
distinguished work of an idealistic tendency” in his country. His
incessant purpose was expressed in his autobiography: “My reminiscences
tell about all of the struggle to prevent the externalization of life.
This externalization is not, it is true, the defect or fault of one
particular nation; it is found in every nation and a radical change is
needed in each.... Every man who shares the conviction that a spiritual
reformation is needed will follow with a kindly sympathy the modest
efforts which are recorded in my reminiscences.”[29]
His native province, East Friesland, is an agricultural and trading
region in Germany, near Holland, with occasional fisheries as industry.
His birth town, Aurich, is the commercial and social center. The boy’s
childhood was somewhat sad; he was the first child born to his parents
after ten years of marriage, and his father died when the lad was five
years old. He had a series of misfortunes in his infancy and youth: his
throat was badly torn in the effort to extricate a curtain-fastener
which he nearly swallowed as a baby; he had scarlet fever and wrong
treatment, so that he was threatened with blindness for a time but
recovered; a younger brother’s death added to the family gloom.
Rudolf Eucken inherited studious inclinations. His father, spending
his days in the postal service, was a fine mathematician. His mother
(daughter of a clergyman who was a leader of Radicalism) was well-read
in science and ambitious for her son; the latter records that she
was, also, a practical housewife. After the father’s death their
finances were low and the mother took lodgers to add to her income.
She was determined that Rudolf should be well educated, that he should
become a philosopher or scientist. He recalls his debt to her in
his reminiscences. At the gymnasium at Aurich he showed interest in
mathematics and in music. A strong influence of those plastic days
was his teacher, Reuter, who was forced to retire by the bureaucracy
because of his liberalism. Other professors who left traces upon his
development were Letze and Teichmüller. For a time he was at the
University of Berlin. After experimental teaching he was called to
Basel as professor of philosophy. His mother went with him but their
plans for happy years together were shattered by her death.
Basel was at this time a small University with about one hundred
and fifty students; Eucken came into close contact with these in
the classroom and outside activities. Already he had begun to write
studies upon philosophers of classic days, Aristotle and others. In
1873 he accepted a call to Jena University where he was brought into
comradeship with such brilliant associates as Kuno Fischer, Haeckel and
Hildebrand. The issue, in 1878, of Eucken’s book, _Fundamental Ideas of
the Present Day_ (or _The Fundamental Concepts of Modern Philosophic
Thought_) aroused sudden interest among scholars of every country in
this daring, idealistic philosopher of Jena University. The basic idea
was to emphasize the harmonious relations of history and criticism. At
the request of President Noah Porter of Yale University, a translation
of this book into English was made by Professor M. Stuart Phelps; thus
American readers became acquainted with this German scholar who was to
enter later into friendly contact with academic organizations here.
By his marriage, in 1882, to Irene Passow, Eucken increased his
prestige among intellectual and social leaders. He says that his wife
“was not one of the learned women,” but that she had intellectual
interests, gifts in art, and fine administrative ability. Her
mother was the daughter of the noted archeologist, Ulrich, born in
Athens; thus Eucken’s circle of friends widened among scientists and
historians. He continued to write books with cumulative power, like
_The Life of the Spirit_, _Contributions to the History of Modern
Philosophy_, _The Problem of Human Life as Viewed by the Great
Thinkers_, _Life’s Basis and Life’s Ideals_, _Christianity and the
New Idealism_.[30] Many of his own countrymen, who were materialistic
philosophers or monistic evolutionists, criticized Eucken severely;
he declared the German press “ignored him.” He popularized religious
philosophy, especially under such titles as _The Truth of Religion_,
and _Can We Still Be Christians?_ He was invited to deliver lectures in
Holland, France, England, and America.
Some of these later books followed the award of the Nobel prize
in 1908. He was called “the winning dark horse of that year”; he
said that the honor came as “a great surprise” to him. As further
recognition he was made a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The comments in the German press were noticeably restrained beside
the enthusiastic tributes in France, Holland, and England. In 1911 he
went to England and, later, to America as academic lecturer; he was
“exchange professor” and gave lectures at Harvard University, Columbia
University, the Lowell Institute at Boston, and Smith College. His wife
and daughter came with him to America and were guests in the homes
of Professors Moore and Münsterburg at Cambridge. The reader of his
Reminiscences will smile at some of the comments upon Americans and his
reception here. In Germany, with the arrival of “an exchange professor”
and his first lecture, there is a demonstration of welcome, with formal
program and the presence of notables in statescraft as well as letters.
He found no such condition at Harvard University. He presented himself
to President Lowell and was told, “You may begin at once.”[31] By
contrast he says, with naïveté, President Butler of Columbia University
gave a banquet in honor of Eucken and Bergson, who were lecturing in
New York at the same time.
Among Americans whom the German scholar met with friendly contact were
Andrew Carnegie and Roosevelt. He says of the latter, “With Roosevelt I
had a very spirited conversation on American idealism and its future,
in which he gave proof of considerable historical knowledge.”[32] He
found Americans, as a class, alert but not well informed on European
affairs, especially German history. After he returned from America,
he planned a trip to Japan and China, hoping to carry into the Orient
his principles of idealistic philosophy; he sought coöperation of
all nations in “solving problems of life.” The war interfered with
this project and caused him deep depression. He tried in every way to
appeal to the less materialistic traits of his people. In 1915, he
wrote _The Bearers of German Idealism_, a book which sold copies by the
tens of thousands and supplemented, in a way, his earlier volume, _The
Historical Significance of the German People_. He found the war “the
saddest moment in German history”; he felt the nations were disloyal to
themselves and sentiments of honor. His daughter, a musician of rare
gifts, lost her lover during the war. In his sons, one a physician
and another a political economist, Eucken saw examples of many of his
idealistic influences.
The writings of Eucken, especially those of religious trend, have been
popular in America, as well as England. Several of his essays have been
collected and translated by Meyrick Booth. _In the Harper’s Library
of Living Thought_ is the translation by Lucy Judge Gibson and W. R.
Boyce Gibson of his _Christianity and the New Idealism_ (1909 and
1912). _The Meaning and Value of Life_ had one of the same translators;
Joseph McCabe, who translated the autobiography, has rendered, also,
_Socialism: an Analysis_ (1922). Among other books in constant demand
at libraries are _Religion and Life_, the lectures which he gave in
London, Oxford, and elsewhere, 1911, and _Ethics and Modern Thought: a
Theory of their Relations_, which were the Deems lectures, delivered
in 1913 at New York University. These are translated by Margaret von
Seydewitz from the German manuscript. _Can We Still Be Christians?_
with its challenging title (1914) is a careful, tolerant study of
historic Christianity, an advocacy of a religion which will adapt
itself to the demands of daily life. Spirituality and morality must
combine to form a high level of progress and the Church must become “a
repository of the facts and tasks of life itself.”
Comparisons have often been made between Eucken and two other modern
thinkers and writers on philosophy of kindred motive--Adolf Harnack
and Henri Bergson. The former, who has been professor at Leipzig and
Berlin, author of such stirring books as _What Is Christianity?_ and
_History of Dogma_, has the German background while Bergson, in his
_Creative Philosophy_ has written an epoch-making book with dissimilar
but potent deductions. The two men, Eucken and Bergson, have been
discussed in a discriminating essay by E. Hermann who thus summarizes
the message of the Nobel prize winner in philosophy: “Eucken stands
before us today as perhaps the greatest thinker of our age and the
protagonist of a new idealism which satisfies our demands for moral
reality as no idealistic philosophy has ever done, and as the teacher
who has most fully and boldly developed the religious implications
of ethical idealism. His philosophy of life is an insistence upon
the supremacy of the spiritual. His defence of freedom is a doctrine
of spiritual liberty rooted in the saving initiative of God and
our dependence on Him. His vindication of our personality is the
rescue of the free, God-centered personality from the thralldom of a
self-centered individuality.”[33]
Especially interesting is the Nobel Lecture, delivered at Stockholm,
March 27, 1909, by Eucken, translated by Alban G. Widgery, Cambridge,
1912 (W. Heffer and Sons). As an introductory thought, Eucken
emphasizes that we are living in an age when tradition has become a
subject of doubt and new ideas are struggling to guide our lives.
The two terms, “_Naturalism or Idealism_,” which form the title of
this Nobel address, have become confused in meaning and have caused
misunderstandings. To Eucken, Naturalism means “faith in man’s
relation to Nature”; Idealism accepts this faith but asks if this is
the whole of life or if there is not another kind of life, also. He
pleads for domination of “The True, the Good and the Beautiful” in
life, not merely utilitarian aspects. Life is not just a reflection of
a given reality but a striving upward; it does not _find_ another world
but “it may _produce_ one.” Idealism which deals with such expansion
of daily life has no new aims to-day beyond that of classic times but
it is emphasized, because “we have been driven beyond the standards
of Naturalism.” The task before literature is coöperation in this
effort to reach a higher level, “to purify and confirm, to make the
fundamental problems of our spiritual existence _impressive_ to us,
to raise life above the mere transient culture, by the realization of
something eternal.” This, as he interprets it, was the idea of Alfred
Nobel in his will and awards; this has been the life purpose of Eucken
as teacher and writer.
FOOTNOTES:
[22] Inscription with the Nobel Prize Award in Literature, 1902.
[23] _Bookman_, 18: 346.
[24] _Ibid._ 346-348, December, 1903, article on Mommsen. By permission
of the Editor of _The Bookman_.
[25] _Some Eighteenth Century Byways and Other Essays_ by John Buchan,
Edinburgh and London, 1908, William Blackwood & Sons.
[26] _History of Rome_ by Theodor Mommsen, translated by William P.
Dickson, New York, 1908, Vol. II, pp. 244, 245. By permission of
Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[27] By permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[28] Inscription with the Nobel Prize Award in Literature, 1908.
[29] _Rudolf Eucken: His Life, Work and Travels_ by himself, translated
by Joseph McCabe, New York, 1922. By permission of Charles Scribner’s
Sons.
[30] For further titles, see bibliography and list of translators.
[31] _Rudolf Eucken: His Life, Work and Travels_ by himself, translated
by Joseph McCabe, New York, 1922, p. 162. By permission of Charles
Scribner’s Sons.
[32] _Ibid._, p. 167.
[33] _Eucken and Bergson: Their Significance for Christian Thought_, by
E. Hermann, Boston, 1912, p. 87. By permission of The Pilgrim Press.