von den Wanzen gebissen, etc.

It would scarcely be profitable to attempt to estimate the causes and
development of this self-irony, which plays so important a part in
Heine's poetry. Its possibility lay no doubt in his native mother-wit,
with its genial perception of the incongruous, combined, it must be
admitted, with a relatively low order of self-respect. Its first
incentive he may have found in his unrequited love for Amalie. Had it
been like that of Hoelderlin for Diotima, or Lenau for Sophie,
reciprocated though unsatisfied, we could not easily imagine the
ironical tone which pervades most of his love-songs. And so he uses it
as a veil for his chagrin, preferring to laugh and have the world laugh
with him, rather than to weep alone. But the incident in Heine's life
which probably more than any other experience fostered this habit of
making himself the butt of his witty irony was his outward renunciation
of Judaism. Little need be said concerning this, since the details are
so well known. He himself confesses that the step was taken from the
lowest motives, for which he justly hated and despised himself. To Moser
he writes (1825): "Ich weiss nicht, was ich sagen soll, Cohen versichert
mich, Gans predige das Christentum und suche die Kinder Israels zu
bekehren. Thut er dieses aus Ueberzeugung, so ist er ein Narr; thut er
es aus Gleissnerei, so ist er ein Lump. Ich werde zwar nicht aufhoeren,
Gans zu lieben; dennoch gestehe ich, weit lieber waer's mir gewesen, wenn
ich statt obiger Nachricht erfahren haette, Gans habe silberne Loeffel
gestohlen.... Es waere mir sehr leid, wenn mein eigenes Getauftsein Dir
in einem guenstigen Lichte erscheinen koennte. Ich versichere Dich, wenn
die Gesetze das Stehlen silberner Loeffel erlaubt haetten, so wuerde ich
mich nicht getauft haben."[223] But in addition to the loss of
self-respect came his disappointment and chagrin at the non-success of
his move, since he realized that it was not even bringing him the
material gain for which he had hoped. Instead, he felt himself an object
of contempt among Christians and Jews alike. "Ich bin jetzt bei Christ
und Jude verhasst. Ich bereue sehr, dass ich mich getauft hab'; ich sehe
gar nicht ein, dass es mir seitdem besser gegangen sei; im Gegenteil,
ich habe seitdem nichts als Unglueck."[224] He is so unhappy in
consequence of this step that he earnestly desires to leave Germany. "Es
ist aber ganz bestimmt, dass es mich sehnlichst draengt,