t_[228] which gives the
Iranian legend of the attempt made by the sorcerers to burn the newborn
child.[229] It would, however, lead us too far were we to mention single
poems on Oriental subjects or of Oriental tendency.

* * * * *

Head and shoulders above all these less known poets towers the figure of
Count von Schack, who, like Rueckert, combined the poetic gift with the
learning of the scholar, and who thus stands out a worthy successor of
the German Brahman as a representative of the idea of the
_Weltlitteratur_. A discussion of his work is a fitting close for this
investigation.

FOOTNOTES:

[222] On these see Paul Horn, Was verdanken Wir Persien, in Nord u. Sued,
Heft 282, p. 386 seq.

[223] Ghaselen, Leipz. Recl. Univ. Bibl. No. 371, pp. 96, 99.

[224] Ibid. pp. 49-54. An einen Freund.

[225] See von Schack, Strophen des Omar Chijam, p. 117.

[226] Horn in article cited, p. 389; Emil Brenning, Leopold Schefer,
Bremen, 1884, p. 135.

[227] Gedichte, Frauenfeld, 1879, p. 144 (xvi).

[228] Gesammelte Gedichte, Leipz. Reclam. Nos. 551-3, p. 128.

[229] See Jackson, Zoroaster, p. 29.

CHAPTER XII.

VON SCHACK.

His Fame as Translator of Firdausi--Stimmen vom
Ganges--Sakuntala compared with the Original in the
Mahabharata--His Oriental Scholarship in his Original
Poems--Attitude towards Hafizian Singers.

As an Orientalist, von Schack's scholarship is amply attested by his
numerous and excellent translations from Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit.
His _Heldensagen des Firdusi_, as is well known, has become a standard
work of German literature. In fact, we may say that his reputation rests
more upon his translations than upon his poems.

Though we have consistently refrained from discussing translations, it
is felt that the _Stimmen vom Ganges_, which is a collection of Indic
legends from various sources, especially from the _Puranas_, cannot be
left entirely out of consideration.[230] In many respects these poems
have the charm of original work. The models moreover are used with great
freedom. To cite von Schack's own words: "Fuer eigentliche Uebertragungen
koennen diese Dichtungen in der Gestalt, wie sie hier vorliegen, nicht
gelten, da bei der Bearbeitung bald groessere bald geringere Freiheit
gewaltet hat, auch manches Stoerende und Weitschweifige ausgeschieden
wurde; doch hielt ich es fuer unstatthaft, am Wesentlichen des Stoffes
un