eit des Brahmanen_.
The exception to the rule is Bodenstedt. His reputation rests almost
solely on the Mirza Schaffy songs; but it will scarcely be pretended
that this is great poetry.

From what has been said it may be inferred that the chief value of the
Oriental movement does not consist in its original contributions to
German literature, but rather in the reproductions and translations it
inspired. For it was through these that the treasures of Eastern thought
were made the literary heritage, not of Germany alone, but of Europe. As
far as the literature of Germany itself is concerned, this movement was
of the greatest significance, in that it introduced the Oriental element
and thereby helped powerfully to impart to German letters the spirit of
cosmopolitanism for which men like Herder and Goethe had so earnestly
striven. The great writers of ancient Greece and Rome had long since
been familiar to the German people; Shakespere, Dante and Calderon had
likewise won a place by the side of the German classics through the
masterly work of the Romanticists; and now the spirit and form of a new
literature--light from the East--was brought in by the movement which
has been the subject of this investigation and assumed its place as a
recognized element in the literature of Germany. The fond dream of a
_Weltlitteratur_ thus became a reality, and the German language became
the medium of acquaintance with all that is best in the literature of
the world. The Oriental movement is the clearest proof of that spirit of
universality, which is at once the noblest trait and the proudest boast
of German genius.

[Illustration]

Transcriber's Notes

There are many spelling and capitalization inconsistencies in the
original of this text. These have been retained in this version, except
those noted below.

Page vi: Changed Beharistan to Baharistan.
Page 2: Added marker for Footnote 2.
Page 6: Changed fourteeth to fourteenth.
Page 7: Changed "ferren India" to "fernen India."
Page 44: Changed "Iskandarnamah" to "Iskandar Namah" in Footnote 159.
Page 52: Changed "Pratap Sinh" to "Pratap Singh."
Changed "d' herb" to "d'herb" where it occurs.
Normalized spelling for "Hafid" throughout the text.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Influence of India and Persia on
the Poetry of Germany, by Arthur F. J. Remy

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA ***

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