,
1888 (Morley's Univ. Lib.), pp. 41, 42. And then compare with Herder's
Zwecke des Lebens (Ged. 15).

[84] Indien, ed. Suphan, vol. 29, p. 665.

[85] "An Hafyz Gesaengen haben wir fast genug; Sadi ist uns lehrreicher
gewesen." Adrastea vi. ed. Suphan, vol. 24, p. 356.

CHAPTER IV.

GOETHE.

Enthusiasm for Sakuntala--Der Gott und die Bajadere; Der
Paria--Goethe's Aversion for Hindu Mythology--Origin of the
Divan--Oriental Character of the Work--Inaugurates the Oriental
Movement.

In _Wahrheit und Dichtung_ (B. xii. vol. xxii. p. 86) Goethe tells us
that he first became acquainted with Hindu fables through Dapper's book
of travel,[86] while pursuing his law studies at Wetzlar, in 1771. He
amused his circle of literary friends by relating stories of Rama and
the monkey _Hanneman_ (i.e. Hanuman), who speedily won the favor of the
audience. The poet himself, however, could not get any lasting pleasure
from monstrosities; misshapen divinities shocked his aesthetic sense.

The first time that Goethe's attention was turned seriously to Eastern
literature was in 1791, when, through Herder's efforts, he made the
acquaintance of Kalidasa's dramatic masterpiece _Sakuntala_, which
inspired the well known epigram "Willst du die Bluete des fruehen," etc.,
an extravagant eulogy rather than an appreciative criticism. That the
impression was not merely momentary is proved by the fact that five
years later the poet took the inspiration for his _Faust_ prologue from
Kalidasa's work.[87] Otherwise it cannot be said that the then just
awakening Sanskrit studies exercised any considerable influence on his
poetic activity. For his two ballads dealing with Indic subjects, "Der
Gott und die Bajadere" and "Der Paria", the material was taken, not from
works of Sanskrit literature, but from a book of travel. The former poem
was completed in 1797, though the idea was taken as early as 1783 from
a German version of Sonnerat's travels, where the story is related
according to the account of Abraham Roger[88] in _De Open-Deure_. There
the account is as follows: "'t Is ghebeurt ... dat Dewendre, onder
Menschelijcke ghedaente, op eenen tijdt ghekomen is by een sekere Hoere,
de welcke hy heeft willen beproeven of sy oock ghetrouw was. Hy
accordeert met haer, ende gaf haer een goet Hoeren loon. Na den loon
onthaelde sy hem dien nacht heel wel, sonder dat sy haer tot slapen
begaf. Doch 't soude in dien nacht ghebeurt