Memoirs of Frederick and Margaret Klopstock

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MEMOIRS

OF

FREDERICK

AND

MARGARET KLOPSTOCK.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN.

PHILADELPHIA:

Published by Philip H. Nicklin and Co. Baltimore; Farrand, Mallerj

B. B. Hopkins and Co. Philadelphia.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE translations contained in this volume, with the exception of a few pages, were finished by Miss Smith in the year 1805; and the Preface was read and approved by her. Some letters in Mr. Klopstock's publication are omitted, to avoid repetition; as well as several passages in those which are inserted in this collection; particularly such as contain remarks on the Messiah, as it was thought they would appear dry and uninteresting to those who are unacquainted with that admirable poem. In taking the liberty to omit such parts of the work as seemed least likely to please the English reader, the Editor only fulfils the request of her lamented friend, as expressed in her letters on this subject.*

Bath, Dec. 1808.

* See Fragments, p. 177.

Preface

THE Letters of Margaret Kiopstock, printed in the correspondence of Mr. Richardson, have been so much admired, that I flatter myself the volume now offered to the public will want no other recommendation, than an assurance that it contains the genuine writings of that most amiable woman, which were published at Hamburg in the year 1759, by her afflicted husband. To the translation of that publication is prefixed an account of the life and writings of Mr. Kiopstock, with some letters and papers which tend to illustrate the character of that great poet.

Kiopstock, the Milton of Germany, the pride of his country, whose piety and virtue, still more than his talents, made him an honour to human nature, — Kiopstock is scarcely known in England; while on the stage, and in the clo-

A 2 set, the principles and morals of the rising generation are corrupted by an inundation of German literature, in which the boldest flights of genius, the noblest sentiments, and the most interesting feelings, are too often employed to betray the unsuspecting heart. Many an admirable pen has been employed to counteract the mischiefs which such writings are calculated to produce, and may success attend their labours! I have taken a different path in order to attain the same end, and will endeavour to make vice odious, by exhibiting virtue in her genuine form. I offer to the public no imaginary characters, but a picture drawn from the life. Klopstock is not here presented to the reader as the first poet of the age, but as one of the best and most amiable of men; the tenderest husband, and the kindest friend. But this is not all: he appears in a far higher character. Fallen in an instant from the height of human felicity, called to resign such a blessing as few of his fellow mortals ever possessed, — his exalted mind seemed marked by providence to show the triumph of genuine Christianity. In this little collection of letters, we penetrate into the deepest recesses of his heart: we see how much he loved and was beloved. His warm imagina-

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tion and acute feelings made him peculiarly susceptible of pleasure and of pain. Blest with the hand and heart of one of the most excellent of women, he was in every respect " happy past the common lot:" when he was called to prove to the world that no trial is too great for christian fortitude to support. With hopes always fixed on the invisible world, he looked forward to that happy moment, when those who have been separated on earth shall meet again in heaven to part no more.

" Strong in this hope, his comforters he comforts."

Young.

The love of God which glowed in his heart, taught him to rest with filial confidence on His supporting hand, fully convinced that all will work together for good to those who feel that love as it ought to be felt by a christian. To the cold scepticism which now assumes the venerable name of philosophy, his sentiments may perhaps appear absurd and irrational. To such philosophers every thing which they do not believe is superstition, everv thing which they do not feel is enthusiasm. But leaving them to the darkness which they prefer to the clear light of revelation, I wish to obviate ob-

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jections which may possibly be made, by very sincere and pious christians, to some of the sentiments expressed by Klopstock and his Margaret with regard to the nature and employment of the Angels, and the state of the soul after death. On subjects which are placed so far beyond the reach of human reason, and on which the word of God gives us only such information as is calculated to animate our hopes, but not to gratify our curiosity, it may perhaps be thought improper to indulge the imagination in groundless and unfounded speculations; and Letters from the Dead to the living, or from the Living to the Dead, may be received with a smile of contempt, or with a frown of disapprobation. From this hasty decision 1 venture to appeal to those, and those only, whose hearts have felt the pain of losing what they fondly loved, and who are supported by the hope of an eternal union in a happier world. Such readers (and in this vale of tears there are many such) will view with indulgence the little arts by which the mourner tried to soothe his grief. They will not suppose that he expected his letters should really be read by his departed wife, but they will feel what he felt, and willingly yield to a sweet illusion.

IX

It is true that we know little of the invisible world, of the happy spirits who surround the throne of the Great Creator, or of the state of those who are released from the corruptible body, and from all the sorrows of life; but do we therefore doubt their existence? and is it criminal to indulge the thoughts which are so natural to the heir of immortality, and to conjecture what certainly we cannot prove? We know from the highest authority, that there are ministering spirits, sent to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation; and it seems not improbable that they may, as Klopstock supposes, be peculiarly attached to individuals, and being united to them by a friendship, of which earthly attachments give us only an imperfect idea, that they may be employed to protect and guard the objects of their care. This is " a doctrine, which has prevailed more or less in every age of the church, which is without question most soothing and consolatory to human nature, and is certainly countenanced by several passages of holy writ, as well as by the authority of Origen, Tertullian, and other eminent fathers and commentators."* This opinion is likewise

* Lectures on the Gospel of St. Matthew, by Bishop Porteus, vol. ii. p. 82, 83.

supported by Grotius, Bishop Andrews, Bishop Home,* and other eminent divines; and it is not censured by one of the brightest luminaries of our own age and nation, whose words I have just quoted; and who adds, with the mild wisdom, and truly Christian liberality, so conspicuous in all his writings, ." No one that cherishes this notion can be charged with weakness or superstition; and if it should be at last an error, it is (as Cicero says of the immortality of the soul) so delightful an error, that we cannot easily suffer it to be wrested from us."

We know that when the body returns to the earth as it was, the spirit returns to God who gave it; and it is a pleasing thought, that friends thus separated from us by death may still watch over us with tender concern, may still behold, and perhaps assist, our humble endeavours to perform the will of Him who reserves for us such happiness as they now enjoy. We may be mistaken in this idea; but it seems to be an innocent illusion; and it has afforded comfort to many wretched mourners, on whom unfeeling scepticism has no comfort to bestow.

* See his admirable Sermon on the Existence and Employment of Angels, vol. iv. p. 31 1.

XI

Such speculations tend to disengage us fi om sensual pleasures, and to strengthen our connexion with the invisible world; they animate our exertions to attain the happiness which is not to be found in this life, and they reconcile us to those dispensations of Providence which often call us to resign our highest enjoyments, and our most virtuous attachments; which command us to forsake all, and follow Him, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. That such was their effect on the exalted mind of Klopstock, must be evident to all who are acquainted with his writings; — and if this little publication should increase the number of those who study his works with the attention they deserve, I flatter myself that I am doing an important service to my country; and (to borrow the words of the elegant translator of Oberon) that not the lovers of poetry only, but whoever loves his neighbour, and adores his God, will owe no trivial obligation to the editor who makes him better acquainted with the author of " The Messiah." This I will endeavour to do by throwing together such particulars as I have been enabled to collect, of the life, the character, and the sentiments, of this extraordinary man.

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Of his lovely and accomplished wife it is unnecessary to say more than that she was, as Cramer calls her, " Klopstock in feminine beauty." Her picture has been already presented to the English reader, drawn by her own hand, in her letters to Richardson, with such enchanting softness, and such beautiful simplicity, that it is superfluous to add any thing on the subject. Those letters show what she was while she was the happy wife of Klopstock; and some of those which are now presented to the public, will show what she was in the last dreadful moments of her life; when, with a martyr's firmness, she resigned her pure and virtuous spirit into the hands of her Creator.

MEMOIRS*

OF

Mr. KLOPSTOCK

Frederick Gottlieb klopstock was

born in Quedlinburg, July 2, 1724, He was the eldest of eleven children; six sons, and five daughters. His father, who was a magistrate of Quedlinburg, and afterwards farmed the bailiwic of Friedeburg, was a singular character; but with some peculiarities, he possessed many virtues; and united great goodnature with extreme uprightness of principle, and uncommon

* Compiled from papers which were communicated by Dr. Mumssen, and translated by Miss Smith, to which are added extracts from ** Klopstock Ei* und iiber ihn," by Professor Crammer; Hamburg-, 1780: and from a Life of Klopstock, published in the Monthly Magazine.

14 firmness and resolution. His eccentricities appear to have had no serious influence on the education of young Klopstock. He left the powers of his body and mind to unfold themselves freely, unrestrained by severity; and his boyish years flowed on in an uninterrupted stream of happiness, resulting from a proper distribution of his time between serious business and innocent relaxation. In a beautiful country, on the banks of the Saal, the poet passed his early years, under the guidance of a private tutor. He was employed during some hours every day in learning the elements of the languages, and he devoted the remaining part of his time, with youthful ardour, to athletic exercises. When he was fit for a public school, in his thirteenth year, his father took him to the gymnasium at Quedlinburg. Here Klopstock passed three years, unmarked by fame, and rather unfolding his corporeal than his mental powers: but the remembrance of those unfettered years afforded him, ever after, the sweetest enjoyment. Even in his old age, he intreated all his friends who travelled through Quedlinburg, to visit the play-yard where he had enjoyed those early pleasures which are never forgotten, and which he loved to describe even to the minutest circumstance.

It appears that while he attended the gymnasium, he had in some degree neglected his studies, for when speaking of his intended removal to the college, he says, " My father now represented to me that I must be particularly- industrious, as the time of my remaining at the college would depend upon the success of my first examination, and on the consequent rank which I should obtain in the classes. I followed his advice, and again assiduously applied myself to Latin and Greek; and I still remember how frequently I walked up and down my garret in the heat of the sun, and studied in the sweat .of my brow." His introduction at the. etfiiege is thus described by Mr. Cramer. 6 His father now took him to the college, and the examination was arranged. The rector conducted him into an apartment, and gave him an exercise to write, leaving with him Weismann's Lexicon, and a grammar. It was to be completed in three hours, and then he was to ring the bell; but he rung before the appointed time. The rector appeared: " Is it finished already?" said he; then cast his eye over it and sent him into the play- ground, where the scholars assembled,"

16 as usual, to welcome and to ridicule the new corner. One of the elder ones came to him with a scornful air, and said, " K-1-o-p-Klopstock, is that your name?" Upon which his uncommon name was immediately echoed and reechoed, and laughed at. This enraged him, and going up to the boy, with a menacing air and stern look, he answered, " Yes, my name is Klopstock:" and from this time he was never assailed with any raillery, particularly as the rector highly applauded his exercise, and immediately gave him the highest place in the third class.

Klopstock was in his sixteenth year when he proceeded from the gymnasium to the college, where 'Ms. character as a man and as a poet began to be displayed in a very advantageous point of view. The rector Freytag deserves particular notice amongst his teachers: he elucidated the ancients with a precision and taste which were very rare at that time: he sought to make his scholars familiar, not only with the language, but with the spirit of the writer. Under this gentleman the industrious youth acquired perfect knowledge of the classics, entered into all the beauties of the ancient authors, and while he followed with rapture the bold flights of their original genius, he fed a flame within himself which was soon to burst forth in full lustre. He read few books, but they were the best; and he read with acute discrimination and unwearied attention. Virgil was his favourite poet; and while he saw in him the model of perfect beauty, he felt a strong impulse to imi r tate him. He applied himself very diligently to compositions both in prose and verse; and some pastorals, according to the fashionable taste of the time, preceded one of the noblest plans that ever entered the soul of a poet.

At this early period of his life, Klopstock formed the resolution of writing an epic poem 3 which till then had not existed in the German language. He tells us himself how this idea arose in his mind. His enthusiastic admiration of Virgil; the glory he promised himself in being the first who should produce a work like the iEneid in the language of his native country; the warmth of patriotism which early animated him to raise the fame of German literature in this particular to a level with that of other European countries; the just indignation he felt in reading the works of a Frenchman, who had denied to the Germans any talent for poetry; all combined, with the consciousness of his own superior powers, to spur him on to the execution of his exalted plan.

In his beautiful oration on quitting the college at Quedlinburg, after a very ingenious dissertation on the state of poetry in Germany, he expresses his idea of the talents requisite for the composition of an epic poem, in the following words. " If amongst our present poets there may not be one who is destined to embellish his native country with this honour; hasten to arise, O glorious day, which shall bring such a poet to light! And thou sun which shall first behold, and with mild beams enlighten him, approach! May virtue, and wisdom, with the celestial Muse, nurse him with the tenderest care! May the whole field of nature be displayed before him, and the whole magnificence of our adorable religion! To him may even the range of future ages be no longer wrapt in impenetrable darkness! And by these instructors may he be rendered worthy of immortal fame, and of the approbation of God himself, whom above all he will praise!" On this passage Cramer makes the following observation. ' How much would any other person have found to say of himself on this occasion; but he, with his whole plan in his. head

19 and in his heart, and a determined resolution to execute it, and to be that poet of whom he

here speaks; he says nothing. 9 Klopstock

was long undecided in the choice of his subject. He sought out some hero in the German history, and had once fixed on the emperor Henry, the founder of the freedom of his native city;* but after choosing and rejecting many different subjects, he at last formed the plan of his Messiah; and this preference was given even before he was acquainted with Milton, whose Paradise Lost became, soon after that period, his favourite and almost uninterrupted study.

An interesting account of Klopstock, when, very young, was inserted in Bodmer's Letters on Criticism, and reprinted by Cramer, in the year 1780, with the approbation of the poet. Mr. Cramer speaks of it in the following manner. i I think it cannot be wrong to insert here this letter of our excellent Bodmer, since it is very worthy to be known, and is in a collection of pieces which are no longer read.

* Henry the first, surnamed the Fowler, who began to reign in the year 920. He conquered the Huns, and afterwards made a successful war on the Venedi, who inhabited Saxony. He died in 93S;.

20 Klopstock himself is, I know, well satisfied with it; and it is very remarkable that Bodmer should have drawn such an animated portrait of him previous to their personal acquaintance. I can venture to assert, that if we devest this representation of mere fiction and ornament, we shall find much truth which Bodmer has blended with it.' — From this account I venture to make a few extracts, omitting conversations which are probably fictitious.

" In his father's library are many sermons, and ten Bibles, but not a single poet. He soon distinguished the Bible from all the rest, still more through his own taste, than on account of his father's earnest recommendations. He made it his constant pocket companion, not merely as a duty, but for pleasure. While yet in his childhood, he was so well acquainted with the phraseology of the Hebrew language, and the figurative manner of representing things, which he found in that book, that he used it unknown to himself, wherever he would express any thing with earnestness. — In a walk with his father, in a fine spring morning, before he was quite fourteen years old, they had sat down under an oak, and a cool western breeze blew on them. His first words were, * All around the oak receives us in his shadow. Soft airs breathe on us, like a whisper of the presence of God.' Then again he said, ' How peaceful grows the tender moss, here on the cool earth! The hills lie round about in lovely twilight, as though new made, and blooming like Eden.' . "At that time the strong representations of inanimate nature, which he found in the poetieal books of Job and the Prophets, affected him most deeply, and he was often heard, when he awoke in the morning, repeating whole chapters with a strong accent, as a poet might do who was reciting his own work. The descriptions were so strongly impressed on his mind, that when the things themselves came before his eyes, he would often say they were not new to him; he had already seen them in the Psalms and the Prophets. When he approached to manhood, the pathetic passages took the same strong hold on his heart, as the glittering and magnificent images had before taken on his fancy. A promise that fallen man should find mercy, drew tears from his eyes; a trace of the immortality of the soul threw him into a transport of gratitude. Religion did not remain a mere speculation of the brain; it was a clear view of the greatness and glory of the Messiah;

22 it was the pure feeling of love and grateful adoration. From this turn of mind sprung a style of writing full of poetry, before he had ever seen a verse, or knew any thing of prosody. He was a poet, while neither he nor his father suspected it. I have seen a letter he wrote, before he had attained his seventeenth year, to a youth of his own age, who seems to have been his only intimate acquaintance: it contained the following expressions. ' My friend! image of my mind! whom an invisible Son of Heaven raises up, with me, to higher hopes than those of the human herd; dost thou look xm the tender youth of our friendship with that cheerful eye, which makes the innocence of youthful days cloudless like the days of eternity? What dost thou feel in the expressions wherewith thy noble heart consecrates to thy friend, more than merely a verbal friendship? Let us so ennoble it by the rectitude of our minds, that He who pours down his blessings from heaven, may look with pleasure on it. 5 "

In the autumn of the year 1745, Klopstock left the college at Quedlinburg, and removed to the university at Jena. His intention was to study theology, but the dull disputes of scholastic divines did not accord with the state of his mind at that period. He wanted no evidence to prove the truth of a religion which had taken entire possession of his heart, and he could not listen with patience to the cavils of infidels, or the cold reasonings of metaphysicians; and after a tedious half year, the ardent youth, whose mind was accustomed to better nourishment, removed with his relation Schmidt to the university of Leipsic.

During the few months spent at Jena, he had, however, in the stillness of his closet, been realizing some part of his intended plan by tracing out the three first cantos of the Messiah. He composed these three cantos in prose, but his performance greatly displeased him. He was fired with a laudable indignation at feeling himself so inferior in harmony to his great models Homer and Virgil. Lost in his own reflections, he would frequently wander up and down the country round Jena, and in one of these solitary walks he came to a determination to imitate the great poets of antiquity in the structure of their verse. In a few hours he completed a page of hexameters, and from that time decided on composing his poem in this measure. Thus he was the first who introduced into German poetry a metre which was

24 supposed to be unattainable in that language, and he afterwards triumphantly defended this mode of versification, both by example and argument.

In the spring of the year 1746, he carried with him to Leipsic the three first books of the Messiah, which astonished and delighted a few ingenious friends to whom he showed them. Amongst these early friends of Klopstock were Cramer, Gartner, Schlegel, Giesecke, Zacharia, Gellert, and Rabener. Schmidt, the relation as well as the bosom friend of the poet, had accompanied him -to Leipsic. These young favourites of the Muses had formed themselves into a literary society, in order to improve their taste by mutual criticisms on their various essays, of which the best were printed in a paper entitled "Bremen Contributions." Klopstock was admitted into their small society, and the Messiah was made known to them in consequence of a scene which is thus described by Mr. Cramer. " In Klopstock's apartment the Messiah first came to light. After the first compliments between him and my father, Schmidt proceeded immediately to the execution of apian he had formed. He turned the discourse to literary subjects, spoke of the English with excessive praise, and then adverted to the Germans, and particularly to the contributors,* of whom he spoke in the manner that induced my father to take the part of his friends, but with the greatest moderation, according to his well known character. He said, they knew very well that they were not perfect, but they endeavoured to become so. They employed all possible severity of criticism towards themselves; they .... Schmidt interrupted him, and said, with a smile, " Yes, yes, severity of criticism is very well; but genius, not one German possesses that; the English, — the English." My father was preparing to reply, when Klopstock, who till then had been only a spectator, grew warm and interposed. * Dear Mr. Cramer, what will you think of my friend? But he only pretends to insult you. When you shall become more acquainted with his manner, you will find that he is not in earnest.' " What, (cried Schmidt,) does he say so? Do not believe him. He is the most severe critic amongst us. If you did but know how malicious he is!" Then starting up, with an arch look, and a firm grasp, he drew the manuscript of the Messiah out of

* The Literary Society who published the Bremen Contributions.

26 a chest. " There, there, (said he,) now you shall hear something." The affair now became serious. Klopstock, whose plan of secrecy was at once overturned by this treachery , sprung up, his countenance glowing, and said, ' Schmidt, I do not know you at this moment.' He struggled with him, endeavouring to snatch away the manuscript; but Schmidt, who became more and more resolute, paid no regard to his opposition, kept him off with one hand, and with the other held up the papers, like Caesar when he swam across the Nile. My father, whose curiosity was now strongly excited, entreated; Klopstock protested; but Schmidt began to read. Still however Schmidt contrived a little mischief; for though he usually read well, he now took pains to do it ill, that he might if possible induce my father to find fault with the work, or at least to listen coldly, in order that his own triumph over the contributors might be complete. But my father was too sharp- sighted to be deceived. Scarcely had Schmidt read one page, before he interrupted him with much animation. ' Mr. Schmidt, I must tell you, that should be read quite in a different manner.' " You have taken the words out of my mouth, (said Klopstock;) and now,

27 Schmidt, since the secret is betrayed, give it to me. I will read it myself." He now took courage, and read the whole first canto, and he particularly excelled in reading hexameters. The termination of this adventure may easily be imagined. Hostilities with Schmidt were presently laid aside; my father received the poem as it ought to be received, expressed to Klopstock his warmest approbation, and said there was a society of friends, to whom it would afford the greatest pleasure, if he might be permitted to impart it to them, and that it should remain a secret with them. The heart of our dear friend was already gained, and he consented. My father took the poem first to Gartner, then to the others, and in consequence was sent, by them all, with an invitation to Klopstock to join their society. He accepted it. They regarded each other at the first moment as friends, and they were really so, for amongst such beings tedious ceremonies are useless." In the two following years he produced many excellent odes, which, together with the three cantos of the Messiah, appeared at first in the Bremen Contributions. It may with truth be observed, that at this period Germany was not prepared for the reception of a poet of so su-

28 perior a cast; the public taste was not sufficiently formed to relish the lofty flight of Klopstock's genius; but his cantos were read with the highest warmth of admiration by those who possessed a genuine taste for poetry, and their applause was sufficient to animate the poet in the prosecution of his sublime plan.

Klopstock's residence at Leipsic became unpleasant, to him after he had lost his chosen friends, who gradually left the university. The warm and tender attachment that bound him to this estimable circle in Leipsic, formed one of the sweetest recollections of his past life, on which he dwelt with peculiar pleasure even in his old age. When he afterwards contemplated in pensive sadness each of these beloved friends sinking successively into the grave before him, his only comfort was the remembrance of what they had once been to him, and the prospect of what they would be in a happier world.

In the course of the year 1748, Klopstock left Leipsic, to reside at Langensalza, in the house of a delation named Weiss, whose children he undertook to instruct. This is an interesting period in the life of Klopstock, as he now became acquainted with the beautiful sis»