This then is just one of the many
things that the German romanticists started; it is just one of their
many contributions to the literature that lasts. And for the
perpetuation of this one, students of German literature have, it
seems, given the obscure Graf von Loeben entirely too much credit. But
who will give the oft-scolded Clemens Brentano too little credit? Only
those who dislike romanticism on general principles and who will not
be convinced that the romanticists could be original.[101]
ALLEN WILSON PORTERFIELD
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK CITY
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Ferdinand August Otto Heinrich Graf von Loeben, the scion of an
old, aristocratic, Protestant family, was born at Dresden, August
18, 1786. He received his first instruction from private
tutors. For three years from 1804 on, he unsuccessfully, because
unwillingly, studied law at the University of Wittenberg. In 1807
he entered, to his profound delight, the University of Heidelberg,
where, in association with Arnim, Brentano, and GOerres, he
satisfied his longing for literature and art.
Pages:
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49