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    Life and Writings of Herder. 831

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    : Account Of Herder's Life And Writings.

    the Greek poets * with Sbakspeare , Ossian * and & lt > pstock > soothed his hours of pain i he made good use > so far as the state of hi £ eye permitted , of the public library in that place ; and , in Iris intervals of ease * composed hi & prize Essay 6 i Ora the Origin of Languages / ' It was here that his acquaintance eonerneneed with Goethe , who was then completing his studies . They met frequentl y * and kept up an animated interchange of literary ideas , Without weakening their mtiUial friendship , their diseiassions frequently became warrn . " Herder / ' says Goethe , " never intermitted his strain of banter and criticism /'

    Herder arrived at Biuckeburg in the spring of 1771 > and entered on the duties of his new situation with a deep sense of their importance and a generous ardour to perform them well . His introductory discourse eloquently exhibits the comprehensive and elevated views which he entertained of the functions of a Christain teacher ., and gives a delightful impression of the moral enthusiasm of his character . His benevolent projects of usefulness were not , however , destined to be realized . His relations with the Count of Schaurnburg ^ -Lippe were any thing

    but congenial to his views . The Count 5 though a man of intelligence , and even of liberality , possessed all the aristocratical feelings of an old feudal baron , and exacted a species of homage from every one attached to his persoo . We commiserate a man of genius ., like Herder ^ anxious to devote his powers to the good of mankind , —in so dependent a situation . The Count wished to find in him a literary companion , to whom he might communicate the philosophical ideas which he had drawn from extensive reading and ob- ^ servation ; but took no interest in the duties of a pastor or a teacher , which

    Herder considered as of supreme importance , and to the effectual fulfilment of which he desired to make all his literary and philosophical acquirements directly available . The office of first preacher , to which he had succeeded , had so long remained unoccupied , that the church had been deserted , and his own congregation consisted of scarcely twenty persons . The Gymnasium and other schools at Biickeburg had fallen into decay , and Herder was earnestly desirous to reorganize and revive them ; but the necessary funds could not be raised , as the Count ' s treasury had been greatly impoverished by an absurd expenditure on military operations . These disappointments proved

    exceedingly vexatious to Herder * " My situation / ' says he , in one of his letters , written in 1772 , " in respect to the Count is just where it was ; we make no progress ; and are as distant as ever . —A noble Lord , but strangely perverse ; a great Lord , but-too great for his territory ! A philosophical spirit , by the weight of whose philosophy , however , I am oppressed ! In the whole territory there is nothing for me £ o do . A pastor without a flock ! A superintendant of schools without schools ! A consistorial counsellor without a consistory !"

    What a picture is this of the social state of a petty German principality Herder s situation at Buckeburg was rendered more agreeable after he became known to the Countess , who conceived a very great regard for < him , aacl whose gentle and pious spirit was competent to appreciate the religious excelleaees of his character . At her request ^ Herder undertook the

    education of a young nobleman , who had been entrusted to her care , and , * with this views , drew up a plan of instruction which appears ih his works under die title of " Sketch of a Course of Study for a young ? Nobletnait . 'V It is very comprehensive , including an extended view of natural and revealed weljtgion 5 an examination of various religious systeans $ and . a : continuous history of the civilization and social progress of the human race * . How much

    Life And Writings Of Herder. 831

    Life and Writings of Herder . 831

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1830, page 831, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/mrp_02121830/page/31/