"Vain are an author's efforts to bring us to believe in what he does not believe in himself, in what he cannot believe in, since he has not made it his own byseeingit (erschauen). What else are the characters of such an author, who, to borrow the old phrase, is no true seer, but deceitful marionettes, painfully glued together out of alien materials?... At least let each one of us [the Brethren] strive earnestly and truly to grasp the image that has arisen in his mind in all its features, its colours, its lights and its shades, and then when he feels himself really enkindled by them let him proceed to embody them in an external description."Hoffmann has mostly succeeded in acting up to his canon and has written in its spirit; and in so far true genius cannot be denied him. And he possessed in no less eminent a degree the true art of the born story- teller. The interest seldom if ever flags; and the curious anomalies of men and of men-creatures (Mensch-Thiere), whom he mingles amongst his winning heroines and his delightful satiric characters, oftener than not quite enthrall the mind or afford it true enjoyment as the case may be, and this they do in spite of the fact that, owing to their own nature, they frequently stand outside the ordinary sphere of human sympathies. Of course it may readily be conceived that the danger which he was liable to fall into was want of clearness in conception and sentiment, but he has avoided this rock for the most part with wonderful skill. One of his latest productions,Prinzessin Brambilla, is the one where this fault is most markedly conspicuous; nor is theElixierefree from it.German critics have not failed to notice the sweet grace and winning loveliness which hover about the characters of most of his heroines. They are nearly all presented in colours impregnated with real poetic beauty; see, for instance, Seraphina (Das Majorat), Annunciata (Doge), Madelon and Mdlle. de Scudéry (Scudéri), Rose (Meister Martin), Cecily (Berganza), and others.Carlyle, whose brief and for the most part truthful essay upon Hoffmann (in vol. ii. of hisGerman Romance, 1829) appears to have been based largely upon others' opinions rather than upon first-hand acquaintance with his author, says that in him "there are the materials of a glorious poet, but no poet has been fashioned out of them." And when we seek for poetic elements in Hoffmann's works, we are not altogether disappointed. We have just stated that his heroines are creations of a poet's fancy; and in the scene between Father Hilarius and Kreisler inKater Murr, and in the passages and characters already alluded to inDie Elixiere, in the sunny cheerfulMärchen--Der goldene Topf(which Hoffmann calls his "poetic masterpiece"), inDas Gelübde,Nussknacker, &c., we enter the world of higher imagination. Again, whilst inDoge und Dogaressewe are arrested by the poetic charm of the island life of the Lagune in the golden days of Venice's splendour, inMeister Martinwe are no less, perhaps still more impressed by the rich romantic beauty of life in the old mediæval town of Nuremberg. InDie Scudériwe are made acquainted with the cold glittering court of Louis XIV. through the lovable character of Mdlle. de Scudéry; and whilst on the one hand following with deep interest the fate of Brusson and his love, on the other we are led to contrast the subtilty of the plot with the fine analytic power of Poe in TheMurders in the Rue Morgue. When visiting with Hoffmann the weird castle ofDas Majorat, we are made to hear the cold shrill blasts of the Baltic whistling past our ears, and to feel the storm and the sea-spray dashing in our faces. These four tales are unquestionably the best that Hoffmann has written; to them must be addedMeister Wachte, on account of its excellent characterisation of the hero. In striking contrast with the majority of the things he has written, these five tales show him when he is most objective; in them he has wielded his powers with more wise restraint than in any of the others, and introduced less of his strange fantastic caricatures. Next after these tales must be named, though on a lower level, and simply because they best illustrate his peculiar genius, the two books ofKater Murr, the fairy taleDer goldene Topf, andDes Vetters Eckfenster. In the works here named we have the best fruits of Hoffmann's pen. And if instead of asking in the mistaken spirit of competition which is now so much in vogue. What is Hoffmann's position in literature? we ask rather, Has he written anything that deserves to be read? we shall have already had our answer. The works here singled out are worthy of being preserved and read; and of themDas MajoratandMeister Martinare perhaps entitled to be called the best, though some German critics have mentionedMeister Wachtalong with the former as having a claim to the first rank.It is now time to take a glance at Hoffmann's satiric power. This was launched principally against two classes of society; the one is that of which his uncle Otto was a type, the man who is unreasonably obstinate in defence of the conventionalities of life, and no less so in their steady observance: the second class was that whose representatives aroused Hoffmann's ire so greatly at Bamberg and Berlin "tea-circles," or "tea-sings"--those who coquetted with art in an unworthy or frivolous manner. Against this latter class his irony and satiric wrath were especially fierce, as may be read inBerganza,Die Irrungen, theKreisleriana,Kater Murr,Signor Formica, &c. Perhaps the most amusing, for quiet humour, of the former class isDie Brautwahl. The force of his satiric power lay in the skilful use of sudden contrast. Hence it plays more frequently upon or near the surface, and lacks the depth and pathos of true humour; but it is idle to expect from a man what he hasn't got.In so far as this author had any serious philosophical belief, it would appear to have been that man was a slave of Chance, or Fate, or Destiny, or whatever it may be called. Sometimes he is the plaything of circumstances; sometimes a defenceless victim under "Fate's brazen hand," or of "that Eternal Power which rules over us." The real significance of life is summoned up in the statement that it is a struggle between contending powers of good and evil, against both of which man is equally helpless. He believed that whenever any good fell to a man's lot there was always some evil lurking in ambush behind it, or, to borrow his own expressive phrase, "the Devil must put his tail upon everything." His further views are here quoted fromDer Magnetiseur:--"We are knitted with all things without us, with all Nature, in such close ties, both psychic and physical, that the severance from them would, if it were indeed possible, destroy our own existence. Our so- called intensive life is conditioned by the extensive; the former is only a reflex of the latter, in which the figures and images received, as if reflected in a concave mirror, often appear in changed relations that are wonderful and singularly strange, notwithstanding that these caricatures again And their real originals in life. I boldly maintain, that no man has ever thought or dreamt anything the elements of which were not to be found in Nature; nohow can he get out of her."Was this the cause or the result of the visions he used to see?From his conception of strife between good and evil as interpreting the significance of existence arose that dissonance which lies at the root of nearly all his most characteristic works--that sense of want, that failure to find final satisfaction which may be only too readily detected. For the conflict within himself he knew no real mediatory: he was baffled to discover a higher category in which to unite the conflicting principles. Religion he never willingly talked about; hence it could not give him the satisfaction he lacked. He thought he found it in Art, however; since for Art he battled with all the strength of his genius, and in the sacred mission of Art he believed with all his soul. He has many enthusiastic bursts on the subject, agreeing in some respects with the views laid down by Schiller in hisAesthetische Erziehung des Menschen:--"They alone are true artists who devote themselves with undivided love and enthusiasm to their goddess; to them alone is true Art revealed.... There is no Art which is not sacred.... The sacred purpose of all Art is apprehension of Nature in that deepest sense of the word which enkindles in the soul an ardent striving after the higher life.... I do not ask about the artistes life; but his work must be pure, in the highest degree respectable, and if possible religious. It has no need, therefore, to have any so-called moral tendency; nay, it ought not to have such. The truly beautiful is itself moral, only in another form.... Art is eternally clear. The mists of ignorance are as inimical to her as the life-destroying carbonic acid gas of immorality. Art is the highest perfection of human power. Heart and Understanding are her common parents."Music was his favourite art. It first taught him to feel; and not only was it his unfailing solace in hours of trouble, but it brought him messages of deeper import: it disclosed to him glimpses of another world--it was the "language of heaven." Here again a passage from his own works expresses his opinions upon this point better than any other pen can express them:--"No art, I believe, affords such strong evidence of the spiritual in man as music, and there is no art that requires so exclusively means that are--purely intellectual and ætherial. The intuition of what is Highest and Holiest--of the Intelligent Power which enkindles the spark of life in all Nature--is audibly expressed in musical sound; hence music and song are the utterance of the fullest perfection of existence--praise of the Creator! Agreeably to its real essential nature, therefore, music is religious cultus; and its origin is to be sought for and found, simply and solely, in religion, in the Church."29Treating of Hoffmann's position with respect to music, Wilibald Alexis says, "We do not know any other man who has expressed in words such a real true enthusiasm for an art [as Hoffmann for music]; and specialists assure us that few have thoroughly grasped the nature of music so admirably."As far as a foreigner may presume to judge of Hoffmann's language and literary style, it would appear to be chiefly distinguished by strong grace, ease, naturalness, and nervous vigour. German critics acknowledge its charms, calling it a model of clearness and masterly skill and elegance. Perhaps its beauties are best seen, that is in a more chastened form, inKater Murr. Repetitions, however, and exaggerations in description of sentiment tend, at times, to mar the reader's pleasure. Signs of haste, too, are not wanting, as Carlyle pointed out. This was chiefly due to the very large number of commissions he received from publishers and others, who keenly competed for the productions of his pen. At the date of his death he had as many commissions on hand as would, if he accepted them all, have kept him fully employed for several years.To those who love a good story, well told, the five specially mentioned may be recommended; and for those who desire to explore the dark by-paths (Irrwege) of the human spirit, to penetrate to some of its rarest comers, and to know all its ins and outs, as well as for those who aim at studying German literature, Hoffmann is a writer who ought to be read at greater length.THE TRANSLATOR.FOOTNOTES TO "BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE":Footnote1The chief sources for this biographical notice have beenE. T. A. Hoffmann's Leben und Nachlass, von J. G. Hitzig, herausg. von Micheline Hoffmann, geb. Rorer, 5 vols., Stuttgart, 1839;Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben, von Z. Funck [C. Kunz], Leipsic, 1836; and various minor essays and papers.]Footnote2Later in life he adopted the name of "Amadeus" instead of "Wilhelm," out of admiration for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great musician (seeErinng., pp. 77-80).]Footnote3Another account (see H. Döring's article "Hoffmann," in Ersch und Gruber'sAllgem. Encyk.) states 21st Jan., 1778. The date in the text is the one, however, that is generally accepted, and now without question; it is the one confirmed by Hoffmann himself (cf. Letter 15 inLeben).]Footnote4These two books, together with Schubert'sSymbolik des Traums, were favourites with him throughout life. In his youth he was a most diligent student of the new literature of his native country; English he also read to a large extent, Shakespearian quotations being very frequent in his letters; and we find the names of Sterne, Swift, Smollett, &c. Later in life he hardly read anything unless it were exceptionally good, and then only when recommended to do so by his friends. Political papers he never read, and scarcely ever criticisms on his own works.]Footnote5That is, after Hippel had completed his academic career, and left Königsberg.]Footnote6That is, after the king's death in 1797. She afterwards married the Holbein here mentioned.]Footnote7Romeo and Juliet, iii. 9.]Footnote8Leben, iii. pp. 231-233.]Footnote9A suburb or park of Warsaw, beneath the tall beeches of which Hoffmann loved to lie dreaming, or sketch from Nature.]Footnote10An equestrian statue of John Sobieski, the deliverer of Vienna from the Turks.]Footnote11Polish for "moustaches."]Footnote12Leben, iii. pp. 251-254.]Footnote13A very comic incident, of which Hoffmann himself was the hero, took place on the occasion of Werner's reading his new tragedyDas Kreuz an der Ostseeto a select circle of friends. Unfortunately it cannot be compressed into sufficiently short space to be quoted here. Hoffmann relates it inDie Serapionsbrüder, vol. iv., afterSignor Formica.]Footnote14Leben, v. pp. 18-20; cf. alsoErinnerungenp. 1, &c., where Kunz details the circumstances under which he was introduced to Hoffmann.]Footnote15Several of Calderon's, mainly at Hoffmann's suggestion and by his assistance; the "Worship of the Cross" was particularly successful in the Catholic town of Bamberg.]Footnote16Kunz tells us how they used to go down into the cellar, sit astride of the cask, and drink, andsich des heitern Lebens freuenwith genial and sprightly sallies; and his picture has no faint smack of Auerbach's Keller (Faust). SeeLeben, v. p. 177, note.]Footnote17Compare Nanni inMeister Wacht, Clara inDer Sandmann, Rose inMeister Martin, Cecily inBerganza, &c.]Footnote18SeeErinnerungen, pp. 60sq.]Footnote19SeeLeben, iv. p. 95, v. p. 27;Erinnerungen, pp. 28-31.]Footnote20These adventures are described in one of the most humorous chapters (iv.) of theErinnerungen.]Footnote21It is treated of inDon Juanand inDie Fremdenloge, in theFantasiestücke. A recent critic has declared that this essay will always have value in connection with the stage-representation of the problem of Don Juan (cf.Die Gegenwart, 24th May, 1884).]Footnote22Leben, vol. iv. pp. 58, 59.]Footnote23Leben, vol. iv. p. 140.]Footnote24Contessa and Koreff are strikingly portrayed in theSerapionsbrüder(vol. ii.), the former as "Sylvester," the latter as "Vincenz."]Footnote25The sexual relations are handled in a mystical, sensuous way; something of the same kind of treatment occurs again inDas Elementargeist.]Footnote26Leben, vol. iv. pp. 118-120.]Footnote27Leben, iii. pp. 120-123; iv. p. 60.]Footnote28"Behold the lot of mankind--joy to-day, to-morrow grief," Walther von Eschenbach'sParzival, ii. 103, ll. 23, 24.]Footnote29Serapionsbrüder, vol. ii., Introduction to part iv.]
"Vain are an author's efforts to bring us to believe in what he does not believe in himself, in what he cannot believe in, since he has not made it his own byseeingit (erschauen). What else are the characters of such an author, who, to borrow the old phrase, is no true seer, but deceitful marionettes, painfully glued together out of alien materials?... At least let each one of us [the Brethren] strive earnestly and truly to grasp the image that has arisen in his mind in all its features, its colours, its lights and its shades, and then when he feels himself really enkindled by them let him proceed to embody them in an external description."
"Vain are an author's efforts to bring us to believe in what he does not believe in himself, in what he cannot believe in, since he has not made it his own byseeingit (erschauen). What else are the characters of such an author, who, to borrow the old phrase, is no true seer, but deceitful marionettes, painfully glued together out of alien materials?... At least let each one of us [the Brethren] strive earnestly and truly to grasp the image that has arisen in his mind in all its features, its colours, its lights and its shades, and then when he feels himself really enkindled by them let him proceed to embody them in an external description."
Hoffmann has mostly succeeded in acting up to his canon and has written in its spirit; and in so far true genius cannot be denied him. And he possessed in no less eminent a degree the true art of the born story- teller. The interest seldom if ever flags; and the curious anomalies of men and of men-creatures (Mensch-Thiere), whom he mingles amongst his winning heroines and his delightful satiric characters, oftener than not quite enthrall the mind or afford it true enjoyment as the case may be, and this they do in spite of the fact that, owing to their own nature, they frequently stand outside the ordinary sphere of human sympathies. Of course it may readily be conceived that the danger which he was liable to fall into was want of clearness in conception and sentiment, but he has avoided this rock for the most part with wonderful skill. One of his latest productions,Prinzessin Brambilla, is the one where this fault is most markedly conspicuous; nor is theElixierefree from it.
German critics have not failed to notice the sweet grace and winning loveliness which hover about the characters of most of his heroines. They are nearly all presented in colours impregnated with real poetic beauty; see, for instance, Seraphina (Das Majorat), Annunciata (Doge), Madelon and Mdlle. de Scudéry (Scudéri), Rose (Meister Martin), Cecily (Berganza), and others.
Carlyle, whose brief and for the most part truthful essay upon Hoffmann (in vol. ii. of hisGerman Romance, 1829) appears to have been based largely upon others' opinions rather than upon first-hand acquaintance with his author, says that in him "there are the materials of a glorious poet, but no poet has been fashioned out of them." And when we seek for poetic elements in Hoffmann's works, we are not altogether disappointed. We have just stated that his heroines are creations of a poet's fancy; and in the scene between Father Hilarius and Kreisler inKater Murr, and in the passages and characters already alluded to inDie Elixiere, in the sunny cheerfulMärchen--Der goldene Topf(which Hoffmann calls his "poetic masterpiece"), inDas Gelübde,Nussknacker, &c., we enter the world of higher imagination. Again, whilst inDoge und Dogaressewe are arrested by the poetic charm of the island life of the Lagune in the golden days of Venice's splendour, inMeister Martinwe are no less, perhaps still more impressed by the rich romantic beauty of life in the old mediæval town of Nuremberg. InDie Scudériwe are made acquainted with the cold glittering court of Louis XIV. through the lovable character of Mdlle. de Scudéry; and whilst on the one hand following with deep interest the fate of Brusson and his love, on the other we are led to contrast the subtilty of the plot with the fine analytic power of Poe in TheMurders in the Rue Morgue. When visiting with Hoffmann the weird castle ofDas Majorat, we are made to hear the cold shrill blasts of the Baltic whistling past our ears, and to feel the storm and the sea-spray dashing in our faces. These four tales are unquestionably the best that Hoffmann has written; to them must be addedMeister Wachte, on account of its excellent characterisation of the hero. In striking contrast with the majority of the things he has written, these five tales show him when he is most objective; in them he has wielded his powers with more wise restraint than in any of the others, and introduced less of his strange fantastic caricatures. Next after these tales must be named, though on a lower level, and simply because they best illustrate his peculiar genius, the two books ofKater Murr, the fairy taleDer goldene Topf, andDes Vetters Eckfenster. In the works here named we have the best fruits of Hoffmann's pen. And if instead of asking in the mistaken spirit of competition which is now so much in vogue. What is Hoffmann's position in literature? we ask rather, Has he written anything that deserves to be read? we shall have already had our answer. The works here singled out are worthy of being preserved and read; and of themDas MajoratandMeister Martinare perhaps entitled to be called the best, though some German critics have mentionedMeister Wachtalong with the former as having a claim to the first rank.
It is now time to take a glance at Hoffmann's satiric power. This was launched principally against two classes of society; the one is that of which his uncle Otto was a type, the man who is unreasonably obstinate in defence of the conventionalities of life, and no less so in their steady observance: the second class was that whose representatives aroused Hoffmann's ire so greatly at Bamberg and Berlin "tea-circles," or "tea-sings"--those who coquetted with art in an unworthy or frivolous manner. Against this latter class his irony and satiric wrath were especially fierce, as may be read inBerganza,Die Irrungen, theKreisleriana,Kater Murr,Signor Formica, &c. Perhaps the most amusing, for quiet humour, of the former class isDie Brautwahl. The force of his satiric power lay in the skilful use of sudden contrast. Hence it plays more frequently upon or near the surface, and lacks the depth and pathos of true humour; but it is idle to expect from a man what he hasn't got.
In so far as this author had any serious philosophical belief, it would appear to have been that man was a slave of Chance, or Fate, or Destiny, or whatever it may be called. Sometimes he is the plaything of circumstances; sometimes a defenceless victim under "Fate's brazen hand," or of "that Eternal Power which rules over us." The real significance of life is summoned up in the statement that it is a struggle between contending powers of good and evil, against both of which man is equally helpless. He believed that whenever any good fell to a man's lot there was always some evil lurking in ambush behind it, or, to borrow his own expressive phrase, "the Devil must put his tail upon everything." His further views are here quoted fromDer Magnetiseur:--
"We are knitted with all things without us, with all Nature, in such close ties, both psychic and physical, that the severance from them would, if it were indeed possible, destroy our own existence. Our so- called intensive life is conditioned by the extensive; the former is only a reflex of the latter, in which the figures and images received, as if reflected in a concave mirror, often appear in changed relations that are wonderful and singularly strange, notwithstanding that these caricatures again And their real originals in life. I boldly maintain, that no man has ever thought or dreamt anything the elements of which were not to be found in Nature; nohow can he get out of her."
"We are knitted with all things without us, with all Nature, in such close ties, both psychic and physical, that the severance from them would, if it were indeed possible, destroy our own existence. Our so- called intensive life is conditioned by the extensive; the former is only a reflex of the latter, in which the figures and images received, as if reflected in a concave mirror, often appear in changed relations that are wonderful and singularly strange, notwithstanding that these caricatures again And their real originals in life. I boldly maintain, that no man has ever thought or dreamt anything the elements of which were not to be found in Nature; nohow can he get out of her."
Was this the cause or the result of the visions he used to see?
From his conception of strife between good and evil as interpreting the significance of existence arose that dissonance which lies at the root of nearly all his most characteristic works--that sense of want, that failure to find final satisfaction which may be only too readily detected. For the conflict within himself he knew no real mediatory: he was baffled to discover a higher category in which to unite the conflicting principles. Religion he never willingly talked about; hence it could not give him the satisfaction he lacked. He thought he found it in Art, however; since for Art he battled with all the strength of his genius, and in the sacred mission of Art he believed with all his soul. He has many enthusiastic bursts on the subject, agreeing in some respects with the views laid down by Schiller in hisAesthetische Erziehung des Menschen:--
"They alone are true artists who devote themselves with undivided love and enthusiasm to their goddess; to them alone is true Art revealed.... There is no Art which is not sacred.... The sacred purpose of all Art is apprehension of Nature in that deepest sense of the word which enkindles in the soul an ardent striving after the higher life.... I do not ask about the artistes life; but his work must be pure, in the highest degree respectable, and if possible religious. It has no need, therefore, to have any so-called moral tendency; nay, it ought not to have such. The truly beautiful is itself moral, only in another form.... Art is eternally clear. The mists of ignorance are as inimical to her as the life-destroying carbonic acid gas of immorality. Art is the highest perfection of human power. Heart and Understanding are her common parents."
"They alone are true artists who devote themselves with undivided love and enthusiasm to their goddess; to them alone is true Art revealed.... There is no Art which is not sacred.... The sacred purpose of all Art is apprehension of Nature in that deepest sense of the word which enkindles in the soul an ardent striving after the higher life.... I do not ask about the artistes life; but his work must be pure, in the highest degree respectable, and if possible religious. It has no need, therefore, to have any so-called moral tendency; nay, it ought not to have such. The truly beautiful is itself moral, only in another form.... Art is eternally clear. The mists of ignorance are as inimical to her as the life-destroying carbonic acid gas of immorality. Art is the highest perfection of human power. Heart and Understanding are her common parents."
Music was his favourite art. It first taught him to feel; and not only was it his unfailing solace in hours of trouble, but it brought him messages of deeper import: it disclosed to him glimpses of another world--it was the "language of heaven." Here again a passage from his own works expresses his opinions upon this point better than any other pen can express them:--
"No art, I believe, affords such strong evidence of the spiritual in man as music, and there is no art that requires so exclusively means that are--purely intellectual and ætherial. The intuition of what is Highest and Holiest--of the Intelligent Power which enkindles the spark of life in all Nature--is audibly expressed in musical sound; hence music and song are the utterance of the fullest perfection of existence--praise of the Creator! Agreeably to its real essential nature, therefore, music is religious cultus; and its origin is to be sought for and found, simply and solely, in religion, in the Church."29
"No art, I believe, affords such strong evidence of the spiritual in man as music, and there is no art that requires so exclusively means that are--purely intellectual and ætherial. The intuition of what is Highest and Holiest--of the Intelligent Power which enkindles the spark of life in all Nature--is audibly expressed in musical sound; hence music and song are the utterance of the fullest perfection of existence--praise of the Creator! Agreeably to its real essential nature, therefore, music is religious cultus; and its origin is to be sought for and found, simply and solely, in religion, in the Church."29
Treating of Hoffmann's position with respect to music, Wilibald Alexis says, "We do not know any other man who has expressed in words such a real true enthusiasm for an art [as Hoffmann for music]; and specialists assure us that few have thoroughly grasped the nature of music so admirably."
As far as a foreigner may presume to judge of Hoffmann's language and literary style, it would appear to be chiefly distinguished by strong grace, ease, naturalness, and nervous vigour. German critics acknowledge its charms, calling it a model of clearness and masterly skill and elegance. Perhaps its beauties are best seen, that is in a more chastened form, inKater Murr. Repetitions, however, and exaggerations in description of sentiment tend, at times, to mar the reader's pleasure. Signs of haste, too, are not wanting, as Carlyle pointed out. This was chiefly due to the very large number of commissions he received from publishers and others, who keenly competed for the productions of his pen. At the date of his death he had as many commissions on hand as would, if he accepted them all, have kept him fully employed for several years.
To those who love a good story, well told, the five specially mentioned may be recommended; and for those who desire to explore the dark by-paths (Irrwege) of the human spirit, to penetrate to some of its rarest comers, and to know all its ins and outs, as well as for those who aim at studying German literature, Hoffmann is a writer who ought to be read at greater length.
THE TRANSLATOR.
FOOTNOTES TO "BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE":
Footnote1The chief sources for this biographical notice have beenE. T. A. Hoffmann's Leben und Nachlass, von J. G. Hitzig, herausg. von Micheline Hoffmann, geb. Rorer, 5 vols., Stuttgart, 1839;Erinnerungen aus meinem Leben, von Z. Funck [C. Kunz], Leipsic, 1836; and various minor essays and papers.]
Footnote2Later in life he adopted the name of "Amadeus" instead of "Wilhelm," out of admiration for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great musician (seeErinng., pp. 77-80).]
Footnote3Another account (see H. Döring's article "Hoffmann," in Ersch und Gruber'sAllgem. Encyk.) states 21st Jan., 1778. The date in the text is the one, however, that is generally accepted, and now without question; it is the one confirmed by Hoffmann himself (cf. Letter 15 inLeben).]
Footnote4These two books, together with Schubert'sSymbolik des Traums, were favourites with him throughout life. In his youth he was a most diligent student of the new literature of his native country; English he also read to a large extent, Shakespearian quotations being very frequent in his letters; and we find the names of Sterne, Swift, Smollett, &c. Later in life he hardly read anything unless it were exceptionally good, and then only when recommended to do so by his friends. Political papers he never read, and scarcely ever criticisms on his own works.]
Footnote5That is, after Hippel had completed his academic career, and left Königsberg.]
Footnote6That is, after the king's death in 1797. She afterwards married the Holbein here mentioned.]
Footnote7Romeo and Juliet, iii. 9.]
Footnote8Leben, iii. pp. 231-233.]
Footnote9A suburb or park of Warsaw, beneath the tall beeches of which Hoffmann loved to lie dreaming, or sketch from Nature.]
Footnote10An equestrian statue of John Sobieski, the deliverer of Vienna from the Turks.]
Footnote11Polish for "moustaches."]
Footnote12Leben, iii. pp. 251-254.]
Footnote13A very comic incident, of which Hoffmann himself was the hero, took place on the occasion of Werner's reading his new tragedyDas Kreuz an der Ostseeto a select circle of friends. Unfortunately it cannot be compressed into sufficiently short space to be quoted here. Hoffmann relates it inDie Serapionsbrüder, vol. iv., afterSignor Formica.]
Footnote14Leben, v. pp. 18-20; cf. alsoErinnerungenp. 1, &c., where Kunz details the circumstances under which he was introduced to Hoffmann.]
Footnote15Several of Calderon's, mainly at Hoffmann's suggestion and by his assistance; the "Worship of the Cross" was particularly successful in the Catholic town of Bamberg.]
Footnote16Kunz tells us how they used to go down into the cellar, sit astride of the cask, and drink, andsich des heitern Lebens freuenwith genial and sprightly sallies; and his picture has no faint smack of Auerbach's Keller (Faust). SeeLeben, v. p. 177, note.]
Footnote17Compare Nanni inMeister Wacht, Clara inDer Sandmann, Rose inMeister Martin, Cecily inBerganza, &c.]
Footnote18SeeErinnerungen, pp. 60sq.]
Footnote19SeeLeben, iv. p. 95, v. p. 27;Erinnerungen, pp. 28-31.]
Footnote20These adventures are described in one of the most humorous chapters (iv.) of theErinnerungen.]
Footnote21It is treated of inDon Juanand inDie Fremdenloge, in theFantasiestücke. A recent critic has declared that this essay will always have value in connection with the stage-representation of the problem of Don Juan (cf.Die Gegenwart, 24th May, 1884).]
Footnote22Leben, vol. iv. pp. 58, 59.]
Footnote23Leben, vol. iv. p. 140.]
Footnote24Contessa and Koreff are strikingly portrayed in theSerapionsbrüder(vol. ii.), the former as "Sylvester," the latter as "Vincenz."]
Footnote25The sexual relations are handled in a mystical, sensuous way; something of the same kind of treatment occurs again inDas Elementargeist.]
Footnote26Leben, vol. iv. pp. 118-120.]
Footnote27Leben, iii. pp. 120-123; iv. p. 60.]
Footnote28"Behold the lot of mankind--joy to-day, to-morrow grief," Walther von Eschenbach'sParzival, ii. 103, ll. 23, 24.]
Footnote29Serapionsbrüder, vol. ii., Introduction to part iv.]