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LITERATURE] elsewhere because of the considerable share of power still legally belonging to the cantons. Another kindred question (owing to the rapid development of electric traction in Switzerland) is the equitable proposal (accepted in 1908) that the utilization of the immense force supplied by the many rivers and torrents in Switzerland should become a Federal monopoly, so as to secure to the Confederation the control over such important sources of revenue as otherwise might easily be unscrupulously exploited by private companies and firms.

Switzerland, by reason of natural conditions, is properly a free trade country, for it exports far more than it imports, in order to supply the demand for objects that it cannot itself produce. But Prince Bismarck's protectionist policy in 1879 was imitated by France, Austria and Italy, so that Switzerland was gradually shut in by a high wall of tariffs. Hence in 1891 the Swiss people approved, in sheer self-defence, a great increase of the customs duties, and in 1903 sanctioned a further very considerable advance in these duties, so that it is now a thoroughly Protectionist country, despite its obvious natural disadvantages. The huge increase in revenue naturally led to increased expenditure, which took the form of lavish subventions to all sorts of cantonal objects, magnificent Federal buildings, most useful improvements in the post and telegraph services, and extensive and Iamentable construction of military fortifications in Uri and the Valais against some unknown foe. In 1894 it was proposed to distribute part of this new wealth in giving a bonus to the cantons at the rate of 2 francs per head of the population, but this extravagant proposal (nicknamed the “Beutezug”) was rejected, owing to the cool common sense of the Swiss people, by a majority of over two to one. These prosperous circumstances, however, contributed mainly to the adoption or suggestion of various measures of state socialism, e.g. compulsory sick insurance, Federal subvention to primary schools, purchase of the five great Swiss railway lines, giving a right to every able bodied man to have work at the expense of the state, subventions to many objects, &c.

 

There is no such thing as a Swiss national vernacular literature properly speaking, this being explained by the diversity between the states of which it is composed, which has not favoured any common intellectual life. But there are four branches which make up a literature of Switzerland, distinguished according to the language in which the works in each are composed. As the Confederation, from its foundation in 1291 till 1798, was exclusively composed (with a partial exception in the case of Fribourg) of German-speaking districts, the real Swiss vernacular literature (if any one branch is to be dignified by that name) is in German, though in the 18th century French became the fashionable language in Bern and elsewhere, while the influence of the French-speaking “allies” and subject lands was more marked than before. Hence the German branch is by far the more important and more national, while the French branch is not really Swiss till after ISIS, when these regions took full rank as cantons. Thus Geneva and Lausanne in the 18th century, with their respective brilliant societies, were only “Swiss” in so far as Geneva was an “ally” and Vaud a “subject land.” The Italian and Romonsch-Ladin branches are of not sufficient importance to deserve more than a passing notice.

a. German Branch.—It is noticeable that while the original League of 1291 (like the earlier charters of liberties to the first members of the Confederation) is drawn up in Latin, all later alliances among the cantons, as well as documents concerning the whole Confederation (the Parsons’ Ordinance of 1370, the Sempach Ordinance of 1393,, and the Compact of Stans 1481) and all the Recesses of the Diets are compiled in German. Though such political documents are not “literature.” yet they show that these early pre-Reformation alliances rested on the popular consent, and so were expressed i n vernacular German rather than in clerkly Latin. But this vigorous popular life found other channels in which to develop its energy. First in order of date are the Minnesingers, the number of whom in the districts that ultimately formed part of the medieval Swiss Confederation are said to have exceeded thirty. Zürich then (as now) was the chief literary centre of the

Confederation. The two Manesses (father and son) collected many of their songs in a MS. that has happily come down to us and is preserved in Paris. The most prominent personage of this circle of the muses was Master John Hadlaub, who flourished in the second half of the 13th and the first quarter of the 14th centuries. Next we have a long series of war songs, celebrating the marvellous victories of the early Swiss. One of the earliest and most famous of these was composed by Hans Halbsuter of Lucerne to commemorate the glorious fight of Sempach (1386), not far from his native town. There are other similar songs for the victory of N iifels (1388) and those of Grandson and Morat (both 1476) in the Burgundian War, while in the 14th century the Dominican friar Ulrich Boner of Bern versified many old fables. Still more important are the historical chronicles relating to different parts of Switzerland. Thus in the 14th century we have Christian Kuchimeister's continuation of the annals of the famous monastery of St Gall, in the early 15th century the rhymed chronicle of the war between the Appenzellers and the abbot of St Gall, and rather later in the same century the chronicles of Conrad Iustinger of Bern and Hans Fründ (d. 1469) of Lucerne, besides the fantastical chronicle of Strattligen and a scarcely less fanciful poem on the supposed Scandinavian descent of the men of Schwyz and of Ober Hasle, both by Eulogius Kiburger (d. 1506) of Bern. In the 15th century, too, we have the White Book of Sarnen and the first Tell song (see ), which gave rise to the well-known legend, as well as the rather later play named the Urnerspiel dealing with the same subject. The Burgundian War witnessed a great outburst of historical ardour in the shape of chronicles written by Diebold Schilling (d. 1486) of Bern, by Melchior Russ (d. 1499), Diebold Schilling (d. between 1516 and 1523) and Petermann Etterlin (d. 1509), all three of Lucerne as well as by Gerold Edlibach (d. 1530) of Zürich, and by Johnanes Lenz (d. 1541) of Brugg. In the vernacular, too, are the earliest descriptions of the Confederation, those by Albert von Bonstetten of Einsiedeln (1479) and by Conrad Türst of Zürich (1496), to whom also we owe the first map of the country (1495–1497).

The Swiss Humanists wrote naturally in Latin, as did also, what was more surprising, the Swiss Reformers, at any rate for the most part, though the Zürich Bible of 1531 forms a striking exception. But Nicholas Manuel (1484–1530), a many-sided Bernese, composed satirical poems in German against the pope, while Valerius Anshelm (d. 1540), also of Bern, wrote one of the best Swiss chronicles extant. Giles Tschudi (q.v.) of Glarus, despite great literary activity, published but a single German work in his lifetime—the Uralt warhafftig Alpisch Rhaetia sampt dem Tract der anderen Alpgebirgen (1538) besides his map of Switzerland (same date). (q.v.), who was a Swiss by adoption, published (1545) his Cosmographia in German, the work being translated into Latin in 1550. But the many-sided (q.v.), a born Swiss, wrote all his works in Latin, German translations appearing only at a later date. Thus the first important original product in German was the ve remarkable and elaborate history and description of Switzerland: issued in 1548 at Zürich by (q.v.) of that town. But (q.v.), who was in a way his continua tor, wrote all his works, theological and geographical, in Latin. (q.v.) engraved many plates, which were issued in a series of volumes (1642–1688) under the general title of Topographia, the earliest volume describing Switzerland, While all had a text in German by an Austrian, Martin Zeiller. Very characteristic of the age are the autobiography of the Valais scholar Thomas Platter (1499–1582) and the diary of his still more distinguished son Felix (1536–1614), both written in German, though not published till long after. But gradually Swiss historical writers gave up the use of Latin for their native tongue, so Michael Stettler (1580–1642) of Bern, Franz Haffner (1609–1671) of Soleure, and quite a number of Grisons authors (though the earliest in date, Ulrich Campell of Süs, c.–1509 c. 1582, still clung to Latin), such as Bartholomew Anhorn (1566–1640) and his son of the same name (1616–1670) and Johannes Guler (1562–1637). Yet Fortunatus Sprecher (1585–1647) preferred to write his Pallas raetica in Latin, as did Fortunatus Iuvalta (1567–1654) in the case of his autobiography. But we have some compensation in the delightful autobiography of Hans Ardüser of Davos (1557–post 1614) and the amusing dialogue between the Niesen and the Stockhorn by Hans Rudolf Rebmann (1566–1605), both composed in naive German. J. B. Plantin (1625–1697) wrote his description of Switzerland in Latin, Helvetia nova et antigua (1656), but J. J. Wagner's (1641–1695) guide to Switzerland is in German, despite its titles Index memorabilium Helvetiae (1684) and Mercurius helveticus (1688), though he issued his scientific description of his native land in Latin, Historia naturalis Helvetiae curiosa (1680).

In the 18th century the intellectual movement in Switzerland greatly developed, though it was naturally strongly influenced by local characteristics. Basel, Bern and especially Zürich were the chief literary centres. Basel was particularly distinguished for its mathematicians, such as (1707–1783, q.v.) and three members of the (q.v.) refugees from Antwerp, the brothers Iakob (1654–1705) and johannes (1667–1748), and the latter's son Daniel (1700–1782). But its chief literary glory was Isaac Iselin (1728–1783), one of the founders of the Helvetic Society 