Page:The Journal of English and Germanic Philology Volume 18.djvu/123

 Weigand U7 tion of who is to be understood by 'die Vernunftigen, ' even tho it does not afford us 'eo ipso' the solution of the problem. This much seems conclusively proved, however, as previously pointed out: Like the Rationalists and the Romanticists 'die Vernunftigen' must be some sort of party or coterie definitely associated with a contemporary movement. At the beginning of this chapter Hebe refers, it is true, to the war between 'die Narren' and 'die Vernunf- tigen' as being as old as the creation of the world; hence there al- ways have been wise men as well as fools; but Heine's later remarks about Rationalism and Romanticism apply so specifically to his own time that nothing less than an identification of 'die Verniinf ti- gen' with a specific movement advanced by specific leaders will do. Heine refers to 'die Vernunftigen' as his new associates. Apart from this one fact, however, he tells us precious little about them. Perhaps an apparently bantering remark about the general atti- tude of 'die Vernunftigen' in the great war of extermination will give us a clue: "Die Vernunftigen zeigen sich wie gewohnlich als die ruhigsten, massigsten und vernlinf tigsten. " If my hypothesis is borne out by the facts, I shall show that this characterization applies in full to the Hegelian philosophical movement which was on the point of reaching its high watermark of power at the time when Heine wrote 'Das Buch Le Grand.' Let us examine this hypothesis in detail. When Heine, in the spring of 1821, came to Berlin as a student of law, his literary connections soon gave him access to the salons of the Varnhagens, the Roberts and the Hohenhausens. His most intimate associates, however, were a group of young Jewish scholars who had set themselves the task of emancipating their race from the fetters of religious and social prejudice which arrested their free development. Most of them were at the same time devoted pupils of Hegel. Eduard Cans, Moser, Markus, Wohlwill and Lehmann belonged to this group. The one to whom Heine was most inti- mately attached was Moses Moser. Heine's correspondence with this friend, flourishing particularly between 1823 and 1827, allows us glimpses into the innermost sanctum of Heine's personality and reveals a serious striving for spiritual ennoblement, such as we do not meet again in Heine's career after Moser's influence had been superseded by that of less magnanimous friends.