markable for the vast power manifested in the construc- tion, and the dimness of the construction itself, while here and there the acuteness of some remarks is not to be mistaken. His Lelaiinge zu Sais, or the " Pupils at Sais," is another fragment of a romance, the object of which was to reveal Novalis's view of physical science, for which and mathematics he had a great taste. If one desires an insight into the characteristics of Novalis, he may get it truly by combining into a rounded whole the speculative idealism of SheUey, the weird romanti- cism of Chatterton, and the ardent piety of Kirke White. As a leader of the romantic school of German literature, his influence on the belief and tastes of the German mind was like that of his contemporaries Coleridge and Wordsworth on those of the P^nglish. It must, how- ever, be borne in mind, for an imderstanding of this statement, that German literature at that time bore the marks either of the old scholasticism, or of the ma- terialism introduced from France, or of the classic cult- ure introduced by Lessing and his coadjutors. The element then revived was the mediceval element of chivalrv, the high and lofty courage, the delicate xs- thetic taste, which had marked the Middle Ages. Her- der (q. v.), to whom Germany owes much, disgusted with the stoical and analytic spirit of the Kantian phi- losophy, had already attempted, and not in vain, to throw the mind back to an appreciation of old historj', and especially had manifested an enthusiastic admira- tion of Hebrew literature; but now, as if by one general movement, the public taste was turned to an apprecia- tion of the freshness of feeling and tine elements of character which existed in the Christianity of the Mid- dle Ages (see Farrar, Crit.Hist. of Free Thought, p. 239, 240). If the works thus far mentioned are remarkable for singular combination, his Geisfliche Lieder (spiritual songs) are no less so for their perfect simplicity and pure spirit of devotion. The tender ardor of romance has certainly nowhere been expressed more beautifully than in the spiritual songs of Novalis, which form a favora- ble contrast to the insipid moralizing rhymes of the pe- riod of the lUuminati ; and though thej' do not bear tlie stamp of Church hymns, still they are well adapted to be sung in quiet solitude, even within the heart. Those who have not access to the German may find two spec- imens in good English version in Saunders's Evenings with the Sacred Poets (new ed. rev. N. Y. 1870, r2mo), p. 169. But by far the most important of Novalis's writ- ings are his posthumous fragments, for they furnish us a better insight into his philosophical notions. It is in tliese that he touches upon many points in morals, physics, and philosophy. Indeed, he develops in them somewhat at large a philosophical system, and there can be no doubt that he would have figured promi- nenth' as a German philosopher had he not died so young.
If we examine all the writings of Novalis in order to determine how far and in what particulars he has influenced German religious thought, we find him com- pleting the cycle of mysticism which sprang from the mixed influence of Fichte (q. v.) and Jacobi (q. v.), Schlegel, in whom it first manifested itself, took refuge from the abyss of scepticism, to which his extreme subjective principles led, in an objective revelation, as the organ of eternal verities otherwise unknown, Schleiermacher, while making human consciousness the supreme arbiter and test of truth, yet would assimilate them all to the perfect mind of Christ, the divine man, the type of infinite purity and love. Novalis, pro- ceeding one step further, regards it as the true pur- port of philosophy to destroy the individual, the finite, the imperfect, the subjective self, and to enable us to become one with the infinite and all-perfect mind. To him the foundation of all philosophy is faith, that is, an inward light which reveals to us the infinite and the real, a direct perception of the Divinity ; an irresistible conviction of the presence of the great Spirit of the uni- verse in all we see, hear, and feel around us. Thinking
NOVARA
206
NOVA SCOTIA
is to him but the reflection, or the dream of faith — one which pictures to us truth only in dim, unreal, and fan- tastic forms. It is only where we cause our own indi- viduality to sink and die within us, when the peculiar thoujfhts and feelings of the finite self are crushed under the power of the higher feelings, and we become absorb- ed in the Divine, that we rise to the full light of truth, and gaze upon things as they are. In Novalis, accord- ingly, we no longer see the idealist taking his stand upon the principles of a purely subjective philosophy; but we see him, having left the road, and introduced the additional element of a higher faith, completely ov^er- coming the subjective point of view, sinking the indi- vidual self in the great Spirit of the universe, and evinc- ing a sublime mysticism that strives to unite man with God (com p. Morell, Specul Phil, in the Wlh Cent. p. 622). Tieck edited the works of Novalis and sketched the life of his friend soon after his demise. But three quar- ters of a century's search and criticism have discovered many complementing and correcting traits for the gen- eral portrait, and brought to light a quantity of valua- ble letters and fragments. A near relative has recently edited these in a ne>v work on Novalis, on occasion of the centenary of his birth. The general results are : Novalis was not so near Roman Catholicism as Tieck and Schlegel have represented him (comp. on this point the severe strictures by Hagenbach in his German Ra- tionalism, \). 346-349 ; and Hurst's transl. of C/;. Ilist. l8/h and I9th Cent, ii, 283 sq.). Novalis's so-called Mariolatric li3'mns were not the free expression of his personal re- ligion, but were written as integral parts of his imcom- pleted mediaeval romance, Ileinrich von Ofterdingen. His heart ever remained true to his Moravian training, though his theology assumed a less fettered form, some- what in the (subsequent) manner of Schleiermacher. The suspicion that he was a Roman Catholic at heart could only have arisen through forgetfulness of the fact that, at the serene elevation at which Novalis habitually dwelt, the little geometrical fences which cut up the great field of Cliristianity into petty angular sectarian garden-spots were almost invisible. To very many this Nachlese (see belo^v) will prove very welcome, especially to all who love to see in the Christian life a vital syn- thesis of ethics and {esthetics. Very recently George Macdonald has brought out The Sjnrifual Sonfjs of No- valis and other Translatiotis in Verse (Lond. 1876, 12mo). See Xovalis Schriften heraust/ef/eben von Fr. Schlei/el u. Ludwig Tieck (Berl. 1802, 2 vols. 8vo ; 4th ed. 1826) ; Friedrich v. Hardenherg: eine Nachlese aiis den Quellen des Familienarchirs h:'ransgegehen von einem Mitglied der Familie (Gotha, 1874, 8vo) ; Kahnis, Hist. German Protestantism, p. 202 ; Vilmar, Gesch. d. deutsch. Litera- tur, p. 500 sq. ; Carlyle, Fssag on Novalis (in "Miscell. Works"), vol. ii ; Gervinus, Gesch. d, deutschen Dichtung ; Koberstein, Gesch. d. deutschen Literatur, iii, 2202 sq., 2428 sq. ; Wolff, Kncgclop. d. deutsch. Natiomdiileratur. iii, 393-390; Meth. Qu. Per. Jan. 1874, p. 177; Atlantic Monthlg, Feb. 1876. (J. H. W.)