cultivated by the classical writers; and how the Romantic School favored medieval-Christian tendencies—­much to Goethe’s annoyance.  It is of importance likewise to note the way in which Young Germany learned how to gain political-literary effects from the new French models; and finally, how the Northern realism of presentation, amalgamated with Tolstoy’s, Bjoernson’s, Strindberg’s and also Ibsen’s ethical subjectivity, educated the naturalism of the Germans.  It is precisely those poets that are especially characterized by German peculiarities who have also trained themselves in the use of foreign subjects and forms:  thus did Uhland, Moerike, Hebbel, and all the Romanticists.  We have already had occasion many times to call attention in detail to the educational effect of foreign countries.

German literature is, in short, one that possesses the typical moments of development which mark all literatures, and which Wilhelm Scherer was the first to call to our notice:  that is to say, it is a complicated organism in which the most varied tendencies cross one another, the most dissimilar generations of writers meet together, and the most remarkable events occur in the most unforeseen manner.

If we should now try to get a closer view of the last and by far the most important factor of literature, namely, the individual writers themselves, this difficulty in obtaining a general view of the whole, this working of the different parts against one another, this pulling away from one another, presents itself more clearly to us here than anywhere else.  The attempt to classify the development of our literature into distinct groups according to the personalities which compose them has been frequently made, since I, in spite of all the difficulties and dangers of such a hazardous enterprise, first undertook, in my German Literature of the Nineteenth Century, to give an historical and complete presentation of a literature which had as yet scarcely become historic.  I can here merely refer in passing to my own efforts and to those of Bartels, Biese, Riemann, and Soergel—­to name only these; for in compliance with the purpose of this introduction we must confine ourselves to giving a general comprehensive outline—­although it would be easy to improve upon it if one went more into detail.

It seems to me under these conditions that the groundlines of the development of our literature from 1700-1900 would be best impressed upon us by comparing the order of its evolution with that of the most “normal” poetic genius who ever lived—­namely, with that of Goethe; and thereby we should prove its development to be an essentially normal one.