CHAPTER III: CHARACTERISTICS OF GERHARDT AS A HYMN WRITER.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GERHARDT AS A HYMN WRITER.

From the close of the Thirty Years' War until 1680 there occurred in German hymnody a transition from the churchly and confessional to the pietistic and devotional hymns. [37] It is during this transitional period that the religious song of Germany finds its purest and sweetest expression in the hymns of Paul Gerhardt, who is as much the typical poet of the Lutheran, as [41]Herbert is of the English church. In Gerhardt more than in any other author all the requisites for the religious poem are united. He possessed a firm conviction of the objective truth of the Christian doctrine of salvation and also a genuine sentiment for all that is purely human. His deep Christian feeling together with sterling good sense, and a fresh and healthy appreciation of life in the realm of nature and in the intellectual world are the sources for his splendid work. His hymns are among the noblest contributions to sacred poetry, giving him a place second only to [42]Luther and even surpassing Luther's work in poetic fertility. Gervinus says of him: [38]

"He went back to Luther's most genuine type of hymn in such a manner as no one else had done, only so far modified as the requirements of his time demanded. In Luther's time the belief in Free Grace and the work of the Atonement in Redemption and the bursting of the gates of Hell was the inspiration of his joyful confidence; with Gerhardt it is the belief in the Love of God. With Luther the old wrathful God of the Romanists assumed the heavenly aspect of grace and mercy; with Gerhardt the merciful Righteous One is a gentle loving man. Like the old poets of the people he is sincerely and unconstrainedly pious, naive and hearty; the blissfulness of his faith makes him benign and amiable; in his way of writing he is as attractive, simple and pleasing as in his way of thinking."

Scherer [40] gives an even clearer characterization of the two hymn writers:

"Geistlicher Ernst des Vortrags schlieszt Heiterkeit des Gemütes nicht aus, und diese bildet in der That den sittlichen Grundcharakter von Gethardts Poesie. Wenn bei Luther die Welt voll Sturm und Gewitter ist, so liegt sie bei Gerhardt in beständigem Sonnenglanz; die Wohltaten des Schöpfers erfreuen das Herz; alles ist so schön zum Besten der Menschen eingerichtet; Tod und Hölle haben längst ihre Macht verloren; die Seele frohlockt in der Gewiszheit der Erlösung; Gnade geht vor Recht, Zorn musz der Liebe weichen. Luther steht wie ein Mann dem Bösen, Gerhardt sieht wie ein Jüngling darüber hinweg; und schlieszlich weisz er zu trösten und Zufriedenheit, Geduld zu predigen, das rechte Mittelmasz zu preisen und auch dem Uebel gute Seiten abzugewinnen; selbst die Sünde dient zum Heil. Bei Luther ruft die Gemeinde zu Gott, bei Gerhardt redet der Einzelne. Seine Lyrik ist nicht mehr Chorpoesie; sie beschränkt sich nicht auf das, worin alle betenden Christen einig sind; sie holt aus der Tiefe des individuellen Seelenlebens ihre Schätze; sie macht (um die Schulausdrücke zu gebrauchen) den Uebergang vom objektiven Bekenntnisliede zum subjektiven Erbauungslied."

Gerhardt sings his hymns with conviction, embodying in them such phases of feeling as might be experienced by any large body of sincere Christians. In all the religious lyrics even in the congregational hymns from the middle of the seventeenth century on we note a more personal and individual tone and with it a tendency to reproduce special forms of Christian experience often of a mystical character. Gerhardt's whole tone and style of thought belong to the confessional school, but the distinct individuality and expression of personal sentiment which are impressed on his poems already point to the devotional school.

Many of our poet's hymns show the influence of [43]Opitz' Trostgedichte in Widerwärtigkeit des Krieges. Critics [41] have gone so far as to say that "without Opitz there would be no Gerhardt." There can be no doubt but that the smoothness and elegance of form, the complete mastery of technique and the purity of language are a distinct heritage from him. But without consciously differing from Opitz and his school, Gerhardt has brought into prominence the popular expression of feeling, using the popular form of verse in which there prevails the natural flow of rhythm, so that no striving after correctness of form is evident. __________________________________________________________________

Musical Settings

Compared with most authors of his time Gerhardt wrote but little. His contemporary, [44]Rist (1607-1667), and his successor, [45]Schmolk (1672-1737), composed respectively 659 and 1188 hymns, while Gerhardt has the modest number of 132 poems in all. [42] Yet a complete hymnal might be compiled from them, so thoroughly do they embrace all religious and domestic experiences. They appeared at intervals from the year 1649 on, many of them for the first time in the Praxis pietatis melica, a collection of hymns and tunes by Johann Crüger, the famous organist and composer of chorals. Crüger died in the year 1662 and Cristoph Runge took over further editions of the book. Gerhardt made no further contributions to these publications because henceforth he became more intimately associated with Johann Georg Ebeling, Crüger's successor in his church and organ work. Ebeling was so much pleased with Gerhardt's hymns, that he at once began to set them to music and eventually he published them dividing them by "dozens" [43] into separate books. Gerhardt put at Ebeling's disposal the first copy of his hymns hitherto published and also thirty-one separate strophes which had for various reasons been omitted in previous editions. Finally he turned over to him twenty-six more poems which the Praxis pietatis melica had not published up to this time. Among them are a number which in all probability belong to his early period of poetic activity, such as: "O Tod, O Tod, du greulichs Bild," a paraphrase of one of Röber's [44] hymns. Also among them are several which from content and form must be regarded as products of his mature years, and from which the poet himself derived much comfort and strength. [45] The most important fact about the Ebeling edition is this, that the personality of Gerhardt, the poet, was for the first time presented to the German people's heart and mind. Hitherto his poems had been grouped together in collections of hymns with those of other and perhaps better known authors. Ebeling's publication placed Gerhardt's works on their own merit. The texts of the hymns in the editions of Crüger and Ebeling and later of Feustking [46] in 1707 have often different readings so that it is difficult to determine which the authentic version may be. It is quite within the limits of possibility that Gerhardt himself undertook revisions, as Feustking's title indicates. __________________________________________________________________

[42] Among them are 18 poems for occasions, 27 founded on Psalms and 24 founded on other parts of Holy Scripture.

[43] The tenth and last "dozen" of Gerhardt's hymns which Ebeling had set to music for four voices and with an accompaniment of two violins and a bass, appeared in 1667. The full title, characteristic of Ebeling, reads: Paul Gerhardt's spiritual devotions, consisting of one hundred and twenty hymns, collected into one volume, at the request of a number of eminent and distinguished gentlemen; first to the honor of the Divine Majesty and then, also for the consolation of esteemed and distressed Christendom, and for the increase of the Christianity of all believing souls--in sets by dozens, embellished with melodies for six parts." With such eagerness were these hymns sought after that Ebeling had to publish a new edition two years later. The melodies which proved most popular were those set to "Voller Wunder, voller Kunst," "Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott" and "Warum sollt' ich mich denn grämen." Each single dozen was again dedicated to a particular class of men with a characteristic preface. The first dozen he dedicated "to the prelates, counts, lords, knights, and estates of the Electorate of Brandenburg, this side the Oder and beyond the Elbe"; the second dozen, "To the high, noble-born, honored, and virtuous women of Berlin" and so on.

[44] Cf. pp. 1 and 2.
[45]
"Die güldne Sonne" [46]Goed. 293.

"Der Tag mit seinem Lichte" [47]Goed. 296. "Wie schön ists doch, Herr Jesu Christ" [48]Goed. 302. "Voller Wunder, voller Kunst" [49]Goed. 304. "Gib dich zufrieden und sei stille" [50]Goed. 274. "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" [51]Goed. 284. "Herr, du erforschest meinen Sinn" [52]Goed. 287. "Herr Gott, du bist ja für und für" [53]Goed. 315. "Ich danke dir mit Freuden" Goed. 333. "Ich, der ich oft in tiefes Leid" [54]Goed. 298. "Johannes sahe durch Gesicht" [55]Goed. 319. "Mein Seel ist in der Stille" Goed. 307. "Merkt auf, merkt Himmel, Erde" Goed. 278.

[46] Johann Heinrich Feustking: Ausgabe, Zerbst, 1707, text "nach des seligen Autors eigenhändigem revidirten Exemplar mit Fleisz übersehen." __________________________________________________________________

Acceptance in German Worship

Of these 132 poems a large proportion have become embodied in church music of Germany and many of them may be counted among the most beautiful in German hymnody. How widely they have been adopted into general use is shown by the fact that in modern hymnals in Germany there appear either in expanded or cento form, [47] altogether 78 of his hymns, while in the Schaff-Gilman "Library of Religious Poetry," which may be regarded as a representative collection of universal hymnody, the proportion among German hymn writers is as follows:--[56]Luther 10, Goethe 8, Gerhardt 7, [48] [57]Spitta 6,
[58]Scheffler 4, [59]Schmolk 4, etc. Pietism and rationalism transferred the centre of gravity in hymnody to a different point; that is, it changed the type of hymn or required of it other features, and thus it is that during the XVIIIth century, while Gerhardt's hymns lived on with others they are rarely accorded a leading place. It was only the reawakening of a life of faith that needed worship and strong evidence of reverence such as followed the wars of liberation that brought his hymns into the forefront once more and prompted further publications of them.

Rarely has there been, taking all in all, a time when there existed a greater gulf between poets and their effusions than in the XVIIth century. Most poets of that time gave forth what they had learned and what they knew,--not what they really were. Theirs was a play of the intellect and imagination on objects outside them. Hence their works displayed a universal lack of inner truth. In the biographical sketch of Gerhardt we have given a broken account of his life. Different from this is the story of the individual in his poems which are his very personality. His work is not what he learned from others. Instead, he gives us his own life unadorned and true, and for the very reason that he leads a rich inner life is he able to give it. He wrote preeminently as a living member of Christ's church. The same quiet sincerity, depth of feeling and warmth that are seen in his face, stand out in his poetry.

Luther sang: "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott," but Gerhardt has: "Ist Gott für mich, so trete," [49] and "Ich singe dir mit Herz und Mund."
[50] Thus, as has been said in the early part of this chapter, [51] the hymns no longer acknowledge the truths of the Gospel as in the days of the Reformation, but the poet lives them. Approximately one-eighth [52] of Gerhardt's hymns begin with "Ich," while not one of Luther's begins this way. Gerhardt's hymns, then, proclaim his own personal experiences, many of them having their inspiration in the intimate circle of his own family and friends. Yet observe that in none of them is there any personal experience that is not enlightened by its relation to the external truths of Christian Belief so that it has a universal significance. Assuming that one takes for granted the incontestable truth of evangelistic Philosophy of Life as does Gerhardt, one may find one's own thoughts and feelings expressed in these poems. Every pious worshipper can follow Gerhardt, every one may find in him peace for the soul, the consecration of happiness and comfort in dark hours. Universal life and not merely the life of one reared in the church is unfolded in his hymns.

Mention has several times been made of Luther [53] in connection with Gerhardt. Every Protestant hymn writer must undergo comparison with the great father of German hymnody and none can stand the test better than Gerhardt. Let us take the hymns cited above: "Ein' feste Burg," and "Ist Gott für mich." In the very choice of material the likeness is striking. In Luther's song of defiance the XLVIth Psalm is born anew. In Gerhardt it is the triumphant song of Paul that they who are in Christ are free from condemnation. We see, then, that while the one is concerned with the congregation of God's church, the other treats of life's experiences. In the form of the verse Luther displays the greater strength and Gerhardt the greater art. __________________________________________________________________

[47] Cf. Dietz: "Tabellarische Nachweisung des Liederbestandes," Marburg, 1904. Fischer-Tümpel: "Das deutsche evangelische Kirchenlied des 17. Jahrhs." (Gütersloh, 1906) includes 116 of Gerhardt's hymns.

[48] There is an exact total of 10 of Gerhardt's poems, different versions being given of "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden." and "Befiehl du deine Wege."

[49] Goed. 229.
[50] Goed. 118.
[51] Cf. p. 14.
[52] There are 16 beginning with "ich."

[53] Cf. pp. 1 and 13. __________________________________________________________________

Language

Although Gerhardt's hymns are written in the vernacular of the XVIIth century, at a time when many of the forms characteristic of the writers of the two preceding centuries still survived, nevertheless his hymns are remarkably free from the tendency of this period to use words coined from foreign tongues. He belongs to no poetic school or literary circle of the XVIIth century. He never sought any laurels. He goes on his way writing because his heart is so full, and not from any desire or intention to devote himself to poetry. A fine feeling for rhythm schooled under the principles of [60]Opitz, language taken from the best sacred literature including Luther's Bible and almost entirely free from foreign words, [54] avoidance of bombast and coarseness [55] of which so many contemporary writers were guilty, richness in figures and analogies, tenderness which on occasion yields to sternness, are all attributes of his writing. The mother of Hippel [56] says of him:

"Er war ein Gast auf Erden [57] und überall in seinen 120 Liedern ist Sonnenwende gesäet. Diese Blume dreht sich beständig nach der Sonne
[58] und Gerhardt nach der seligen Ewigkeit."

Gerhardt's poems are all permeated with this hope for future happiness in Heaven and with a childlike joy in this hope. He may sing of the beauties of summer, yet with that his thoughts go further and he soon begins to reflect upon the greater beauties of Heaven. In his "Reiselied" (Goed. 248) he begins by urging on his horse; suddenly he changes from the beauties of the hill and vale to the joy of eternity. Even in an uncouth poem about health (Goed. 244) appear the lines:

"Gib mir meine Lebenszeit
Ohne sonderm Leide,
Und dort in der Ewigkeit
Die vollkommene Freude!"

We have said that biblical phraseology plays a large part in Gerhardt's hymns. In fact many lines are a direct translation of passages in scripture. In two or three of them a single dogma appears very plainly, but elsewhere pure doctrine is the basis of each poem. God is a friendly and gracious God, not a "bear or lion," [59] but a Father reconciled by Christ's death, entirely a New Testament conception. He even addresses the Almighty as a good companion:

"Sollt aber dein und unser Feind
An dem, was dein Herz gut gemeint,
Beginnen sich zu rächen:
Ist das mein Trost, dasz seinen Zorn
Du leichtlich könnest brechen." [60]

The Redeemer is mentioned in barely half of Gerhardt's poems. It has therefore been often said that the poet esteemed the graces of Redemption less than those of Creation. He is fully conscious of the former, hence he can resign himself to the latter and dwell upon them in all their phases. On the basis of the Atonement there springs up in his mind the whole Christian life with all its experiences of salvation, consolation, patience, mastery of sin and suffering. Since he does not sing solely for church worship, but for family devotion and for personal edification, he necessarily must observe and discourse upon the various vicissitudes of life in sickness and health, in strife and peace. __________________________________________________________________

[54] He uses the following: Clerisei, Fantasei, Victoria, Policeien, Regiment, Summa, Ranzion, Compagnie, Regente, studieren, formieret, vexieren, jubilieren.

[55] Lines such as "Trotz sei dir, du trotzender Kot!" (Goed. 5,65) were comparatively inoffensive to XVIIth century standards.

[56] Cf. Frau Th. v. Hippel, "Sämmtliche Werke," Berlin, 1827, I, 27 ff.

[57] Cf. "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" Goed. 284.

[58] Sonnenwende, "heliotrope," from the Greek, literally "turning toward the sun."

[59] Cf. Goed. 62, 17--"Er ist ja kein Bär noch Leue."

[60] Cf. Goed. 217, 56-60. __________________________________________________________________

Poetic Technique

Inasmuch as Gerhardt is a poet of unusually fine feeling for the rhythmical and melodious peculiarities of the German tongue, he appreciates the interdependence of verse rhythm and thought showing always a nicety in choosing the right word to suit the measure. The lines:

"Nun ruhen aller Wälder, Vieh, Menschen, Stadt, und Felder . . ." [61]

are at once suggestive of Nature in repose. The harmonious connection of words of kindred meaning, "Ruh und Rast," "Gnad und Gunst," [62] and frequent use of assonance, "Not und Tod," "Füll und Hüll," etc. are introduced not merely to catch the ear, but to accentuate the artistic effect, which shows us that Gerhardt is more than a master of the language, that he writes with an inexhaustible naturalness. He intended his style to be popular in the sense of appealing to the people, and it is here that he manifests the intimate relation of his poetry to the Volkslied without forsaking the proper limits of artistic poetry.

In observing certain defects such as the awkwardness and imperfect rhyme in the couplet:

"Aber nun steh ich
Bin munter und frölich." [63]

even Gerhardt's most devoted admirers must regret that he did not feel the necessity of giving to his verses the final rounding-off, or did not possess the ability to do so. Yet what many critics have regarded as faults, must, when fairly analyzed, be recognized as contributing much to the effect and as being in accord with the Sprachpoesie of the people. For example, the richness in alliteration, "Ich mein Heil und Hülfe hab," [64] "Ich lechze wie ein Land," [65] the juxtaposition of words of the same root, "Erbarm dich, o barmherzigs Herz," [66] "Ich lieb ihr liebes Angesicht," [67] as well as the frequent repetition of words or use of refrains [68] show the power of his language and offer a striking method of expressing inmost sympathy. What real fervor is indicated in the lines:

"Dasz ich dich möge Eir und für
In, bei und an mir tragen." [69]

Just as Gerhardt was a loyal devotee to his mother-tongue, so also he stood aloof from the tendency of his time to adopt foreign characteristics in verse. Only twice [70] has he employed the Alexandrine so fashionable in the period, and other foreign verse-forms he avoids entirely. On the other hand in so comparatively small a number of poems the variety of his verse structure is unusual. Gerhardt knew Buchner [71] in his Wittenberg student days and owes to him his technical training in versification which his strophes show. He uses in them iambic, trochaic and especially dactyllic-anapaestic metres which Buchner had declared permissible. Hahne [72] enumerates in Gerhardt's poems fifty-one kinds of strophe among which six are quite complicated. Three of these, as appear in the poems, "Frölich soll mein Herze springen," Goed. [61]155; "Gib dich zufrieden," [62]274; and "Die güldne Sonne," [63]293, must be regarded as original with Gerhardt. While these three are not artistic and harmonious, they are, nevertheless, in exact accord with the type of melody prevalent in the XVIIth century. __________________________________________________________________

[61] Goed. 60, 1 and 2.

[62] For a tabulation of Alliteration, Assonance, etc., cf. Appendix, pp. 149 ff.

[63] Goed. 293, 8 and 9.
[64] Goed. 93, 6.
[65] Goed. 65, 46.
[66] Goed. 7, 76.
[67] Goed. 260, 41.
[68] Cf. the refrains in Goed. 106; 139; 235.
[69] Goed. 158, 94.

[70] "Du liebe Unschuld du, wie schlecht wirst du geacht!" (Goed. 3) and "Herr Lindholtz legt sich hin und schläft in Gottes Namen" (Goed. 252).

[71] Cf. p. 2.

[72] Hahne, F., P. Gerhardt und A. Buchner in Euphorion 15, p. 19-34. __________________________________________________________________

Poetic Meters

Our poet has shown preference for the older German strophes which belong to popular poetry and had most firmly held their own in the spiritual song because of its relation to the Volkslied and also for the Nibelungen strophe of eight lines. Eighteen [73] times he uses the well known seven-line ballad strophe and twice [74] the six-lined strophe of the Wanderlied "Innsbruck, ich musz dich lassen," [75] which even as early as the Reformation had come into wide use in hymnody. He has also frequently employed the rhymed couplet in the four-lined stanza. The verse-structure in the remainder of his poems may generally be traced back to lays long-since native to the church, though one strophe "Sollt ich meinem Gott nicht singen" [76] appears for the first time, as far as we know, in Johann Rist's [77] hymns. Realizing, furthermore, that a composition becomes truly a poem only through its harmony Gerhardt clung to the well known melodies, adapting his new text to them that through the music his hymns might the more easily become familiar. Thus he composed "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" to the melody "[64]An Wasserflüssen Babylon," and "O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben" and "[65]Nun ruhen alle Wälder" to "[66]Innsbruck, ich musz dich lassen," [78] and in fact his hymns were known at first only through their musical setting. Like Luther, he wished to teach the people song [79] and it is evident that in composing he usually had some definite melody in mind, and what Johann Walther had been to Luther, Crüger [80] was to Gerhardt. To this choir master we owe the first significant publication of our poet's hymns. Many musicians have adapted his hymns to music; Bach made use of them in a number of his cantatas and his Passion Music; [81] and five [82] times in his rapturous Weihnachtsoratorium do we find Gerhardt's words. Of recent musicians who have been interested in his poetry as a basis for their compositions mention must be made of Albert Becher (d. 1899), H. von Herzogenberg (d. 1900) and especially the Bavarian clergyman, Friedrich Mergner [83] (1818-1891), who has so thoroughly caught the spirit of Gerhardt. As early as 1732-1800 six Catholic hymn books in quite general use throughout Germany had included in all, thirteen of Gerhardt's hymns, and "[67]O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" can be heard in many Catholic churches to-day, even in the Cologne Cathedral. [84] __________________________________________________________________

[73] Goed. 10; 21; 23; 51; 125; 134; 58; 171; 190; 209; 253; 271; 298; 315; 317; 325; 331; 335.

[74] Goed. 60 and 71.
[75] Regarding this melody cf. p. 100.
[76] Goed. 235.
[77] Rist, 1607-1667.
[78] Cf. p. 100.
[79] Cf. p. 10.
[80] Cf. p. 2.
[81] Cf. p. 43.
[82] From Goed. 25; 310; 150; 155; 158.

[83] Cf. P. Gerhardt's Geistl. Lieder in neuen Weisen von Fr. Mergner. 30 ausgewählte Lieder von Karl Schmidt, Leipzig, C. Deichert, 1907.

[84] Cf. J. Smend: P. Gerhardt u. das evangel. Kirchenlied in Der Protestantismus am Ende des 19. Jahrh. I, pp. 301, ff. __________________________________________________________________

Occasional Poetry

Gerhardt was essentially a "Gelegenheitsdichter," a poet of occasions, choosing for his themes the various vicissitudes of life and such events as would present themselves to an earnest pastor devoted to the flock under his care. We may define him more precisely as a poet of consolation, for at least seventeen of his hymns are to be classed as "Songs of the Cross and Consolation," [85] and fully half his work contains much that is intended as a source of comfort in the many afflictions of the troublous times in which he lived. An enumeration of "Trost" words shows the use of "Trost" 51 times, "getrost" 11, "trösten" 10, "trostlos," "tröstlich" 2, besides numerous phrases such as "Erschrecke nicht," [86] "Sei unverzagt," [87] "Sei ohne Furcht,"
[88] "Gott hat mich nicht verlassen." [89] In this connection we should consider Gerhardt's use of the word "Trost." With him it seems often to have a wider meaning than merely solace, or comfort. At times it approaches even its English cognate trust, or at least that comfort or assurance which is born of trust. [90] In the poem beginning "Schwing dich auf zu deinem Gott" the word seems clearly to be used in this sense in line 7:

Merkst du nicht des Satans List?
Er will durch sein Kämpfen
Deinen Trost, [91] den Jesus Christ
Dir erworben, dämpfen.

At other times the meaning is apparently the ground of confidence or reliance, as in the line: "Dein Arm ist mein Trost gewesen." [92] Since joy is to Gerhardt innately associated with the theme of comfort, we find in his verses a host of phrases embodying cheer and joy:

Lasz deine Frömmigkeit
Sein meinen Trost und Freud. [93]

By enumeration we find the use of "Freude" 161 times; of "Freudenlicht" (-quell, -schein, etc.) 33 times; of "freuen" and "erfreuen" 22 times; of "froh," "frö(h)lich," "freudig," "freudenvoll," "selig," etc. 50 times; of other kindred expressions, such as "Lust," "Wonne," "Seligkeit," "Freudigkeit," etc. 8 times. Stanza VI of the "Adventgesang" ([68]Goed. 108) is a fair example of Gerhardt's fondness for singing of joys both temporal and spiritual:

Aller Trost und aller Freude
Ruht in dir, Herr Jesu Christ;
Dein Erfreuen ist die Weide,
Da man sich recht frölich iszt.
Leuchte mir, o Freudenlicht,
Ehe mir mein Herze bricht;
Lasz mich, Herr, an dir erquicken!
Jesu, komm, lasz dich erblicken!

Compare with this the lines from the hymn based on Johann Arndt's "Gebet um Geduld in groszem Creutz" ([69]Goed. 209):

St. XIV. "O heilger Geist, du Freudenöl,
Das Gott vom Himmel schicket,
Erfreue mich, gib meiner Seel
Was Mark und Bein erquicket!
Du bist der Geist der Herrlichkeit,
Weiszt, was für Freud und Seligkeit
Mein in dem Himmel warte."

A pastor and poet whose spirit amidst the hardships of the war can not only remain undaunted but bring so large a measure of cheer to his flock is indeed destined to have an immortal name. It was the everpresent hardships of war, however, that made him long not merely for an earthly peace but also for spiritual rest. As an advocate of peace and contentment he has among his contemporaries no equal. Having hoped and prayed during the war for a cessation of hostilities and horrors he could at last burst forth at the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia in his magnificent

Gott Lob! nun ist erschollen
Das edle Fried- und Freudenswort." [94]

Furthermore he preaches patience and contentment with life's experiences. Notably does this appear in the poem "Gib dich zufrieden" ([70]Goed. 274) where each stanza has these words as the refrain. Taking as his theme "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him" (Ps. XXXVII, 7) he reveals to his fellow-men the joys and comforts that await the true believers even though they must pass through pain, anxiety, and even death. As their tears are counted and their sighs are heard, so a day of rest is at hand when God shall receive the meek in the abundance of peace, and 'they shall then be exalted to inherit the land.' [95] But how very deeply Gerhardt felt this yearning for spiritual as well as material peace is best seen from the constant recurrence of the root "Friede." Of this word and its compounds we note 33 examples, and of "Ruhe," "Stille," Rast" and similar words, 16. __________________________________________________________________

[85] Cf. Index by subjects, Appendix, pp. 158 ff.
[86] Goed. 271, 8.
[87] Goed. 185, 42.
[88] Goed. 289, 3.
[89] Goed. 296, 31.

[90] Cf. the meaning of the modern German "getrost."

[91] Goed. 135, 7; cf. also Goed. 135, 132; 30, 127; 150, 74; 217, 59; 317, 40.

[92] Goed. 145, 19; cf. also Goed. 46, 16; 150, 43.

[93] Goed. 65, 22. For the frequent use of "Trost und Freude" and "Freude und Trost," cf. Appendix, p. 155 and p. 153.

[94] Goed. 95.

[95] Cf. also the poem "Geduld ist euch vonnöten" (Goed. 267), where each of the 14 stanzas begins with the word "Geduld." __________________________________________________________________

Poetry and Nature

Aside from the hymns of Cross and Consolation discussed above, [96] which among Gerhardt's poems are by far the most numerous, and which gave him the widest opportunity to grasp the inner life of the Christian believer in its different tendencies and phases, the subjective development of his spiritual songs is shown in two directions--in the poetic glorification of nature and of family life. Gerhardt's knowledge of nature is limited to the ideas set forth in Johann Arndt's [97] Viertes Buch vom wahren Christentum. Following Arndt, Gerhardt believes the material as well as the spiritual phenomena on earth are influenced in a mysterious way by the heavens and their constellations; hence the prophetic significance of comets which he mentions in two poems. [98] In the year 1615 just such a threatening "torch" had appeared to announce the frightful war. Fourteen years later another comet was regarded as prophecy of the death of the Swedish King. Naturally, then, in 1652 Gerhardt is terrified with all others at the appearance in the sky of the third "Flammenrute" (Goed. 104).

However, within this limited knowledge nature appears to him as of independent grandeur, wholly subservient to God and freely enjoyed by all Christians. In his life, too, as well as in his songs, Gerhardt is open to all the world and is at all times sensible to the appreciation of nature. It is a noteworthy characteristic of him that in one glance he includes with sense of fitness and artistic certainty both large and small, the most sublime and the most commonplace. In this wise he sings:

Die Erd ist fruchtbar, bringt herfür
Korn, Oel, Most, Brot, Wein und Bier,
Was Gott gefällt.
(Goed. [71]139, 49 ff.)

To Gerhardt the world lies in continual sunshine. [99] He scorns trouble, distress seems merely to accentuate happiness; from the horrors of the Thirty Years' War he turns to thank God for the return of peace, [100] and to inspire his people with gratitude for the infinite mercy of the Most High. He celebrates evening and morning and takes us in summer through the flowering gardens of God, portrays rain and sunshine, earth's sorrows and joys. __________________________________________________________________

[96] Cf. p. 21.

[97] Joh. Arndt, a Protestant theologian, 1555-1621. The "Vier Bücher" appeared in 1605. Cf. the references on pp. 63 ff. [i.e. Goed. 200, 205, 209, 212, 263] to his Paradiszgärtlein aller christl. Tugenden, 1612.

[98] Goed. 104 and 142.

[99] Even no. 15 which begins with a seemingly very pessimistic complaint about the disastrous weather and consequently meagre harvest closes with a prayer full of hope for the future.

[100] Goed. 95. __________________________________________________________________

Family Life

The other direction of the subjectivity of Gerhardt's writing is that of the family life. In a time so bereft of virtues as the XVIIth century the firmly grounded idea of the home must be given first place. His own family life, cheered by domestic felicity, and the many contributions he made to occasional poetry bear testimony to this. For married life he sings the praise of quiet domesticity, [101] picturing the Christian housewife in the midst of her surroundings, bringing joy and cheer to her husband, faithful in her tasks, ministering to the poor and teaching her children the Word of God. He closes the poem with the eulogy:

Die Werke, die sie hie verrichtt,
Sind wie ein schönes helles Licht;
Sie dringen bis zu Himmelspfort
Und werden leuchten hier und dort.

Before Gerhardt, Mathesius [102] had sung the praises of domestic happiness in "Wem Gott ein ehrlich Weib beschert," but the sincere note of Gerhardt's "Wie schön ist's doch, Herr Jesu Christ" ([72]Goed. 302) placed German home-life in a poetic light it had not known before. __________________________________________________________________

[101] Goed. 242.

[102] Johann M., a Lutheran theologian, 1504-1565. His Leben Luthers (1566) is his most famous work. __________________________________________________________________

Theology

For the dying he allays the fear of death; man is but a stranger on earth, [103] and has spent many a day in distress and care; his home is yonder where hosts of angels praise the Mighty Ruler. The sympathetic pastor takes his place with the parents beside the bier of their deceased child. [104] He speaks as a father who has lost his son, and he imagines the child in heaven joining the chorus of the angels. But Gerhardt has written very few hymns of death or of penitence. When he does speak of sin and its curse of death with its terrors, he still contrives at once to take from them the sting. The poem beginning "O Tod, O Tod, du greulichs Bild," [105] bears the title "Freudige Empfahung des Todes," and concludes with the lines:

Was solls denn nun, O Jesu, sein,
Dasz mich der Tod so schrecket?
Hat doch Elisa Todtenbein,
Was todt war, auferwecket:
Viel mehr wirst du, den Trost hab ich,
Zum Leben kräftig rüsten mich;
Drum schlaf ich ein mit Freuden.

In hymnody both before and since Gerhardt there has often been a vivid portrayal of the tortures of hell to terrify the soul. Gerhardt scrupulously avoids this and is therefore able to reduce everything to the simplicity of beauty. Every pain and every punishment in which his poems abound at once lose their bitterness because on them is reflected the sunlight of God's love. Gerhardt towers above his time in that amid all his despondent fellow-men he is always fearless and shows a cheerful heart reliant on God; just because the severe afflictions of his own life cannot break his spirit, he has in his power the cure for others.

The candid reader must admit that there is evident in some passages of Gerhardt's poetry a certain dogmatic constraint, ("Gebundenheit"). The devil [107] is to him a terrible reality, the Christchild in the manger is the creator [108] of the world, and the problem of the Trinity is dismissed without consideration. The Atonement, too, of the Savior is easily understood on the theory of punishment, while the resurrection
[109] of the flesh is an undeniable truth. But in other respects Gerhardt is far less dogmatic than Luther. __________________________________________________________________

[103] "Ich bin ein Gast auf Erden" (Goed. 284).

[104] "Weint; und weint gleichwol nicht zu sehr" (Goed. 335).

[105] Goed. 317.

[107] Cf. "Will Satan mich verschlingen" (Goed. 60, 46); "Dazu kommt des Teufels Lügen" (Goed. 108, 7); also 62, 55; 122, 31; 135, 41; 171, 40; 173, 40; 185, 33; 232, 18; 256, 34; 312, 6; 328, 14.

[108] Cf. "Es wird im Fleisch hier fürgestellt, Der alles schuf und noch erhält;" (Goed. 310, 37-38).

[109] Cf. Goed. 51. __________________________________________________________________

Poetic Development and Recognition

Critics have sought in vain for traces of poetic development in Gerhardt's work. Such findings as have been claimed can be regarded only as more or less probable conjecture, a fact which shows that his personality was immediately poetically endowed, giving itself out whenever it composed poetry. If his individuality shows no development as such, his poetry can bear no marks of development.

It has often been said that "Gerhardt had and sought no laurels"; nor was he ever "hailed as the Homer or Vergil of his time." As he knew neither himself nor the greatness of his gift, so his contemporaries failed to appreciate him. He never regarded himself as a poet by calling as did [73]Opitz, [74]Johann Franck and [75]Rist, but only a poet by avocation. To quote Goethe, he sang "as the bird sings that lives in the branches." In the same proportion that Gerhardt's poetry brought strength and comfort in the grievous period of the Thirty Years' War and later eras of confusion, it is destined through the present world disaster to bring its message of hope. __________________________________________________________________

[37] Or as the German says: From the "Bekenntnislied" to the "Erbauungslied."

[38] Geschichte d. d. Nationallitteratur, ed. 1842, Pt. III, p. 366.

[40] Geschichte d. d. Literatur, 1899, pp. 340-341.

[41] Cf. J. Smend: "P. Gerhardt u. das evangel. Kirchenlied" in "Der Protestantismus am Ende des 19. Jahrh." I, pp. 301, ff. __________________________________________________________________

PART TWO.