Philologists

"One presupposition, which in this matter has been of great harm and continues to do harm, is the separation between oriental and Greek studies and [the Greek and oriental} mind; [this] is increasingly concocted and arbitrarily applied, as if this grand difference had foundations in reality. In the history of humankind the inhabitants of Asia and the Europeans are to be seen as members of one family, whose history ought never to be divided, if one wants to understand the whole."

"[Languages that lacked inflection, he claimed, were barren and uncreative] only something like a heap of atoms, which the winds of chance can easily drive apart or push back together; the relationship [between them] is nothing but a purely mechanical one made by external attaching. These languages lack in their original form a germ from which life can unfold; the derivations always remain lacking, and when afterwards their artificiality has increased so much because of the appending of more and more affixes, the difficulty of achieving true, simple beauty and lightness is exacerbated even more. What appears to be richness is in fact poverty..."

"If, in the last decades, an overly one-sided and simply frivolous preoccupation with the Greeks has distanced us too much from the solemnity of the ancient world, or even from the sources of all higher truth, the totally new knowledge and appreciation of oriental antiquity is able, the more deeply we immerse ourselves in it, to lead us back to the knowledge of the divine and to that power of conviction, which first gave life to all art and all wisdom."

""Already from the beginning possessed the brightest and most sincere clarity [and that it had] in its first and most fundamental parts the highest concepts from the world of pure thought, just as it expresses the whole foundation of consciousness not through image, but with immediate clarity."

""It is true that the Indian is almost entirely a philosophical or rather a religious language, and perhaps none, not even excepting the Greek, is so philosophically clear and sharply defined: It has no variable or arbitrary combination of abstractions, but is formed on It permanent system, in which the deep symbolic signification of words and expressions reciprocally explain, elucidate, and support each other."

"Even the loftiest philosophy of the Europeans, the idealism of reason, as it is set forth by Greek philosophers, appears, in comparison with the abundant light and vigour of Oriental idealism, like a feeble Promethean spark in the full flood of heavenly glory of the noonday sun—faltering and feeble, and ever ready to be extinguished."

"The Indians possessed a knowledge of the true God, conceived and expressed in noble, clear and grand language … Even the loftiest philosophy of the Europeans, the idealization of reason, as set forth by the Greeks, appears in comparison with the abundant light and vigor of oriental idealism, like a feeble spark in the full flood of the noonday sun."

"There is no language in the world, even Greek, which has the clarity and the philosophical precision of Sanskrit. India is not only at the origin of everything, she is superior in everything, intellectually, religiously or politically and even the Greek heritage seems pale in comparison."

"Whether directly or indirectly all nations are originally nothing but Indian colonies... the oriental antiquity could, if we consented to deepen it, bring us back more safely towards the divine...."

"The greatness of this people was attested by "the gigantic grandeur and durability of Egyptian and Indian architecture in contradistinction to the fragile littleness of modem buildings. This consideration will enable us," he continued, "by analogy to grasp the idea . . . that all these famous nations sprang from one stock, and that their colonies were all one people directly or indirectly, of Indian origin.... ""

"Here is the actual source of all languages, all the thoughts and poems of the human spirit; everything, everything without exception comes from India."

"A year later, the influential Friedrich von Schlegel argued that "the Northwest of India must be considered the central point from which all of these nations had their origin" (505)."

"Everything, absolutely everything, comes from India."

"It cannot be denied that the early Indians possessed knowledge of God. All their writings are replete with sentiments and expressions, noble, clear, severely grand, as deeply conceived in any human language in which men have spoken of their God."

"Germany had no material interests and responded spiritually to India. Friedrich Schlegel, hailed as “the inventor of the Oriental Renaissance,” wrote in 1803, “Everything, yes, everything without exception has its origin in India.” He proclaimed India with Greece and Germany, the most philosophical of nations. “If one considers,” he said, “the superior conception which is at the basis of the truly universal Indian culture and which, itself divine, knows how to embrace in its universality everything that is divine without distinction, then, what we in Europe call religion or what we used to call such, no longer seems to deserve that name. And one would like to advice everyone who wants to see religion, he should, just as one goes to Italy to study art, go to India for that purpose where he may be certain to find at least fragments for which he will surely look in vain in Europe.” Friedrich Schlegel’s The Language and Wisdom of the Indians (1808) was the first German contribution to Indology. Friedrich wrote, “May Indic studies find as many disciples and protectors as Germany and Italy saw spring up in such great numbers for Greek studies in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and may they be able to do as many things in as short a time. The Renaissance of antiquity promptly transformed and rejuvenated all the sciences; we might add that it rejuvenated and transformed the world. We could even say that the effects of Indic studies, if these enterprises were taken up and introduced into learned circles with the same energy today, would be no less great or far-reaching.”"

"The doctrine of the transmigration of souls was indigenous to India and was brought into Greece by Pythagoras."

"India is pre-eminently distinguished for the many traits of original grandeur of thought and of the wonderful remains of immediate knowledge."

"In India lay the real source of all tongues, of all thoughts and utterances of the human mind. Everything - yes, everything without exception - has it origin in India." and "The primary source of all intellectual development - in a word the whole human culture - is unquestionably to be found in the tradItions of the East."

"Ein Mittler ist derjenige, der Göttliches in sich wahrnimmt, und sich selbst vernichtend Preis giebt, um dieses Göttliche zu verkündigen, mitzutheilen, und darzustellen allen Menschen in Sitten und Thaten, in Worten und Werken."

"Was die Menschen unter den andern Bildungen der Erde, das sind die Künstler unter den Menschen."

"Die Pflicht der Kantianer verhält sich zu dem Gebot der Ehre, der Stimme des Berufs und der Gottheit in uns, wie die getrocknete Pflanze zur frischen Blume am lebenden Stamme."

"Die wahre Tugend ist Genialität."

"Tugend ist zur Energie gewordne Vernunft."

"Künstler ist ein jeder, dem es Ziel und Mitte des Daseyns ist, seinen Sinn zu bilden."

"Nur derjenige kann ein Künstler seyn, welcher eine eigne Religion, eine originelle Ansicht des Unendlichen hat."

"The mind understands something only insofar as it absorbs it like a seed into itself, nurtures it, and lets it grow into blossom and fruit. Therefore scatter holy seeds into the soil of the spirit."

"There are people with whom everything they consider a means turns mysteriously into an end."

"Du sollst dir kein Ideal machen, weder eines Engels im Himmel, noch eines Helden aus einem Gedicht oder Roman, noch eines selbstgeträumten oder fantasirten; sondern du sollst einen Mann lieben, wie er ist."

"Die Menge nicht zu achten, ist sittlich; sie zu ehren, ist rechtlich."

"To live classically and to realize antiquity practically within oneself is the summit and goal of philology."

"Romantic poetry … recognizes as its first commandment that the will of the poet can tolerate no law above itself."

"Bei den Ausdrücken, „Seine Philosophie”, „Meine Philosophie”, erinnert man sich immer an die Worte im Nathan: „Wem eignet Gott? Was ist das für ein Gott, der einem Menschen eignet?”"

"Whoever hasn’t yet arrived at the clear realization that there might be a greatness existing entirely outside his own sphere and for which he might have absolutely no feeling; whoever hasn’t at least felt obscure intimations concerning the approximate location of this greatness in the geography of the human spirit: that person either has no genius in his own sphere, or else he hasn’t been educated to the level of the classic."

"Poetry can be criticized only through poetry. A critique which itself is not a work of art, either in content as representation of the necessary impression in the process of creation, or through its beautiful form and in its liberal tone in the spirit of the old Roman satire, has no right of citizenship in the realm of art."

"In England … everything becomes professional … even the rogues of that island are pedants."

"In the same way as philosophy loses sight of its true object and appropriate matter, when either it passes into and merges in theology, or meddles with external politics, so also does it mar its proper form when it attempts to mimic the rigorous method of mathematics."

"It is equally fatal for the spirit to have a system and to have none. One must thus decide to join the two."

"The study of Indian Literature requires to be embraced by such students and patrons as in the 15th and 16th centuries suddenly kindled in Italy and Germany an ardent appreciation of the beauty of Classical learning, and in so short a time invested it with such prevailing importance that the form of all wisdom and science, and almost of the world itself, was changed and renovated by the influence of that reawakened knowledge."

"Honour is the mysticism of legality."

"Wit is the appearance, the external flash of imagination. Thus its divinity, and the witty character of mysticism."

"Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time."

"Durch die Künstler wird die Menschheit ein Individuum, indem sie Vor welt und Nachwelt in der Gegenwart verknüpfen. Sie sind das höhere Seelenorgan, wo die Lebensgeister der ganzen 15 äussern Menschheit zusammentreffen und in welchem die innere zunächst wirkt."

"Man hat nur so viel Moral, als man Philosophie und Poesie hat."

"Grade die Individualität ist das Ursprüngliche und Ewige im Menschen; an der Personalität ist so viel nicht gelegen. Die Bildung und Entwicklung dieser Individualität als höchsten Beruf zu treiben, wäre ein göttlicher Egoismus."

"Der Künstler darf eben so wenig herrschen als dienen wollen. 15 Er kann nur bilden, nichts als bilden, für den Staat also nur das thun, dass er Herrscher und Diener bilde, dass er Politiker und Oekonomen zu Künstlern erhebe."

"Dem Bunde der Künstler einen bestimmten Zweck geben, das heisst ein dürftiges Institut an die Stelle des ewigen Vereins setzen; das heisst die Gemeinde der Heiligen zum Staat erniedrigen."

"Ein Künstler ist, wer sein Centrum in sich selbst hat. Wem es da fehlt, der muss einen bestimmten Führer und Mittler ausser sich wählen."

"Die Königin...trat vor ihren Spiegel und sprach: "Spieglein, Spieglein, an der Wand, Wer ist die Schönste im ganzen Land?" Da antwortete der Spiegel: "Frau Königin, Ihr seid die Schönste hier, Aber Schneewittchen über den Bergen Bei den sieben Zwergen Ist noch tausendmal schöner als Ihr.""

"Der erste sprach: "Wer hat auf meinem Stühlchen gesessen?" Der zweite: "Wer hat von meinem Tellerchen gegessen?" Der dritte: "Wer hat von meinem Brötchen genommen?" Der vierte: "Wer hat von meinem Gemüschen gegessen?" Der fünfte: "Wer hat mit meinem Gäbelchen gestochen?" Der sechste: "Wer hat mit meinem Messerchen geschnitten?" Der siebente: "Wer hat aus meinem Becherlein getrunken?" Dann sah sich der erste um und sah, dass auf seinem Bett eine kleine Delle war, da sprach er: "Wer hat in meinem Bettchen gelegen?" Die anderen kamen gelaufen und riefen: "In meinem hat auch jemand gelegen!" Der siebente aber, als er in sein Bett sah, erblickte Schneewittchen, das lag darin und schlief. Nun rief er die anderen, die kamen herbeigelaufen und schrien vor Verwunderung, holten ihre sieben Lichtlein und beleuchteten Schneewittchen."

"Ei, Großmutter, was hast du für große Ohren!" "Daß ich dich besser hören kann." "Ei, Großmutter, was hast du für große Augen!" "Daß ich dich besser sehen kann." "Ei, Großmutter, was hast du für große Hände" "Daß ich dich besser packen kann." "Aber, Großmutter, was hast du für ein entsetzlich großes Maul!" "Daß ich dich besser fressen kann."