Naturphilosophie and Pantheistic War - Heine

Alas, Naturphilosophie, which has brought forth the most magnificent fruit in certain areas of knowledge, especially in the true natural sciences, has, in other areas, produced the most pernicious weeds. At the same time as Oken, the most genial thinker, and one of the greatest citizens, of Germany discovered new worlds of ideas, and inspired German youth about the original rights of humanity, about freedom and equality; alas! at the same time Adam Müller lectured on the stabling of humanity according to the principles of Naturphilosophie. At the same time, Mr. Görres preached the obscurantism of the Middle Ages, according to the scientific insight that the state is just a tree, and, in its organic structure, it must have a root, branches and leaves, all so nicely found in the corporative hierarchy of the Middle Ages; at the same time Mr. Steffens proclaimed the philosophical law according to which the peasantry was distinguished from the nobility because the peasant was determined by nature to work without enjoyment, the nobleman was entitled to enjoy without working; – indeed, a few months ago, as someone told me, a Junker  in Westphalia, an idiot with the surname Haxthausen, I believe, published a work in which he asked the royal Prussian government to take into account the thoroughgoing parallelism demonstrated by philosophy in the entire world-organism, and to separate the political classes more strictly. For just as in nature there are four elements, fire, air, water, and earth, so there are four analogous elements in society, namely, nobility, clergy, townspeople, and peasants.

When one saw such depressing idiocy sprouting out of philosophy and growing into such harmful blossoms; when one indeed noted that German youth, sunk in metaphysical abstractions, was forgetting its nearest temporal interests and becoming unfit for practical life; indeed, patriots and friends of liberty must have felt a justified annoyance with philosophy, and some went so far as to condemn it out of hand as pointless and useless hot air.

We will not be foolish enough to refute these malcontents all too seriously. German philosophy is an important matter affecting the entire human race, and only our most distant descendants will be able to decide whether we should be praised or reproached for first working out our philosophy before working out our revolution. It seems to me that a methodical people like us had to begin with the Reformation, could only on that basis occupy itself with philosophy, and solely after its completion be able to pass over to political revolution. I find this order to be eminently rational. After philosophy has used its heads for contemplation, the revolution can cut them off for whatever purposes it wants. If, however, the revolution had happened first, philosophy would have been unable to use heads already cut off. But do not despair, you German republicans. The German revolution will not be more mild and gentle because it was preceded by Kantian criticism, Fichtean transcendental idealism, and even Naturphilosophie. Because of these very doctrines, revolutionary forces have developed which are simply biding their time to break out and to be able to fill the world with horror and admiration.

There will be Kantians, unwilling to have anything to do with piety even in the world of appearance, who, with axe and sword, will mercilessly tear up the soil of our European life in order to destroy the past to its very roots. Armed Fichteans will come onto the scene, who, with fanatic will, will be untamable by self-interest or fear; for they live in the spirit, they defy matter just like the first Christians, who also could not be defeated either through bodily torment or bodily enjoyment. Indeed, such transcendental idealists would be even more inflexible in a social upheaval than the first Christians, since the latter bore earthly torment in order to achieve heavenly bliss later, whereas the transcendental idealist considers martyrdom itself to be mere appearance and is unreachable in the fortifi-cation of his own thought. But even more terrible than the others would be the Naturphilosophen, who would actively intervene in a German revolution and would themselves identify with the work of destruction. For if the hand of the Kantian strikes, strong and certain, because his heart is not moved by any traditional reverence; if the Fichtean courageously defies any danger because it does not exist for him in reality; so the Naturphilosoph  will enter into terrible association with the original powers of nature. He will be able to conjure up the demonic forces of Old Germanic pantheism, and that lust for battle which we find among the Old Germans will awaken in him, which does not battle to destroy, or to conquer, but solely for the sake of the battle itself. Christianity – and this is its greatest merit – has to some extent tamed that brutal Germanic lust for battle, but could not destroy it; and if ever that restraining talisman, the cross, breaks, the savagery of the old fighters will rattle forth again, the absurd frenzy of the berserker, of which the Nordic poets sing and tell so much

That talisman is brittle, and the day will come when it breaks apart miserably. The old stone gods will then emerge from their forgotten ruins and rub the dust of millennia from their eyes. Thor, with the giant hammer, will spring up at last, and destroy the Gothic domes. When you hear stone crashing and glass shattering, be careful, you children next door, and do not mix yourself up in the business we are taking care of at home in Germany. It might not agree with you. Take care not to light such a fire or to extinguish it. You could easily burn your fingers on the flames.

Do not take my advice lightly, the advice of a dreamer who warns you about Kantians, Fichteans, and Naturphilosophen. Do not take lightly the fantastic poet, who expects in the realm of appearance the same revolution which has happened in the province of the spirit. Thought goes before deed as lightning before thunder. German thunder is certainly German; it is not very agile and begins to rumble very slowly. But it will come and when you hear crashing, as it has never crashed before in all of world history, you will know, German thunder has finally reached its goal. With this sound, eagles will fall dead from the sky, and lions in the most distant desert in Africa will put their tails between their legs and crawl into their royal caves. A play will be enacted in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like a harmless idyll. It is still rather silent, to be sure; and if someone or other is making a bit of noise now, do not think that these are the true actors. They are only small dogs running around in the empty arena, barking and snapping at each other until the hour comes when the troop of gladiators will arrive to fight to the death.

And the hour will come. As on the rows of an amphitheater, nations will gather around Germany to see the great games of battle. I advise you French, when that time comes, to keep very still and, on your life, do not applaud. We could easily misunderstand you and, in our impolite manner, ask you somewhat curtly to be quiet. For if, earlier, we could sometimes outmatch you in our obsequiously sullen state, it will be much easier for us to do so again in the high spirits occasioned by our rush of freedom – you yourselves know what one is capable of in such a state and you are no longer in such a state. Take care! I mean well with you and therefore I tell you a bitter truth. You have more to fear from a liberated Germany than from the entire Holy Alliance including all Croats and Cossacks. For, first of all, you are not loved in Germany, which is hard to believe, since you are all so lovable, and during your presence in Germany you took so much trouble to appeal at least to the better and more beautiful half of the German people. And even if this half actually loved you, it is the half which does not carry weapons, and whose friendship therefore does you little good. I have never been able to understand what we actually hold against you. Once, in a beer cellar in Göttingen, a young Old German said that we have to take revenge on the French for Conrad of Staufen, whom they beheaded in Naples. You have certainly long forgotten that.

We, however, forget nothing. You see, when we finally want to start a fight with you, we will have no lack of convincing reasons. In any case, I advise you to stay on your toes. Let happen in Germany what will; perhaps the Prince of Kyritz or Doctor Wirth will come to power, always be prepared, remain calmly at your post, rifle in arm. I mean well with you, and it almost gave me a fright when I heard recently that your ministers intend to disarm France. –

Since you are born classicists, despite your present-day romanticism, you know Olympus. Among the naked gods and goddesses who amuse themselves there with nectar and ambrosia, take note of one goddess who, though surrounded by such joy and amusement, always wears a suit of armor, a helmet on her head, and keeps her spear in her hand.

It is the goddess of wisdom.