HEINRICH HEINE - Repositories

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France Heine joined to the culture, the
sentiment, the thought of Germany.
This is what makes him so remarkable
; his wonderful clearness, lightness,
and freedom, united with such power
of feeling, and width of range. Is
there anywhere keener wit than in his
story of the French abb6 who was his
tutor, and who wanted to get from him
that la religion is French for der Glaube :
" Six times did he ask me the question:
' Henry, what is der Glaube in French ?'
and six times, and each time with a
greater burst of tears, did I answer
him — 'It is le credit.' And at the
seventh time, his face purple with rage,
the infuriated questioner screamed out:
' It is la religion ;' and a rain of cuffs
descended upon me, and all the other
boys burst out laughing. Since that
day I have never been able to hear la
religion mentioned, without feeling a
tremor run through my back, and my
cheeks grow red with shame." Or iu
that comment on the fate of Professor
Saalfeld, who had been addicted to
writing furious pamphlets against Napoleon,
and who was a professor at
Gottingen, a great seat, according to
Heine, of pedantry and Philistinism:
"It is curious," says Heine, "the three
greatest adversaries of Napoleon have all
of them ended miserably. Castlereagh
cut his own throat; Louis the Eighteenth
rotted upon his throne; and Professor
baalfeld is still a professor at Gottin.