11. To Hermann Engels, March 11- 12
but the mystics do not think anything of him because he is not always playing them religious songs in the style of: You say I am a Christian, and in one of his poems hints at a possible understanding between rationalists and mystics." As far as religious poetry is concerned, it is at an end for the time being until someone comes along who can give it a new impetus. With both Catholics and Protestants everything goes on in the same old humdrum way. The Catholics compose hymns about the Virgin Mary, the Protestants sing the old songs with the most prosaic words in the world. These horrible abstractions — sanctification, conversion, justification and lord knows what loci communes* and hackneyed flourishes. Out of anger at present-day religious poetry, out of very piety, that is, one might well go over to the devil. Is our time so shabby that it is impossible for anyone to set religious poetry on to new paths? Incidentally, I think that the most contemporary kind is that which I have used in my Sturm and Florida,0 concerning which I ask you for the most detailed review on pain of not-receiving-any-more-poems. It is inexcusable of Wurm to hold on to the letters.
Yours,
Friedrich Engels
11
TO HERMANN ENGELS
IN BARMEN
Bremen, March ll, d 1839 Dear Hermann,
I request Your Honour not to plague me in future with beginnings of letters such as you learned from Herr Riepe and only permit myself for the moment to remark that it is winter with us every morning and summer every midday. For in the morning the temperature is minus five degrees, while it is plus ten degrees at midday. I continue to practise my singing and composing regularly. Here is a sample of the latter:
fhtyiJi|,jirtnfr|iri|iu.ii.i -MU
You can sing The Blind Man to that melody or you can leave it. March 12.a I'm very glad that you will soon be getting your dog. What is the breed of the mother and what does the animal look ^ v « , 'ike? His Antiquity, Herr Leu-JJet- »JTCnv*»^/ /fitbtttjitl. p0id> is n o w arriving at the office and I will have to strike a more serious tone, as the great Shakespeare says. A new newspaper has just come out called the Bremer Stadtbote,h
edited by Albertus Meyer, who is a very great blockhead. He used to lecture on the happiness of peoples, child education, and other topics, and when he wanted to get his lectures printed the worthy authorities would not agree, saying it would be far too nonsensical. He has the nature of a china merchant and has been in conflict with the Un-terhaltungsblattc ever since his first issue. The way they go for each other would make you die laughing. Continuation in letter to Marie.
Walking in front of the Bremer Stadtbote is a man who looks like
this
Your loving brother
Friedrich Engels