ment of ideas; yet the Author hopes that his exertions for correctness in his conceptions and statements, and for perspicuity in the mode of expressing them, will meet with a favourable reception and an indulgent criticism on the part of the public; and he trusts that, at all events, the difficulty under which he labours in conveying his ideas in a language, which is not his vernacular tongue, will be taken into account on his behalf. An Introduction of this kind ought not to be viewed in any other light than in that of a slight sketch, since it merely purports to convey the outlines of a general survey and cursory view of that ground, where the point is to be chosen from which the Lecturer intends to start. General results, of course, have been broached, while the details of investigation leading to such results remain untouched. University of London, INTRODUCTION, &c. GENTLEMEN, THE term "German Literature" is so very vague and indefinite, that you may reasonably require of me some explanation, as to the sense in which I use it. It would appear to be somewhat difficult to define strictly the signification of the word literature, since almost every writer on the subject extends, or confines, the limits of this signification. But we may, perhaps, come to a clearer idea thereof, by considering literature, firstly, in a wider, and secondly, in a more confined sense. In the former, it represents all those productions of the human mind, which are the work of reason and intellect, of fancy and feeling; and, in this sense, it comprehends the wide field of the sciences, and that of poetry, and constitutes the principal superstructure of the national mind. In its latter, or more confined sense, literature seems not to comprise the sciences. Thus, jurisprudence, theology, medicine, philology, mathematics, and those branches of science comprehended under B the general denomination of natural philosophy-in a word, all sciences which are taught and studied according to certain systematic rules, and especially occupy the intellect, are excluded from literature. In this, its confined sense, literature seems to comprise, on the one hand, history, speculative philosophy, and rhetorick, constituting the prose style; and, on the other hand, poetry,-because, in these branches of literature, the intuitive power of the human mind, and the activity of the fancy, are the prevailing elements. The lectures which I shall have the honour of delivering to you on German literature will treat of only a branch of that literature, in the more confined sense, as just described. I must restrict myself to reviews of the leading authors in poetry. These reviews will be chronologically arranged, beginning with the sixteenth century, and will, thus, form a prominent portion of a history of German literature, as proposed by me in the second statement of the council of this University. Such a course appears to me to be the best calculated to afford an acquaintance with this branch of German literature, since literature must be considered an essential part of history. The literature of a people is the great repository of their ideas, and contains the leading features of the national mind. Without it, the history of a people cannot be understood; that is, if we consider history as something more than an enumeration of battles lost and gained, or an account of the growth and decrease of different dynasties. On the other hand, the literature of a people, the bloom of the national mind, cannot be duly judged and estimated, without tracing its course as the product of the historical development of mankind generally, and in particular, of that of the nation to which it belongs. You will not then, I trust, charge me with any uncalled-for prolixity, if I endeavour, by some general preparatory remarks, to point out the relation of German literature to the development of the human mind, as represented in history; and how that memorable event, the Reformation, gave, as it were, a new direction to the cultivation of the German people. This introduction will contain a sort of explanation of my historical and critical creed, and will furnish you with a key to those views, which will be laid before you in the course of my lectures, and which, without such previous explanation, might possibly appear paradoxical, and sometimes even unintelligible, The thought of considering the history of mankind as the biography of an individual is not new; and Jean Paul Richter tells us, that the youth of a people is no metaphor, but a truth; a people only repeating, in larger proportions of time, and surrounding objects, the history of the individual. A modern German author, Adolph Müller, has expounded this view more fully; and thus, I have no reason to suppose that my opinions on the subject can be considered untenable, as I am only following in the path which this author has trod before me, and coinciding in general with his views. The individual man belongs to his family as to his nearest sphere; the union of families belonging to one race, forms what is called a people; and the entire social union of nations, as represented by the consideration of the past, present and future, is comprehended under the denomination of mankind-as an organic whole; and, like other organic products, subject to certain laws and influences of time. Thus, for instance, we see a forest, as a mass of single trees, subjected to the same changes and influences to which the single tree is exposed; and, as a grain of sand is a miniature representation of the earth, so man is the representative of mankind. The end of the existence of the individual man, is also the acknowledged aim of mankind generally-which is perfection, according to the model of the Eternal Spirit, who, hovering above the waters, called by love his creation into life. In order that mankind may reach this aim, we see, as history shows, that Providence takes upon itself the difficult charge of instructor. In one instance, we view it as the kind and careful parent, smiling above the cradled babe; in another, as the severe admonisher, enforcing obedience from the unyielding child; and, again, as the affectionate father receiving the lost son, and embracing him with redoubled love. The indestructible tendency to perfection in the human mind, even in the negligent, whether it express itself in piety, or in the never stifled voice of |