Europe (Novalis)

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Europe is a speech by Novalis (Friedrich von Hardenberg ) that was written in 1799 and first published in excerpts in 1802. The first complete reprint dates from 1826 (in the 4th edition of the "Schriften").

Novalis gave the speech the catchphrase “Europe”. The title of the print version, however, was: “Christianity or Europe. A fragment ”. This long name does not go back to Novalis and was created by an unknown person, which is why the original title "Europe" is usually preferred. Particularly noteworthy is the subtitle of the print version, namely “A Fragment”, because Novalis' notes and the letters of the editors Friedrich Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck always refer to a completed essay or a completed speech, and never a fragment .

Novalis wrote "Europe" between October and November of the year 1799. It represents his contribution to the contemporary discussion about the future of the European continent. His contribution was driven by the upheaval that affected Europe in the course of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century would have. The speech was initially intended for publication in the Athenaeum . However, when Novalis gave the “Europe” speech at a meeting in the early romantic circle of friends on 13/14 November 1799 in Jena , she received very mixed comments. According to Tieck, the speech was felt to be too weak and the weaknesses of the text were easy to discover. Schelling wrote a satirical counter-poem in response to Novalis' "Europa". First, both texts should appear as a comparison in the Athenaeum . In the absence of Novalis, Goethe was asked about publication and advised against it entirely. The reception has been characterized by incomprehension and misunderstandings from the very beginning.

Structure and content

The starting point of the speech was the situation in Europe at the end of the 18th century. When Novalis wrote the text, Pope Pius VI was. died in the citadel of Valence. A new election was forbidden by the French, so Catholic Christianity was without a head. The crisis in Europe was exacerbated by the threat of war against France . The continent was thus at a kairos . In Novalis' understanding, this is seen as a way of entering a better age. According to his vision, a new, better Europe can emerge from the ashes of Europe. The ultimate goal is a regeneration of Europe and eternal peace through a new religion. Every interpretation of the speech has to take into account its generic character.

According to the Aristotelian genre of rhetoric , "Europe" is an oratio deliberativa . The main goal of this idiom is to discourage or recommend an action to the audience. Usually it is about an action that can affect the course of history. In the European speech, Novalis called for the establishment of eternal peace. The speech can be brought into the triad scheme typical of Novalis : A happy “primeval time” is followed by an intermediate phase of decay, which is replaced by the “golden age”, a restoration of the “primeval time”, but on a higher level. For Novalis, at the time the speech is written, Europe is at a possible transition point from an intermediate phase to the golden age. The happy "primeval times" in the European speech is the phase of early medieval Christianity . From the genre of the text, however, it follows that all elements that do not serve the purpose of the speech are left out. However, what is presented must be plausible. Therefore, the representation of the Middle Ages in "Europe" is stylized, but in a form of historical credibility. The speaker in the text asks the reader at the end of the text to use the current threshold point to reach the higher level. The utopian hopes are thus linked to the ideal of a past epoch. In order to be able to achieve this future utopia, however, the sense of the knowledge of the higher world must be awakened in man.

At the beginning of the speech there is a positive presentation of the medieval world. What is important in this representation is the concentrated unity of Europe, which was brought about by the Christian faith. For Novalis, elements of Christianity in the Middle Ages were the love of the church, the veneration of saints, the cult of relics , pilgrimages and even papal censorship, which is legitimized to preserve the religious unity and piety of the people. A golden picture of the past is drawn up here. In the further course, however, the disintegration of this state of unity follows. The clergy have become lazy and are no longer the learned in the world. Rather, scholarship now rests with the laity. In these developments “faith and love” are replaced by “knowing and having”. Thus, rational knowledge and the urge for material wealth come to the fore.

The image of the Middle Ages that Novalis developed contrasts with the image of the Middle Ages of certain rationalistic and materialistic movements in the Enlightenment . They condemned the Middle Ages as an age of barbarism. The beginning of the intermediate phase is seen in the Reformation . This is initially welcomed as a legitimate revolution against the prevailing conditions in the church, but the Reformation does not succeed in bringing about a better new situation. Rather, legitimate protest becomes a permanent stance. The condemned consequences of the Reformation are the destruction of the unity of the church, which ultimately leads to the rule of politics over the church, and Luther's philological study of the Bible , which freezes the living spirit of the church. In addition, the hatred of the Catholic faith develops, in the opinion of the spokesman, over several stages ultimately into hatred of religion.

The Counter-Reformation is condemned after initial approval and ultimately fails, not least because of the lack of imagination and feeling. The development of the European speech goes from the Reformation to the Enlightenment. The rationalistic and materialistic enlightenment movements, not the entire enlightenment, are condemned as turning away from fantasy and feeling. These scholars held the false belief that questions of faith could be solved with knowledge. According to the speaker, this view degrades the world to a mere mechanism. It is seen in analogy to the Reformation and is called secular Protestantism. Both movements are seen as opponents of the religious sense.

From here goes the development to the French Revolution , which is interpreted as the second, more comprehensive Reformation. The revolution is seen as an aggravation of the crisis, but at the same time brings the possibility of entering the new era. You can see it as the starting point of the development towards the golden age. The French Revolution the spokesman said creates the necessary conditions for a revival of Christianity. The revolution pushes religion completely into the private sphere. Thereby a much more personal and intimate preoccupation with religion can take place; thus a spiritual fertilization takes place in man. The speaker claims: " True anarchy is the procreative element of religion ". This is to be understood as a requirement for a complete sinking for the purpose of cleaning. From the destruction, religion can emerge again as an ordering force. As the French Revolution is described, the style of speech becomes more prophetic and more directly addressed to the listener. Here the request is made to people not to want to constantly intervene in the course of history, since the correct state will come about by itself if only one gave history the opportunity to do so.

The relationship to history in the European speech is based on the idea that history is an alternation of opposing movements. A change from the search for ideal and reality, but in such a way that the closeness to the ideal becomes ever greater. The speaker of the speech therefore urges the listeners to be ready for the rebirth of the golden age. Religion is necessary because the worldly powers are unable to balance one another. For this reason a third, supernatural but at the same time worldly element is necessary - religion. He already sees signs of change in his presence. For example in the development of science towards the end of the 18th century. At the end of the speech, the speaker expresses his desire for universalism. He calls for a church that takes no account of national borders and thus creates closer ties between the European states. The new, permanent church freed from denominational barriers, a combination of Christianity and natural philosophy , is to take the place of the papacy and Protestantism. However, this does not mean so much an institutional structure as a peace community. This European peace community would be the first step towards a world community. Novalis demands “genuine freedom”, that is, a freer and more poetic approach to the biblical writings. Thus Christianity should be expanded. With the dissolution of the demarcation from the other religions, the new Christianity devised by Novalis is increasingly approaching a general world religion. This visionary religion of the future should be tangible in everyday life and create social community, but not restrict freedom. In the old golden age, awe and obedience dominated the religious realm; In the new golden age, on the other hand, freedom in religion should prevail. The end of this development has not yet come, but the speaker in the speech puts the listener off and emphasizes that this time will certainly come. It just takes a little patience.

interpretation

Novalis sees the golden age as a sacred time in which everything can be a mediator between man and the infinite, the divine. Here the ideas of an early romantic middle religion are clearly visible. For Novalis it is important for the listener to understand that religious ideas are important, firstly as a mediation between worldly and political forces, but also for the connection of these levels with the infinite, the great whole of nature. The speech calls on everyone, but especially the intellectual avant-garde, to promote the unity of religion, science and art.

The speech was received very differently in the course of the story and detached from the early romantic context. Often times the text was mistakenly read as an endorsement of the restoration . The fact that the text is not a “laudatio temporis acti” but rather develops a pathos towards the future is neglected. Nevertheless, each epoch has interpreted the European speech differently. For example, under National Socialism it was seen as a vision of the seizure of power in 1933. Overall, the text has often been taken too literally, and its efforts to give new meaning and direction to a world in disrepair, not seen or understood.

expenditure

For an overview of the various editions see the entry Novalis and the International Novalis Bibliography (URL see web links).

Secondary literature

  • Christianity or Europe . In: Walter Jens (Hrsg.): Kindlers new literature lexicon . Kindler, Munich 1988–1992.
  • Hermann Kurzke : Novalis . Munich: CH Beck 1988.
  • Lothar Pikulik: Early Romanticism. Epoch - Works - Effect , Beck, Munich 1992.
  • Herbert Uerlings: Friedrich von Hardenberg, called Novalis. Work and research . Metzler, Stuttgart 1991.
  • Herbert Uerlings: Novalis . Reclam, Stuttgart 1998.

Web links