s
work was instantaneous, for, as has been pointed out, it was his
translation of Hafid that inspired the composition of Goethe's _Divan_
and thus started the Oriental movement in Germany.

We have examined the share which Rueckert, Platen, Bodenstedt and Schack
had in this movement and have touched briefly on the work of some of the
minor lights. It will be noticed that the Persian tendency found a far
greater number of followers than the Indic. And this is but natural. It
was far more easy to sing of wine, woman and roses in the manner of
Hafid, such as most of these poets conceived this manner to be, than to
assimilate and reproduce the philosophic and often involved poetry of
India. Add to this the charming form and the rich rhyme of Persian
poetry and we can readily understand why it won favor. But we can also
understand readily enough why most of the so-called Hafizian singing is
of very inferior quality. Those men who did the most serious work for
the West-Eastern movement in Germany, men like Rueckert and Schack, were
not one-sided in their studies. It was their earnest intention to offer
to their countrymen what was best in the literatures of both India and
Persia, and that they have carried out this intention nobly no one who
has followed this investigation will be disposed to deny.

* * * * *

It only remains to say a few words on the question of the value of this
Oriental movement to German literature. We are not inclined to put too
high an estimate on the poetry that arose under its influence. In fact,
we do not think that it has produced what may be called really great
poetry. It is significant that the fame of most of the poets considered
in this investigation does not rest on that part of their work which was
inspired by Oriental influence. We cannot possibly agree with the view
that would place Goethe's _Divan_ side by side with the master's best
productions. We do not believe that he ever would have become famous
through that. Platen's _Ghaselen_ have neither the merit nor the
reputation of his sonnets or his ballads. Even among the _Ghaselen_ and
_Oestliche Rosen_ of Rueckert, the finest poems, such as "Sei mir
gegruesst" and "Du bist die Ruh," both immortalized by the genius of
Schubert, are precisely those that are least Oriental, and we think it
is safe to say that the _Liebesfruehling_ exceeds in fame any one of
Rueckert's Oriental collections, including the _Weish