New Year’s Day 1805. I imagine three German friends — the poet Friedrich Holderlin, the philosopher Wilhelm Hegel, and the Lutheran pastor Rudolf Magenau — conversing with each other.
Some of you will appreciate the way the poetry fits with the Christmas season. The two poems are not in the form Holderlin wrote them, but almost every line and key phrase is by Holderlin, so it’ll give you a good sense of Holderlin as a poet.
. . .
“I will not fail to leave some trace on Earth,” says Holderlin.
“You are in high spirits,” Magenau observes. “Good for you!”
“I live at peace in my work,” Holderlin says. “With determination and purpose, I am bringing to proper expression the Beauty and Harmony to which I have so long devoted myself.”
“I am glad,” says Magenau.
“Hegel will arrive here in time for lunch,” Holderlin tells him.
“I am doubly glad.”
“Oh Mag, I set my highest hopes on my labors as a poet,” Holderlin laments. “But it is not easy to make it in Germania as a writer.”
“Well, Holz, Germania has several thousand writers.”
“Yes. But when I listen to the judgment of men of letters regarding what I write, I can’t help asking sometimes, in all humility, why no path is open to me.”
“The better your poetry gets, Holz, the less public recognition you receive. It is terribly unfair. But keep at it.”
“I will. Still, if you write a fine book in Britain, you can count on selling at least ten thousand copies. Here in Germania, you’re lucky to sell two thousand.”
“No human means have you left untried,” says Magenau. “I have long cherished hopes for your financial success as a poet. Continue toward your goal. Hold your head up, Friedrich! Head high!”
“Who knows where my writing will lead me in the future?” asks Holderlin. “I might make my fortune. But for now it may become impossible to live out my vocation. Unless something turns up, I will be obliged to go and act as a pastor in some country parish.”
“Are you in earnest?”
“It was the right course for your life. Do I not speak reasonably?”
“Oh Friedrich, what an interesting pastor you would be!” Magenau exclaims. “Why don’t you show me how you’d handle yourself at the altar? What would you say? What would you say to your congregation as you conduct Holy Communion?”
“All right, Mag.” Holderlin stands up behind the desk. “How’s this?”:
The Most High, sitting enthroned above
Sent us the most loving One He had
To the human race the Beloved gladly descended
As the High Prince He walked the Earth
Blessed youth with Him at the banquet hour
Sat together over the mystery of the Vine
And gazed into the very Face of God
Valiantly calm within His great soul
He pronounced His own death and His ultimate Love
Whereupon He died
About which we could say much
Soon He returned to be with them
Until to Heaven He ran with the winds
Then He sent them the Spirit
Much was granted from above
And the Fire they did receive
For too long now what is heavenly has been invisible
Such are the flaws in human nature
That with God toiling to bless us with gifts
We know it not, nor perceive it
Even as miracles glimmer around our doubting heads
But we serve the Sunlight
And the Lord of Heaven still lives
Let each of us strain our hearing
Lest the kindly Deliverer be approaching
Let us take our seats at the table of joy
As His beloved guests we have gathered
Let us stay lucid through the banquet
All who surround this altar
Are ready to receive the Prince of Joy
Who will set all things in tune
Let us hold out our hands in gratitude and gladness
Let us partake of the bread blessed from above
Let us drink from the consecrated chalice
Out of these, the bread and the wine
Pour forth to us the Divine Essence
At His table His gifts are offered us
Gifts by the armful, gifts we might delight in
His gifts cohere to us only when our love makes the bond
O come then, brethren, and make it true
Step by step the Heavenly One descends
His Spirit is present, and Beauty abounds
Where Deity approaches, clarity strikes
As we take from His Heart this Divine Life
Our spirits glow luminous, our eyes shine bright
And in this day’s feast the Lord of Love
Can behold again His reflection in our souls
As Heaven’s Sunlight streams into us
The tides of love are again now rising
And as, like eagles, we leave these shores
To ascend toward the Presence Divine
A joyful zest urges our furled wings to unfold
Magenau jumps up. “O dear Heaven above! Your words will always be burnt into my soul, my dear friend. There is only one Holderlin. And there will never be another Holderlin.”
Act II, Scene 2
It’s late morning. Holderlin and Magenau both sit on the couch. Magenau has taken off his collar and unbuttoned his top shirt button. Hegel (me) knocks on the door. Holderlin walks over and opens it. “Please,” says Holderlin, “our dearest Hegel, come in and have a seat.” Hegel walks over and sits in the armchair.
“Let us revel in each other’s company again,” says Hegel. “And celebrate as we begin this new year.”
Magenau nods. “All hail 1805!”
Holderlin, Hegel, and Magenau say it in unison. “All hail 1805!”
“Oh dear friends,” says Holderlin, “how many joyful days the three of us have spent together. And we will share many more. We are blessed to stand in lasting friendship. You remain the men closest to my soul. We partake of all that concerns the Spirit and we magnify it in each other’s beings.” He takes a seat in the armchair.
“The three of us understand each other so well,” says Hegel. “Few words are required to convey to each other what is best and deepest in our souls.”
“You and I, my dear Hegel, require fewer words than Holz,” says Magenau.
“We rejoice in our friendship in every syllable,” says Holderlin.
“He has plenty more syllables,” Magenau says.
“So it appears,” says Hegel.
Holderlin leaps back up. “There is so much to express! The empathy and encouragement of well-meaning souls is a greater gift than anything else one might have cause to appreciate. The unending vitality we share, full of loving trust, conducts us through our life. Each living note in one soul finds an answering tone in these other two souls.
“Some force is urging us on, sometimes quietly, sometimes with full affirmation. Soul to soul, we are present in living witness to something sacred and joyful. Let us make sacrifice to the Divinity that flows between us.”
“Such meaningful words, Friedrich,” says Hegel. “I too recognize the worth of these friendships.”
“Your words have left their marks within our hearts, Holz,” Magenau tells him. “But please, no more. You overwhelm our sentiments.”
“That’s how I am, my friends,” says Holderlin. “How could I be otherwise?”
“We could not imagine you any other way, Holderlin,” says Magenau.
Holderlin sits back down. “You are flourishing, my dear Wilhelm. A professor of philosophy at the university at the age of just 34. Our dreams are being realized at last.”
“Since my father passed,” Hegel replies, “I have felt free to become a philosopher.”
“Congratulations, Wilhelm,” says Magenau.
. . .
“Recently I have made some major breakthroughs,” Hegel tells them.
“You’ve been making breakthroughs for years, Hegel,” Holderlin says to him.
“But my recent breakthroughs are much bigger,” Hegel explains. “Along my voyage of discovery, I walked a highway of despair. In the midst of it, I suddenly found my mind thrust into a unified view of philosophy, religion, and the arts. The scattered pages of my learning were suddenly drawn into a single book.”
“Sounds breathtaking,” says Magenau.
“My system is moving toward a convergence of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful,” says Hegel.
“You’re the new Plato,” muses Magenau. “Is anyone more audacious than you, Hegel?”
“I am attempting to elucidate the experience of consciousness in a systematic way,” Hegel says. “I am developing a systematic philosophy that is getting at how reality is organized.”
“My dear Hegel,” Magenau asks, “are you putting philosophy above both religion and art?”
“I am deeply religious, Mag,” Hegel responds. “Every religion shows what a society takes as its ultimate ground and values. Religion at its best grasps the supersensible Essence behind the world of phenomenon. Religion at its best peers into the Infinite and brings Its depth into the daylight.”
“But you put philosophy above religion?” Magenau asks.
“We need both the sage and the saint,” Hegel answers. “Philosophy explains Spirit. Religion shows us how to behave because Spirit exists.”
“Quite a claim, Hegel,” says Magenau.
“Are you saying, Hegel,” Holderlin asks, “that religion can only go so far and then must yield to philosophy?”
“Basically, gentlemen,” Hegel replies.
“You go way too far, Hegel,” Magenau admonishes him.
“We need a system that takes in all the living forms and experiences of the Spirit,” says Hegel.
“I fear your system may end up being an arid desert of concepts,” says Holderlin.
“Harsh, Holz,” Hegel replies. “I think it is far, far more than that.”
“Wilhelm, I give you credit for your years of labor,” Magenau says.
“Thank you, Mag,” says Hegel.
“But what if your system goes too far?” Magenau asks. “What if you end up with a system that reduces reality to the objects you can contain in a conceptual niche, including the Spirit?”
“I don’t feel my system reduces reality at all,” Hegel counters. “It is open.”
“Whether this is the case the future will show,” replies Holderlin.
“All right,” Magenau says. “So, my dear Wilhelm, our friend Friedrich is contemplating joining the ministry.”
“What?!” exclaims Hegel.
“It appears it may be necessary, Wilhelm,” Holderlin says. “Financially necessary.”
“Oh Wilhelm,” Magenau says to him, “if you’d been here just now to hear Friedrich turn the Holy Communion into pure poetry. It was wondrous. Let’s try something else, Holz. Imagine that you are standing in the pulpit, with the members of your congregation sitting in their pews. What would you say to your parishioners if you could give them a sermon?”
“All right,” Holderlin says, standing up, “how about this?”:
What is a human being? An image of Deity
What is God? Unknown
God veils His Awesomeness lest He be loved too much
Yet the face of the sky is filled with His Features
Lord of Ages
The Most Exalted
The Glorious One
The Life-Giver
Jewel of the Mansion
The hour strikes, and the prelude commences
Awakening us at dawn, the eternal song rings out
Transfigured, the Master Craftsman steps out of His Workshop
And again infuses His Essence into all things
O Sacred Heart of Heaven
O Golden Light, Kindly Light, Benevolent Light
Will You shine for us as well?
Come all-a-kindling down your accustomed path
And touch us with Your Rays
It is a lovely thing to live in the Sunlight
In the all-alive and all-animating power of Deity
Only if we are pure in our inmost intent
The Lord of Heaven, out of His loving Soul
Brings us to the pure depths of Life
And fills our silent hearts with fresh contentment
O Creative One, O Lord of Love
With Your Glory all the Earth resounds
And so with earnest hearts we sing our hymns
Draw us now to the River of Life
And from the brooks and streams
We will once again gleam the deposited gold
We desire to enter Your Presence
To us will You fully now appear?
O pure Source of all Love and Light
Of all Beauty and Joy
Standing before You open-eyed
Let us see at last Your Face!
The Ever-Present One who has visited land after land
Now entrusts the Flame to us
The Love that gently resolves all differences
Prevails from Heaven to this very place
The Blessed Rays of the Joy-Giver
Will nourish each of us like nectar
And we will help grow a new world
And ourselves become a new world
A more soul-inspired, full-blossoming world
For as we have long known
In celestial gardens and in golden days
It was love without end
It still is
Magenau jumps up. “Oh Holderlin, I feel more keenly than ever the tender goodness of your heart.”
Hegel stands up. “Your soul is noble and true, Holderlin. Your pure utterances fill our hearts with joy. I will always preserve our rare bond of friendship within my being, alive and true.”
Mike, thank you for such a wonderful Christmas gift. Merry Christmas! Francisco