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Literature on Church History, 1914–1920. IV. The Church in Modern Times (Part One: The Period of the Enlightenment)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

Gustav Krüger
Affiliation:
Professor of Church History in Giessen, Germany

Extract

It is a characteristic of German scholarship to see problems and to work with them in the solution of intellectual and spiritual questions. Certainly it is a praiseworthy trait in the field of history that it follows the inner relation of events and cannot rest until all the subtlest threads are discovered. Such a problem is presented in the rise of the modern world of thought and the inquiry as to the factors which have contributed to it. In von Below's book on the causes of the Reformation, referred to at the beginning of my third article (HThR, Jan. 1924, pp. 5f.), the question is discussed, among others, whether the transition from the Middle Ages to modern times is really to be found in Luther and his work.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 1924

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References

1 The fourth volume of the collection (1921, 533 pp.) comprises ‘Die Jugendgeschichte Hegels und andere Abhandlungen zur Geschichte des deutschen Idealismus’ (Kant, Baur, Schleiermacher, etc.), and an essay on the development of Carlyle and his place in the Transcendentalist movement.Google Scholar

2 No edition of the “Characteristics” appeared during the entire 19th century. One which was begun by W. M. Hatch reached only the first volume (1870); an incomplete edition by John M. Robertson (1900) is out of print; cf. Rand, Letters, p. xv. German translations appeared in 1909 and 1910.

3 For the study of this time in its relation to the history of ideas, the large work of Korff, Hermann August, “Der Geist der Goethezeit.” Vol. I: Sturm und Drang (xiii, 321 pp. Leipzig, 1923), is epoch-making. It is indispensable for a thorough understanding of the subject.Google Scholar

4 See for example Lütgert, Wilhelm (Halle), in his clever, well-written, and comprehensive book, “Die Religion des deutschen Idealismus und ihr Ende.” 2 vols. xiv, 275; xii, 272 pp. Gütersloh, Bertelsmann, 1923.Google Scholar

5 See the Kant-Bibliographie for 1914–23, in the “Gesammtkatalog der deutschen philosophischen Literatur,” published by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auslandsbuchhandel (Leipzig, Börsenverein, 1924, pp. 1420).Google Scholar

6 On Nicolai, see Sommerfeld, Martin, “Friedrich Nicolai und der Sturm und Drang.” xvii, 400 pp. Halle, Niemeyer, 1921.Google Scholar

7 For the most recent criticism, see Fittbogen, Gottfried, “Die Religion Lessings.” viii, 325 pp. Leipzig, Meyer and Müller, 1923. Even this work, full as it is of significant details and wise observations, cannot be called final.Google Scholar

8 More recently an excellent treatment of this subject has appeared: Obenauer, Karl Justus, “Goethe in seinem Verhältnis zur Religion.” 234 pp. Jena, Diederichs, 1921Google Scholar. Compare also Bornhausen's, Karl discriminating study, “Wandlungen in Goethes Religion” (Comenius-Schriften zur Geistesgeschichte 5. Berlin, 1923Google Scholar) and von Harnack's, Adolf valuable address, ‘Die Religion Goethes in der Epoche seiner Vollendung,’ printed in “Erforschtes und Erlebtes” (Reden und Aufsätze, n. s. vol. IV, pp. 141170. Giessen, Töpelmann, 1923). On Korff, see above, p. 277, note 3.Google Scholar

9 See also Seeberg's, Erich exhaustive work: “Gottfried Arnold, die Wissenschaft und die Mystik seiner Zeit.” viii, 611 pp. Meerane, Saxony, E. R. Herzog, 1923.Google Scholar