The Enlightenment

and theRiseof
Historicism
in
GermanThought
HELEN P. LIEBEL

WELL-KNOWN FEATURE of theEuropeanEnlightenment

was its
"renascent"interestin classical antiquity.In Germanyit was preciselythe more sophisticatedstudyof Greek and Roman culture
whichtookplace intheeighteenth
century
thatresultedin therevolutionarychangesin the Westernview of historywhichcontinueto
shape historicaland politicalformulations
on both sides of theAtlantic.The philosophicalview of historywhichwas thusproduced
twocenturies
ago is calledhistoricism.'
In German,the term,Historismus,of which "historicism"
is a
translation,
was popularizedafter1839 by romanticliberalslike
Rudolfvon Haym,and acceptedby conservative
Germanhistorians
to describetheirbasic assumptionthatindividualeventshave to be
seenin thecontextof a wider,universalhistoricaldevelopment,
and
thefactsofhistory
explainedin termsoffundamental
concepts,such
as thatofthedevelopment
ofthemodemstate,or offreedom.As an
attitudewhichdominatedmore than one disciplinein nineteenthcenturyGermany,it assumedthatthe truestudyof any discipline
(linguistics,
economics,literature)
had to be historicalin itsorientation.By assuming"development,"
however,all thinkers
who adopted
a historicalframeofreference
fortheirworkdid notalso necessarily
assumeprogress.The Germansin particularassumedthevalidityof
"eternalideas" which,in some metaphysicalor theologicalsense,
manifest
themselves
in all ages.
Thoughrootedin theGermanEnlightenment's
revivalofPlatonic
was equallytheproductof theeighteenth
idealism,historicism
cenintheRomanlaw traditions
tury'sjuristicinterest
oftheHolyRoman
Empire,and of Germany'sAugustiniantheologicalheritage.It also
withtheslowlydevelopingnationalism
mergedalmostimperceptibly
1 See "Noteon theTerm'Historicism,'
"p.

383.

359

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360

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

of a new species of humanisthistorians,

like Ranke and Niebuhr,
whoseworkwas foundedin theliterary
revivaloftheRococo era.
The eighteenth-century
mindwas not yetevolutionary
in its approachto history.Insteadit sharedwithclassicalauthorsa concern
fordidacticism
and educationalmodels.For theGermansthismeant
as
adoptingtheattitudesof Tacitus,a favoriteauthorof eighteenthwell as nineteenth-century
writers.The son-in-lawof Agricola,Roman governorof Britain,he belongedto a school of historianswho
had survivedthefalloftheRomanRepublicand undertheinfluence
ofthateventwrotea speciesofhistory
a highly
calculatedto transmit
tarnished
imageoftheemperors.This was strangely
popularin Germanywherethe princesof the empire,even Frederickthe Great,
identified
withRomansenatorsand weresuspiciousoftheHabsburg
to wishto centralizeimperialauthority.
tendency
The moralphilosophyof Tacitus,too, suitedthepietismof theeighteenth
centuryto
a veryhighdegree.For Tacitus reveredthe simplevirtuesof the
Germantribesmen
whoweresettledon theotherside of theRoman
Limes, a line of palisade fortsstrungacrossGermanyand Austria.
Howeverinaccuratein hisclassification
ofthemhe mighthavebeen,
formostoftheinvadingtribescame centuries
later,and fromfarther
north,Tacitus' Germaniaremaineda cherishedworkforGerman
writers
who,likeRanke and evenNietzsche,continuedto believein
thesamesimplemanlyvirtuesdescribedbyTacitus.
Anotherimportant
streaminfluencing
theeighteenth-century
revolutionin thought
and givingimpetusto thelaterriseofevolutionary
ideas, lies in the Augustinianheritagestemming
fromthe German
medievalhistorians.The chiefof these was Otto of Freising,2a
2 Of course thisdoes not mean that the work of Otto of Freisingdominated
eighteenth-century
thought.
The generalplan of salvation,assumedin his work,did
producea continuing
influence,
however,in bothCatholicand Protestant
Germany.
In thefirstplace, his lifeof FrederickBarbarossaremaineda major sourceforthe
history
of theHoly RomanEmpire,whichall juristsstudied.In thesecond,Ottohad
beenat themonastery
of KlosterNeuburgoutsideViennabeforemovingto Freising.
It was in thatmonastery
thatSt. Leopold,thefounderof theHabsburgdynastyin
Austria,was buried,and it was therethatin 1181, as a resultof the Freisinginfluence,a huge enamelaltar depictingthe same kind of Heilsgeschichte
as Otto's
Two Citieswas produced,originally
to decorateLeopold'stomb.The monastery
was
rebuiltby CharlesVI, fatherof Maria Theresia,who intendedto make his palace
therethe centerof his empire,designedaccordingto Habsburg"mysticism"
with
windowsfacingeach sectionof his kingdom,and the Danube flowingby beyond
the gatesbelow.His "idea" clearlyrestedon theremainsin the cryptunderneath,
and was relatedto themeaningof thealtar.I am indebtedto Canon FloridusRorig,
the archivistat KlosterNeuburg,forhis explanationof thealtarand thehistorical
information
aboutthemonastery.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

361

Bavarianbishopwithroyalconnections-he was a
twelfth-century
halfbrotherof Conrad III and the uncle of FrederickBarbarossa.
in a Latin stylesurprisingly
Otto'swork,written
purefortheMiddle
Ages and indicativeof a highlevel of classicalscholarshiplong beforetheRenaissance,developedtheChristianthemesof St. Augustine'sCityof God. Otto'sHistoryof Two States(or Cities)remainsa
It showsa muchgreaterfeeling
monument
history-writing.
of,Gothic
theologicalexforhistoricalevolutionthanAugustine'sfifth-century
plication,yetperpetuates
the traditionalChristianview. God operates throughhistoryand the storyof the Roman and Holy Roman
Empiresbearswitnessto it. The Christianplan of salvationremains
a continuing
themefromclassicalantiquity
to Hegel. And,
manifest,
also the
thiswas apparently
despitehisnewemphasison secularism,
beliefofRanke.
Althoughthegeneralapproachof Europeanhistoriansremained
verysimilar,and thekindofhistory
written
by Germansdid notdiffermuchfromthatof French,English,or otherEuropeanannalists
ofroyalreigns,a greatchangedid occurduringtheEnlightenment.
And thecontributions
of Germanhistoricalwritersoftheeighteenth
centuriescame on twolevelssimultaneouslyand earlynineteenth
ofhistory.
inmethod,and inphilosophy,
of methodhad to do withestablishing
rulesfor
The development
and forexpunging
from
appraisingandjudgingdocuments
critically,
ofthemwhateverfolklore,
consideration
and mythology
superstition,
mightmaketheirvalidityfictionalratherthanactual. In someways
thisinvolveda Germanrenascenceof ancientlearningand was posto powerpoliticscast offthetheosibleonlywhenevolvingattitudes
and emergedas theraisond'etatof
logicalaura of theReformation
Frederickthe Great.It was thenthatthe Enlightenment
era could
its aims and motiveswiththose of the politicalheroesof
identify
Greeceand Rome. The secularoutlookof the classicalwriterswas
in somehighlypolished,criticalhistoricalwriting
demonstrated
beB.C. accountof the PeloginningwithThucydides'fourth-century
of high
ponnesianwars. The urbane,sophisticatedunderstanding
of theancientshad been unknownin medipoliticsso characteristic
eval Europe. The medievalattitudetowardhistoricalrealitywas
naive at best. Withfewexceptions,such writersof historyas then
existedbelievedvirtually
theyheardor read. Yet on the
everything
highestlevel the traditionsof the ancientswere translatedinto a
Christianpoliticaland religiousideologythatincludedconceptsof

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362

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

justrule,a goldenage ofpeace, therightful

and continuing
authority
of the Roman pope, fearof the devil,and supremacyof imperial
power.3It was theconceptualization
of
requiredforthetransmission
legal traditionsand the studyof law in schools of higherlearning
whichfinally
did bringabouttherevivalofsophisticated
history.
Althoughsourceswere viewed more critically,the writersremainedunequippedin thelinguistic
preparation
necessaryforascertainingand organizingan accuratetext.For theBible theyhad only
theLatinVulgateedition.The establishment
ofthetextoftheGreek
New Testamentremained for Renaissance humanists-notably
Erasmus.Onlyin thesixteenth
centurydid newwaysof editingtextualmaterialmakeitpossibleto studytheoriginalmeaningofChristiansources.The Reformation
and itssuccess,indeedtheverynature
ofReformation
disputes,made itnecessaryto studyoriginalsources.
The winningof adherents
dependedon claimsofbeingable to interprettheBible morecorrectly
thantheestablishedChurchhad, until
then,beenable to do.
Thisconsciousdriveto go back to thesourcesled,in Germany,to
of scholarlypurpose.Sourcesof all kindsweresysnew definitions
tematically
collected,even as earlyas thesixteenth
and seventeenth
centuries.Of courseRenaissancehumanistshad done thiskind of
thingin Italysomecenturies
before;Petrarchspentthebetterpartof
hislifedoingit.But Germanyremainedmorepastoralthaneventhe
ItalyoftheMiddleAges. Anystudentofarchitecture
mustnotice,as
he travelsfromthe Mediterranean
to Germany,thatthe buildings
are smaller,provincial,even"backwoods"editionsofwhatwas built
in a farmoreaffluent
southernsocietyat the same time.Certainly
ItalianRenaissanceprosperity
spreadto theNorth.Even thedecliningHanseaticcapitalat Lubeck had Italianhandcarvedporchesand
balustradesalongthemunicipalsquare,as did manya boomingfree
cityin the Bavarianplain. Yet the ideas were slow in coming,the
identification
withancientauthorsevenmoreso. Like theItaliansof
thetrecento,
quattrocento,
and cinquecento,theGermanswereprothe
secular
foundlyinfluenced
by
consciousnessof the Greeksand
Romans,but not untilthe eighteenth
century.And it was not until
theend ofthateighteenth
thatAristotle's
century
Politicswas trans3 ErnestBernheim,
Mittelalterliche
in ihremEinflussaufPolitik
Zeitanschauungen
und Geschichtsschreibung
(Tubingen,1918; rep.Aalen, 1964),pp. 10-50,70-97,97109; also WaltherLammers,ed., Geschichtsdenken
und Geschichtsbild
im Mittelalter(Darmstadt,1961).

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

363

latedintoGerman,4althoughGermanhad been thelanguageof university

instruction
fornearlya century.
If we can defineRenaissancehumanismas an involvement
with
thestudyof "ancientauthors,"as well as a psychologicalidentificationwiththepoliticaland ethicalviewsofsuchwriters,
thenwe cannot speak of a NorthEuropean Renaissanceuntilthe intellectuals
northof theAlps too foundsuch an involvement.
It seemsstrange
untilthe
thattheyfoundit difficult
to achievesuchfullidentification
eighteenth
but thiswouldseem to have been thecase. For
century,
despitethe influenceof Aristotleon Germanpoliticaleconomycameralism-mostpoliticalwriterscontinuedto stressthe importanceofChristianethicsand improvement
ofthemedievalmodesof
domainsadministration.
Veit von Seckendorif,
theleadingGerman
politicaleconomistof the end of the seventeenth
centurywho was
stillwidelyread duringtheeighteenth,
made muchof thesethemes.
Not onlydid he writea historyof Lutheranism,
but he entitledhis
politicalworksThe ChristianState and The Prince'sState. Others
like HermanConringweremoreinvolvedin the legal traditionsof
theempireand drewheavilyon Aristotelian
trainingin logicalanalysis,but did notidentify
withthe ancients.5
The Christian,especiallythe Protestant,
motifremainedstrong
evenin theGermanEnlightenment
of theearlyeighteenth
century.
Leibniz stilltriedto reuniteWesternChristianity,
and althoughhis
pupil ChristianWolfffocused his attentionon mathematicsand
logic,he insistedon an unreasonablepersonalethic-he was firmly
convincedthatcoituswas meantonlyforthe begettingof children
and had but one son. Thomasiuswas a morecompletefigureof the
and hisinfluence
contributed
towipingoutthebelief
Enlightenment,
in witchcraft
and the devil amongthe educatedcommonersof the
The youngmenoftheday,likethejuristJ.J.Reinhard,felt
century.
Yet Frederickthe
a suddenrelease,a liberationfromsuperstition.
Great,thehero of manyof them,foughthard to freehimselffrom
4 ManfredRiedel, "Aristotles-Tradition
Zur
am Ausgangdes 18. Jahrhunderts.
der 'Politik'durchJohannGeorgSchlosser,"Alteuropaund die
erstenUbersetzung
and
Festchrift
furOttoBrunner,ed. AlexanderBergengruen
ModerneGesellschaft.
1963), pp. 314 ff.
LudwigDeike (Gottingen,
5 Seckendorff
and the entirecameralisttraditionare describedin some detailin
der Verwaltungsthefollowingworks:GustavMarchet,StudieniiberEntwicklung
lehrein Deutschlandvon derzweitenH&iftedes 17. bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunder deutschenKameralwissenderts(Munich,1885); Axel Nielsen,Die Entstehung
tr. Gustav Bargum(Jena, 1911); Albion Small, The
schaftim 17. Jahrhundert,
thePioneersofGermanSocial Polity(Chicago,1909).
Cameralists,

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364

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

fatherwhonearlyexecutedhim
theharshbeliefsof a semi-psychotic
fordisobedienceto theking's,and, as it were,God's word.In Frederickthestoicalthemesof theancientsemergeside by side withan
in historicalones.He is a Roman Caesar at heartand yetacinterest
ceptstheideals of just rulewhichhe learnedfromphilosophesand
receivedthroughthe Augustinianheritage.In contrast,JosephII,
triedto establishan ethics
also educatedin naturallaw philosophy,
based on Cicero,and in theenddefiedand overturned
ofgovernment
almostall the historicalrightsand traditionsof the Austrianprovincesduringhisreign.6
influence,therewas somethingabout
Despite all Enlightenment
Despotsthatsharedthevalues
Enlightened
thestoicismofGermany's
whichappearedas therivalof
ofpietism,theevangelicalmovement
margraveofBaden,
in Germany.The enlightened
theEnlightenment
CharlesFrederick,forexample,continuedto believeand act in accordancewithhis simplepietistfaith.Even Kant, who morethan
anyoneelse epitomizedrightreason,neverlostthetracesof a pietist
In fact,it tooktheFrenchRevolutionto shaketheGerupbringing.
and,evenso, it
manmindloose fromsuchevangelicalcommitments,
Untilthe
nevercompletelyescaped thesetheologicalpredilections.
Bastillefell,theRoman and GreekattitudesofwhichGermanyhad
become consciousthroughthe translatedwritingsof Machiavelli
dismay.Princeswerestillraisedto regard
werereceivedwithofficial
his doctrinesas anathema.Afterall,
an
as
enemy,
the Florentine
Frederickthe Greatwrotehis Anti-Machiavelas late as 1740, the
veryyearhe succeededto thethroneand began a reignnotedforits
conspicuouslyMachiavellianpracticeof higherpolitics.However,
we mustnotethatFrederickdidnotpoisonhisenemiesas theItalians
to be a historian"de
had. He was nota Borgia.Frederickattempted
montemps"instead.
Calvinist,agnostic,a minorcomposer,thisPrussianking7con6 The onlybiographicalsketchof JohannJakobReinhardavailablein Englishis
in Helen P. Liebel, EnlightenedBureaucracyversusEnlightenedDespotismin
EnBaden,1750-1792 (Philadelphia,1965), pp 54ff.The earlyeighteenth-century
der
in Germanyis treatedby Hans M. Wolff,Die Weltanschauung
lightenment
Entwicklung
(Berne,1949). On Thomasius
in geschichtlicher
deutschenAufklirung
ed., Chr. ThomasiusLeben und Lebenswerk.Abhandlungen
see Max Fleischmann,
ChristianWolffals Staatsdenker
und Aufsatze(Halle, 1931); WernerFrauendienst,
of both see
(Berlin,1927) describeshis successor.For a philosophicaldescription
(Tilbingen,
im ZeitalterderAufklarung
Max Wundt,Die deutscheSchulphilosophie
1945;rep.Hildesheim,1964), pp. 19 ff.,122 ff.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

365

tinuedtowritea typeofhistory
verysimilarto thatofVoltaire,whom
he houndedfromhis courtforhaving"lost caste" by stoopingto
quarrelwitha Jew.Frederickof coursewas the authorof religious
inhisrealm,and didmuchtoencourageJewishtradesmen,
toleration
someofit exploitative
on his part,but as a Germanaristocrat
he remainedthevictimofancientnotionsofstatus:as a Brahminhe could
not accept anyonehe had classifiedas of lowercaste thanhimself.
His assessmentof historicalmaterialwas just as uncritical.His sole
purposeas a historianwas to communicatethe achievements
of a
gloriousreign,and one couldbe wittyand quiteliteratein doingthis
and yetremaininnocentof all techniquesofhistoricalcriticism.
It was earlyin theeighteenth
centurythatquestionsof historical
methodbegan to be discussed.None of whatfollowedwould have
been possibleifmoderntechniquesofcollectingand assessingdocumentshad notbeen workedout in seventeenth-century
France. Indeed, it was twoFrenchmenwho made thesubsequentGermandethefatherof
velopments
possible:Mabillonand Bayle.8The former,
diplomatics-thescientific
studyof documents-was especiallyimportant.The latter,Pierre Bayle, manifesteda scepticismthat
changedmen'shabitsofmind.Yet therewerealso nativetraditions.
SamuelPufendorf,
thegreatpoliticaltheorist,
endedhislifeas a historianofhistimes.Two centuries
beforeRankehe wroteto a friend
thata historianmustabove all else "love truth."Leibniz,too,was a
historian,howeverpedantic,and servedthe cause by promoting
greaterprofessionalism
in thatdiscipline.Even thoughhis attempt
to establishan imperialcollegeof historyin 1687 failed,it was his
intellectualstimulusand his influenceon Frederick'sgrandmother,
Queen SophieCharlotteof Prussia,whichresultedin theestablishmentofthePrussianAcademyofSciences.9
7On Frederickthe most definitive
biographyis still that of ReinholdKoser,
Geschichte
Friedrichdes Grossen,4 vols. (Stuttgart,
1889; rep. Darmstadt,1963).
Otherworkson Frederickinclude: GerhardRitter,Friedrichder Grossen(Heidelberg,1936); PierreGaxotte,FredericktheGreat,trans.R. A. Bell (London,1941);
G. P. Gooch, Frederickthe Great: The Ruler,the Writer,the Man (New York,
1947).
8 On Mabillonand Baylesee ErnstBernheim,
Lehrbuchderhistorischen
Methode
undderGeschichtsphilosophie
(Leipzig,1908;rep.New York,1967),I, 223 ff.
9 On Pufendorf
see LeonardKrieger,The Politicsof Discretion.Pufendorf
and
theAcceptanceof NaturalLaw (Chicago,1965); on Leibniz and the Baroque Enin Prussiasee Carl Hinrichs,Preussenals historisches
lightenment
Problem(Berlin,
1963),pp. 295 ff.,205 ff.,253 ff.The role playedby theGermanacademiesis also

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366

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

In theeighteenth
centurythereappeareda hostof minorwriters
whocompiledmulti-volume
collectionsofdocumentsand whowrote
handbookson historicalmethod.Since theproblemof the age was
thenlargelya matterof eliminatingthe vestigialfeudalismin the
Germanlegal system,
therevisionof law codes and thesystematizaof
tionof existinglaws accompaniedreforms
in the administration
justiceand economy.The newwaysofstudying
historyand theclardocuments
in properchronityachievedfromstudyofwell-compiled
That
ologicalarrayproduceda moremodernhistoricalperspective.
so muchof Germanlaw was Roman,and thatso muchRoman law
was studiedas a prerequisite
to receivinga licenseto practice,proofriddingGermanyofRoducednewdebatesaboutthedesirability
ofthrowing
outthecustomary
mannorms,or,alternatively,
laws and
keepingtheRoman systems.In Germanythestudyof law was thus
weddedto the Pandectsand Institutesof the laterRoman empire.
The Enlightenment
ideal of simplicity
and naturallaw preferred
the
TwelveTables of theRoman Republicor some systemlikeit. Thus
of discussion.
problemsof Roman historyremainedin theforefront
Almostall juristswere amateurhistorians.Roman historybecame
theindispensableadjunctto all juristicstudywhatsoever,
and whatevercould be accuratelyascertainedabouttheancientRomanswas
consideredvital forunderstanding
Germanadaptationsof Roman
Law. Historicaltruthwas, however,foundedon historicalmethod.
The historian
had to describeclearlyand honestly
whatthetruthwas
-and thiswas dependenton separatingfactfromfiction,
as well as
frompartisanattitudes
ofboththewriterand hissource.",
ChristianThomasius(1655-1728), oftencalled "the Enlightenmentpersonified"-atleastin Germany-broughtan Enlightenment
criticalsenseto thewritingoflegal history.Like Pufendorf
his concernwas withreasonabletruth.For thereform-oriented
eighteenth
centuryhe taughtthatlegal historianswereto searchforevidence
lawswerelimitedintime,thattheyexistedrelative
thatcontemporary
host
to theirera. A
ofjuristsfollowedhis lead, amongthemGabriel
Schweder,a Tiubingen
professorwho interpreted
the constitutional
relationsoftheGermanempirefrompositivesourcesin legalhistory.
describedin AndreasKraus,Vernunft
und Geschichte,
die Bedeutungderdeutschen
Akademienfurdie Entwicklung
der Geschichtswissenschaft
im spaten18. Jahrhundert(Freiburg,1963), pp. 206 ff.
10Bernheim,
Lehrbuch,I, 223 ff.;Roderichvon Stintzing,
Geschichteder deutschenRechtswissenschaft
(Munich,1880-1910),pp. 228-528.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

367

More important
was his student,JohannJakobMoser(1701-1785),
the"father"
ofGermanconstitutional
law.11
value forwritersof
Objectivity
in particularbecame a significant
historyor at least legal history.Inspiredby Schweder,Moser,who
was himselfstilla mostdevoutProtestant,
wentout of his way to
place nationalunityabove religiousstrife.It was thespecialneed of
Germanconstitutional
law at thattimeto provideforan objective
ofthefundamental
and Catholics
interpretation
rightsofProtestants
withintheempire.The newly"enlightened"
juristssoughtinterpretationsof constitutional
law whichwould bridgereligiousdifferences
and createa uniform
law fortheempire.MoserpraisedSchwederfor
hisobjectivity
in writing
aboutGermanconstitutional
law; his works
Moser
could be used at both Protestantand Catholicuniversities.
was atemphasizedthat scientificimpartiality
(non-partisanship)
tainedbecause theauthorhad digestedhis sourcesmorethoroughly
and had not just constructedlogical systems.Indeed, he had diHencevorcedhistory
fromitsearlier"naturallaw" presuppositions.
forthitsexplicationwoulddependon a studyoftheevolutionofhistoricalinstitutions
as these could be documentedfromhistorical
was thustheproductofEnlightenment
sources.Historicalpositivism
schoolsofjurisprudence.
Moser himselfcompiledinnumerable
volumesof documentsand
wroteover300 extensiveaccountsof Germanlaw, economics,and
publicaffairs,
as well as pietisthymnsand an important
autobiography.Yet itwas themassivenessofhisworksratherthantheiranalytical qualitywhichmadehimfamous.In factMoser'scompilations
of
the laws of so manyof the over threehundredsovereignstatesof
pre-NapoleonicGermanyare oftenthe chiefsource for the early
modemconstitution
of theempire.The methodhe used, also, curiouslyresemblesthatdevelopedby modemhistorians,
sincehe filed
hismaterialundersubjectheadingsandkept"cards."
As Moser was himselfan extremely
pious Protestant,his consciencebroughthimintoconflict
withCharlesEugene,theCatholic
dukeofhisnativeWuirttemberg,
and thisin spiteofMoser'slife-long
11 On Thomasiussee F. A. G. Tholuck,Geschichtedes Rationalismus(Berlin,
1865; rep.Aalen, 1970), p. 107; Stintzing,
pp. 71 ff.;HeinrichRilping,Die Naturrechtslehre
des ChristianThomasiusund ihreFortbildung
in der ThomasiusSchule
(Bonn, 1968). On Schwederand Moser see Dr. ErwinSchombs,Das Staatsrecht
JohannJakobMosers(1701-1785) (Berlin,1968),pp. 98 ff.;also Stintzing,
p. 401 ff.,
has a sectionon Moser.

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368

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

Aftera careeras a successefforts

to bringaboutreligioustoleration.
ful officialin manyof the smallerstatesof Germany,he had been
Protestant
wherethestillverypowerful
calledhometoWiirttemberg,
Estatesregularly
employedtwolegal counselorsto assistin drawing
and
up programs,to provideliaisonwiththe ducal administration,
to defendthe rightsof theEstates.As a resultof the Seven Years'
to suppresstheEstates,levytaxes
duke attempted
War,thereigning
unilaterally,and enlarge his army and his absolutistpower.
Moser'sstaunchoppositionled to his arrestin July1759, and a cruel
until 1764. Deprived of outdoorexercise,sufficient
imprisonment
fuelin winter,and all writingmaterial,he developeda routineof
and prayerwhichkepthimsane. His compulsiveperBible-reading
hymnsin themarginsoftheBible
sonalityfoundan outletin writing
and scratchingthemon the plasterwalls of his cell witha pair of
shears.12
candle-trimming
view of society,of history,was born
The modernevolutionary
whileMoserwas in prison,duringtheemotionaltraumaoftheSeven
Objectiveas
Years' War. Techniquesalone had been insufficient.
mighthavebecome,thepoliciesfollowedworkedin oplegalhistory
positeways.Frederick'spose as thesecondGustavusAdolphus,his
use of thereligiousthemein his war propaganda,tendedto awaken
Germany.The positivelaw of the early
partisanfervorthroughout
centurywas not respectedand the risinggenerationof
eighteenth
jurists,statesmen,and writersof Germany'sGolden Age, of the
renaissanceof Goetheand Schil"SturmundDrang,"oftheliterary
thefreedom
Personality,
ler,soughtan outletforpersonalexpression.
to developit,to developart,and to describethehumanspiritin hisofa newgeneration.
Out ofitwas
torynowbecamethemaininterest
tohistory.
bornthemodemattitude
writerwho contributed
morethanany otherto
The mid-century
was
developingtheawakeningconsciousnessof Goethe'sgeneration,
JohannJoachimWinckelmann(1717-1768). The son of a shoehe had workedhiswaythrough
makerandgrandsonofa clothmaker,
12 Moser'sverypersonalaccountis richin psychological
content.See his Lebens(1st ed., Offenbach,
GeschichteJohannJakobMosers,von ihmeselbstbeschrieben
is Reinhard
and Leipzig,1777-83).A recentbiography
1768; 3rdrev.ed., Frankfurt
Rurup,JohannJacobMoser,Pietismusund Reform(Wiesbaden,1965), whichhas
an extensive
bibliography.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

369

school despitethe bitterest

poverty.His interestin art and history
emergedout ofthehodge-podgeof GermanEnlightenment
concern
withmoralphilosophy,
withpedagogy,withcreatinga pureGerman
style,withreviving
theknowledgeofGreekliterature-inshort,with
usingspeechand literature
to developan educatedperson.Certainly
thestudyoflanguageas an arthas alwaysbeen relatedto thestudy
of history.
Even Mabillonwas concernedwithtracingtheevolution
oftheRomancelanguagesin hisstudyofdocuments.'3
Winckelmann
wenttoschooljustas a new"Renaissance"appearedin Germany,
for
the studyof Greekliterature,
howeverwell developedit may have
been in thesixteenth
century,
had been destroyed
duringtheThirty
Years' War and onlyrevivedduringtheearlyeighteenth.
As late as
1747 Winckelmann,
an avid book collector,could notfindany editionsof Sophoclesin Germany.Thucydideswas knownonly in a
1731 Englishedition,Polybiusin a 1670 edition.'4
For yearsWinckelmann
workedwithCountHeinrichvon Biunau,
a Saxon diplomatdescendedfroma twelfth-century
noble family,
who had a Frondistinterest
in defending
thefreedomof theknights
oftheempire.The originofimperiallaw in theearliesthistory
ofthe
Germantribesand in thatof theSaxon emperorswas his chiefconcern.His workwas widelyadmired,by Lessingamongothers.While
preparing
a workon theFrankishKingChlodowig,Blunauemployed
to aid himin his researchand writing.Unfortunately
Winckelmann
thebook was neverpublishedand themanuscript
was lost.The insightsgathered,however,wereto help Winckelmannin developing
a geneticconceptionofhistory
and art.FromReichhistorie
Winckelmannturnedto a studyofDresdenartcollections.His first
book, in
arthistory,
establishedhisreputation.
He thenin 1755 leftforRome
wherehe settledand systematically
producedhisworksofarthistory,
amongthegreatestof theeighteenth
century.His majorwork,His13 JeanMabillon,Histoiredes Contestations
surla diplomatique
avec l'analysede
cetouvrage(Paris,1708).
14 The following
biographical
materialis based primarily
on thestandardworkon
Winckelmann,
nowrevised,Carl Justi,Winckelmann
undseineZeitgenossen,
3 vols.
(1sted., Cologne,1866-1872;rev.Cologne,1956),and also on Leo Balet,Die Verburgerlichung
der Deutschen Kunst, Literaturund Musik im 18. Jahrhundert
(Strassburg,
1936), pp. 432 ff.See thereprint,
JohannWolfgangGoethe,WinckelmannundseinJahrhundert
in BriefenundAufsdtzen,
ed. HelmutHoltzhauer(Leipzig, 1969),and thenew biography
by WolfgangLeppman,Winckelmann:
Fatherof
Archaeology
and ArtHistory(inpress,1971).

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370

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

introductoryof theArtof Antiquity,1764, a profusely

illustrated
tionto the arttreasuresof Rome, createda new attitudeto history
The identification
overnight.
withtheancientswhichhad been lackingin Germanywas madepossiblethrough
theimageofthepastconveyedbyitsart.
Like Pufendorfbefore him and Ranke in the next century,
Winckelmann
believedthatthegreatestlaw of historywas, indeed,
A
truth. truerendering
ofthepastwas important.
The wrongideas,
the wrongpicturestransmitted
by an excessivefocuson wars,the
supernatural,
the glorification
of conquesthad to be excised.The
fullnessof life,thevarietyof whathad been done, the goodnessof
trulyhumanitarian
rulershad to be emphasized.Undertheinfluence
ofEnglishWhigs,he believedthathistory
was thestoryoffreedoman earlykindofWhighistory-andpatriotslikeTacitus,Sallust,and
Cicerowerehisheroes.DuringtheSevenYears' War he condemned
Prussiaas a land oppressedby thegreatestknowndespotismin history.The love ofcountrycouldnotbe replacedby love of serviceto
a king.Art could onlyflourishin a freeenvironment.
Art was a
growingthingand resultedfroma varietyof causes, none of them
supernatural,
noneofthemtheresultofcompulsion.
Eliminationof the supernaturalnow became the characteristic
arthistory,
ofhistory
eventhoughGermanphilosophy
wayofwriting
continuedto includeold theologicalstrains.Relationshipsin time
ofmanyages. Alwaysthere
and space stretched
alongtheperimeter
was thegrowthofrelatedfactors,a meshofsocial and political,even
ofeconomicforces.And thesediscoverieswererootedin thefactual
materialculledfroma newlycriticalreadingofthesources.The act,
"die Tat," said Goethe'sFaust,was thebasis oflife,nottheword,as
was theWord."Yet
theGospel ofSt. Johnhad it,"In thebeginning
even the activismof a Faustianlifewas a historywhichwas in the
endfoundin thesources.
The assemblingoffactsand thedescription
ofeventsin termsofa
is not yethistory.For Aristotle
wide nexusof humanrelationships
historywas, like poetry,an artof imitation.Germanwritersof the
creatednewformsfortranslating
humanemotions
eighteenth
century
is
after
be
What
drama.
life-like.
And narintopoetic
real,must,
all,
rativecannotbe life-likeunlessit imitatesemotionswhichare really
expressed.The philosophyof drama,thephilosophyof aestheticsof
Goetheand Schiller,and of theirfriendHerder,thusbecame indis-

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

371

pensablein assistingthehistorianto bringhismundanesourcematerialtolife.

of Jena,afterhavingfled
Schillertaughthistoryat theUniversity
hisnativeWiirttemberg
ofDuke
to escapethethreatened
persecution
CharlesEugene,who had censoredhis play,The Robbers.Both he
and Goetheusedhistorical
themesin theirworks,SchillermoredeliberatelythanGoethe.ActuallySchillerdevelopedthemesin a Shakespearianveinand did so consistently,
whileGoethe'sinterests
varied
more throughout
his life.Only one of his firstworks,the famous
GoetzvonBerlichingen,
a robustplayfilledwithobscenities,
was intendedto glorify
thebattleofthefreeknightsoftheempireto maintaintheirfreedomagainstsixteenth-century
imperialauthority.
Schiller far more systematicallyattacked tyrannyin his Maria
Stuart,Don Carlos,and WilhelmTell. And morethanGoethehe had
a coherentthemein all ofthem:thenationalstruggle
oftheEnglish,
Swiss,andotherpeople,forfreedom.'5
WhileneitherGoethenorSchillerhad anyrealcriticalsenseabout
the use of sourcematerial,theynevertheless
createda traditionof
poeticgeniuswhichmade virtually
everyphilosophicalcommentof
theirsa law untotheirnineteenth-century
admirers.Goetheespeciallybecamethegreatheroof educatedGermansforthenexttwocenturies,withtheresultthatall his Platonicideas about lifewere accepted uncriticallyduring the era of his grandsons.Life, conceived as the productof organicdevelopment,
was the themeof
Goethe'swork.It was also the ultimaterealitywhichall the great
Germanhistoriansof theBismarckera soughtto reproduce.In the
end, "life"became moreor less the themeof heroichistoryand so
tendedto diminishany criticalsense for interpreting
the present.
Whatwas themeaningof life?In theview of Germanhistoriansit
15 Balet,pp. 152 if.,accusedGoetheofpandering
to despotism
and praisedSchiller
forhis opposition.Goethewas perhapsbetterprotectedand less likelyto stickhis
neckoutoncehe didgeta goodjob,butbeneaththesurfacehe remainedsympathetic
to theriseof WhigLiberalism,especiallyafter1815. The standardGoethebiographiesinclude:A. Bielschowsky,
Goethe,Sein Leben und seine Werke,2 vols. (rev.
ed.,Munich,1921-23),F. W. Bode,GoethesLeben [1749-1798]9 vols.(Berlin,192227). On Schillersee: K. Berger,Schiller.Sein Leben undseine Werke,2 vols. (12-13
ed., Munich, 1921-23; Fr. Schiitt,Geschichtliche
Darstellungenzu Friedrichv.
SchillersDramatischenWerken(Carlsruhe,1930); J. Schmidt,Schillerund seine
Zeitgenossen.
Eine Gabe furden 10. November1859 (Leipzig,1859); A. Streicher,
SchillersFlucht von Stuttgartund Aufenthaltin Mannheimvon 1782 bis 1785
(Vienna,1902).

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372

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

was essentially
and deeplydialecticalratlher
thanlogical.It involved
philosophicalsystemsratherthanempiricalones or pragmaticprinciplesofpolitics."6
The originsof GermanphilosophyofhistoryderivefromGermany'sculturalrenaissanceofthelastdecadesoftheeighteenth
century.
The twophilosophers
whoworkedoutthebasic principlesofthenew
kind of thoughtwere JohannGottfried
Herder (1744-1803) and
WilhelmvonHumboldt(1767-1835). The first
was an East Prussian
theologystudentwho migratedto Frankfurt-am-Main,
wherehe fell
in witha groupofyoungliteratiwhichincludedtheyoungGoetheof
his pre-Werther
days.Certainlythegroupdid notcenteron Goethe,
who was onlya minormemberbroughtin by his futurebrother-inlaw, JohannGeorg Schlosser(1739-1799), a Frankfurt
patrician
and occasional poet. Schlosserwas at thattimetranslating
poetry
fromall thelanguagesofWesternEurope and wrote(in English)an
extensiveversecritiqueof AlexanderPope, entitledAnti-Pope.Althoughhe was consideredhighlyimportant
in hisown age, Schlosser
has to someextentbeenforgotten,
largelybecauseof Goethe'sdamning commentsabout himin his memoirs,Dichtungund Wahrheit.
Later a leadingBaden officialand reformer,
a noted criticof the
16 In thislay therootsof romanticism,
of course.Goethetreatedthemajorproblemsof thehistorians,
individuality,
development,
and thequestionof achievement
(or success).He was interested
in finding
thechangingrealityof thereal worldand
had a "biological"viewof change.Not thatwhichhad been,notthestaticpast,but
"das ewig Werdende,"theeternallyemerging(becoming)was the objectof his reflections.
As a pantheist
who latermodifiedhis views,Goethewas opposedto the
Enlightenment's
utilitarian
emphasison progress.
He lookedfor"life"in Natureand
in humanaction;all life was somehowtied together.
See Engel-Janosi,
pp. 29-33.
FriedrichMeinecke,Die Entstehung
des Historismus(2nd ed., Leipzig,1946), pp.
469-613,also describesGoethe'sorganicworld-view
in thisway, and Engel-Janosi
probablyderivedhis description
fromMeinecke.The importance
of aestheticsand
of the problemof reconstructing
the "livingreality,"not only the visibleone of
Renaissanceart,butthatof humanemotions,
cannotbe overemphasized
whendealing withGoetheand the historians
of the modernschool who wereinfluenced
by
theseviews,throughWilhelmvon Humboldt,Schelling,and Ranke.Even Ranke's
nineteenth-century
editor,A. Dove, pointedout thatRanke's"objectivity"
as a historianonlymeanta universality
of empathy,
of Mitempfinden.
The reconstruction
of
thepsychological
elements
in humanbehaviorwas of foremost
concernto dramatists
and historiansalike. See Erich Rothacker,Einleitungin die Geisteswissenschaften
(2nded.,Tubingen,1930),p. 40, fn. 1. Later,otherphilosophers,
e.g.,Nietzsche,and
in history,
Dilthey,developedin diversewayswhatcame to be knownas Lebensphilosophie.Historywas foundedon the psychologyof humanunderstanding
accordingto Dilthey,a themeothersfollowedas well. See Hans-GeorgGadamer,
Wahrheit
undMethode(2nd ed.,Tiubingen,
1965), pp. 218 ff.;GeorgMisch,Lebensphilosophieund Phdnomenologie.
Eine Auseinandersetzung
der Diltheyschen
RichtungmitHeideggerundHusserl(3rded.,Darmstadt,1967).

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

373

and emotionallyan opponentof Kant during

Prussianlaw reforms,
the 1790s, thissensitiveand charmingman who wooed and won
Goethe'ssisterCornelia(whichthebrother,
perhapsbecause of supcouldnotforgive)was latera forerunner
pressedincestuousfeelings,
of GermanWhiggery.
As a studentof law reformhe was also a piand tooktheevolutionary
oneerof historicism
approachto evaluata viewwhichlaterbecame commonin theso-called
inginstitutions,
ofhistory.'7
Whiginterpretation
GoethesoughtemployPartlyin imitationof his brother-in-law,
mentin theserviceof an enlightened
princeand foundtheDuke of
but
Weimarattractive.
Herderfollowedhimto his Saxon Shangri-la,
behavedmoreseriouslythanGoethe,who had treatedtheWeimar
courtas a romp,said "Du" to princes,and&kissed
thedukeupon the
lips.'8Herderrosein theranksoftheclergy,and eventually
becamea
Protestant
bishop(superintendent),
usinghis officeto fosterhis ininlanguage,philosophy,
terests
andeducation.'9
As a philosopher,
Herderincorporated
in hisworktheconcernsof
the earlierEnlightenment.
It was he who became consciousof the
newmaturity
in historicalphilosophy.Like an adultembarrassed
by
hischildhood,themoreadvancedage was ashamedofthehistoryof
less civilizedtimes.Man's earliesthistoryhad been determined
by
religion,whichdetermined
thekindsof documentsanypeoplechose
touse as a vehicleofexpression.
Men followedtradition.
Nationswere
characterized
bybasic conceptsuniqueto them.In thebeginningof
historyman's languagewas poetic,even mythological.20
In consequence of thesebeliefs,Herderattempted
to writea historyof literature,and a workon theevolutionary
stagesoflanguage.True to his
time,he was impressedby Winckelmann's
arthistories,
and he also
plungedintothe problemsof Reichhistorie,
whichwas thenstilla
17 The mostrecentand highlyrevisedinterpretation
of J. G. Schlosser,his conrelationship
withGoethe are sumtribution
to belleslettres,and his controversial
is byhisgrandson,
Alfred
marizedin Liebel,Baden,pp. 69 ff.The standardbiography
Wirken(Bonn,1844).
Nicolovius,JohannGeorgSchlossersLeben und literarisches
See also ErnstBeutler,Essays um Goethe(Leipzig,1941),I, 127 ff.Schlosser'sAntiinintellectuals
Pope was composedin Englishin 1766 and read by theFrankfurt
cludingGoethebeforeitappearedin Germanin 1776.See Liebel,Baden,p. 73, n. 23.
18W. H. Bruford,Cultureand Societyin Classical Weimar,1775-1806 (Cambridge,1962), pp. 53 ff.
19Biographicalsurveysof Herder'slifeand workare to be foundin Bruford,
pp.
184-235,308 ff.,as wellas in Meinecke,pp. 378-468.
20 JohannGottfried
2 vols.,(Berlin-Ost,
Herder,Zur Philosophieder Geschichte,
1952), I, 102-103.

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374

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

matteroftracingmedievaldynastiesand sortingtheItalianfromthe
Germanstories.The history
ofcivilization,
thenbecomingsecularized
and highlypopular(underthenameof"universalhistory"),
was also
hisconcern.Herder'shistoricalmodelwas notunlikeours.Beginning
in theEast,thestorycoverstheriseand fallofempires,as wellas the
contributions
to tradeof thePhoenicians.No longeris it Freising's
justification
ofChristianity.21
Herder'smostepoch-making
work,however,was writtenduring
the1780s,theheydayofthephilosophicaland literary
renaissancein
Germany.RecentscholarsconsiderthistheGermanEnlightenment
proper,and theera of Thomasius,whichcoincideswiththeEnglish
and FrenchEnlightenments,
as "early"Enlightenment.
In anycase,
theexchangeofideas withGoetheand thelongtrainofwriters
who
visitedWeimar,theSpinozistcontroversies
of theeighties,thescientificadvancesoftheage,and theemergence
ofKantianphilosophy
all
playeda rolein shapingHerder'sownIdeas Towarda Philosophyof
theHistoryofMan.22
The workwas a sketchof the evolutionof the world,not from
the firstdays of Genesis,but fromthe beginningsof the planetas
eighteenth-century
sciencesaw it,fromthegaseousmass. The modernpartofthehistory,
thedescription
oftheoriginsofEuropeanpeoples, northernand southern,the observationson the characterof
nations,on thetransitory
natureofall humaninstitutions-these
are
a potpourriof Age of Reason thinking.
Herderemphasizedthathistorywas morethanbarrennarrative;it was, in fact,science.It told
thetruthaboutwhatactuallyexisted,aboutwhatis indeedrealin the
hereand now.It was notand mustnotbe speculationabout"thehidden designsof Fate." The crucialwordin thetitleof thisworkwas
ideas,Ideen.The conceptis tobe understood
in termsofa philosophy
extending
back to Plato,howevermuchitmayhavebeenmodified
by
Europeanthinkers
afterward.
It does notmean thatideas constitute
an ultimaterealityand thattherefore
onlysome sortof dialectical
"isms"oughtto be studiedby historians,
althoughit can meanvery
nearlythat.In modernterminology,
Ideen refersto ideas as model
conceptsof such thingsas nationalcharacter,the state,religion,
culture.
Herder's"philosophyof ideas" was picked up by Wilhelmvon
21 Ibid.,I, 95 ff.,152 ff.,
209 ff.,262 ff.,435 ff.,etc.
22Ibid.,II, containsthefulltext.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

375

Humboldt,a Prussianstatesman,politicaltheorist,and academic

planner.The brotherof Alexandervon Humboldt,a notednatural
scientist
whoexploredtheAmericas,Wilhelmwas himself
an eminent
philosopher
ofethics,morals,and humanistic
lore.His "Essay on the
Officeofa Historian,"23
describesthemainjob ofthehistorianas the
truerepresentation
ofevents.And influenced
liveby thecontinuing
linessof the interestin classical antiquity,
Humboldtheretook his
cue fromCicero'sDe Officibus.
The Aufgabe,job, or taskofthehistorianis in realitythe "office"of the historian.It is the historian's
businesstofindthemodeloftruerealityamongtheruins,bitsofdocuments,and many-sided
accountsofwhathas happened.In anyconglomeration
ofhistorical
facts,factsareonlyminuteeventswhichare
in turnpartofa greaterwhole.It is amongtheassortedfactsthatthe
historian
findstraceswhichcouldlead himback to thelargerGestalt
ofanyhistorical
reality.Verylittleofthisphilosophy
directly
affected
the English-speaking
worlduntilthe appearanceof Collingwood's
Idea of History(1946), althoughGermantraditionsof historical
methodhad madetheirinfluence
feltmuchearlierthroughthetranslationsofworksbyLeopoldvonRanke.
DespiteRanke'soverwhelming
importance
as thefounderofmodem historical
scienceone musttakecognizanceofthefactthathe was
himselfinspiredby a stillearlierhistorian,
BartholdGeorgNiebuhr
(1776-183 1),24 a Prussianuniversity
professor
who had fallenunder
theinfluence
ofeighteenth-century
workson theproblemsofRoman
history.Niebuhrused existingcompilationsto writea two-volume
Historyof Rome (1811-1812), later adding also a thirdvolume
(1827-1832), a workfamousfortheexcellenceofitstechniquesand
use ofcriticalmethod.Niebuhrwas thefirst
to attempt
a historical
re23 Wilhelmvon Humboldt,
"Uber die Aufgabedes Geschichtschreibers,"
Werke,
5 vols.(Darmstadt,
1960),I, 585 ff.The essayis dated1821.
24 Seppo Rytkonen,
BartholdGeorgNiebuhrals Politikerund Historiker.
ZeitgeschehenundZeitgeistin den Geschichtlichen
Beurtheilungen
von B. G. Niebuhr,
AnnalesAcademiaeScientiarum
Fennicae,ser. B, tom. 156 (Helsinki,1968),is the
mostrecentand mostthorough
studyof Niebuhr.See also Stintzing,
p. 286; Iggers,
GermanConception
ofHistory,
pp. 65 ff.Niebuhr,likeJustus
Moser,thewellknown
Osnabriickhistorianand writer,and otherstateofficials
who wrotehistory,often
wrotea detaileddescription
of thedifferent
archivaldocuments
on subjectsof interestin theirage,frequently
of a socio-economic
nature,as theseaffected
problemsof
landreform,
abolitionof peasantlaborservices,etc.,butthestyletheyusedwas that
of an officialmemo,not thatof the historian.Niebuhralso showedan interestin
Romanpeasantproblems,
a reflection
of thereforms
influencing
his ownage,buthis
viewwas "cameralist,"
and relatedto thedevelopment
of Romaninstitutions,
rather
thanto thatofthemoderneconomichistorian.

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EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

of thestoryof theoriginsof theRoman statebased on

constructioii
existingsourcematerial.It had of coursetakencenturiesto editthe
materialuntilitcouldbe used in thisway.Niebuhrwas
documentary
ofclassicalphilconsciousofhowmuchhe owedto thedevelopment
ologyafter1650, and to thenew criticaleditionsof Cicero. Yet he
was hardlywhatwewouldcall objective.In thefirst
place,hisinterest
was primarily
wereinseparable.In this
political.Politicsand history
he was perhapsinfluenced
by Montesquieuand theleadingpolitical
theorists
in France and Italy.Therewas also a
oftheEnlightenment
nativeGermantraditionrelatedto the studyof jurisprudence
and
legal history.
The Germanshad afterall been preoccupiedwithconstitutional
development
eversincethePeace ofWestphalia.And for
Niebuhrtoo, all historicaleventspresupposeda knowledgeof the
constitution
and laws of the nationunderstudy.These alone embodieditsethosandmadeplainwhatthenationalcharacter
was.
Herder,too, had of coursebeen interested
in nationalcharacter
and theGermanintellectuals
were,on thewhole,awakenedto these
concernsduringtheNapoleonicera whentheywereon thedefensive
and hard put to regaintheirindependence.Yet the interestin an
ethos,or thecharacteristic
morality
of a nation,goesback at leastto
earlyeighteenth-century
to thenumerous"PatrioticSodidacticism,
cieties,"to theGermanadaptationsof Addisonand Steele'smiddleclasshomilies.Pedagogy,pietism,andmoralphilosophy-Sittenlehre
-were theprimaryconcernsof eighteenth-century
intellectuals.
JohannGeorgSchlosserwas so wellknownforhisfamedworkon moral
philosophythat Moser's publicistson, Karl von Moser, even remarkedthathe wouldratherhavewritten
Schlosser'sSittenlehre
than
Montesquieu'sSpiritofLaws.25And theinterest
in thedevelopment
of societyas an ethicalentityremaineda strongthemeof German
philosophyof history,
even duringthe nineteenth
century.26
It was
notentirely
lostsightofuntiltheBismarckianunification
completely
changedthevalue systemof Germanhistoriansand producedsuch
extremelynationalistictypes as Treitschke,Marcks, Lenz, and
others.27

Interestin nationalhistoryand thedevelopment

ofnationalcharacter also became dominantin European and Americanhistory25 On Schlossersee Liebel,Baden,73.
26Cf. JohannGustav Droysen,Historik.Vorlesungeniiber Enzyklopidieund
Methodologie
derGeschichte
(rep.,Darmstadt,1958).
27 Hans-HeinzKrill,Die RankeRenaissanceMax Lenz undErichMarcks(Berlin,
1962),describesthisdevelopment
in somedetail.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

377

writing
And it is an attitudethat
throughout
thenineteenth
century.
grewout of Enlightenment
in national
legal historywithits interest
institutions,
and out of theearlierEnlightenment's
interest
in pedagogyand moralphilosophy.The assumptions
on whichit restshave
been widelyabsorbedby the West. One cannot imagineHerbert
Butterfield's
WhigInterpetation
ofHistoryortheworkofmostofthe
standardAmerican,British,and Canadian historians
withoutit.
WhileNiebuhrbroughttheeighteenth
century'sdiscoveryof nationalhistory
intothemainstream
ofEuropeanhistoricalwriting,
his
"objectivity"
was coloredby Germanaestheticattitudes.These were
connectedwiththeemotionalism
of Germanpietism,withtheearly
romanticism
of the "Sturmund Drang" in literature,
and withthe
mimesisaesthetics
ofAristotle
whichWinckelmann
had popularized.
Like manya pietist,Niebuhrin factrecommendedthathistorians
viewevents"witha bleedingor rejoicingheart,"thattheybe moved
by "justiceand injustice,bywisdomor folly,by comingor departing
greatness."28

Thisis byno meansto be understoodas supportforolderdidactic

history.
It meanssimplythatiftheaesthetictheoryofempathyis also
madepartofanywriter's
generalphilosophyofhistory,
he can never
leave humanemotionsout of account.Trulyobjectivehistoryis not
possibleunlesstheforceofhumanemotionsis portrayed
in itsevents.
If one is goingto tellthetruthabout humanacts one cannotignore
thevalueofhumanemotioninhistory.
Yet it is notNiebuhrbutLeopold von Ranke (1795-1 886)29who
is consideredtheactualfounderofmodemhistory-writing.
Although
greatlyinfluenced
by Niebuhr,he was also theproductof thatsame
staunchLutheranreligiousbackgroundwhichhad playedso importanta rolein theGermanEnlightenment.
The classicalrevivalof the
28 BartholdGeorgNiebuhr,"Historyof Rome,"excerptin FritzStern,ed.,
VarietiesofHistory(New York,1956), p. 54. The translation,
byProfessor
Stern,is from
theprefaceof the secondedition.Thereis littleavailable on or about Niebuhrin
English.
29On Ranke see Aira Kemilainen,Die HistorischeSendungder Deutschenin
Leopold von Ranke'sGeschichtsdenken
(Helsinki,1968) whichis based on an examinationof manuscripts
and diariesnot previouslyconsidered.Recentstandard
worksbased on the materialavailable earlierinclude: T. H. von Laue, Leopold
Ranke. The FormativeYears (Princeton,1950); RudolfVierhaus,Ranke und die
Soziale Welt(Muinster/W.,
1957); Iggers,GermanConceptionof History,pp. 63 ff.,
and "The Imageof Rankein Americaand GermanHistoricalThought,"Historyand
Theory,II (1962), 17-40; Carl Hinrichs,Ranke und die Geschichtstheologie
der
a. M., 1954). Of theolderworksthebestmonographis WaGoethezeit(Frankfurt
han Nalbandian,Leopold von Rankes Bildungsjahreund Geschichtsauffassung
(Leipzig,1902).

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378

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

eighteenth
centurytoo, havingreachedits apogee, was now introducedto Rankein hissecondaryschooling.Romanheroicismtooka
contemporary
formas the newspapersof the day printedlong accountsofNapoleon'sGermancampaigns.Ranke,whoseowninclinationsran to poetryand drama,absorbedeverydetailand wentwith
otherschoolboysto viewthebattleofAuerstadtnearhishometown.
ResurgentGermannationalism,the tremendoushistoricalimportance of Napoleon,and the emotion-laden
imagesof thepast conjured up by the manyfineworksof art in local art galleriesgave
Ranke'sschoolyearsan eclattheEnlightenment
had lacked.Yet he
neverfoughtin thewarsand onlyturnedto history
muchlater,when
he waswellintohisuniversity
studies.80
Aftersomeyearsas a secondaryschoolteacherand thenas Dozent
at BerlinUniversity,
Ranke was able to use a government
stipendto
traveltoVienna,wherehewas able tovisitFrederickvonGentz,Metternich's
historian-secretary,
quiteoften.Here,undertheinfluence
of
therefugees
fromtheBalkanshewrotehisfamousHistoryoftheServian Revolt,whichis stilla classic. Then he wenton to unlockthe
ofItalyand oftheVenetianarchives.The tripto Italywas
mysteries
as significant
forRanke as it had been forGoetheand forWinckelmannbeforehim.Althoughhe was thefirst
historian
afterVoltaireto
analyzehisowncivilization,
he viewedit through
Romaneyes.Tacitusshapedhisstyle;so did his Christianbeliefin all thepeculiarities
ofProtestant
idealism.Yet he rejectedtheeighteenth
century's
didacticism.Althoughmanyhad done so, Ranke refusedto viewthehistorian'sofficeas judgmentof thepast.His sole interest
was in showingwhathad actuallyhappened,unpleasantas it mighthave been,
"wiees eigentlich
gewesen.''3l
The essentialmeaningofthisnewcredo,in keepingwiththerising
concernforcitizenship
and theburgher's
newfound
humanitarian
and
30 The idea thatRankehad notbeenmuchaffected
by thepoliticalmovements
of
hisboyhoodappearstobe false,despitetheargument
of Carl Hinrichs,
e.g.,a Frisian
historianwitha somewhatromanticstylewho arguesin thisway in his "Leopold
von Ranke,1795-1886,"in Preussenals Historisches
Problem,ed. GerhardOestereich (Berlin,1964) pp. 319 ff.See also his Ranke und Geschichtstheologie
der
Goethezeit.It is perhapsbecause he emphasizesthe importanceof Ranke's theologicalinterests
thatthepoliticalones appearundervalued.But forthe Germanof
thisera religiousfervor,a senseof mission,an interestin the significance
of great
historicalevents,and nationalismall wenthand in hand.See Aira Kemilainen'sexcellentAuffassungen
uiberdie Sendungdes DeutschenVolkesum die Wendedes 18.
und 19. Jahrhunderts,
AnnalesAcademiaeScientiarum
Fennicae,ser. B, tom. 101
(Helsinki,1956).
31 Ranke,Simmtliche
Werke,ed. AlfredDove (Leipzig,1867-1890),vols. 33/34,

p. vii.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

379

wasto writea kindofhistory

politicalinterests,
whichwasnot"ofwhichdidnotbowto a compulsion
ficial"history,
toflatter
reigning
orserveas a defense
fora despised
Thehistorian
princes
was
regime.
orin
nottowritetosuita partisan
line,orforeign
policyobjectives,
fearofreprisal
He was
orretaliation
byMetternich's
policecensors.
toeducatemanto a higher
himnotto
levelofhumanity
byteaching
deceivehimself,
to accepthistory
andeventsas theyactually
were,
hadbeen,andwouldbe.
Unlikemodemphilosophers
ofsocialscience,Rankewasnotpriinwriting
interested
marily
a value-free
Thesupreme
lawof
history.
thehistorian
wasto present
factsas strictly
as possible,"contingent
andunattractive
thismaybe."32Yettheactualcomposition
though
of
thenarrative
wastofocusonwhatwasimportant
atthemoment
that
itbecameimportant.
Rankedidnotbelieveinstarting
hisdescription
witha generalhistory
of all politicalinstitutions
in Europe,but
in presenting
thedetailedeventsoccuring
in each nationwhenit
intothesunlight
emerged
ofhistory,
i.e.,assumeda roleontheinternationalscene.LikeHegel,whomhe otherwise
opposed,Rankebelievedthatnotallpeoplesexperienced
theevolutionary
stagesofhistory.Onlythoseon whomthelightofcivilization
shonewereto be
described.
Andthisselection
couldnot,ofcourse,
presuppose
a valuefreehistory.33
Howthen,wereimportant
eventsto be isolated,
known,anddescribed?
Whatcriteria
couldthehistorian
useto guidehimthrough
thewelterof detail?Ranke'ssystem,
whichbuilton Wilhelmvon
Humboldt's
also
on
and
Schelling's
"identity"
philosophy,
provided
a
of conceptual
pattern
analysiswhichgavehima superior
toolfor
grouping,
andinterpreting
arranging,
massivequantities
ofcritically
sortedtexts.Man,he believed,
is knowable
byhistory
andthrough
Hisaimwastocombine
philosophy.
thevaluesofboth.Philosophy
is
rational
anddeductive
andhistory
empirical
andinductive.
Yet itis
therational
anddeductive
through
ofphilosophy
system
thatonecan
unlocktheworkings
ofthegreater
spiritual
reality
whichalonemakes
For Ranke,theideasor Ideen of
thestudyofhistory
meaningful.
Humboldt
thetendency
ofanyageofman.Without
represent
Ideen,
32 Ranke,Historiesof theLatin and Germanic
Nationsfrom1494-1514(3rd ed.,
Leipzig,1885),pp. v-viii.(CitedfromStern'stranslation
inhis Varieties,
p. 57.)
33 As a resultwe have themanystandard
multi-volume
historiesof Europestressing eitherforeignaffairsor the preponderance
of a major power,e.g., Sagnac's
Peuples et Civilisations
series,or the manygeneralEuropeanand worldhistories,
e.g.,HistoriaMundi.

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380

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

historyof any kind whatsoeveris impossible.Once the individual

phenomena,the facts,are sortedout, theyhave to be analyzedin
to universalwholes.34
termsoftheirrelationship
in history,
forcesand movements
The Rankeanideas represented
ofhuman
development
and spiritualrealitybehindthe
grandmotifs,
although
In theendtheyweretheforceofGod in history,
institutions.
notin so naive a way as depictedby Otto of Freisingin thetwelfth
ideationalforces
At bottom,theidea ofthestate,orwhatever
century.
This is in
werethe mostimportant.
wereshapingits development,
contrastto Herder,who putreligiousideas first.Also, in contrastto
Platonicvirtueswhich
Humboldt,Ranke leftout the fundamental
Humboldthad retainedas proto-ideas(Urideen):truth,justice,and
thestate,Chrishisideastolargeraggregates,
beauty.Rankeconfined
whichmanifested
a nation(Germandom),alwaysinstitutions
tianity,
34 Ranke of coursedevelopedhis philosophy
his lifeand his viewson
throughout
the relationof philosophyand historychanged.In his youthhe was influenced
by
Germanconcernswiththepurposeor goal of society.As a young
eighteenth-century
About 1824
man (ca. 1817) he was also muchconcernedwithGod's idea in history.
in themeaningof worldhistory,
he was interested
theidea of exactingand critical
historicalresearch.(See Kemiliiinen,
Ranke,pp. 19-21,who uses some stillunpubof God's
lishedRankeessayson thissubject.)Ideas were,howeverimpure,reflections
"concept."Hence thehistorianhad to findthetendenciesof any age, theideas and
whichdominatedit,by criticalmethodsof historicalresearch(ibid.,p.
movements
of thepoliticalpartieswhichplayed
22). The statehad itsown tendencies
regardless
a role. If the powersof war includeda generaltendencyat work,as duringthe
ThirtyYears' War,thena battlecould determine
the futureof theworld (ibid.,p.
whena maturescholar,Ranke lecturedby invitation
23). By mid-century,
to King
MaximillianII of Bavaria on the "Epochs of WorldHistory."In thesesessionshe
made clearwhattheleadingideas werein thevariousstagesof Europe'sevolution.
did nothave a lifeof theirown,butrepresented
The ideas,he remarked,
a dominant
coulddescribethembutnotsummarizethem
in anycentury.
The historian
tendency
The historian's
taskwas to analyzeand expliin a singleor unifiedlogicalconstruct.
cate them,to "unfurl"the grandhistoryof all mankind.(See Ranke, Uber die
Epochen der NeuerenGeschichte[rep.,Darmstadt,1965], p. 9, and Kemiliainen,
Ranke,p. 22.) By 1880,in his old age, Rankewas facedwiththerisingtideof Darwinismin Europeanthoughtand rejectedit out of hand. He had no interest
in the
of man to animalnatureand would stickto "theWord,"by meansof
relationship
whichGod had breathedhis spiritintotheworld-stilla theologicalviewreflecting
and earlynineteenth-century
late eighteenth-century
attitudes(Kemiliainen,
p. 23).
see also thechapteron thissubject(ibid.,pp. 8 ff.)which
On Rankeandphilosophy
of what Ranke meantin the literature
describesthe ratherdiverseinterpretations
producedsincethelatenineteenth
century.
Obviouslyhe acceptedtranscendentalism,
He did nothave a system,
but saw an immanencein thedevelopbutnotapriorism.
mentof thestate,thechurch.He was mostdefinitely
interested
in and had his own
of history,
viewoftheproblemofthephilosophy
thoughhighlycriticalof Hegel.See
EberhardKessel, "RankesIdee der Universalhistorie,"
HistorischeZeitschrift,
178
(1954),271.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

381

In thishe also difthedrivesofhumanconsciousnessforfulfillment.

fersfromHegel,who reducedall ideationalforcesto theworkingof
God's one absolutespiritin theworld.35
he uses themto
Of courseRanke'suse of ideas is hermeneutical;
explain,to givemeaningto historicalevents.Howeverobjective,i.e.,
hisapproachmayhavebeen,hisuse ofa hermeneutical
non-partisan,
systemwhichdependedon isolatingthe values foundin the docthemwithhisownin orderto definethemeanumentsandcombining
ing of eventswas hardlyvalue-free.Certainlyhistoricalrecordsexwhichcan be seen as drivingforces,and certainly
presssentiments
Rankefoundwhathe wantedin termsoftheProtestant
ethic,respect
of nain thedevelopment
and interest
formonarchicalgovernment
his
of
tionalstateswhichmadeup
personalcode meanings.However,
had merit.It provideda wayofmastering
hugeamountsof
thesystem
materialand makingsenseofwhattheycontained.He had histheme
and he stuckto it.36
hisforceofnineteenth-century
In keepingwiththecharacteristic
whichRanke clearlyrecognizedforwhatit was,87
tory,nationalism,
he devoteda wholeseriesofworksto theriseofmoderngreatpower
statesfromthesixteenth
England,Prussia.It is
century-Germany,
thiskindof approachwhichstillsetsthethemeof modernhistorical
35Cf. Nalbandian,pp. 49 ff.;see also Hegel, The Philosophyof History,ed. C. J.
trans.J.Sibree(New York, 1956). See also thediscussionin theprevious
Friedrich,
footnote.
36 On current
trendsin hermeneutics
see RichardE. Palmer,Hermeneutics.
InterpretationTheoryin Schleiermacher,
Dilthey,Heidegger,and Gadamer(Evanston,
Ill., 1969),whichdescribesbothHeidegger'sand Gadamer'sdisagreement
withthe
approachofRankeandDilthey(pp. 176 ff.).
37 Ranke'sviewof nationalism
was highlypragmatic.In thelightof theGerman
case he notedin his "PolitischesGesprach,"1836,(SW, 49/50,326), thatnationalitiescouldbecomestates,butthatstateswereseldomcomposedsolelyof nationalities.
(See theentireanalysisof Ranke'sviewof nationalism,
Germannationalism,
and the
missionof theGermansat variousstagesof theirdevelopment
in Kemiliainen,
Ranke,
pp. 79-180.)Despitehis universalism,
Rankeunderstood
theimportance
of nationalFor theGermans,who had a cosmopolitansenseof
ismforthenineteenth
century.
missionin the eighteenth
nationalismand universalism
century,
were thusmelted
downin theconceptof Germany'sleadershipof mankind(ibid.,p. 180). (See also
withMaximillianII in theEpochen,p. 165.)Nationalsovereignty,
Ranke'sdiscourses
he agreedwiththekinghere,tendedtowardsthe development
of nationalities.
But
he doubtedthatall Europeannationalities
would developinto states;a concertof
Europe was thereal tendencyof the age. A clarification
of the usage of the term
"nationalism,"
may be foundin Aira Kemiliinen,Nationalism.ProblemsConcerning the Word,the Conceptand Classification,
Studia HistoricaJyvaskyliiensia,
III
(Jyviiskylai,
1964).

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382

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUDIES

as themanymodemnationalseries,e.g., The AmericanNawriting

tionSeries,attest.This is a linehis successorsin Germanuniversity
chairsalso could notescape, and whenRanke himselfsoughtto returnto theEnlightenment's
cosmopolitanideal of universalhistory
by writinga worldhistorywhenhe was over eighty,he was almost
Yet fromRanke'spointofview
vilifiedforit in theGermanpress.38
he was merelycarrying
theprincipleofuniversalwholesto itslogical
conclusion.
Philosophically
speaking,Rankebelievedthatonlybyrisingabove
nationalconsciousnesscould one transcendthe ideas dominantin
nationalhistories.
Worldhistory
is morethanthesumofitsnational
parts.Butthisis precisely
wheretheyoungerGermanhistorians
broke
withRanke. More fierynationalists
thanhe had everbeen,theybelievedthatworldhistory
was indeedcomposedofthehistoriesofthe
world'snations-or rather,greatpowers.Like Treitschke
theymoralized,but in the interestof nationalgrandeurand powerpolitics.
Prussia'sgreatness
and Prussia'svictory
in establishing
theunitedempireremaineda strongconditioning
force.Ranke himselfwouldnot
sitin judgment;thatwas notthehistorian's
office.Yet he did notesif theyprovidedinsightinto the
chew observationson immorality
characterofpersonslikeCesare Borgia,a "virtuosocriminal."
Those who carriedon theRankean traditions,
von Sybelforexample,who foundedthe firstprofessionaljournal,the Historische
in 1859, and laterMeinecke,remaineddevotedto naZeitschrift,
tionalhistory.
Mainlytheyopposedanykindof historicalapproach
whichwas notin tunewithidealistphilosophy
and condemnedothers
as mechanisticor materialist.
Many belongedless to the Rankean
traditionthanto a traditionof "officialhistory-writing"
whichhad
longbeen cultivatedin Germanuniversities
and abroad.Officialhistoriographers
go backto ancientChinaand antedatethedevelopment
ofmoderntechniquesofcriticism
or eventhepeculiarities
ofidealist,
i.e., Platonist,hermeneutics.
Officialtraditions
seemevento co-exist
withtheseand to endurebeyondthem.Such writerscertainlyacceptedas naturalthehumanemotionsexpressedin war and dramatizedthem.Here too theyfollowedclassicalmodelsand in doingso
theyembracedthehighvalue Westernsocietyhas in modemtimes
placedon powerpolitics"foritsownsake."
38 See Liebel, "Idealismin the Historische
Zeitschrift,"
Historyand Theory3:3
(1964),322; andKessel,"RankesIdeen,"Historische
Zeitschrift,
pp. 290-308.

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

383

WhileRanke describedpowerforwhatit was, and theeighteenth

century
hadnotandcouldnot,he neverlosthisownsenseofresponsibilityforwhathe was saying.It is one thingtobringoutthehardfacts
and usethemtojustify
a philosophyofstate,and anothertofulfill
the
officeof thehistorianby maintaining
a hard senseof conscienceas
wellas a conscientiousness
abouthardfacts.It was because thePrussian attitudestowardshistorybecame so involvedwithGermanpoliticalexpansionafter1871 thatGermanhistoricaltraditions
were
viewedwithsuspicionin theWest.Be thatas itmay,ifwe wishto tell
"wiees eigentlich
gewesen,"we cannotdenyourownindebtedness
to
thefounders
ofhistoricalphilosophy
and theEnlightenment
heritage
whichhelpedcreateit, even thoughthe laterschools of historians
abandonedtheseidealsfornationalistones and forideas ofnational
power.39
University
ofAlberta
NOTE ON THE TERM "HISTORICISM"
Themeaning
of"historicism"
is indispute
at present,
becauseithasbeen
translated
from
theGerman
Historismus
tomeanonething
forhistorians,
and
another
forphilosophers
ofhistory.
In myuseofit,I follow
Friedrich
EngelJanosi,
TheGrowth
ofGerman
Historicism
(Baltimore,
1944),p. 13. EngelJanosi'sworkhad considerable
influence
on graduate
studyin history
in
American
universities
thelater1940sand 1950s.In Britain,
during
theessaysofSirKarlPopper(alsopublished
during
the1940s)evidently
produced
a different
oftheterm"historicism."
understanding
Andsincethe1957 and
39 WaltherHofer, GeschichteZwischenPhilosophieund Politik. Studienzur
Problematik
des modernen
Geschichtsdenkens
(Stuttgart,
1956),pp. 15 ff.,has a similar argument.He pointsout thatthe late nineteenth-century
historianstendedto
idealizepoweras such,whileRankegaveit a considerableplace in his workbutretainedhis religiousvalues and tendedto restrainany attraction
to powerby itself.
Sybel and Treitschke's
"epigonal"worksolidifiedthe beliefthatpower and spirit,
stateand culturecouldbe synthesized,
butoverlookedtheshiftof emphasisto power
as theinterest
in thestatepushedall othersout.Ranke'sviewof history
maintained
a balanceof forcesoperativein history,
buttheGermanhistorians
of thelaternineteenthcenturylost sightof supranational
ideals. Hofer also notes(p. 49) thatof
course,despitetheidealizednatureof Ranke'sconceptsor ideas,he was notforone
momenthinderedfromperceiving
themin theirconcrete,historicalreality.Ranke
makesit veryclear in his discussionwithMaximillianII thatideationalforcesare
involvedin the realitiesof humanpsychologicalactivity.Ideas are psychological
forcesand movemasses.A rulermustunderstand
theones whichdominatehis own
and developwiththem.Powerevidently
era,e.g.,nationalism,
restson thisprinciple.
Yet mankindon the whole does not progressin its personalmorality.See Ranke,
Epochen,p. 166.

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384

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURYSTUDIES

ofPopper'sPoverty
1961 reprints
ofHistoricism
(London),theuse ofthis
hasbeenunclear.
wordinEnglish
between
historPoppertriedtodistinguish
theolderEnglishtranslation
icismandhistorism,
ofHistorismus,
butreally
an artificial
distinction.
deonlycreated
(Hisuseof"historicism"
apparently
rives
from
theItalianstoricismo,
which
however
translates
Historismus.)
Popper'sdefinition
thetermto meanalmostanysocial
appearstorestrict
in humanaffairs,
philosophy
whichimpliesanykindofpredictability
even
though
quitediverse
politically,
e.g.,Hegel,JohnStuart
Mill,Marx,Comte.
as MeyerAlthough
Popperhasbeencriticized
bysuchleading
philosophers
LouisMink,MichaelScriven,
hoff,
William
Mandelbaum,
Dray,andothers,
defends
thePopperdefinition
inhisTheGerman
GeorgIggers
Conception
of
History.The NationalTraditionof HistoricalThoughtfromHerderto the

Present
(Middletown,
Conn.,1968),pp. 289 ff.Butsee MauriceMandelbaum,"Historicism,"
Encyclopediaof Philosophy,IV (1967), 22 ff.,who

oftheconcept
pointsoutthattheearlyhistory
hasnotbeenadequately
exitsownvicissitudes.
It cameinto
plored,andthatthetermhasexperienced
thelate1930s,butdidnotrefer
English
onlyduring
to a Weltanschauung,
ofexplanation
andevaluation.
toprinciples
rather
Thisis true,
however,
only
whoadopted
forthephilosophers
R. Cohen,Mandelbaum,
it,Morris
Morton
written
forthehistorWhite,
Hayek,andPopper.TheworkofEngel-Janosi,
ical profession,
did centeron historicism
as a Weltanschauung.
Yet even
isno agreement
among
philosophers
there
onthemeaning,
andMandelbaum
outthatPopper's
ofitwith"holistic
points
use,hisidentification
and
thought"
a beliefinprediction,
is notgenerally
andthatPopperinsists
accepted,
on
hisownspecialdefinition.
theterm
giving
theuseoftheterm
tomeana genetic
Certainly
modelofexplanation,
and
theassumption
byearlynineteenth-century
historians
thatwithin
thismodel
there
wasstillroomforGod andthephilosophical
implications
oftraditional
oftheseauthors.
Augustinian
theology
escapesthenotice
See,however,
Helen
P. Liebel,"Philosophical
Idealismin theHistorische
Zeitschrift,
18591914,"History
andTheory,
III, 3 (1964), 316-30; alsothestandard
modemworkonRankewhichmakesthisclearer
thananyotherexamination
of

Aira Kemiliainen,
Ranke's philosophy,
Die historische
Sendungder Deutschen in Leopold von Ranke's Geschichtsdenken,
AnnalesAcademiae Sci-

entiarum
ser.B, tom.147 (Helsinki,
Fennicae,
1968), 8-50. In traditional
'Godisomniscient
andomnipotent,
theology,
henceheknowsallthings.
Man,
hasfreewill.ThusGod'sforeknowledge
however,
andman'sdecision-making
Theidealist
historians
co-exist.
assume
essentially
thesametheology,
paradoxicalthough
itmayseem.Rankeneveraccepted
theDarwinian
revolution
in
andcontinued
thelaternineteenth
tobelieveina traditional
century,
theology
whileatthesametimesearching
fora secular
pattern
ofdevelopment
inhisIn hisownattitude
heblended
tory.
hisinterest
intheuniqueness
ofparticular
eventswiththeirlargeror moreuniversal
meaning,
butlaternineteenthlikeMeinecke,
historians
whowerereacting
century
totheriseofa schoolof
likeLamprecht,
historians
materialist
tended
toemphasize
theindividual
and
event.For themthismeantthat"collectivuniqueaspectofeveryhistorical

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HISTORICISM IN GERMAN THOUGHT

385

ities"werenotvalidandhistorical
behavior
couldnotbe subsumed
underthe
samelawsasnatural
science.
I havedescribed
thisinmoredetail
inmy"IdealAttheturnofthecentury,
ismintheHistorische
Zeitschrift"
passim.
logicians

like KurtStemnberg,
Zur Logik der Geschichtswissenschaft
(Berlin,1914),

thatthelogicalconcepts
argued
couldbe as rationally
employed
byhistorians
andscientifically
constructed
as in science.A newgeneration
ofsociologisthistorians,
i.e.,ErnstTroeltsch
andMaxWeber,
developed
thistheme
further
andconverted
theoldIdeeninto"values,"whichexisted
within
a scheme
of
non-mathematical
logicalconstructs.
It is fromtheearlytwentieth-century
oflogicthatPoppertakesoff.He washimself
schools
a member
ofthefamed
ViennaCircle,though,
again,an outsider
and divergent
in hisviews.See
ArneNaess,FourModernPhilosophers,
trans.Alastair
Hannay(Chicago,
1965),p. 13.

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