Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- General Editor’s Preface
- Editorial Notes and References
- Notes on the Translation
- Introduction
- Letters for the Advancement of Humanity
- First Collection
- Second Collection
- Third Collection
- Fourth Collection
- Fifth Collection
- Sixth Collection
- Seventh Collection
- Eighth Collection
- Ninth Collection
- Tenth Collection
- Appendix Unpublished Notes on Revolution and Perfectibility
- Further Reading
- Glossary of Names
- Translator’s Notes
- Index
Ninth Collection
from Letters for the Advancement of Humanity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 December 2025
Edited and translated by
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- General Editor’s Preface
- Editorial Notes and References
- Notes on the Translation
- Introduction
- Letters for the Advancement of Humanity
- First Collection
- Second Collection
- Third Collection
- Fourth Collection
- Fifth Collection
- Sixth Collection
- Seventh Collection
- Eighth Collection
- Ninth Collection
- Tenth Collection
- Appendix Unpublished Notes on Revolution and Perfectibility
- Further Reading
- Glossary of Names
- Translator’s Notes
- Index
Summary
The difficulty in national characterization is pointed out. The French language is described as built upon ambivalence, and this creates a culture of representation. The way French culture is viewed in Germany is connected to the close association of the two nations and it is characterized by German adulation of the French, Gallomania. Prémontval’s critique of German Gallomania is cited, in which he laments the neglect the Germans have for their own culture. This has detrimental effects on German and French culture alike. In Germany, it cements the separation of the classes and ensures German poets do not receive due acclaim. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s autobiographical writings are cited to illustrate how one of Germany’s most famous poets saw his position as a German in relation to the French and English, but also the difficulties faced by German writers. German writers should find their own characteristic expression while honouring other nations, as they do with the writers of England.
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- Johann Gottfried Herder: Letters for the Advancement of Humanity , pp. 432 - 495Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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