Sturm und Drang.

Conjectures on the Origin of a Phrase

Author(s): William S. Heckscher
Source: Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1966 - 1967), pp.
94-105
Published by: Stichting voor Nederlandse Kunsthistorische Publicaties
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 STURM UND DRANG

CONJECTURES ON THE ORIGIN OF A PHRASE

WILLIAM S. HECKSCHER

For VirginiaWoodsCallahan
ichhabesie gehabt'
'NennenSie mireineEmpfindung,
Joh.AntonLeisewitz
'Die Gelehrsamkeit Das Genie ist eilie
ist eine erborgteWissenschaft.
angebohrne,uns ganz eigenthumlicheWissenschaft'
'Regeln sind wie Krucken,eine nothwendigeHulfe furden Lahmen, aber ein
Hindernisfurden Gesunden'
Edward Young, Gedankeniiberdie Original-Werke,I760

Introductory
Mostoftheparticipants ofthe 'SturmundDrang'movementoutgrewits peculiarities
in theirlateryearsand turnedtheirbacks on the ideals whichpreviouslytheyhad
defendedwithso muchzest. Muchofwhatin afteryearshas been writtenon 'Sturm
und Drang' as a literaryevent,has been writtenwiththe disapprovinghindsight in
mindthatwas voicedby its agingproponents. The movementfeaturesin theliterary
historiesas an antecedentto GermanClassicismand as a preparatory stepin thedirec-
tionofRomanticism. 'SturmundDrang' and itsinterrelationshipwithsimilartenden-
ciesin,e.g., themusicorin thepoliticsofthetime,itsundeniablepremonitions ofthe
FrenchRevolution- these and otherthemesbelongto a numberof aspectswhich
have neverreceivedthe attentiontheydeserve.As faras I could ascertain,next to
nothingof value has ever been said about the sourcesof inspirationof 'Sturmund
Drang' let alone the linguisticsignificance
and derivationofthe phraseitself.
All I intendto offerhereare conjectures in regardto theantecedentsof the move-
mentwhich,as we studyitsbeginnings, glancethat it has
suggestat firstsuperficial
come about all' improvviso - seeminglywithoutany pieviouswarning.I shall show
that thisimpression needscarefulreexamining.
The curioushabitofgivinga nameto a literarymovementor artisticstyleand of
characterizing such a movementwitha pregnantphrase(evenwhileit is stillin pro-
gress)is a phenomenon ofrelativelyrecentdate. The questionconcerning the When?
and By Whom?a givenmovementreceivedits label holdsa peculiarfascinationfor

* This essay has grownout of two differentstudies, one an article by Earl G. Mueller discussing
'Pieter Brueghel the Elder's 'Storm at Sea," the otherby myself:'Reflectionson Seeing Holbein's
Portraitof Erasmus at LongfordCastle,' Essays in theHistoryofArtPresentedtoRudolfWitthower,
London (Phaidon Press) I967.
I gratefullywish to acknowledge assistance in the formof practical help and invaluable advice
fromthe followingNothelfer:Virginia W. Callahan to whom this essay is dedicated, Petra ten
Doesschate, Ulrich K. Goldsmith,I. Grafe, E. de Jongh,H. Knap-Go, Karla Langedijk, Sandra
van der Maas, Julia Mueller, Leland R. Phelps, E. K. J. Reznicek, D. P. Snoep, Martha Stuart,
AnnemarieVels Heijn.

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thestudentofculturalhistory.It is herethatthephrase'SturmundDrang'willjustly
claimour attentionifonlyforthereasonthatwhilewe knowa greatdeal about the
When? and By Whom?,we knownext to nothingabout the Why? of this phrase.
It was one ofthefoundingfathersofthemovementwho,in theyearI776, moreor
less by accidenthitupon thename 'Sturmund Drang'. Fromwherehe got his inspi-
ration,we do notknow.The wordsweresuggestedby himto a fellow-dramatist as the
fora dramawhichneverquitemanagedto succeed.Soon,however,
substitute-title they
weretransferred to the movementitself:theybecame commonplace,at first,in the
phrases'Sturmund Drangperiode'and 'Stuirmer und Drainger,'and aroundi8oo in
the words'Sturmund Drang' themselves.
Naturally,longbeforetheeighteenth century,artistsmightproudlyspeak oftheir
compositionsas an 'ars nova". The namingof 'Sturmund Drang' represents one of
the firstinstanceswherethe propagatorsof a givenmovementwentbeyonda mere
recording ofsuchnotions.Boldlyand succinctlytheyspelledoutwhattheyweretrying
to accomplish.Seen in this light,'Sturmund Drang' could be called a three-word
manifesto.

and theirOpposites:Tranquillitas-Apathia
Tempestas-Affectus
I nowintendto showthatthe choiceofthewords,accidentalas it may have beenin
the beginning,was anythingbut arbitrary.It musthave been deeplyanchoredin
whollynovel psychologicalinsightsand emotionalneeds that had made themselves
feltin thesecondhalfoftheeighteenth century. Thisbecomesclearas soonas werealize
thatthe conceptsof Sturmand Drang were part of the Stoical terminology. Their
olderequivalents:tempestas (or: ventus,
procella,intemperantia and others)= Sturm,
and affectus [plural](or impetus, passionesand others)= Drang,were
perturbationes,
partofthevocabularyofCiceroand Seneca,oftheBible as wellas theChurchfathers
and,invariably,theyhad carrieda derogatory meaning.For ourbetterunderstanding
it is usefulalso to keep in mindthat theirequallyimportantcounterparts were,on
the one hand Tranquillity(tranquillitas) and, on the other,Apathy(apathia,i.e. the
absenceofthepassionsaccordingto thelate classicalLatinizationoftheGreekterm),
and to realisethatwhileTranquillitysuggesteda quietisticyetalertedstateofmind,
Apathywas indicativeof a singularlypassive,yet equally desirablestate of mind.
Bothattitudesin combination had,in fact,forcenturiesbeenacknowledged as thesine
qua nonofa virtuousand rationalexistence, followingtherecta(as againstthehumana)
ratio,the distinguishing markof the culturalelite.
In viewofthischangefroma negativeevaluationto a positiveone,thetrulysignif-
icant aspect of the originof the r8thcentury'Sturmund Drang' restsnot in the
coiningofa felicitous phrase,muchas it deservesouradmiration:itstruemeritrather
consistsoftheboldennoblement oftwoattitudeswhich- beingas we saw theopposites
to Tranquillityand Apathy- had inthepastbeenregardedas insurmountable barriers,
blockingthe path by whichman mightarriveat perfection and thus enterinto the
beatavita. Withtheirunmistakableringof the revolutionary, the wordsSturmand
Drang,especiallywhenlinkedtogether to forma kindofbattle-cry, musthave evoked
alarmingassociationsin themindsofthosecontemporaries ofthe'Stiirmerand Dran-
ger'generation whoremainedin sympathywiththerationalidealsofEnlightenment.

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The Natureof'Sturmund Drang'
'Sturmund Drang' passed overthe literarysceneof Germanywithunexpectedfury.
Like fireworks
leftto themselves, it was as a phenomenonspectacularand devastating,
uninhibitedand shortlived,and oftenof greatbeauty.The movementoriginatedin
the courseof the I760's, sparkedby impulseswhichcame fromabroad, especially
Englandobsessedwiththe ideas of Genius,Plagiarism,the Sublime.Afteronlytwo
decades,in theearlyI780's, its elan was spent.The movementhad gatheredmomen-
tumundertheleadershipofHerder,Schillerand Goethe.Theyand theirfollowers were
undertheswayofEdmundBurke and Longinus,Shakespeareand Rousseau,Edward
Youngand Ossian.Theircatechismwas a slendervolumewhichtheagingpoetEdward
Young had composedin I795 underthetitleConjectures on OrginalComposition.Two
Germantranslations appearednearlysimultaneously in theyearafterits publication
and evokedpowerful responsesamongtheavantgardeoftheGermanliterati. Young's
work,a veritableDeclarationofCreativeIndependence, usheredin theend ofliterary
imitatio(aemulatio,not imitatio,was one ofits slogans),paved theway fora totally
novelconceptofplagiarism,and helpedto fosterthe cultofliterarygeniusas thatof
an artistunimpededby the dictatesofmoralsor scholarship.Genius,in thewordsof
Young, 'grows,is not made".

'Sturmund Drang' and theAmericanRevolution

As late as I776 themovementhad no name.In thatyearFriedrichMaximilianKlinger
(I752-I83I), easily the most militantamongthewriters advocating ignoranceand
scorningaestheticrestraint, wrotea dramawhich,characteristically, he planned to
name Der Wirrwearr, i.e. Confusion.It is here that Klinger'sfriendand mentor,
Kaufmann
Christoph (I753-I795), steppedin to persuadetheyoungauthorto drop
thissomewhatself-incriminating titleand to namehis playinsteadSturmundDrang.
The newtitle,it turnedout,did littleto recommendKlinger'splay but it did scorea
momentoussuccessas the label of the literarymovement2.
Inspiteofitsfailure,it is worthlookingfora momentat the play itself.A remarka-

i. [H. E.] v[on] T[eubern], s. t. Gedanheniuberdie Original-Werke.In einem Schreibendes D.

Youngs an den Verfasserdes Grandison.A us demEnglischen,Leipzig I760 (ed. Kurt Jahn (Kleine
Texte fur Vorlesungen und tbungen, LX), Bonn 1910, 46 pp.). A second (different)German
translationfollowedin the same year. - For a generaldiscussionof the Conjectures,see W. Thomas,
Le Poete Edward Young (I683-I765). Paris I90I, 469-488; M. W. Steinke, Edward Young's
'Conjectureson Original Composition'in England and Germany(Diss. Illinois), New York I9I7;
Lawrence Marsden Price, English GermanLiteraryInfluences.Bibliographyand Survey(University
of CaliforniaPublications in ModernPhilology,IX, i) I9I9, see especially Part II, chap. I5 'Young,
Herder, and the 'Sturm und Drang' Critics,' 386-39I; Hans Thulme, Beitragezur Geschichtedes
Geniebegriffes in England (Studien zur englischenPhilologie, Heft LXXI), Halle 1927, 87 ff.; see
also Rudolf Wittkower,'Imitation, Eclecticism,and Genius,' AspectsoftheEighteenthCentury(ed.
R. Wasserman), Baltimore I965, I57 f. - See also our Mottos and forthe simultaneousinfluenceof
the English concept of the Sublime in the sense of disengaged admirationof horridevents such as
Storms at Sea, see Note 17 infra.For the strangeEnglish duality: passion and obscurityvs. ratio-
nalistic and mathematical tendencies, see Erwin Panofsky, 'The Ideological Antecedents of the
Rolls-Royce Radiator,' Proceedingsof theAmericanPhilosophical Society,CVII, 4, I963, 273-288.
2. As early as 1773, Lavater uses 'Sturm und Gedrangtheit'; see J. and W. Grimm,Deutsches
Worterbuch, Leipzig i86o, s.V.'Sturm,' cols. 584 and ,ibidem,s. v. 'Drang,' cols. 1333-35; H. Duent-
zer, ChristophKaufmann, Leipzig I 882, 69. - For the use of the phrase 'Sturm und Drang,' etc., see
Grimms' opus, cols. 584 f. - The movement,its personalitiesand their achievement (but not its
genesis) are discussed in detail by Ray Pascal, The GermanSturmund Drang [New York I9531.
For a good survey see also H. B. Garland, Stormand Stress,London, Sidney, etc. [1952].

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ble pointabout it has, as faras I am aware,neverbeensufficientlystressed.Klinger's
Sturmund Drangis set on Americansoil,in the midstofthe Revolution:
... Und nun seydihrmittenim Kriegin Amerika.
Ha, lasst michsnurrechtfiihlenauf Amerikanischem Boden
zu stehn,wo alles neu, alles bedeutendist (I, i).
The War of Independencewas to Klingera realizationofthe ideals thatmovedhim
and his exuberantGermancolleagues.
The yearI776 was theyearoftheDeclarationofIndependenceas wellas thatofthe
appearanceofKlinger'sSturmundDrang.It is surelymorethancoincidencethatboth
movementsexperiencedtheirbeginning,theirefflorescence, theircrises,and their
ultimateebbingaway at almostpreciselythesamemomentsin history.No soonerhad
GeorgeWashingtonconsolidatedhis gains,abolishedthe Colonies,and established
a novusordo,than the cold measuredformsof Classicismsupersededin Weimarthe
happyabandonofStormand Stress.Muchofthispattern,characteristic ofourmove-
mentand oftheAmericanWarofLiberationwas,incidentally, repeatedinthecourseof
the FrenchRevolution- a typicalmatterof actionand reaction,swingingback and
forthnotunlikea pendulum3.The angryyoungmenwhohad flourished betweenthe
yearsI760 and I780 in the role of radicals,turnedovernightinto mostrespectable
citizens.Kaufmannacquiredfameas an educatorand as a memberofa QuietisticSect.
Klingerendedhis ripeold age as a distinguished noblemanin St. Petersburgwhere,
withtherankofgeneral,he was in chargeofthecadetsofthe RussianArmy.Schiller
became a universityprofessor, while Goethe submergedhimselfin the tasks of a
Ministerof State at the ArchducalCourtof Weimar4.

The Why?of 'SturmundDrang'

It is easy to see fromourhistoricalpointofviewwhyas negativea termas Wirrzwarr-
embarassingenoughas the titleof a play - wouldhave been doomedto failurehad
anybodyattemptedto suggestit as a namefora literary movement.Yet,we mightwell
ask wherethemagiclaythatsanctionedthewords'SturmundDrang'whichKaufmann
had suggestedas a substitutetitle.In orderto appreciatetheimmediatesuccessofthe
twosimplewordslinkedby'und' andoftheundisputedpositiontheyhaveheldthrough
almosttwo hundredyears,we must try to understandtheirfunctionagainsttheir
historicalbackground.The Englishterm'Stormand Stress',it willturnout,is here
of littlehelp. The Germanwordsimplied,as we have seen,vehementoppositionto

3. The appeal which the events in America had for the adherents of 'Sturm und Drang', is
mentioned in passing by Lawrence Marsden Price, opus cited in note I. - Ernst Gombrich has
shown how also in the course of the French Revolution the pendulum swung fromone extremeto
another,and how the Religion of Reason that claimed to have ousted 'Fanaticism' onlyled to a new
dogmatismwhich could not fail to provoke a reaction against Rationalism; cf. his 'Dream of Rea-
son: The Iconography of the French Revolution,' a splendid lecture,deliveredat Duke University
on April I5, I966, - I am not blind to the fact that the 'Sturm und Drang' movementnot only
failedto invade all of Germany(Berlinforone never succumbed) but that, at the same time,it went
beyond her geographical boundaries. Cf. Hand Schnorf,Sturm und Drang in der Schweiz (Diss.),
ZuirichI914. VittorioAlfieri(I749-i 803) wrotein I776 his Agamennona,a finespecimen of 'Sturm
und Drang' on Italian soil which only recentlywas broughtto the stage by the genius of Vittorio
Gassman.
4. See Henri Brunschwig,La Crise de l'Etat Prussien a' la fin du X VIIIe Siecle et la Genesede la
MentaliteRomantique,Paris I947, II2. - See also note 2 supra, and W. S. Heckscher,Goetheand
Weimar,Durham N. H. I96I.

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an existenceregulatedby establishedauthority as wellas freeabandonto thedictates
of one's passions.The Englishwords'Tempestuosity'and 'Passion' (the historical
antithesesof 'Tranquillity'and 'Apathy'),clumsyas theymay soundwhentakenin
conjunction,have the meritof comingnearerto the intrinsicmeaningof German
'Sturmund Drang'. I suggestthat we examine- one at a time- the conceptsof
Tempestuosity and Passion in the lightof theirhistoricsignificance.

'Sturm'- Tempest/Tempestuosity
and Tranquillity
'It givesme pleasureto see naturein thesegreatthoughterriblescenes.
It fillsthemindwithgrandideas,and turnsthesoulin uponitself'
EdmundBurke(I745/46)
The wordTempestand itsderivates,as anyLatindictionary willbearout,werealmost
invariablytaken to referto Stormat Sea. The oppositeto Tempest,namelyTran-
quillity,had the same maritimeconnotation.St. Thomas Aquinas made this clear
whenhe defined:'Est enimtranquillitasquies maris','Tranquillitysignifies the Sea
at rest.'Yet, whileThomasmayhaveechoedCicero,we shouldnotforget hisindebted-
ness to the wonderful passagein the GospelswhereJesussubduesthe Storm- 'tunc
surgensimperavitventiset mari,et factaest tranquillitasmagna' (Matth.viii: 26).
ErasmusofRotterdam,in hisParaplhrasis in EvangeliumMatthaei,has thisto say to
ourpassage: 'Nihilenimsurdiusaut impotentius maricommoto,& tamenad Domini
jussumrepenteversumest in summamtranquilitatem', 'For surely,nothingis more
obdurateand morepassionatethantheragingsea; andyet,itwassuddenlyturnedinto
absolutetranquillity at thecommandoftheLord' (ed. Opera,Leyden,VII, I706, col.
5I).
Mediaevalart showsa fewinstances,betweentheeleventhand the fourteenth cen-
turies,whereJesus- risingin thenavicula- makesan imperiousgesturein thedirection
of a naked male figureseated at the lakeshorein an inhibitedpose, chinrestingon
hand,whichclearlytypifieshim as the 'TempestVanquished'personified5 (Fig. i).

5. This and otherphrasesin whichthe term'Tranquillitas' occursare listedby Domenicus Nanus

Mirabelliusunder this catchwordin his inexhaustibleFlorilegiummagnumseu Polyanthea[prefera-
bly to be consulted in the editio novissimarumnovissima by Josephus Lange, Venice I630 and
subsequent eds.]. In at least one mediaeval work,the Byzantine HeavenlyLadder of JohnClimacus,
'Tranquillity' plays a prominentpart as a personificationof virtue.The best known Climax manu-
script- teemingwith personifications-Vaticanusgraecus 394, e.g., shows 'in an oval mandorla ...
the tigureof Tranquillity,with arms outspread' and frombehind the mandorla 'emerge the heads
of six female figures'- illustratingthe opening words of chap. xxix; 'Behold, even we, who are
set in the deepest pit of ignorance,in dark passions (sic) and in the shadow of death of this body,
now make bold to begin to speculate concerningheaven on earth. For as the firmamenthas the
stars for its beauty, so has Tranquillity the virtues as her ornament'; see John Rupert Martin,
The Illustrationof the Heavenly Ladder of John Climacus (Studies in ManuscriptIllumination 5),
Princeton U. P. 1954, 79 f. and fig. I29 on Plate XLIII.
Cesare Ripa's 'Tranquillita' is of great interest because Ripa takes his cue from classical
antiquity. He describes her as a woman of fair appearance, leaning trustinglyagainst a ship in
orderto show how tranquillityconsistsof the peaceful state of the waves; a cornucopiain her hand
indicates peace by heavenly decree, an anchor is given her forobvious securityreasons; see Icono-
logia, ed Siena I6I3, 307. For the prototype,mentionedby Ripa, see the reverseof a denarius of
AntoninusPius in which a woman, identifiedby the inscriptionas TRAN QVIL LITAS AUG, is
shown 'towered,draped, standing,rightholdingrudder ... two cornearsin herleft'; see H. Matting-
ly, Coins of theRoman Empire in theBritish Museum, IV, London 1940, 38, nr. 25I, fig. 6.I3.
Petrus Berchorius(fl. I340) deals with 'Tempestas' only in malo under the headings 'Iniquitatis
redundantia,Prosperitatisaffluentia,Crudelitatisviolentia, Aduersitatispestilentia.' - In mediae-
val art, Tempestas appears on rare occasions as a pensive male nude, seated at the lakeshorein the
pose of inhibition,in illustrationof Matth. viii; 26f. (Mark iv: 36; Luke viii: 22); see our fig. i. We,

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Fig. i The TempestPersonified(far left)Subdued byJesus (Matth. viii: 26 f.), MS. London, B.M.
Add. 39627, fol. 98 r. Gospel Book (I356)

The theologicallyinstructedbeholderwouldeasilythinkhereoftheBook ofProverbs

(X: 25) whichcontrastspietyand sinfulnessby comparingthe sinnerto the passing
tempest,thevirtuousmanto theimmobilecube (fundamentum) 'Quasitempestastran-
siensimpiusnoninuenitur, iustusautemquasi stabilefundamentum.' We shallcome
back to thissignificant
contrast.
Withveryfewexceptions,thetempestuosity ofthesea was regardedas sucha mani-
festationof a chaoticstate ofnaturewhich,owingto its lawlessness,could easilybe
heldup as an imageofall thatwithwhichtheworldforever threatenstheintegrity of

as was possibly the artist also, are remindedof the River Jordanwho at times may appear in early
Christianart in representationsof the Baptism of Jesus as an awestruckwitness. Along with our
example, the Princeton Index of ChristianArt lists (among a total of I 7 representationsof Storm
personified)the followingMS. illuminationsof the Storm-StillingMiracle attended by this figure;
Florence, Laurenziana, Plut. VI. 23, Gospelbook (iith century)- fols. i6 ro, 70 ro, I20 Vo.
Paris, BN, gr. 74, Gospelbook (I2th century)- fols. 15 vO, 71 vO, I24 VO.
London, BM, Add. 39627, Gospelbook (I356) - fols. 26 ro, 98 ro (Fig. i), I6i vo.
For a Baroque Tempest Personified,see our Fig. 3 and Note 8 infra. For marine symbolsin art
see - beside Stridbeck's BreughelStudien- J. Richard Judson,'Marine Symbols of Salvation in the
Sixteenth Century,'Essays in Memoryof Karl Lehmann (Marsyas Supplement I), New York and
Locust Valley I 964, I 36-I 52. For the stormwindsand theirChristianinterpretationsee 'Symbolum
XCIX (Aeolus, ventorumDeus)' in Michael Pexenfelder'sremarkableEthica symbolicaefabularum
umbrisin veritatislucemvaria eruditione,noviterevoluta,Munich I675, 6i 8-623,and W. S. Heckscher,
'Renaissance Emblems,' The PrincetonUniversityLibraryChronicle,XV,ii, 1954, 64, figs.4 and 6. -
Possibly even beforerecognisingNeptune as a rulerof the seas, the Romans worshipped Fluctus,
Ventos,Tempestates;see article 'Tempestates' in Pauly-Wissowa's Real-Encyclopadie, I934, cols.
479 f. For German 'Sturm' as signifyinga maritimetempest, see the examples in the Grimms'
Deutsches Worterbuch, cols. 586 f. - Tempting as it may be, we should not confuse the nature of
i8th century'Sturm' with Giordano Bruno's heaven-inspirederoicifurori,the heroic enthusiasms
withtheirmetaphysicalimplications.For the differentcharacterof this concept,cf. Hans Thume's
study,cited in note I supra, especially p.p 22-27. - For a 20th century'Sturm' Movement,cf. Der
Sturm. Herwarth Walden und die europdischeAvantgarde Berlin I9I2-I932, Berlin (Orangerie
Charlottenburg)I96I and W. S. Heckscher, 'Genesis of Iconology,' Acts oftheXXIst International
Congressof Art History. Bonn I964 (scheduled for I966/67), note 43.
The German language has as far as I am aware nothingto match Patridge's DictionaryofSlang.
In such a German equivalent, the words Sturmand Drang would undoubtedly be shown to play
an importantrole in the language of the nurseryinsofaras it deals with the digestive functions,
that is to say withflatus (Sturm)and peristalsis (Drang).

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the contemplative life.Vita contemplativa was heldto be a mentalstatesafeguarding
man's dignityand peace of mind,affording an impenetrablefortress, harbourand
refugeamidstthe sinfulturbulenceof everydayexistence.
Confining ourselvesto theRenaissance,we mayselect,moreorless at random,two
or threeexampleswhichwillillustratethisadequately.
WheneverErasmus of Rotterdamvoiced his anxietiesin regardto the religious
upheavalsofthe Reformation, as he did in a state ofeverincreasingalarmfromthe
earlyI520'S onward,he usedwithpreference thewordtempestas. Whateverthreatened
the tranquillitas
studiorum6, above all the activitiesof the Luttherani,
he brandedas
'Tempest'.When,forexample,he bemoanedthe factthat his friendUlrichHutten
had sided withthe Reformers, he said: 'O, how I loved Hutten'sfestivespiritwhich
nowtheLutheranTempesthas snatchedaway fromthe Muses!''Amabametfestiuum
Hutteniingenium:id LutheranatempestasMusiseripuit!7'
The otherexampleI have chosendates in the secondpartofthe century.William
of Orange(d. I584) favoredthe princelymotto'Calm in the midstof ragingseas',
SAEVIS TRANQVILLVS IN VNDIS. Those wordshe had inscribedon the verso
ofa medalthatwas gracedwithan iconshowingtheHalcyonBird,trustfully brooding
in hernest,miraculously shelteredamidsttempestuous wavesagainsttheonslaughtof
thefourwinds(Fig. 2). In seventeenth centurypaintingit couldbe theprincehimself
whoappeared,fulllength,in themidstofa ragingsea oftroubles.He wouldbe shown
activelyresistinga varietyof antagonists,amongthemDeath, Jupiterflinging his
thunderbolts,War as well as the maritimeTempestpersonified8 (Fig. 3).
6. Ep. ed. Allen, Nr. 980, May 30,15 I 9.
7. Ep. ed. Allen,Nr. I I 84, p. 443, addressed to GulielmusBudaeus, fromLouvain, February i 6,
152I.
8. Our fig. 2, showing 'Halcyone Approaching Her Nest,' is the reproductionof the versoof a
medal struckin I 569 in honourof Willem of Orange. The mailed fistofA eolus ventorum
Deus is here
inscribedCHRS. Heavenly interventionaccordingto the fable secures a seven days' trucewith the
stormwinds.The engravingcomesfromJoannesJacobus Luckius, Syltogenumismatumelegantiorum,
AugsburgI620 (unpaginated). For the use of SAEVIS TRANQVILLVS IN VNDIS, see J. Dielitz,
Die Wahl-undDenkspriiche..., FrankfortI884, 28. For the Christiansignificanceof the fable of
Halcyone, cf. Michael Pexenfelder,S. J., 'Symbolum LX,' Ethica symbolicacited in note 5 supra,
PP 350-355.
The alternativeto William of Orange's heroicallyenduringmottois suggestedby Hamlet (III, i):
'Whether't is noblerin the mindto suffer/The slingsand arrowsof outrageousfortune,/Or to take
arms against a sea of troubles.' This idea of the Prince,heroicallyresistinga sea of troubles,is time
honoured. When in the i6th century Florence became a naval power, it was understood that
Cosimo Primo (convenientlyhe was born under the tempest-calmingzodiacal sign of Capricorn)
would, in his capacity of commanderofthe fleet,vouchsafethe tranquillityofthe seas - a guarantee
for everlasting peace; see Eve Borsook, The Companion Guide to Florence,London I966, 47-49.
From this traditionof heroic resistance we must understand Gerritvan Honthorst's Hamlet like
portraitof Prince FrederikHendrik (d. I647), the son of William of Orange, in the Huis ten Bosch
Palace in The Hague. Here it graces the Oranjezaal, i.e. FrederikHendrik's elaborate Mausoleum
whose iconographicprogramthe Princess-Widow,Amalia of Solms, had planned with the aid of
Constantijn Huygens. The painting is titled 'De volstandigheit [i.e. Constantia] van Sijn Hoog
[heyt] in alle onweer.' (Fig. 3) The Prince, literally, 'takes arms against a sea of troubles.' He
appears in full (old fashioned) armour,his sword drawn, while the other hand holds an enormous
apotropaeic shield, his leftfoot precariouslyrestingon a narrowrock-ledge[undoubtedlythe firm
cube of Tranquillity],with his rightfoot subdueing one of two floatingTritons.Shown enface, he
is placed in a contrapposto pose, facing the beholder with an expression curiouslywithdrawnin
meditation.Death and War rise against him fromthe waves, whilethreefiguresmenace him froma
darkened sky rent by a flash of lightning;they are: A Gorgonesque Fury - the personificationof
Envy, Jupiter about to discharge a second thunderbolt,and a power-divingfigurewhose legs
terminatein serpents.He can be no otherthan the Tempest personified,ferociouslyblowingat the
Prince. The situationis summarizedin the dossierassembled forthe Widow of FrederikHendrik in
the late I640's and early I650's with the words: 'aenvegting van winde see damp en roock /uyt-
beeldingvan sijn volstandigheyt.'See in general J. G. van Gelder, 'De schildersvan de Oranjezaal,'
NederlandsKunsthistorischJaarboeh I948-49,152 and cat. rais. 22. See also D. F. Slothouwer,

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 : VMMVS CASTRENMIS
GYVLHELMI PRINCIPIS AVRIA-
ci, cuflus
tirsNalOvij), fubipfum
(utividetur)
: blhclgiciprimordium.Anno
Chrift 1is6 S.

;~'; iS0 ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~.

J ;iCEE''# J ... ..
..................

Fig. 2 SAEVIS TRANQVILLVS IN VNDIS

Engraving aftera Medal struckfor William of
Orange (I568)

Fig. 3 Gerrit van Honthorst,

FrederikHendrik's Constancy,
Painting on Canvas, The Hague,
Huis ten Bosch Palace, Oranjezaal (ab. I650)
(By Courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen)

De paleizen van FrederikHendrik,Leyden [I946], chap. 'De Oranjezaal," I 78-260. The Dutch words
describingthe painting and mentioningthe Prince's 'Apotheosis' (infra) come fromMS. Inv. I4
XIII - 23 (sinefoliatione)in the KoninklijkHuis Archief.It was my privilegeto inspectand now to
cite them with the gracious permissionof Her Majesty Queen Juliana.
Van Honthorst,as E. de Jonghsuggests,may have taken his Tempest from'Boreas Rebuked by
Neptune' ('angium caudae illi pro pedibus sunt') in the engravingafter Rubens's compositionin
Casper Gevart's Pompa IntroitvsHonori Serenissimi Principis Ferdinandi Austriaci a S.P.Q.
Antverp.decretaet adornata, Antwerp I642, Plate opp. p. I5. For Envy as a Fury conquered by
Death, see Otho Vaenius, Quinti Horatii Flacci Emblemata,Antwerp i6I2, I72 f. For the signific-
ance of constantiain the Baroque, see note i 8 infra.
For the 'Rock of Tranquillityin the Midst of a Raging Sea' - a not uncommontopos among the
pictorial allegories of Renaissance Stoicism - cf. our Tailpiece (Fig. 5) with the portraitin profile
of the Florentinehistoriographerand student of Fortuna, Francesco Guicciardini(I482-1540); see
AlfredArmand, Les Medailleurs Italiens des XVe et XVIe Siecles, II, Paris I883-88,152, nr. 5, and
Felix Gilbert,Macchiavelli and Guicciardini,Princeton U. P. I965, 27I-30I and esp. 290 ff.- The
conch blowing Triton, shown in lost profile,echoes (in reverse) a compositionby Jacob de Gheyn
III; see F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchingsand Engravings,VII, Amsterdams.a. I99.
- The iconographicprogramof this compositionhas yet to be properly treated,among others by
examining it as part of the all embracing and all pervading iconographyof the Mausoleum. Our
painting,e.g., should be understoodas an ancillarycompanionto the main composition,Jordaens's
vast 'Apotheosis of FrederikHendrik [hithertowronglydescribed as 'triumph' - for the Dutch
librettospeaks of 'vergoodinghvan syn hoogheyt'],' to give the compositionof the year I652 its
propertitle. In it thereoccurs a banner inscribedTRANQVI [ilitas]. The late i 8th centurygradu-
ally lost its grip on the finessesof Baroque Iconography which is borne out by the officialdescrip-
tion of our picture (I767); 'In het daar op volgende Stuk ... staat FREDERIK HENDRIK
onder een Zinnebeeldige [i.e. emblematical] Gestalte, hy is Geharnast van 't Hooft tot de Voeten,
staande met de linkerVoet op een Rotzsteen, vertredendemet de rechterveelderley[sic] Monsters,
als Oorblazers [sic], Valsheid, Moord, Nyd, en anderen die hem omringthebben. Hy heeft in de
rechterhand een Zwaard, en aan de linkerArm een Goud Schild, hebbende eene houding om hen
Kloekmoedig en Onbevreest af te wagten'; cf. Jan van Dyk, Beschryvingder Schilderyenin de
Oranje Zaal, van het Vorstelyke Huys in 't Bosch ..., The Hague 1767,2I. Forthe'Triumph,' ibidem,
47.

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 The RenaissancecultofTranquillity withitstriumph overTempestuosity originated
in the wake of a revivalof imperialRoman Stoicism.On the authorityof Marcus
Aurelius,Tranquillityand Serenityhad become imperialprerogativesand titles9.
Fromthe 4th centuryonward,the emperors'titlecouldbe VESTRA SERENITAS.
The emperorsmightalso allow themselvesto be addressedas 'Tranquillissimiac
ChristianissimiDominiNostri'"0.At thesame time,Tranquillusor Tranquillinuswas
considereda suitablenameforsonsofdistinguished families- a customthatwasreviv-
ed once morein the courseof the Renaissance11.
The elaboratecultofTranquillity and all thatit implieswas basedon paganmoralis-
LuciusAnnaeusSeneca,forexample,devotedoneofhisextensiveDialogues
ticwritings.
to 'Tranquillityofthe Mind'.In theyearI5I5 thisTranquillityDialogue appearedat
Froben'sin Basel in a publicationof Seneca's writings which,at the same time,was
thefirsteditionofa classicalauthorsupervisedby ErasmusofRotterdam12.

'Drang' - The Passions

As we consulttheGrimms'DeutschesW5rterbuch under'Drang,'we findthedefinition:
'anreizung,innerertrieb,impetus,impulsus'13.I tookthelibertyofexpressing theidea
of'innererTrieb',withtheconventional term'The Passions'forthefollowing reason:
Tranquillitywas, in its strictestobservance,the attemptat arrivingat the outward
projectionofan innerharmonyand firmness ofmind.One couldenterintothespirit
oftranquillity- 'reciperementistranquillitatem' - onlyby discardingthe Four Pas-
sions,theaffectus in Latin. ThesewereElationand Desire,Agonyand Fear. Like the
Four Temperaments, the Passionshad enteredthe worldwiththe Fall of Man and,
like the Four Temperaments, theywereperniciousto man's body and soul. In the
wordsofPetrarch:Elationrendersundulyexuberantgaudiumdilatat,Desireinflames
spes[orcupiditas]inflammat, Agonystiflesdolorangustat,
Fear despiritsmetrus
dejicitl4.
To ErasmusPassionis the enemyoftherationalmind- 'affectusest omnisanimi
motus,& opponiturrationi'15. By yieldingto the Drangofhis passions,manexposed
himselfto thearbitrariness ofFortuna,thegoddesswhoseattributes weresignificantly
associatedwithunrulymotion:thesphereand thewheel,thesail and thewavesagitat-
ed bythestormwinds. Tranquillity,on theotherhand,ratherthanbeingwithdrawal or
escape,was a proudachievement, theresultofmilitantself-discipline.
He whopartook
ofSublimeTranquillity, and onlyhe,was capable ofexercising scienceand wisdomin
a frameofmindwhichmade him- be he ruleror sage,or both- not unlikeGod. As
Plutarchput it: 'Mostappropriate, however,is Tranquillityforthebenefitofvarious
endeavourssuchas Scienceand theApplicationofPrudence,all ofwhichrendersthose
9. W. S. Heckscher, In MemoriamGodefridusIoannes Hoogewerif,Utrecht I963, 6 f.
io. DuCange, Glossariummediae et infimaelatinitatis,Niort I886, s.v. 'tranquillitas'.
ii. Ulysse Chevalier, Repertoiredes Sources Historiques du Moyen Age. Bio-Bibliographie, II,
Paris I907, col. 4552.
12. s.t. 'Ad Serenvm. De tranquillitate vitae libri duo,' Ioannes Frobenivs verae philosophiae
stvdiosis S.D. ... ErasmiRoterodami cura,Basel (July) I5I5, 134 ff.
I3. Article cited in note 2 supra. See also note 5.
14. Klaus Heitmann, Fortuna und Virtus(Studi italiani I), Cologne-Graz I958, 89-150. For the
concept of apathia, see Theodor Riuther, Die sittlicheForderungder Apatheia in den beidenersten
christlichenjahrhunderten.Ein Beitrag zur Geschichtedes christlichenVollkommenheitsbegriffes,
Freiburg1949.
15. 'In elegant. Laurentii Valae,' ed. et comment.,Erasmus, Opera omnia, I, Leyden I703, col.
I072.

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that aspire afterit Godlike' 'commodissimaest tranquillitas,cum ad alia, cum ad
scientiam & prudentiaeexercitationem ... quae Deo similiredditsui participem'16.
It is not necessaryto tracethestagesby whichthetheoryofthepassionsevolved,
viaDescartes(I649), Hobbes (I65I), AntoineleGrand(I662), andothers, untilultimate-
ly it reachedthe eighteenthcenturyin a modifiedform.It willbe sufficient to have
highlighted with our examplestaken fromthe i6th and I7th centuriesand from
RomanimperialStoicismitself,thewayin whichtheStoicalvirtuehad servedforages
as theideal ofthe'Sage ..., l'Hommesans Passions,'untilit was eclipsedin thesecond
halfofthe i8th century- ifonlytemporarily - by thecultofits opposite,Tempestuo-
sity.For thesame holdstruemutatismutandisofthe Passions.Theirennoblement in
the courseof 'Sturmund Drang' had been precededby a long-drawnsoftening up
processin the discussionof the RulingPassions or inclinations naturelles.And while
thus aroundI760 the Passionshad becomesalonfdhig, EdmundBurke,in I757, had
seen in the ragingTempest,providedit was observedin a detachedway, an ideal
manifestation oftheSublime'7.

'Sturmund Drang' Defeated

'Quasitempestas impiusnoninvenitur,
transiens justusautemquasi stabile
fundamentum'
(Prov.X: 25)
The adherentsof'SturmundDrang'turnedtheirscornon thetimehonoured attitudes
ofmind:Tranquillity, Constancy'8, andmentalQuietude.Theyclaimedtheiropposites
as ideals: Tempestuosity, Passion,and restlessMotion.
One ofthemostfervent protagonistsof'SturmundDrang',youngJohannWolfgang
Goethe,had to strugglehardto freehismindofitsimportuning. In I775-76, thepoet,
on beingappointedMinisterofState and Counsellorat theCourtofWeimar,placedin
his suburbangarden'Am Stern'a curiouscubisticmonumentwhichis stillstanding
(Fig. 4). He designedit to serveas a warningto disassociatehimselffromhis unruly
past,and as a reminderto holdin checkhis innatetempestuosity and feverish desire
forchange'9.

i6. See article by Domenicus Nanus Mirabellio, opus cited in note 5 supra.
I 7. I have here in mind Justus Mbser's Der Werthwohlgewogener Neigungenund Leidenschaften,
Hannover I 756, in which the author claims that inclinationsand passions should rule the virtues.
- For the earlierstages of the discussionof the Passions, see AnthonyLevi, S. J., FrenchMoralists:
The Theoryof thePassions I585 to I649, Oxford I964 (with a rich bibliography).
The horrible,vested in the vastness of the ocean, becomes, around I 757, the manifestationof the
Sublime, provided that the beholder of the horribleremains detached, spectator not participant.
This was formulatedby Edmund Burke and echoed forthwithby many in England and abroad;
see his A PhilosophicalEnquiry intotheOriginofour Idea oftheSublimeand theBeautiful,Part Two,
Section ii, ed. J. T. Boulton [I958], 57 f. & xlvii, and note i6; 'the referenceto the ocean echoes
throughoutthe i8th century debate on the sublime.' In Poetry we encounter in the year I762
William Falconer's 'The Shipwreck': 'Down on the vale of Death, with dismal cries /The fated
victimscast theirshudderingeyes /In wild despair; while yet anotherstroke/With strongconvul-
sions rends the solid oak'; forfurtherdetails see T. S. R. Boase, 'Shipwrecksin English Romantic
Painting,' The Journal of the Warburgand Courtauld InstitutesXXII, I959, 335. See also J. A.
Emmens, 'De kinderenvan Homerus,' Ikon Bulletin III, Utrecht I966, 3 and E. de Jongh,'Het
sublieme en de vlekken van Alexander Cozens,' Vrij Nederland,May 23, I965, 9.
I8. See W. Welzig, 'Constantia und barocke Bestandigkeit,'Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift XXXV,
i96i, 4I6-432.
I9. W. S. Heckscher, 'Goethe im Banne der Sinnbilder,'Jahrbuchderhamburger Kunstsammlun-
gen VII, I962, 33-54, and fig. i. When I analyzed Goethe's monument,I failed to mention that
young Erasmus of Rotterdam,in chosingas a lifelongcompanion the solid God Terminuswith his

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 w .. - q4er {o- < ,..-

Fig. 4 Wolfgang von Goethe, Altar of Good Fortune (Weimar, 1777)

The monumentconsistsof nothingmorethan a sphererestingon a square cube.

Sphereand Cube had been used throughthe centuriesas contrapuntalsymbolsof
Tempestuosity and Tranquillityrespectively.Originallytheymay evenhave stoodfor
the Creatorand the Created20.The Spherewas an age-oldimageof foreverrestless
motionandwastherefore quitenaturallychosenas theattribute theGoddess
supporting
Fortunawhenshewas associatedwiththetempestuous the
waves.The Cube signified
Creator,terrafirma,and solid restand finallyalso man guidedby virtue.Withthis
in mindit is easy to see how Goethewishedto expresswithhis monumentin quasi-
emblematiclanguagethe permanentstruggleof the homoquadratus,the muchma-
lignedSquare Man, who strenuously resiststhe sirensongsof 'Sturmund Drang'.

device CONCEDO NVLLI, had placed himselfunder the tutelage of a similar moral sign; see
Edgar Wind, 'Aenigma Termini,'Journal of the WarburgInstituteI, I937, 66-69. - For the cube
the figura solida, and its opposite, the rota elementorum,see also Karl-August Wirth, 'Erde,'
Reallexikonzur deutschenKunstgeschichte, esp. section'Demonstrationsfiguren,' cols. 1020-23 & fig
g b, and article 'Cube' in Guy de Tervarent,AttributsetSymbolesdans l'Art Profane I450-I600, II.
Geneva, cols. 136 f.
20. Thus according to Boethius paraphrasing Parmenides in his Consolatio Philosophiae, III,
xii, ed. Bernhard Gothein, Berlin I93, Ii0: 'Ea est enim diuinae forma substantiae ut neque in
externa dilabitur, nec in se externum aliquid ipsa suscipiat; sed, sicut de ea Parmenides ait:
7aTv-oO?v EUxX0ouapotLplg iva.yxtov 6yxc rerum orbem mobilem rotat. dum se immobilem
ipsa conservat' 'Thus, to be sure, is the formof the divine substance that it suffusesitselfneither
into external matternor receives anythingfromwithout so that, according to Parmenides, 'from
all sides, like thewellroundedsphere,'it rotatesthe mobileorb,while,in itself,it remainsimmobile."

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 As in contemplating 'Sturmund Drang' we ask ourselvescui bono?,we become
awareofa strangedichotomyin Germanwritingofthe igth and 20th centuries.On
theonehandtherearetheworshippers ofauthorityand traditionwho,likeGoetheand
Schiller,havingliberatedthemselvesof the dictatesof 'Sturmund Drang', seldom
manageto liftthemselvesofftheground.Germanclassicalliterature tendsto become
bothponderousand humorless, dogmaticand moralistic21.
The fewexceptionalpoets
who knewhow to synthesize,and who weretherebyable to incorporate someof the
immortalaspects of 'Sturmund Drang' in theirwritings,Jean Paul Richterand
Adam GottlobOelenschlager, Eduard Moerikeand AdalbertStifter,GottfriedKeller
and WilhelmRabe, HeinrichHeine and TheodorFontane,Arno Holz and Stefan
Georgehave largelybeen relegatedto the rankof starsofthesecondmagnitudeand
are read today onlyby a selectfewFeinschmecker.

Whateverthe ultimateverdicton 'Sturmund Drang,'we may safelysay that the

powersthathelpedto shapeit are stilleverywhereat work:in theeffective
angriness
ofyouth,in the disinclination
ofthe maturescholarto be goaded by the sheerforce
of authorityand convention,in the psychologist's
deepenedunderstanding of the all
pervadinginfluenceofman's unsconsciousdrives.To the culturalhistoriantheseas-
pects shouldbe a matterof constantcontemplationbut not - needlessto say - a
matterof mereapprovalor disapproval.

21. See W. S. Heckscher, Goetheand Weimar,Durham N. H. I96I.

Fig. 5 (a) Francesco Guicciardini togatus with Biretta (r.), (b) Rock of Tranquillity in a
TempestuousSea (v.), Bronze Medal, Uffizi (ab. I1540)

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