Extracts of Letters from Schleiermacher’s Mother to her Brother Stubenrauch.
[I.] Breslau, October, 1774.
… . You will not, I trust, be displeased at my allowing little Fritz to write you a letter, though as yet he only scribbles. He might perhaps have done it better had he written by daylight; but he did not think of it until candlelight. The dear boy gives us much pleasure and much hope. He has a most affectionate heart and a very good head. Next month he will be six years old. Pastor H—— is much pleased with the attention which he shows, and the distinct answers which he gives during the lessons in religion. God grant that he may continue thus, and not allow himself to be misled by others… . .
[II.] [Without date.]
… . You will ask why I have not long ago answered Lotte’s and your letters. Ah, my darling brother, so it is. Great is the joy and pleasure of our hearts, when we receive letters, but when we are to write them ——! Well, this time my dear husband had just returned from an absence of three months when I received your welcome letter, which assured me of your tender affection. I made a firm resolution to answer it and also Lotte’s letter at once, but then my dear husband had been absent so long, and there were so many things to tell and to ask about, and to wash, and to look after, and to mend; and good friends sent us invitations and we invited them in return, and thus twelve weeks, during which my husband remained here, went by as if carried away on the wings of the wind; and now he has already been absent again three weeks.
The news of your David’s health has given me sincere pleasure. What joy it must be to you to feel yourself a father! For I picture you to myself as a very loving father, who appreciates this happiness more than a hundred others would do in similar circumstances. I cannot conceive how it can be that so many parents bear no real love to their children, for what do we possess in this life that we can calculate upon calling our own on the other side of the grave also, if it be not virtue and our children. And what a sweet consolation may it not be on our death-bed, if we leave good children behind us, or if any have gone before us, to feel that we may confidently look forward to reunion with them, and to receiving together with them new joys and eternal bliss from the hand of the Godhead. This is indeed the only source whence we can derive consolation when we lose our children, and much, much time is required before we can thoroughly feel it. What parents, who do not look forward to such a future, feel at such a loss is beyond my comprehension.
God preserve your darling boy and let you have much joy of him! But that you are already thinking of teaching the little fellow to read, that surprises me, as he is hardly two years old. However, children are very different; but in one thing, dearest, I think you will agree with us, and that is, that children must not be driven to their lessons by fear of punishment, but that they must be taught in play and be spurred on by emulation. It seems to be a law of our nature that we should play during one period of our lives, and if we do not do so during the earliest part, we must do so afterwards. Of this we have examples in various precocious young savants; for instance in the young Baratier, who in his thirteenth year attended university lectures, in his eighteenth year began to play like a child, and in his twentieth died rather weak in mind. An example of a different kind I may cite in our Lotte. From her birth she was weak and sickly, and in consequence sulky and peevish. Her nurse was kind, but old and very quiet, and never tried to amuse the child. Lottchen’s only pleasure was, therefore, to stand at the window or before the street-door. Her playthings she was afraid of, and she cried when they were shown to her, except a little lamb, which she was always carrying about in her arms. In this way two years and a half elapsed. I had then a very severe illness, and when I rose from my bed Lottchen could speak and run about. I then began to teach her the alphabet, and the letters being large and new to her, they pleased her, and she soon enough learnt to know them. I began already to be quite proud at the thought of the sickly child learning to read so quickly, but there is a long leap between knowing the letters and knowing how to read.
In the interval Vieckchen, who was a strong and lively child, and who had a nurse like herself, had begun to find pleasure in play. Lottchen, who saw her little lamb and other playthings in Vieckchen’s hands, was astonished, cried, laughed, drew nearer, took part in the sport, and little by little she became so fond of play, that she no longer liked her letters, and cried when I wanted to force her to learn. I consulted my husband, who was then absent, as to what I had better do. Let her play, was his answer, the desire to learn will come in time; and so it did: but not until she was five years old, when she began to be curious to know what I was reading. Then she became so zealous that she quite persecuted me with her A B C book, and very soon learnt to read fluently… . .
Fritz began to read when he was four years old, but Carl, whom my husband calls our savage, and who is now three years and a half, speaks very indistinctly, will never obey without the rod, is dreadfully obstinate and very lively, but also in excellent health.
Thus, my dear brother, for one child more patience is required, for another more encouragement. In short, each must be treated in a different way, and therefore it is easier to lay down general rules than to practise them. If Fritz continues as he has begun, he will be very efficient in languages. His masters are very much pleased with him; he is already in the third form, and though he is the smallest boy in the school he is always at the head of his class. It is the custom of the school to give each child a ticket every week stating how he has behaved, in regard to lessons and other matters. In two years Fritz’s ticket has once contained the words “pretty well;” all the other times it has been “good,” “industrious,” “very good,” “very industrious.” These tickets are great excitements to good conduct, and upon the whole one cannot help admiring the excellent discipline which Mr. H—— maintains in the school… . .
[III.] Pless [no date].
… . Fritz did not, as you suppose, remain in Breslau. No, dear brother, I do not think I could have made up my mind to leave him at his tender age without any guidance for his heart. The school here is very tolerable, and he may still learn something there. What we shall do in time, when his heart has been strengthened in goodness, I do not as yet know. The day before yesterday, which was my birthday, they prepared a touching pleasure for me. They came to my bedside in the morning, when I awoke, and sang Basedow’s song: “This festal day of your life is a joyful day to us;” and then having expressed their good wishes, they presented me with fresh flowers, and Lottchen gave me besides a tulle neckerchief, and Fritz a drawing… . .
[IV.] Anhalt, 1780.
… . Our children are all with us, and Lottchen encloses a little letter for you. The good God has poured out His grace upon her in these days. On Maundy-Thursday she made her confession of faith with a deeply moved heart. God grant that she may remain true to the promise she has made before Him, and strengthen her with His Spirit so to do; for without this we can do nothing. She is quite content in our solitude, and occupies herself a great deal with household matters, and with little Caroline. Fritz occupies himself with French and Latin translations, and teaches Carl to read and to reckon. Otherwise we leave the children a good deal at liberty to strengthen their bodies by exercise and fresh air. The two boys are quite opposite natures. Fritz is all spirit, and Carl all body; therefore we still keep the former at home, for he has knowledge enough for his age, and we only wish that his heart was as good as his understanding; but his heart has been corrupted by the constant praise bestowed on his intellect at Breslau, and he has become vain and conceited. Had we left him in Breslau, he would probably have been quite ready for the University at fourteen, so quickly does he progress in everything. Mr. S——, the head master in Pless, has become very much attached to him on account of his industry, and has expressed his surprise that he should not have begun mathematics at Breslau, as he comprehends everything with so much ease. I have great confidence in Mr. S——, and hope that at the end of a year we shall place Fritz under his care. He loves the boy and the boy loves him, and with love you may make Fritz do a good deal… . .