Truths. Prodosh Aich
my own people.'”
The chapter III of “My Autobiography” by Max Müller comprises the pages 95 - 111. On page 95 we read:
“It was certainly a poor kind of armour in which I set out of Dessau. My mother, devoted as she was to me, had judged rightly that it was best for me to be with other boys and under the supervision of a man. I had been somewhat spoiled by her passionate love, and also by her passionate severity in correcting the ordinary naughtiness of a boy. So having risen from form to form in the school at Dessau, I was sent, at the age of twelve, to Leipzig, to live in the house of Professor Carus and attend the famous Nicolai-Schule with his son, who was of the same age as myself and who likewise wanted a companion. It was thought that there would be a certain emulation between us, and so, no doubt there was, though we always remained the best friends. The house in which we lived stood in a garden and was really an orthopaedic institution for girls.”
It is a radical break in Friedrich Maximilian’s early life. For the first time in his life, he lives in an affluent household. In the whole chapter, Max Müller does not give any account of the differences of his school life at Dessau and at Leipzig. He does not disclose the personal feelings of Friedrich Maximilian being away from his mother and sister in a new so far unknown household.
We do not know whether he makes friends in the new school or in the new locality. Had there been any financial arrangements between Professor Carus and his mother? Does he get pocket money? Does he maintain the same standard like Victor in all material aspects? We do not know. Max Müller does not tell us. Instead, he presents a rather academic lecture on public schools in Germany. We are inclined to put a question mark here. We have doubts whether Friedrich Maximilian would have given the same expressions as Max Müller lets us know in the “My Autobiography”. On page 97 we read:
“There were two good public schools at Leipzig, the Nicolai School and the Thomas School. There was plenty of espirt de corps in them and often when the boys met it showed itself not only in words but in blows, and the discussion on merits of their schools were often continued in later life. I was very fortunate in being sent to the Nicolai School, under Dr. Nobbe as head master. He was at the same time Professor at the University of Leipzig and is well known in England also as the editor of Cicero. He was very proud that his school counted Leibniz among its former pupils. He was a classical scholar of the old school. During the last three years of our school life we had to write plenty of Latin and Greek verse, and were taught to speak Latin. The speaking of Latin came readily enough, but the verses never attained a very high level. Besides Nobbe we had Forbiger, well known by his books on ancient geography, and Palm, editor of the same Greek Dictionary which, in the hands of Dr. Liddell, has reached the highest perfection. Then there was Funkhänel, known beyond Germany by his edition of the Orations of Demosthenes, and his studies on Greek orators.”
It continues just like this. Then on p. 99 and 100, we read:
“We certainly did very well in Greek and Latin, and read a number of classical texts, not only critically at school, but also cursorily at home, having to give a weekly account of what we had thus read by ourselves. I liked my classics, and yet I could not help feeling that there was a certain exaggeration in the way in which every one of them was spoken of by our teachers, nay, that as compared to German poets and prose writers they were somewhat overpraised. Still, it would have been very conceited not to admire what our masters admired, and as in duty bound we went into the usual raptures about Homer and Sophocles, about Horace and Cicero.”
Later on page 102, we encounter just a touch of a personal account. (highlighted by us):
“I enjoyed my work at school very much, and I seem to have passed rapidly from class to class. I frequently received prizes both in money and in books, but I see a warning attached to some of them that I ought not to be conceited, which probably meant no more than that I should not show when I was pleased with my successes. At least I do not know what I could have been conceited about. What I feel about my learning at school is that it was entirely passive. I acquired knowledge such as it was presented to me. I did not doubt whatever my teacher taught me, I did not, as far as I can recollect, work up any subject by myself. I find only one paper of mine of that early time, and, curiously enough, it was on mythology; but it contains no inkling of comparative mythology, but simply a chronological arrangement of the sources from which we draw our knowledge of Greek mythology. I see also from some old papers, that I began to write poetry and that twice or thrice I was chosen at great festivities to recite poems written by myself. In the year 1839 three hundred years had passed since Luther preached at Leipzig in the Church of St. Nicolai, and the tercentenary of this event was celebrated all over Germany. My poem was selected for recitation at a large meeting of the friends of our school and notables of the town, and I had to recite it, not without fear and trembling.I was then sixteen years of age.
In the next year, 1840, Leipzig celebrated the invention of printing in 1440. It was on this occasion that Mendelssohn wrote his famous Hymn of Praise. I formed part of the chorus, and I well remember the magnificent effect which the music produced in the Church of St. Thomas. Again a poem of mine was selected, and I had to recite it at a large gathering in the Nicolai Schule on July 18, 1840.”
Thereafter he gives a thorough account on Friedrich Maximilian’s talent and his desire to become a poet or a musician. He is often asked to recite his poems at many large gatherings. Max Müller does not disclose the type of gatherings, nor who else of his schoolmates recite or perform something else in those gatherings. We are supposed to take note of that Friedrich Maximilian’s poetries have been rich in qualities. We just have to note it and accept it! Then he leads his readers and us to the music scene at the then Leipzig writing the lines (p.104 ff):
“During my stay at Leipzig, first in the house of Professor Carus, and afterwards as a student at the University, my chief enjoyment was certainly music. I had plenty of it, perhaps too much, but I pity the man who has not known the charm of it.”
Leipzig was a centre of music in the sense that many young later celebrated artists and composers came in search of an opportunity to become a part of the famous “Gewandhaus Orchestra” and also meeting the local musicians like Felix Mendelssohn. It is remarkable that Max Müller writes a feuilleton piece on artists and composers at Leipzig and lets us know that at the house of Professor Carus Friedrich Maximilian meets many of them. He is often invited by them to participate in their performances also. Max Müller winds up this sub-aspect in his chapter on his school days at Leipzig with the words (p. 108-109):
“At that time my idea of devoting myself altogether to the study of music became very strong; and as Professor Carus married again, I proposed to leave Leipzig, and to enter the musical school of Schneider at Dessau. But nothing came of that, and I think on the whole it was as well.”
Only once, in this chapter Max Müller refers to his beloved mother (p. 109):
“While at school at Leipzig I had but little opportunity of travelling, for my mother was always anxious to have me home during holidays and I was equally anxious to be with her and to see my relations at Dessau.”
Only once the issue of poverty is indicated during Friedrich Maximilian’s stay of five years in an affluent household of Prof. Carus (p. 109):
“Generally I went in a wretched carriage from Leipzig to Dessau. It was only seven German miles (about thirty-five English miles), but it took a whole day to get there; and during part of the journey, when we had to cross the deep and desert-like sands, walking on foot was much more expeditious than sitting inside the carriage. But then we paid only one thaler for the whole journey, and sometimes, in order to save that, I walked on foot the whole way. That also took me a whole day; but when I tried it the first time, being then quite young and rather delicate in health, I had to give in about an hour before I came to Dessau,