Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) was a German poet and essayist. He is best known as the author of witty and subversive prose works, travel books, politics, and journalism. His liberal views and his attacks on orthodoxy made him a lightning rod among his contemporaries and successive generations.
Heine was born in Dusseldorf, which was then occupied by France and later became part of Prussia after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815. He received a doctorate of law from Gottingen and converted from Judaism to Lutheranism to improve his prospects for a post in government or at a university. He was, however, unsuccessful and took up writing. He achieved early literary with the publication of his first volume of Reisebilder (Travel Sketches; 1824) Die Harzeise (Journey through the Harz Mountains; 1826,) and with the volume of collected poems Buch der Lieder (Book of Songs; 1827.) The latter sold progressively well and was printed 13 times during Heine’s lifespan.
In 1831, Heine moved to Paris to report on the French Revolution and settled there permanently. After that, his works became more political and acerbic. By 1835, the German government had banned his works. Heine uncle and patron died in 1844, leaving Heine poor. Yet, he produced A Winter’s Tale (1844,) a fictionalized account of his 1843 visit to Germany, and a collection of poetry New Poems (1844.)
Heine’s later lyric poetry, collected in Romanzero (1851) and Gedichte 1853 und 1854 (Poems: 1853 and 1854,) are considered to be the best poems he ever wrote.
Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and other composers set many of Heine’s early lyric poetry to music.
One of Heine’s most famous poems, “Die Lorelei,” based on a German fairytale of an enthralling, seducing mermaid who lures seamen to their death, was set to music by numerous composers, including Friedrich Silcher and Franz Liszt.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Heinrich Heine
The beauteous eyes of the spring’s fair night With comfort are downward gazing.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Spring
He only profits from praise who values criticism.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Criticism
Mine is a most peaceable disposition. My wishes are: a humble cottage with a thatched roof, but a good bed, good food, the freshest milk and butter, flowers before my window, and a few fine trees before my door; and if God wants to make my happiness complete, He will grant me the joy of seeing some six or seven of my enemies hanging from those trees.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Simplicity
There is something marvelous in music. I might almost say it is, in itself, a marvel. Its position is somewhere between the region of thought and that of phenomena; a glimmering medium between mind and matter, related to both and yet differing from either. Spiritual, and yet requiring rhythm; material, and yet independent of space.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Music
The spring’s already at the gate With looks my care beguiling; The country round appeareth straight A flower-garden smiling.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Spring
Whatever tears one may shed, in the end one always blows one’s nose.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Cries, Crying
The artist is the child in the popular fable, every one of whose tears was a pearl. Ah! the world, that cruel step mother, beats the poor child the harder to make him shed more pearls.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Art
A blaspheming Frenchman is a spectacle more pleasing to the Lord than a praying Englishman.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Britain
The foolish race of mankind are swarming below in the night; they shriek and rage and quarrel—and all of them are right.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Quarrels, Fighting, Fight
Every age has its problem, by solving which, humanity is helped forward.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Progress, Problems
God will forgive me the foolish remarks I have made about Him just as I will forgive my opponents the foolish things they have written about me, even though they are spiritually as inferior to me as Ito thee, O God.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Forgiveness
There are more fools in the world than there are people.
—Heinrich Heine
Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Rich
It is a common phenomenon that just the prettiest girls find it so difficult to get a man.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Girls
Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Censorship, Book
If the Romans had been obliged to learn Latin they would never have found time to conquer the world.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Language
Sleep is lovely, death is better still, not to have been born is of course the miracle.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Sleep
The fundamental evil of the world arose from the fact that the good Lord has not created money enough.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Evil
Experience is a good school, but the fees are high.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Experience
Literary history is the great morgue where all seek the dead ones whom they love, or to whom they are related.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Literature
I fell asleep reading a dull book and dreamed I kept on reading, so I awoke from sheer boredom.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Boredom
Whether a revolutions succeeds or fails people of great hearts will always be sacrificed to it.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Revolution, Revolutionaries, Revolutions
The weather-cock on the church spire, though made of iron, would soon be broken by the storm-wind if it … did not understand the noble art of turning to every wind.
—Heinrich Heine
It must require an inordinate share of vanity and presumption, too, after enjoying so much that is good and beautiful on earth, to ask the Lord for immortality in addition to it all.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Vanity
Communism possesses a language which every people can understand.—Its elements are hunger, envy, and death.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Communism
Matrimony is the high sea for which no compass has yet to be invented.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Marriage
Great genius takes shape by contact with another great genius, but, less by assimilation than by fiction.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Genius
Oh what lies lurk in kisses!
—Heinrich Heine
While we are indifferent to our good qualities, we keep on deceiving ourselves in regard to our faults, until we come to look on them as virtues.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Self-Esteem, Self Respect
In these days we fight for ideas, and newspapers are our fortresses.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: News, Ideas
God will forgive me; that’s his business
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Forgiveness, Jobs
The lotus flower is troubled
At the sun’s resplendent light;
With sunken head and sadly
She dreamily waits for the night.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Flowers
God will forgive me. It’s his job.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Sin
If all Europe were to become a prison, Ameriea would still present a loop-hole of escape; and, God be praised! that loop-hole is larger than the dungeon itself.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: America
The men of the past had convictions, while we moderns have only opinions.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Opinions, Opinion
Nothing is sillier than this charge of plagiarism. There is no sixth commandment in art. The poet dare help himself wherever he lists—wherever he finds material suited to his work. He may even appropriate entire columns with their carved capitals, if the temple he thus supports be a beautiful one. Goethe understood this very well, and so did Shakespeare before him.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Plagiarism
Poverty sits by the cradle of all our great men, and rocks them up to manhood; and this meager foster-mother remains their faithful companion throughout life.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Poverty
The Wedding March always reminds me of the music played when soldiers go into battle.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Soldiers
In politics, as in life, we must above all things wish only for the attainable.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Politics, Politicians
Be entirely tolerant or not at all; follow the good path or the evil one. To stand at the crossroads requires more strength than you possess.
—Heinrich Heine
Topics: Tolerance
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Berthold Auerbach German Novelist
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe German Poet
Friedrich Schiller German Poet
Johann Gottfried Herder German Poet, Literary Critic
Konrad Adenauer German Statesman
Novalis German Romantic Poet
Friedrich Nietzsche German Philosopher, Scholar
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi German Philosopher
Wilhelm von Humboldt German Statesman, Scholar
Erwin Rommel German Field Marshal