{{Short description|German philosopher and poet (1800–1875)}} {{Infobox person | name = Georg Friedrich Daumer | image = Daumer.jpg | caption = Georg Friedrich Daumer<br />(19th-century copperplate) | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1800|3|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Nuremberg]], [[Middle Franconia]], [[Bavaria]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1875|12|14|1800|3|5|df=y}} | death_place = [[Würzburg]], [[Bavaria]], [[German Empire]] | occupation = Poet and [[philosopher]] | spouse = | children = }} '''Georg Friedrich Daumer''' (5 March 1800 – 14 December 1875) was a German poet and philosopher.
== Life ==
Daumer was educated at the gymnasium of his native city, at that time directed by the famous philosopher [[Hegel]].
In 1817 he entered the University of [[Erlangen]] as a student of theology, but abandoned that study for philosophy. For a number of years Daumer was professor at the gymnasium of Nuremberg; owing to ill-health he was pensioned in 1832 and henceforth devoted himself entirely to literary work.
Daumer was also known as host and teacher of the mysterious foundling [[Kaspar Hauser]] in 1828-30 and wrote several books about the case.
== Philosophy ==
While at Erlangen he came strongly under the influence of [[Pietism]]. Soon, however, he became sceptical and exhibited decided leanings towards [[pantheism]]. From an orthodox Protestant he gradually became a bitter enemy of Christianity, which he attacked in a number of writings and for which he strove to substitute a new religion "of love and peace", formulated in his work ''Religion des neuen Weltalters'' (Hamburg, 1850).
[[Karl Marx]] and [[Frederick Engels]] joined in writing a critical review of Daumer's ''Die Religion des Neuen Weltalters'' in January through February 1850 which was published in the ''[[Neue Rheinische Zeitung]]: Politisch-Ökonomische Revue''.<ref>"Reviews from the Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Politisch-Ökonomische Revue No. 2" contained in the ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 10'', pp. 241-246.</ref> Marx and Engels criticized Daumer's theory of history from class point of view.<ref>"Reviews from the Neue Rheinische Zeitung Politisch-Ökonomische Revue No. 2" contained in the ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 10'', p. 244.</ref> Instead of a struggle between economic classes in society, Daumer saw only a struggle between "coarseness" and "culture."
== Works ==
Prior to writing ''Die Religion des Neuen Weltalters'', Daumer had published a number of works, all of a distinctly anti-theological tendency, of which the more important are: ''Philosophie, Religion, und Altertum'' (Nuremberg, 1833); ''Züge zu einer neuen Philosophie der Religion und Religionsgeschichte'' (Nuremberg, 1835); ''Der Feuer- und Molochdienst der Hebräer'' (Brunswick, 1842); ''Die Geheimnisse des christlichen Altertums'' (Hamburg, 1847). Shortly after 1850 Daumer left Nuremberg and settled at [[Frankfurt]], where a great change soon came over him. In 1858 at [[Mainz]] he publicly embraced the Catholic faith and thenceforth became its zealous defender. Among the works written after his conversion are: ''Meine Konversion'' (Mainz, 1859); ''Aus der Mansarde'' (1860–62); ''Das Christentum und sein Urheber'' (Mainz, 1864); ''Das Wunder, seine Bedeutung, Wahrheit und Notwendigkeit'' (Ratisbon, 1874). The last mentioned work is directed expressly against the opinions of [[David Strauss]].
One of the most important parts of Daumer's work is his poetry. His ''Hafis'' (Hamburg, 1846; a second collection, 1852) contain graceful but very free imitations of the songs of the famous Persian poet. Some of them have become widely known through the musical settings of [[Brahms]], such as the ''[[Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 (Brahms)|Liebeslieder]]'' and ''[[Neue Liebeslieder]]'' Waltzes. Other composers, including [[Elise Schmezer]], have also set Daumer’s texts to music.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elise Schmezer Song Texts {{!}} LiederNet |url=https://www.lieder.net/lieder/get_settings.html?ComposerId=11480 |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=www.lieder.net}}</ref> This collection, as well as ''Mahomed und sein Werk'' (Hamburg, 1848), is distinctly directed against the [[hypocrisy]] and [[asceticism]] which at that time Daumer believed to be inseparable from orthodox Christianity. Among other poems may be mentioned: ''Glorie der heiligen Jungfrau Maria'' (Nuremberg, 1841); ''Frauenbilder und Huldigungen'' (Leipzig, 1853); ''Marianische Legenden und Gedichte'' (Munster, 1859) and ''Schöne Seelen'' (Mainz, 1862).
==References== <references /> {{catholic|wstitle=Georg Friedrich Daumer|ref=none}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote}} {{Commons category}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Georg Friedrich Daumer}} *[https://www.ivu.org/history/williams/daumer.html Georg Friedrich Daumer], from [https://www.ivu.org/history/williams/index.html ''The Ethics of Diet''], by [[Howard Williams (humanitarian)|Howard Williams]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daumer, Georg Friedrich}} [[Category:1800 births]] [[Category:1875 deaths]] [[Category:Writers from Nuremberg]] [[Category:19th-century German philosophers]] [[Category:19th-century German poets]] [[Category:German male poets]] [[Category:University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni]] [[Category:German-language poets]] [[Category:19th-century German male writers]] [[Category:German vegetarianism writers]] [[Category:19th-century food writers]]