Jewish Philosophical Politics in Germany, 1789-1848

Off with Their Heads? { 43

schaftsjuden] .”^79 In contrast to the timely yet impenetrable style of Hegelian

contributors like Eduard Gans and Ludwig Marcus, “Ben David is clear, but

what he writes suits neither the times nor the journal. These are essays that

would have been appropriate for the Theological Journal, year 1786 .”^80

But if the dyed-in-the-wool Kantian Bendavid seemed out of touch to the

Hegelian Wissenschaftsjuden in 1823 —Heine includes himself in this group,

however ironically—after the Verein imploded and, more importantly, after

first Heine and then Gans converted, Heine comes to see Bendavid and his fel-

low Kantian holdover Friedländer differently. In a letter to Moses Moser dated

April 23 , 1826 , Heine waxes nostalgic for the days of the Verein, which he now

presents as a heroic Jewish cause that he and Gans have betrayed. Heine looks

longingly back at the time when Gans was “not yet baptized and wrote long ad-

dresses to the Verein and reflected on [trug sich mit] the motto ‘Victrix causa

Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni’ [the victorious cause pleased the Gods, but the

inferior one pleased Cato].” In the same letter Heine encourages Moser to write

up and publish the “excellent” thoughts Moser had had at that time about “Ju-

daism, the despicableness of Christian proselytizing, the despicableness of Jews

who, through baptism, aimed not only at obviating difficulties but rather wanted

to obtain, haggle something for themselves.”^81 Heine holds up Friedländer and

Bendavid as examples of courageous Jews who, throughout their long lives, re-

jected the expedient of conversion.^82 Heine muses that “as Solon said that one

cannot call anyone happy before his death, so one can also say that no one can

be called a brave man before his death. I’m happy that old Friedländer and Ben-

David are old and will die soon. Then we’ll have secured them [diese haben wir

dann sicher], and no one can reproach our age with not being able to demon-

strate a single scrupulous man.”^83

Finally, in an 1844 eulogy for Ludwig Marcus, which is also a reckoning of

sorts with the whole Verein project, Heine describes Bendavid as “a Kantian

to the bone” (ein eingefleischter Kantianer) out of step with the Hegelianism of

his younger colleagues. Yet Heine also pays Bendavid great respect, here again

stressing his commitment to the Jewish community and refusal to convert: “Ben-

david was for his entire life the most fervent adherent of Kantian philosophy; in

his youth, he suffered the greatest persecutions for this, and yet he never wanted

to separate himself from the old community of the Mosaic confession. He never

wanted to change his outer confessional badge [äußere Glaubenskokarde]. Even

the appearance of such a denial filled him with loathing and disgust.”^84

The author of Etwas zur Charackteristick der Juden ended up a Heinean

Jewish hero of sorts.