Skip to content
Little girl looking Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

Georg Friedrich Daumer

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes

German poet and philosopher, b. at Nuremberg, 5 March, 1800; d. at Wurzburg, 14 December, 1875. He 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. 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). Previous to this he 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 Hebraer" (Brunswick, 1842); "Die Geheimnisse des christlichen Altertums" (Hamburg, 1847). Shortly after 1850 Daumer left Nuremberg and settled at Frankfort, 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.

Undoubtedly the best part of Daumer's work is his poetry. His "Hafis" (Hamburg, 1846; a second collection, 1852) contains graceful but very free imitations of the songs of the famous Persian poet. In fact, these poems are really original productions, and some of them have become widely known through the musical settings of Brahms. 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 "Schone Seelen" (Mainz, 1862).

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.