The apostle and the Jacobine

Johann Gottfried Seume (1764-1811) was a leading figure in the development of German prose style and for some reason has been regarded as a paragon of realism in the early nineteenth century. His role in the later history of German enlightenment is no less important and the political ideals brought about by the French Revolution had a deep impact on his mind. Not so well known, however, is how deeply indebted to the heritage of classicism almost all of his prose writings are. Even his private letters abound in a multitude of references to the writers of Greece and Rome. Allusions to the classical authors can be considered as a hallmark of his whole oeuvre. This article focuses on a peculiar metaphor from the highly ambitious Vorrede of his. most famous book entitled Der Spaziergang nach Syrakus im Jahre 1802 and traces its origin back to the Letters of the Apostle Paul. The metaphor of nourishing newborn babes by milk has been variously applied to literary or religious education of human beings and turns out to be firmly rooted in the context of later hellenistic culture.