Compilation as “heutige Bildung”: Philological and Philosophical Perspectives on Compilation in Friedrich Schlegel’s Lessings Gedanken und Meinungen

Abstract

This article considers the role of compilation in the work of Friedrich Schlegel (1772–1829), with particular emphasis on his anthology Lessings Gedanken und Meinungen (1803–1804). While compilation was often derided in an era increasingly dominated by the quest for originality, Schlegel gives it a new dignity and holds it as essential to his belief in textual “Potenzierung”. The article highlights the philological and philosophical implications of Schlegel’s concept of compilation, as well as its significance for what Schlegel terms “Kritik”.