Day of Prayer Mandates

Gottfried Keller

Newcomb Livraria Press

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A new 2023 translation of Gottfried Keller's 1862 "Day of Prayer Mandates" followed by an Afterword by the translator, a timeline of his life and works and an index of his works. Among Keller's various official duties as the State Chancellery at the Zürcherische Freitagszeitung was the drafting of the "Bettagsmandate" (day of prayer mandates). The first of these documents was created in 1862. The government had reservations about publishing it. Keller, who himself abstained from religious ceremonies, had initially wished for well-attended church services for the Day of Prayer, but added, "However, let even the citizen who is not of a religious disposition not spend this day in restless diversion using his freedom of conscience, but demonstrate his respect for the fatherland in quiet contemplation." Many clergymen would have found it burdensome to read these words of a Feuerbachian from the pulpit, leading the government to order a more diplomatically formulated mandate from another writer.

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One of Nietzsche's favorite living poets (the only real Swiss poet in his opinion, Keller was a major Swiss poet and writer, Keller is best known for his novel "Green Henry" (German: "Der grüne Heinrich"). His work is representative of the Realist movement, which sought to depict life and society as they were. Keller's stories often reflect the conflict between individual creative drives and the constraints of society. His novel "The People of Seldwyla" was one of Nietzsche's favorite.