1. heine, heinrich a Germanlyric poet, born at Düsseldorf, of Jewish parents; was bred to law, but devoted himself to literature, and mingled with literary people, and associated in particular with the Varnhagen von Ense circle; first became notable by the publication of his "Reisebilder" and his "Buch der Lieder," the appearance of which created a wide-spread enthusiasm in Germany in 1825 he abandoned the Jewish faith and professed the Christian, but the creed he adopted was that of a sceptic, and he indulged in a cynicism that outraged all propriety, and evencommon decency; in 1830 he quitted Germany and settled in Paris, and there a few years afterwards married a rich lady, who alleviated the sufferings of his last years; an attack of paralysis in 1847 left him only one eye, and in the followingyear he lost the other, but under these privations and much bodily pain he bore up with a singular fortitude, and continued his literary labours to the last; in his songs he was at his best, and by these alone it is believed he will be chiefly remembered (1797-1856).
Definitions of heine, heinrich
