A LB E RT BI E L SC H O W SKY, PH D .

A U TH O RISE D TR A NSLA TI ON FRO M TH E GER M A N

W ILL IA M A . C O O PE R, A . M .

TA T
A SSI S N PRO FE SSO R O F E A
G RM N , S I A N F O R D UNI VE RSI TY
’

TH RE E V O LU M E S

V O LU M E 1

—1 8 8
1
74 9 7

FRO M BI RTH TO TH E RE TU RN F RO M I TA L Y

I L L U ST R A TE D

G P PU TN A M S SO N S
’
. .

N E W Y O RK A N D L O N D O N

E b e IRni cRer b ocRer [Dres s

‘

I 9 0
5
 TRAN SLATOR S ’
PR E FAC E

T
HE dard biography of Goet he and t he most
st an ,

popul ar biography of any man written in Modern

German is herewit h offered in tran slation to t he
,

E n glish r eadin g public

-
It is t he work of an emin ent
.

schol ar ,who d evot ed practic ally t he whol e of hi s life t o

t he on e purp ose of erectin g a wort hy mon ument t o t he
great est p oet of hi s c ountry an d on e of t he greatest in t he
,

hi st ory of t he world .

Alb ert B iel schowsky was b orn in N amslau Silesia on , ,

t he 3 rd d ay of J an u ary 1 8 4 7 Aft er rec eivin g his doct or s ’

, .

d egree in cl assical p hil ol ogy he foll owed t he profession of

,

t eac hi n g for sixt een y ear s I n 1 8 8 6 he m oved t o B erlin in

.

ord er t o en j oy t he l arg er libr ary f acilit i es of t he Pru ssian

c apit al Owin g t o a chron ic ill n ess wit h which he b ecame

.

affl ict ed t he Gov ern m ent relieved him of t he exactin g

,

duties of his profession an d t hi s en abl ed him t o devot e t he

,

l ast t en years of hi s life wholly t o his biography of Goet he .

H e died on t he z rst day of Oct ob er 1 9 0 2 , .

The first volume of hi s Goethe g em Leben u n d sei n e ,

Werke had app eared in 1 8 9 5 The sec on d an d last volum e .

was so n early c ompl et ed b efore his d eat h t hat it was an

easy m att er for ot h er s w ho w er e familiar wit h his m et hod

an d aim s t o fi n is h it It was published in 1 9 0 3

. As t here .

is a gr eat differen c e in t he siz e of t he two v olumes an d t he ,

whole work divid es v ery n aturally into t hree p art s of

appr oxim at ely equ al l en gt h it has b een d ecid ed t o publis h
,

t he t r an sl ation in t hr ee volum es r eservin g t he l ast two ,

chapt er s of Volum e I of t he origin al f or t he b eginnin g of

.

Volume II Of t he tran sl ation A st at ement as t o what was

.
 ’
iv E ranslator a pr e fac e

a dded by ot hers t o B iel schowsky s man uscript will t here ’

f ore app ear in t he preface t o t he t hird volum e of t his

t ran sl ation .

Of biographers of Goet he t here had b een no lack .

Am on g t he most imp ortan t earlier on es were Viehoff

( 47
1 8 Sch af er L ew e s an d Prut z

For a p eriod of n early t went y years ( 1 8 5 6 7 4 ) t here were

—

n on e. Goedeke ( 1 8 7 4 ) b egan a n ew ep och an d was f ol ,

l owed by Grimm Dun t z er Sime

Prem ( 1 8 9 Wolff Meyer H ein eman n an d B iel schowsky
, , ,

(a ll in a n d Wit k ow s ky
For forty years t he German s were obliged to c onf ess
t hat t he m ost p op ul ar lif e of G oet he had b een writt en by
Lewes an E n glishman Now critics are un animous in
, .

d ecl arin g t hat B iel schow sky s Goethe n ot on ly c ont ain s t he

’

b est features of t he ot hers b u t has in addition man y merit s,

p ecul iarly it s own so t hat it is n ot on e of man y biographies

, ,

—it i
s the b iography of t he p oet Thi s opinion is most .

s ub st an tially c orr ob orat ed by t he n umb er of edition s t he

w ork has exp erien c ed .

I n his prefac e t o t he first v olume B iel schowsky said t hat

it was hi s purp ose t o w rit e a n ew biography of Goet he ,

t akin g int o account t he abun d ant m at erial mad e acc essible

by t he op enin g of t he Goet hearchiv an d by t he discoveries ,

of t he l ast gener ation of schol ars Choice of material an d .

m an n er of t reat ment w er e d et ermin ed by his desir e t o ap

p eal t o t he gen eral reader H en ce his acc ount of t he p oet s
.
’

life is more detail ed t han would have b een necessary if he

had b een writin g for sp ecialist s on ly H e took as his .

motto Goet he s words t o Hein rich Meyer (February 8

’
,

1 7 9 6) All t he pragmatic charact erisation s of biographers

are of l itt l e v alue comp ared wit h t he n aiv e d et ail s of a
,

g r e a t lif e . Th e se w o rd s h e c on sid er ed d oubly sig n ific an t

in t his c ase in asmuch as t he d et ail s reveal t o u s n ot alon e
, ,

t he m an b u t t he p oet as well
, Con siderin g Goet he a typ e
.

of id eal m an he said furt her t hat an un d erst an din g of

,

Goet he as a m an would l ead t o a cl earer un derstan ding of

m an kin d in gen eral .
 ( translator ? lpreface

It will b serv ed t hat B ielschowsky was very con

be o

serv ati ve wit h resp ect to t he p oet s aut obiograp hi cal ’

writin gs H e said t hat t he more he had studied t he his

.

t orical sourc es an d t he n ew f act s brought t o light t he more ,

he had b een c on vin c ed of t he exc ell en c e of t he p oet s

’

memory t he t rut hf uln ess of his utteran ces an d the correct

, ,

n ess of h i s judgmen t s c on c er nin g his own p ast H e diff ered .

from t he p oet s statement s on ly when forced to do so b y

’

documen tary eviden ce or by st ron g proof ,

.

H is discu ssion s of Goet he s writin gs are b ased on t he

’

redaction s of great est historic al value In t he c ase of .

Getz it is t he sec on d of Werther t he first of I phigem e t he

'

, ,

l ast et c H is acc ount s of t he Swiss j ourney of 1 7 7 9 and

, .

t he I talian j ourn ey are b ased n ot on t he l ett ers as edit ed,

for public ation by t he p oet b u t on t he origin al l ett ers an d

,

j ourn al s The ort hography and pun c tuation of t he p assages

.

cit ed have wit h few exception s b een moderni sed The

, ,
.

onl y chan ges which t he t ran sl at or has t aken t he lib ert y t o

make in t he text are t he sub stit ution of t he op ening senten ce

of Chap t er I for two p aragraphs and a slight alt eration in
.
,

t he wordin g of t he p ar agraph r eferrin g t o Faustin a in

Chapter X X V I The foot n ot es sign ed C are in serted
. .

by t he t ran slat or .

B ielschowsky s Goethe is characterised by ease of com

’

prehen sion artistic styl e and scientific dept h H is cl ear

, , .

n ess in t he an aly sis of charact ers an d in t he present ation of

fun dament al ideas is un surp assed No ot her biographer .

has ever trac ed t he intimat e rel ation b etween Goet he s per

’

son al exp erien c es an d his lit erary creat ion s wit h such fin e

appr ec iation an d such warm symp at hy The c hief charm .

of his work howev er an d what has d oubt less c ont ribut ed

, ,

more t han anyt hin g else to it s phenomen al pop ul arity is ,

his predomin ant u se of contin uous n arrativ e p ainting on e ,

complet e word pict ure after an ot her wit hout stoppin g to

-
,
!

t urn asid e an d argu e or t o show u s t he st raw ou t of whic h

,

he has t hreshed hi s wheat On e famili ar wit h Goet he s let

’
.

t ers j ourn al s an d p oetic al writin gs is c on st ant ly pl eased an d

, ,

su rprised at t he c on summ at e skill wit h which B iel schow sk y

vi ( tr anslators [pr e fac e

has wov en int o his n arrative t he p oet s own words ’

an d expression s Bu t n ot on ly d oes t he l an guage rec all

.

so vividly t he l an gu ag e of G oet h e ; it s spirit t oo is t hor , ,

oughly sat urat ed wit h t he sp irit of t he p oet On e feels .

alm ost as if Goet he had sat at B iel schow sky s elb ow an d

’

dict ated t o him H is was t he first biography to give u s a

.

whol e Goet he t he writ er t he t hin ker t he st atesman t he

, , , ,

m an an d t his makes it a han db ook t hat will have it s per

,

man ent plac e b eside t he p oet s own writin gs ’

.

It has b een t hought t hat a t ran sl ation of t his work

would b e welcome to t he man y stud ents an d admirers of
Goet he who are un abl e t o read it in t he origin al The .

v erse cit ed has b een given in t he origin al for t he enj oyment

o f t hose who r ead G erm an ; f or t he b en efit of ot her s a
t ran sl ation usually an att empt at verse preservin g t he
,

rhym es an d rhythm of t he origin al is giv en in a n ot e at t he

,

b ottom of t he p age .

The t ran sl at or wishes here t o m ake ackn owledgmen t of

his in d ebt edn ess t o Prof essor Juliu s G oeb el who secur ed ,

f or him t he aut horisation of t he aut hor s wid ow an d t he

’

German publisher t o make t his t ran slation Dr Goeb el s . .

’

crit icism of t he man uscript of t his volume has b een of great

value t o t he writ er an d is reflect ed in some of t he foot n ot es
, ,

as w ell as in c ert ain p assag es of t he t ext To Professor .

B 0 Fost er t he writ er is un d er great obligation s for man y

. .

valuabl e criticisms an d suggestion s an d f or gen erous as ,

sist an ce in readin g t he proof Professor G J Peirc e has

. . .

also m ad e some u seful suggest ion s an d has aid ed in t he,

proof reading To t hese frien ds t he tran slat or t akes t his

-
.

opp ort unit y of expressing his h eartiest t han k s .

W A C . . .

STA N F O R D U N I V E R SI TY .
 CONT E NTS
CH A PTE R

I N TR O D U CTI ON
G et h e t he m t hum a
o f me Diffi lt y f u d er ta d
os n o n — cu o n s n

i g him
n — Perf ec t am alg am ati f all hi f aculti — The on o s es

s eemi g c t r adic t
n i i hi
on at u e — F ir t h alf f hi life
on s n s n r s o s

s p e t i e t abli hi g h arm y am g all hi p we H i

n n s s n on on s o rs fi -
s

t e d ncy t wena rd t h e g do— E x r m

t e e e it i e ev —H i life oo s ns n ss s

t he gr eat e t f hi w r k s o s o s .

I .
—H 0 M E AND F A M I LY .

r h f the p
Bi t o oet — c l
So ia an d p litic al c on ditio o n s In Fr a k n

f rt A dv an t age
o— s o f t he imp e ial cit y— Goet h e r
’
s an ce tor
s s

H i p ar en t
s s .

SC H OO L A ND LI F E
h h me H i brot h er H erma n J ac b H i i ter
Goet e s ’
o s n o s s s

C r elia— Lif e i t he h m e— E arly educ ati — The Bibl e

o n n o on
— H ebr ew — A t t it ud e t ward t he C hurch — F at h er lle o
’
s co c

ti I fl e e f frie d
o n s— n u f t h f ami ly
nc B yi h v a it y
o n s o e o s n
—I fl e e n ut ide t he h me E art hquake f Li b
u nc s o s o o s on

Sev e Y ear Wa C u t Th a qu art ered i the Goet he

’
n s r— o n or n c n

h u e — Fr e ch t h eatr e E lecti a d c r ati

o s n f a on n o on on o

Germ a E mp er or — F ir t lov e— Gret ch en — S rr owful en d

n s o .

D
E A R LI E ST PR O U CTI ON S
St udy of law ph l phy r
i os o eligion ,
a d p et ry A m , ,
n o cco

p li hm se t a d exp e r
n s ie c e at e
nv e t ee — H i f at h er w i h n s n n s s es

him t b ec m e a j
o i t — H e d ir e t b e a p et
o ur s Germ a es s o o -
n

Lati c ll quie c mp ed at t he age f eight— M a h

n o o s o os o rc er;

210m e e Pa i —
n u n The Arc adia S ciet y Let t r t Buri
r s — n o e s o

E arly p em — Gr eat f er tilit y— V ariet y f c mp iti

o s o o os on s

The pupp et pl ay — Pa i f dr am at i i g— D et ermi e ss on or s n n s

ag ia t the law
ns — Pl a to b e a u iv er it y pr f e r De
—n n s o sso

p art ur e f Leip ic or s .

F I R ST SE M E STE R O F STU D E N T LI F E
ll
Ga an t Lei p ic G th e ch a ge dr e an d
— e s duct Re
— o n s ss con

t i
a p eculiaritie f p eech F eeli g of fr eed m Ari t
ns s — o s — n o s o

cr atic app ear a c e f Leip ic G et h e p iv at e life

n o s o
’
s r

Amb iti t b e a pr f e or f b ell e l ettr e

on o — Di c our aged o ss o s- s s
\7l
CH
ll
A PTE R
¢ oure nta
P A E
G

by the B hme — H i p em c d emn ed— D ub t hi

o s s o s on o s s ow n

t al e t — B ur
n hi m a u crip t — U iv er it y l ec t ur e
ns s n s s n s s are
b arr e dull u t f ct ry N f d e f c ard
n,a i a —
,
ns s o o on n ss or s or

d a ci g— Mel a ch ly a d l ely
n n n o n on .

V . K A TC H E N SC H O N K O PF
-
,
BE H R I SC H , OE SE R
A r ival
r of Ho r
r ducti to the
n an d S chl o sse r In t o on

S O k p
h
c f n G eh t eoa d K a
s-m t he i l v
-
e
o — G et h e n c n n o o con

s ci u to h e sa e ver m rry Th ir
a —
v c n n e a ci a t i — A riv al sso on s
—Triumph A ette —A t h er riv al— J ealnn L e t t e r no ou s s
y
t o Beh i l —L v er p ar t a frie d — Beh i h ch ar ac t er
’
r sc b o s s n s r sc s

I fl en e v er G et h e Sl a d er — Od e t Beh i h
-
n u c — o o n s o r sc

G et h e av id Geller t a d Bohm e A
o o s i ati wit h t he n fi
s so c on s

B eit pkr f a d ot h e O berm

s a —
n St udy f et chi g wit h nns o n

St ck Pai ti g a d dr awi g wit h Oe e

— ’
o n n Oe e n i n s r s r s n

fl e
u e — A vi it t o t he D r e d en Gallery
nc s s .

LI TE R A R Y I N F L U E N CE S AND POE TI C CR E A TI O N S
r ry p verty f the age— I fl e e of Le i g Wie
Lit e a o o n u nc ss n

l d Sh ke p eare Ot h er t udie Fertilit y Di e La e

a — n a — — s s s — un
— D M — Av er i t t ragedy
’

de Ve li b i t h ld gen
'

s e ten re z sc u z s on o

A n ette n N e e Li ede Traditi al t yl e Occa i al

u r on s s on

p em I mpr v eme t i t yle I lln e

o s Ki dn e of
o n n s ss n ss

f ie d
r n s .

VI I . AT H O M E A GA I N
R etur fr m Leip ic— F amily d i d
n o l e f Fr a k s scor u n ss o n

f rt Sl w r ec very f healt h— F raul ei

o -
o K let t e b e g
o o n v on n r
’
s

i fl e e— St udy f m ag ic— A lch emi t ic al exp erime t

n u nc o s n s

O h r t ud
t e ie M i u d er di g wit h hi fat her D e
s t a s — s n s n n s

p a t ure f Str a burg

r or s .

VI I I . STR A SB U R G
F d on n ess for A l healt h
satia R et ur n of Table d hote -
’ ‘

comp a i n on s Sal m a — Le e— Ju g Stilli g— Tour

z nn f rs n -
n o

Lower A l s atia a d Nor t h er n Lorr ai e Card a d d a ci g n n -

s n n n
— P wer o o f f a ci atio —s St udy f law Ca did ate
n n ex o -
n
’
s

ami ati n on — St udy f m edici e— Self cult ur e— The c at h e

o n -

dr al V
— on deu tscher Bau kzm st

TH E B E GI N N I N G VOL U TI ON or TH E LI TE R A R Y RE
O rigi f t h e S
n o t m a d S t r e m ov em e t — S v er eig t y
or -
n -
ss n o n

o f ge iu — C f rmit y t
n s at ure
on o F lk p etry H erd er
— o n o -
o

t he pirit of the rev luti

s G et h e t he l ead er o on o

H erd er i fl en ce H i c
— cep ti f p et ry H i view
—
’
s n u s on on o o s s

o nS h ak e p r
ea e a d f lk p
s e t ry — Sh ak e p eare i flu e c e
n o -
o s
’
s n n

G et h e H m er i fl e e O ian
— — G eth e in fl
’ ’ ’
o n o o s n u nc ss S -
o s u

e ce
n hi c mp a i
on Fre ch lit er ature co d emn ed
s o n on s -
n n

Le —
nz M d erat i g i fl u e c e
o n n n s .
 Gontenta ix
CH AP TE R PA E
G

X —
F RI E E RI K E D
Goet he s st
’
fir vi it
h m The B i f amily a d s in Sesen ei -
r on n

t he Vi a f W a kefi el
c r od et he l ett er t F i ed er ik e— H i o
’
s o r s

vi it at Chri t ma F riederike i St r a burg G et h e

s s s -
n s — o
’
s

E a t er vi it
s — C fe i f l v e Wi llk mme
s — a d Ah
on ss on o o o n n

hi ed M ai li ed Fried er k
— — ill e G et h e let t er t
— ’ ’
sc i e s n ss o s s o

Sa l m a —z d
He e e t r
nn Fr d
ie e ri k e— H i ea o n — Di e n e e
s s s r s n

M eln si n e .

XI .
-
DE P A R TU R E F R O M STR A SB U R G
Goet h e s frien d s d esir e t h at he b ec om e a pr fe r i t he
’
o sso n

u iver it y H e pr ef er t carry
n s — s o ou t his f at h er pla ’
s ns

c
Do t r d i erot t
a i — Di put ati
’
s ss on s on — c Li en t iat e in st ea d of

doctor T ur of U pp er Al atia
— o s -
R et ur n to Fr a kf ort n .

—A D VO CA TE A ND J OU R N A L ST I .

G et h e t he adv c at e Get
o — — Ot h er lit er ary ac tivit ie
o z s

Wa d nSt mli ed
erers— M k The D arm t adt
nr ai t erc fl
s
“
s n s

— G et h e i D arm t ad t D i F a kf te Geleh t
o — n A s e r n ur r r en n

ze ig G t
en h e c
-m
t-
r ibu t i t
oe t he j ur ’
als— R evi w fon on s o o n e o

t he Gedi hte e i m p l i he j de
c —
von Oth er r eview ne o n sc n u n s
—The j ur al ch a g e h a d a d d ecli e — G et h e g e
o n n s n s n n s o o s

t Wet l ar
o z .

XIII . LOTTE
Con di t ion s at t he I mp erial Ch amb er— G et h e l v e f o
’
s o o

n at ur e — F av urit e h au t — I t erc ur e w it h t he p e pl
o n s n o s o e
—F don f hildr — The R u d T able K t er
n ess or c en o n — es n
’
s

p rtr ait f G et h e Ch arlot t e Buff —G et h e fir t me t

o — o o o
’
s s e

h v fir h
’

i g
n w it h e — L e at t i t — L tt e f ait hf
o l e t s s o
’
s u n ss o
g r

he b et t hed
r _ D eli a y f t he it u at i
ro — G et h e pa c c o s on o
’
s s

s on i at e e H i l a t ev e i g wit h t he b et r t h ed c uple
n ss— s s n n o o

H e g e aw ay wit h ut t aki g l eav e b t e d a

o s te o n ,
u s n s no

expl ai i g him elf n n — a

G te B e li hi ge — s The eco d von r c n n s n

redact i —M erck h are expe e of public ati

on s s ns on

X IV .
—
G0 Tz V ON BE R LI C H I N GE N
P urp o se play
in w it in r
r amati ed bi gr aphy g t he — D s o

N t i t e d ed f
o n t age S
nh ak e p ea r e t he r acl
or se —L gi g — s o on n

f or g r eat m e — A W ei li ge dr am a i v e t ed a d i t er
n s n n -
n n n n

w v e wit h t he Got dr am a Weak e e

o n — f t he pl t z -
n ss s o o

G o t A d elh
z, ei d r
M a ie VVei li g e — The dr am a a at e
, ,
s n n n on

me t f G et h e gr eat wr g t Friederike The

n or o
’
s on o

huma i tic pirit f Br t h er Mar ti — The dr am a a pr te t

n s s o o n o s

I -
vati i t ech ique a d l a guage R ecepti f t he
nn o on n n n n — on o

p ece by c t emp rarie Le i g adver e critici m

i — on o s ss n
’
s s s

The dr am a t d ay it gr eat world g eat a t gr eat

o -
: s ,
r r ,

ch ar act er s .
X Gontents
CH AP TE R PAG
E

XV .
-
WE RTH E R
1773 a quiet y r ea — c att er Goet h e s
’
n ea est r frie d n s s

C ul tiv t
a i of h i i er l f L t t e cult D eat h f J er
i e
on— s nn o - — o u

sal em The Wer t h er m d Th ug h t f uicide oo o s o s

R em edy ught i lit er ary r epr ducti

so — F rm ch en
n o on o os
— Subj e ti e el eme t wa ti g f
c v ec d p art fur i hed n s n n or s on n s

by i t erc ur e wit h M ax e La R che M et h d f writi g

n o s o — o o n
—A aly i n f t he pl t — The c at a t r ph e t he at ur al
s s o o s o n

outg r wth o W r t h r ch r c r Tw f ld m tive of

f
o e e a a t e — ’
s o o o

suicide Simplicit y f pl t Wealt h f ce e a d o o o s n s n

ch aract er St yle Succe f t he el Le i g ad

— s — ss o n ov m
ss n
’
s

ver e critici m Wer th er cra Goeth e world f ame

s — e — s z
’
s -
.

X VI . AF TE R WE R TH E R
T e te
h l i r ary l io n — New pr oduct ion a d rumour of s n s

o t h er — Lav ater a d Ba ed ow vi it or
s n in Goet h e s s s
’
s

home The t hree i E m Th eir j our ey t o the Lower

— — n s n

R hin e Goet h e v t-
i i t h e J cob R eco ciliation with
a i — s s s n

t h em — Ot h er n e w a cqu a i t an c Vi it to Jun g Stillin g

e — n s s -

— M er y f east — Go et h e a d Fr it
r J acobi i Cologn e n z n

A t h om e agai Giga tic l it er ary c o c ep t io

n — Aid n n ns

give to ot h er wr t er
n i — K lop tock v t Ot h er visitors
i i — s s
’
s s

—B
y h is r ead i e t o g iv e nfi a c
ssi al h elp t o ot h er n n s

G o et h e b ec m e i v o lvo ed i dse b t —n D a M a iage pi el n s r s

A nn a S ibyll a M i h — The pr i c e of W eim ar a d uit e

'

Inc n s n s

i F r a kf ort — G et h e r ec ciliati wit h Wiel a d ’

n n o s on on n

D eat h of Fr aul ei o K l et t e b er g
n v n n .

XVI I .
—
LI LI

Goet h e s in t r oduc tion l Mut u al l v e t o Li i SchOn em an n —

’
o
— D iffer e c e i t h eir i t ell ec t u al a d
n n cial urrou di g n n so s n n s
—G et h e o di comf rt i the S hO em a n al
’
s s o— De n c n n s on

m i elle D elf by he
o s ch emi g bri g ab ut a
,
ex
r s n ,
n s o n un

p e t ed
c b et r t h al — G et h e a
o w ak e t t he it u at i ao d s o s on n

l g t o b e free ga The C u t St lb erg a d Baro

on s a i — n o n s o n n

H a g wit i Fr a kf rt — Goet h e acc mp a ie t h em

u z n n o o n s on

a j ur ey t o Swit erl a d — The b oi t er u

o n St rm a d
z n s o s o -
n

St r e t r av ell er
ss h
G et e i t v i hi si t er — She urg e o s s s s s s

him t d i o lv e hi e gageme t— The j ur ey thr ugh

sso s n n o n o

Sw t rl a d Lili ccup ie hi t h ugh t a d k eep him

i e z — n o s s o n s

fr m g g t I taly On the h meward j ur ey Zim

o i o n — o o o n

me ma r how him a ilhouett e f Frau

nn s s St ein s o v on

Furt h er i t erc ur e wit h Lili— H e r elativ e a d hi

-
n o s r s n s

fat h er opp e the m arriage— G et h e aft er a evere

os o ,
s

st ruggl e r e lv e t e d m att er — H e acc ep t

,
so s o a i i n s s n nv

t at i to W
on e im a r — E mb arr a in g i cid e t c on n ect ed ss n n s

wit h hi d ep ar t ur e s .
 le
C me nts
CH AP TE R PA E
G

X VI I I —CLA V I Go — STE L L A M A TI C F RA GM E NTS —D R A

Origi f C la ig
n S urc e
o . M erit R ec ept i n
v o o s s o

Origi oi Stella Sourc e

—
n — Pr ot t yp e f t he ch ar act er s o s o . s
— F erd i a d G et h e t he c e t r al fi
g e I c gruitie
—
( )n n o n ur n on s

A t f ch ar act eri at i Ca a M ahomet P me

’

r o s on s r ro

theu s — ra —
Saty s H an swu rs ts H oehz ei t .

XIX .
— TH E WE I M A R C O U RT OF TH E MU SE S
Weim ar in 1 7 7 5 A a Am al a W l a d
— n n i — ie n — K eb el n

C u t G er t
o n Mi i t er o Frit ch The ch amb er
z -
n s v on s —

l ai ns M a Be t h usKr au D uch e
us Lui e r uc s ss s

—Ch arl tt e St ei
o Fr aul ei o Go hha e
v on n -
n v n C us n

Bar e on We t hess C u te
V on We the r rn — o n ss v on r rn

C r o on a Sch Ot e — Fr au Sch ardt K arl Augu t hi

r r s : s

ar ti t ic se e p etic t emp er ame t ideali m l ve of

s ns ,
o n ,
s ,
o

n at ur e impl icit y a d
, s rigi alit y h atr ed f C ur t n o n , o o

formalitie l ib eralit y pr gre ive e

s, Weim ar the , o ss n ss

c e tr e f Germa cult ur e— The y out hful Court— It

n o n s

s ig ific a c e f
n G et h en or o .

XX .
— R RI
A VA L I N WE I M A R
Wiel a d c c er i g G et h e St rm a d Str e at t he
n on n n o — o n ss

duc al C urt Cult f at ur e Gay u re tr ai ed life

o — — o n ,
n s n
— M utt er i g f c a d al ed f l g
i e
ne i —
s oG et h e r ea s n s n s o
’
s son s

f h ari g i t he wild 1if e H i i flu e c e the D uk e

or s n n -
s n n on
— H e gu id e fr m pl ea ur e t w rk — K l p t ck
s o war s o o o s o
’
s n

i g n— P ur e m t v w rk mi chief Calli g f H erd er

i — o es o s n o
—M i i t erial cri i
n s F r it ch t hr eat t r e ig ifs s s en s o s n

G et h e i t ak e i t t he Privy C u c il
o s D uch e
n n o o n ss

D w ager br i g ab ut a r ec ciliati The D uk e ’

o n s o on on - s

c fide c e i G et h e— The p et i flu e ce i ffi e
on n n o o
’
s n n n o c

The b e efit t him — H i Gar t e h au — H i

n o ew l ov e s n s s n .

X XI . F RA U V ON STE I N
Se cr et of Fr au St ei i flu e c e G et e Weim ar
h
v on— ’
n s n n on o

S h ck ed at t h eir i timacy— G eth e i flu e c e Fr au

o n o
’
s n n on

v on St ei — He i er t ruggl e
n She eek t k eep him
r nn s -
s s o

wit hi b u d n — P e pin a
o H e eek t
n s r epl ac e l veros r A
s s o o

wit h frie d hip ill he di c v er t h at hi l v e i

n s , t e s o s s o s r

t ur ed — M arr iag e f
n l E xt ao di a y i flu e c e o sou s fi
r r n r n n on

G et h e a d hi l at er wr iti g
o n H e t ak e he i t o all hi
s n s— s r n s

secret a d wr it e f o he — Gl
s n my for eb di g s r r oo o n s .

XX II .
— TH E M I N I STE R
Goet h e s p litic al educ at i
’
o E xt e iv e i t erc our e on ns n s

wit h t at e m ea s a e p w er a d h ab it
s f ob erv ati r o n o s on
—Attit ud e t ward l it er at ur e r ead — K arl A ugu t
’
o ed s s u

c t
a i — D e cr ipt i
on of t he duchy s G et h e educ at e
on -
o s

t he D uk e up t hi id ea f g ver m e t — Met h od a d
o s s o o n n n
x ii le
C me nts
CH APTE R PA GE

r e ul The D uk e r ec ep ti
s t s— guid c G et h e ’
s on of his an e— o

ft e mi u d er t d The Weimar fact t um Le d

o n s n s oo — o — n s

willi g h a d i t im e
n f eed I t r duc e
n rd er int o
n s o n — n o s o

Wa Dep ar t m e t R ef rm Tr ea ury Dep ar t m e t S

r — —
n o s s n o

cial a d p l itic al r ef rm
n pl a ed b t ly p artially
o o s nn , u on

c arried t I i t er ati al p lit c Vi it t Berli

ou i — — n n n on o s s o n
— Weim ar da ger u p o it o League of Pri c e
i — ’
s n o s s n n s .

XX I I I .
— E GM 0 N T

Con n e t ion c
b etwee G t a d E gm t D em ic n o z n on on

e l em e t i l at
n t er — Or in
g i a d c mp it i — D ef ec t n n o os on s

i n pl t D em ic h eedl e e t e l e m tiv e E g
— o h on — ssn ss so o

m t ch ar act er a d hi Ole i t he drama Ot her

on
’
s — n s r n

ch ar act er Ch arm f the pl ay i pit e of it d efect

— s o n s s s .

XX I V .
— J OU R N E Y To TH E H A R z A N D To SW I TZ E R L A N D
Goet h e s ’
n ee d of r ecr eat ion — R eason for t a r velli g i n n

win t er— R ut e t t he H ar M u t ai — Vi it t Ple i g

o o z o n ns s o ss n

—A c e t f t he Br ck e — I t eff ec t
s n o him — R et ur t
o n s on n o

Weim ar Lo eli e i t he mid t f g ay life— Let t er t o

— n n ss n s o

hi m t h er a
s o c i g vi it i c mp a y wit h Karl
n n oun n s n o n

A ugu t a d Wed l s e O f
ff
n Swit erl a d The p ar t y in
— — or z n

G oet h e h m e i Fr
’
as kf rot — M t h er
n a cc u t — G ethe
n o o
’
s o n o

vi it Fried erik e i Se en h eim a d Lili in Str a burg

s s n s n s

E mm e d i ge T ur of Swit erla d Mi m t e t al ’

n n n o z n s r ,

Ber e e Ob erl a d Laut erbru

n s e n T hi g el Glac ier
,
nn n, sc n ,

Gri d lw ald I t rl ak
n e L ak e G
,
n va J ur a M u t ai
e en , en e ,
o n n s,

Ch am u i M o ta e t a d
n , iew f M
on t Bl a c
nv ver
r n V o on n , o

t e Furc a
h a ce t f St G t h ard Z ur ch
, s n i — Lav at e
o o , r

j y
e a r d B tte ly n Sch ill er a
’

ct t h e H— h e K a l h l e o r s sc u

Cour t v ti i r t ur j ur ey Agai in Fr a kf r t
e s s on — n o n n n o

Back t Weim ar o .

X XV . I N N E R STR U GGLE S
fc
E f e t of Swiss o n e j ur y on Goet h e— Gr eate dev tion r o

t o o ffic al dut e H i frien d Merck a d hi mot her ob

i i — s s n s

j e c t t h ioc t i u isg i ffi
on ce— H e nr em a in fi
n m — L eav e
n o s r s

hi Gart e h au a d m v e i t
s n s Weimar n I cr ea ed o s n o n s

is o l at i a don il e c e— Pr em
n it is f early d eat h
n on on s o

Mi er al gic al t ud ie
n o F agme te be de
s G a it
s r n n r n r n

Di c v ery f t e i t erm ax ill ary

s o h o — Di c ov ery n f t he s o

m am rph i
e t o f pl a t I er l gin g f f rth er
os s— o n s nn on or u

s cie tific a d lit erary pr duct io

n n H i dr a c e — C o n n n s on

i
sc ou sn e f hi r eal c all i g
ss o — O t he wh eel f I x i
s n n o on
— I t erc ur e wit h Fr au
n o s St ei d t urb ed H ealt h
i — v on n s

u d ermi ed Sec d Wert h er cri i

n n Year i g f
on s s n n or

I t aly D et ermi at i
— t eek r efug e i
n flight — St eal
on o s n s

away fr m K arl b ad o s
 ¢ ontents ! < ii i
CH A TE
P R PA E
G

XVI .
-
I TA LY
G oeth u p k bly h ppy
e ns ea a fr Mad h a t e t o
a to b e ee— s

r each It aly f f ear he m ay b e c all ed b ack R ut e

,
or o

t ak e F l g
ne e i o n e t e r g taly Chief i t er e t i
n i s I — n n n s n

w rk o f a t iqu it y
s o — Compl et ely I tal ia i ed i
n Ver a n s n on
_Vic e a —E r apt ur ed wit h Pall adio— D e ir e t hare
nz n s o S

in t he l iv e f me —
s Pad u a V en ice The ea— O t
o — n fl -
s u

bur t f h t l y t rd
s i
o it w
os a t h e G o t
o h c Pall adi again
i — o

G eth e c ar e f
o n a t b t t he a t iqu e a d it b e t e
s or o r u n n s s t

fle t i c i on sh
t e R e a
n i a c F ever i h l gi g t b e i
e — n ss n s on n o n

R me o Thr d y
ee a i B l g a Three h ur i
— s n o o n o s n

Fl r e c e
o n R me t l a a t o F r mpr
i t i e i s —
—
New life s ss on s

—St udy f t he a tiqu e— Mich ael A g el — R aph ael

o n n o

E l em e t f t he a tiqu e t h at pl ea e G eth e H i in
n s o n s o — s

c gn it T chb an
o — i o e i sd th e r fr d Fr au
i e
n — o St ein n s v on
’
S

feel g c c r g Go h fl ght G et he diary

i n se i on e t e n n i — ’
s o
’
s ,

writ t e f h e
n b or t t er, t f u m o t h H e c athi g
no — S n or n s r s n

r epr of — Pai ful it uati — Peac e r e t r ed— Ab rbed

o n S on s o so

in t udy
s f a t iqu eo a t —n J ur y N pl E j oy
e t a re — o n o s n

me t f life a d n atur e— A c e t f V e uviu dur i g

n o n s n s o s s n

erupt i — Pae t um
on s — T ur f Sicily — Dr am at ic c e e
s o o s n on

r et ur v yag e— St udy of c mm p e ple i Naple

n o o on o n s

I n R me ag ai — Supr eme h appin e — A t t ie a d

o n
ud ss r S
‘
s, n

di c verie a t hi own tal e t — St udy f mu ic wit h

s o s s o s n s o s

K ay er Madd al e a Riggi F au ti a Sad far ewell to

—s n — — s n

R m e— F l r e c e— Parm a M il a — R et ur
o o n t Weim ar
— n n o
— Si
g ifi a n e f t h
c nc e I t a l iao j ur e y — Cl ear c c i u
n o n on s o s

n e f hi t ru c all i g— C mpl t e h arm

ss o s e n y f hi at ur e
o e on o s n

— Lit er ary w rk — Ser aph ic t o d e cy verc m P et ry e— en n o o o

o f hum a it y in it t t al it y — The t hir t ee t h Komi he

n s o n sc

E legi e — Ma t er f t yl e
s — T e t ypic al Pl a tic it y
h
o s
— s

True a t r .

OTE S
 ILL U STRATION S

Goet he in his go t h Year F ron ti spi ece

Fr m p rt r ait by M ay
o a o

In t he p e i f t he Bar
o ss ss on o C tt a St utt g rt
on v on o , a

( F m
ro L i fe a d Ti m n f G h by pe
es ormi i f
os c en , ss on o

J h Murr ay ) o n

Goet he ,
fEt at 1
5

( F r m
o Goethe Bri efe ,
by pe rmi i
s s on of E l sn e r , rl
Be in )

Klop stoc k
f r t h p ai
A te e by F uel
n t in g

( F r m Li f
o e an d Ti m f G
es o h by os c en ,
p erm iss io n o f

J h M urr ay )
o n

Lessin g
( From K On n eck e s Bi lderatlas )
’

Wielan d
Fr m o gravi g by M St ei la after t he p rt rait by
an en n . n o

F F agem a nn

( Fr m Life a d Ti me f G he by p e mi io
o n s o f os c n, r ss n o

J h Murray ) o n

Herder
From t h p ai e n t in g by v on Grafi

( From H ein e ma Goethe)

’
nn s
xv i IIUIIBII SIIOIIB
‘

Karl August
( Fr om H ein em an n Goethe)
’
s

Goet he s H ouse at Weimar

’

( Fr m K e
o k e on n c
’
s Bi lderatlas )

Frau v on Stein
( Fr om K on n eck e s Bi lderatlas )
’
 The L ife of Goethe

INTRO DUCTION
Goet h e the m ost huma n f u d er t an di g
of m en — Diffi cu lt y Pe o n s n him — r

f e t am alg am ati
c f all hi f acul tie
on o The eemi g c on t r adi cti
s s— s n on s

i hi
n at ur e— F ir t h alf f hi life pe t i e t abli hin g h arm y
s n s o s s n n s s on

am g all hi p wer H i t en de cy t ward t g d E xtreme

on — s o s h
s e oo — n o

e it iv e e
s ns — H i lif e t he gr eat e t of hi work
n ss s s s s .

I E LAN D wishin g to charac terise his most promi

,

n en t c on t emp oraries c alled Kl op stock t he m ost ,

p oetic al H erder the m ost scholarly Lavat er t he

, ,

most Christian an d Goet he the m ost human of m en

,
.

Wielan d made t he other remarkable statemen t that ,

Goethe was misun derstood b ec ause so few are capable of

formin g a c orrect c on ception of such a man Why is it so .

difficult to form an estimate of this most human of m en ?

I t is c ertain ly n ot b ec au se of the great n ess of his men t al
faculties ; for p oetry hero worship an d the history of re
,
-
,

lig ion prov e th at the ord in ary m ort al has su fl icien t t al en t ‘

for grasp in g such ideals alth ough n ot much given to ex ,

ercisin g it on c on temp oraries It was h ardly G oet he s

’
.

in ward greatn ess al on e t h at Wielan d an d oth ers wh ose ,

judgmen t coin cid ed with his had in min d They were , .

th inkin g rath er of the c omplete h arm on y of his n ature

, ,
.

Goethe was the most human of all m en b ec ause he had ,

been en dowed with a p ortion of everythin g human H is .

figure was typic al in its mould the very ideal of perfect m an , .

H en ce —it was th at all who c ame in touch with him had the
VOL . L I .
2 (the l if e of (Boetbe

feeling that th ey had v r b efore

ne e seen uch
s a c omplete
man .

There m ay have b een others of clearer un derstan din g ,

of greater en ergy of d eep er feel in gs

,
or of m ore vivid ,

im agin ation b u t it is quite c ertain th at there n ev er was an

,

in dividu al in wh om all th ese faculties were u n ited in suc h

strikin g proportion s An d moreover there has rarely
.
, ,

b een an in dividual of such h ighly develop ed p owers of soul ,

whose physic al life has so fully retain ed its in depen den ce an d

has so th oroughly p ermeat ed the sp iritu al This won der .

fully perfect amalgamation of Goethe s n ature elevates it ’

to the r an k of the extraord in ary an d at t he sam e time , , ,

acc ou n t s for its seemin gly c on tr adic tory m an ifestation s .

Bu t it is th is seemin g c on trad ic torin ess th at has m ad e it

1

so d ifficul t f or m ost p eople t o ob tain a c orrec t an d ad equ ate

idea of him .

H e ob serv es c olour refrac tion s like a physicist ex amin es ,

b on es an d ligamen ts like an an atomist an d c ommen ts on ,

b an kru pt law like a jurist Gifted with un usual clearn ess

.

in the c ompreh en sion an d an alysis of m en an d t hin gs his ,

early app earan c e on t he s t age of ac t ion is m ark ed by t he

wisd om an d exp erien c e of a m an of t he world an d a d ipl om at .

An d yet t h is same m an writes p oetry ov erfl owin g with

im agin ation goes ab out in the real world ab sorb ed in
,

dreams sees man y thin gs an d m an y people n ot as th ey

, ,

are b u t in the light of his own fan cy is frequ en t ly in c ap abl e

, ,
,

of m ak in g ou t a cl ear u n d erstan d in g of obj ec t s an d th eir

mutual relations an d stan ds in the midst of human activ i

, ,

ties a n ai ve an d often helpless child This m an at one .

tim e grasp s the world in the warm embrac e of a F aust an d

again he spurn s it with the ann ihilatin g c on temp t of a
Mephistopheles .

Like a plan t he is in fluen ced by win d an d weather b u t ,

at times is wh olly in d ifferen t t o them H e c ord ially loves .

life b ec ause of the esthetic enj oyment in in fluen tial ex

isten ce an d yet he rid es in t o a storm of bullets merely
,

to kn ow the terror of b at t le H e is the m ost faithful sin

.
,

cere an d sacrific in g frien d

, the m ost arden t an d d evoted
,
 1] ntroouctiou 3

lov er an d yet in a fit
,
passion he can bitterly off en d a
of

frien d an d even the w oman he loves H e who in the .

, ,

word s of H erd er was a m an in ev ery step of his life whom

, ,

Lav ater an d K n eb el worshipp ed as a hero an d of whom ,

even the h ard en ed soul of N ap oleon was c omp elled t o ex

claim Voi lan n homme is at times h az ardously in dulgen t

, ,
”

to t he wish es an d pl ead in gs of his own h eart allowin g himself ,

t o dr ift in st ead of st eerin g an d is in clin ed t o th at t en d ern ess

, ,

always b ord erin g on t ears which Sch ill er fit tin gly d esign ates
,

“
femin in ity of feelin g E ven th ough his sp irit stripp ed
.
”
,

of all earthly w eigh t soars in reg ion s b eyon d the realm of

,

sen se still he has his feet firmly fix ed on t he earth an d

, ,

en j oys every lit t le sen su al pl easure ev en if it b e b u t t he ,

plums an d c akes wh ich M arian n e v on V illem er sen ds him

V

from home The extreme d elicacy an d in fallib ility of his

.

t aste in art critic ism ch arac terises in equal m easure his

judgmen t of Rh en ish an d Burgun dian win es A pro .

n ou n ced n or th ern an d G erm an ic n atur e p assion at ely f on d 2

,

of Sk atin g used to b athin g in win ter in the c old waters

,

of t he Ilm eag er t o t ake lon g win t er walks in t he H arz

,

M oun tain s an d over the glaciers of S wit erlan d the auth o z ,

r

of such sp ec ific ally n ort her n an d G erm an ic creat ion s as

Gotz F an st H erman n an d D orothea an d of such mystic

, , , ,

Sp ec tre b all ad s as D er E rlkon i g D er Toten tan z D er u n treu e, ,

K n abe an d of the first Walpu rgi sn acht he feels b en eath the

, , ,

clear sky an d in the soft air of Italy surroun ded by the ,

works of classic an d Ren aissan ce art as if it were his ,

n ative l an d from which he has l on g b een ex il ed ; an d yet

,

even in the B orgh ese gard en s he has en ough of his n or th ern

,

n ature l eft t o write t h at m ost fan tastic of sc en es Di e ,

H exen knche Modern through an d through in fac t a son

.
, ,

of the fu ture in m an y resp ec t s he feel s on the ot h er h an d , , ,

so th oroughly an tiqu e t hat he t h in k s he mu st h av e ex

p e rien ced a pr ev iou s ex ist en c e in t he r eig n of H adrian .

3

Th ough always in sisten t in his search after clearn ess he ,

delights in mysticism in troduc es an in definable demon ic

,

elemen t in t o his w orld sy stem is in clin ed t o b eliev e in

-
,

t he tran smigration of souls an d is easily in fluen c ed by ,

4 ( the I ite of (Beethe

premonition s progn ostics om en s an d sup erstitions This

, , , .

m an of mat chless gen t len ess an d p atien c e ordin arily

, , ,

c ould on occasion b e seiz ed by such a p assion th at he

, ,

would gnash his t eeth an d stamp his foot H e c ould b e .

c alm or violen tly excited ; bubble over with good cheer or

b e wrapp ed in t he gloom of m el an ch oly ; feel p erfec tly con
fiden t an d self assured or t orture himself with sc ep ticism
-
.

As an Ubermen sch he sometimes fel t the stren gt h t o dash

a w orld t o p iec es an d at oth er times was so weak an d
,

fain t hearted as to b e an n oyed by a p ebble in his p ath

-
.

Th ese several inc onsisten cies are manifest ed acc ordin g

as on e or another facult y of his soul has the upp er h an d or ,

the sam e facult y is empl oyed with the wh ol e w eigh t of its

p ower in this or in th at direction or his sen ses assert th eir ,

rights over his spiritual n ature or his spirit overrides his ,

I t m ay b e said that h alf of Goeth e s life was g on e

’
sen ses .

b efore he succeeded in adjusting an equilibrium b etween

his b ody an d spirit an d establishin g a just b alan c e amon g
his v ariou s m en t al faculties so as t o av oid serious dis ,

tu rb an ces in his inn er an d out er life So fortun at ely how .

,

ever was t his hum an b ein g c on st it ut ed by n at ure t h at in

, ,

every f acul t y of his soul t he t en d en cy t oward t he p osit iv e ,

t he good an d the wh ol esome b ot h f or him self an d t he

, ,

world in fin itely outweighed every other ten den cy so t hat

, ,

ev en in tim es of struggle he n ever in jured h im self or the

world permanently b u t on the c on trary usually advan ced

, , ,

from Vic tory to Victory an d in the en d proved himself to b e

a b en efac tor H en ce those who kn ew him more in timately
.

n ever reach ed t he p oin t wh en b ec au se of his t emp orary ,

on e Sid edn ess an d exc esses t h ey w ere u n able t o m ake him

-
,

ou t ; t h ey f elt as K n eb el who said of his m oral ch ar ac ter , ,

I know very well he is n ot always amiable ; he has re

p u ls iv e sid es as ,I k n ow w ell fr om exp e rie n c e Bu t su m .

him up an d t he man s t otalit y is in fi nitely good Or their

’
.

O pin ion of his m orals an d in tellec t c oin cid ed wit h H erd er s :

’

H e has a clear u n iv ersal in tellec t m ost gen uin e an d m ost

“
, ,

p r o f o u n d f eel in g s an d t he gr,e at es t pur it y of h e ar t .

”

There is no great gift in t his world which is n ot at the

 11ntrobuction 5

sa me time a burden to its p ossessor Goethe s life was .

’

emin en t ly rich in t his exp erien c e ; he suffered sorely un der

the burd en of his great n at ural gifts B ecause of his ex .

cessiv e sen sitiven ess his straigh tf orw ard n ess an d his g ood
, ,

n ess an d purity of h eart he was deeply offen d ed by an y ,

form of p erversity impurity or misery his glowin g imagina

, , ,

tion ev en p ic turin g to him en mit y an d evil wh ere n on e ex

isted an d furth ered by his p assion ate en ergy m agn ifyin g
, , ,

every u n pleasan t c ircumstan c e un til it b ec am e un b earable

’
.

At such times he raged at himself an d others b u t a momen t ,

later when he b ec ame c onscious of his error he was pain

, ,

fully grieved over the wrong he had done H e even wen t .

to further extremes Grateful as he was to the gods that

.

his q ui ck an d v ersatile genius c ould spli t a day in to a

”
million p arts an d tran sform it in to a miniature etern ity ,

still it was n o small afflic tion for him t o h arb our in his min d

t his p an demon ium of in visible spirit s with out b ein g able to

cultivate each of them as he ought E ven a quiet inn o .
,

c ent pleasure c ould stir his sensitive soul to its very depths ;
he c ould b e brough t t o tears by a h appy p oetic al in v en
t ion ; a s c ien tific d iscov erv would sen d a t hrill t hr ough
4

every fibre of his b ein g ; an d t he b eaut y of a sc en e in

Calderon s Prin cipe C on stan te excited him to such a pit ch
’

t h at he stopp ed Sh ort an d t hrew dow n the b ook with the

impetuosit y of a child .

O nly a m an thus c on stituted c ould remark in his old

age th at it had b een his lot to b ear a succ ession of j oys
,

an d sorr ow s eith er of which wit h out the other might

, , ,

have pu t an en d to his life T .

H is h appiness was n ever m ore t han h alf c omplete b e

cause of his lon gin g for somethin g diff eren t somethin g ,

higher in the very momen t wh en his former desires were

,

b ein g realised H e Shared this feelin g with all other m en

.

whose min ds tran sc en d the duln ess of the c ommon Philis

tin e Bu t in his p eculiar m en tal m akeup t his feelin g was
.

The r eadi g r eferr ed

n to o ccurred in M a rch ,
1 80 7 . Cf Weimar s’

A lbu m , 93 1

1
‘

r
Lett e t o R a uch , O toc ber 21 ,
1827
 6 (the l ife of G oe the

p cially keen an d an n oyin g producin g

es e , an e a x mple of

F aust s ideal of a great life :

’

Sm QBeiterfcbreiten finb er Dual unb

’
S f
C hi e ,

Er ! unbefriebigt ieben Qiugenblicf .

*

Those who saw ab out his p erson ality the rich h alo of
in n umerable c ol ours r eg ard ed the p oetic radiation s as on ly
a sm all p art of it s s pl en dour an d c on sid er ed the m an great er
,

t h an the p oet an d his life b etter th an his p oetry

, An d .

we too after the m an y in t erv enin g years en d eav ourin g by

, , ,

st udy an d im ag in ation t o r eproduc e in ou r own m in d s

Goethe s great person ality are impressed with the same

’
,

idea .To u s t he most valuable m ost attractive most , ,

won derful of all his works is his life Bu t it would b e a .

mistake for u s to thin k that it was the produc t of con

sc ious art If it is true of his p oetical w orks that th ey owe
.

t heir most essen t ial ch arac t er t o in explic able un c on sciou s ,

impul ses it is t rue in a still great er measure of his life

,
To .

b e sure he sought early in life t h ough all b u t in vain t o

,
5
, ,

o verc ome t he suprem acy of in st in c t (D n mpfhei t) of wh ich ,

he was c on s cious in his life an d act ion s an d t o order an d ,

sh ap e his furt h er c areer in acc ord an c e with c er t ain d efi n it e

purp oses It was n ot un til middle life that he was sure

.

even of his chief aim When this was settled his active
.
,

c on trol was scarcely an ythin g more th an a n egative on e ,

c on sistin g in wardin g off everythin g that might c ause him

t o swerve from his du e c ourse O therwise he yielded to .

his d omin an t in stin c ts as h eretof ore Fritz J ac ob i s judg ’

.

men t of him at the age of twenty fiv e is on the whole true -

, ,

of him at all p eriods of his l ife :

G oethe is as on e p ossessed an d alm ost n ever has an y ,

choic e as t o what he shall do It takes only an h our in his .

presen c e to c on vin ce on e of the utter folly of exp ectin g him

t o thin k or act oth erwise th an he d oes By this I do n ot .

Inm archi g ward bli a d t rme t fi d

n on s, ss n o n n ,

Th ugh every m me t wit h u at ed mi d

o ,
o n ,
ns n

Taylor s Tran slati on

’
.
 H OM E A ND F A M I LY

rh
Bi t of t he oet — p
So ia an d c l
o iti a p l c l c diti on on s r
in F ankfort— Ad
v g
an t a es of t he i e ia
r it — mp l c y
Goet h e a ce t r ’
s n s o s— H is p are n ts .

C HANN WOLFGANG GO E TH E was b orn in Fran k

fort on the M ain on t he a8 th d ay of August 1 7 4 9
- - -
, , .

H is n ativ e c ity or as the p eople of Fran kf ort ex , ,

” 6
pressed th emselves in those days his fath erlan d was , ,

n ot a v ery ch eerful plac e Numb erin g b u t little over .

thirt y th ou san d souls Fran kfort was still b oth in its

7
, ,

inn er an d its outer life in t he gallin g b on ds an d cramp ed ,

con fi n emen t of t he M iddle Ages M oat rampart an d walls .

, ,

en closed a t an g led c on fu sion of crooked st reet s wh ere y et ,

ot her walls of mon asteries an d c astellated m an sion s arose

like fort resses with in a fortress an d in t en sified the gloomy

asp ec t of the city The in h ab it an ts still clun g to the old
.

rigid class distin ction s : at the b ottom of the scale a great

mass almost with out legal protec tion ; n ext the guilds ;
th en the m erch an ts an d d oc tors ; an d at t he top t he , ,

patric ian s the n ob ility E ach class was subdivided in to

, .

manifold grades E ven the n obility was split up in to two

.

faction s upholdin g respectively the house of Lim pu rg an d

,

th at of Fr au en st ein The social an d p olitic al struc ture of

.

Fran kfort resembled acc ordingly a t ower broad at the b ase

, ,

an d growin g n arr ow er as it rose each sep arat e st ory div id ed ,

in to n umerous c ages through the gratin gs of wh ich it was

,

almost imp ossible t o p ass Those who were n ot separated .

by b irth position or occupation were sun dered by religious

, ,

differen c es The maj or p ortion of the p opulation was

.

8
 1home anb jfamilg 9

Lu theran b u t n o in c on siderable n umb ers b elonged t o the

,

Reformed Cath olic an d J ewish faiths Th at the J ews

, ,
.

were allowed n o civic in fluen ce was a matter of c ourse in a

German city of the eighteen th cen tury Bu t the Catholics .

an d the R eformed were also ut terly exclud ed from par

ticipation in the g ov ern m en t an d w ere often c omp elled to
suffer in ten sely u n d er Lu t h eran d omin ation Furtherm ore .
,

t he memb ers of t he d ifferen t classes an d d ifferen t religiou s 8

societies b ec am e by t h eir own v olition slav es of their

opinion s h ab it s an d cu st om s a t hrald om fr om which ev en

, , ,

stron g an d c ourag eou s min d s in t he upp er classes did n ot

fin d it easy to lib erate t hemselves .

Bu t Frankfort at t hat time suffered n o more t h an the

maj ority of German cities un der all this n arrown ess an d
oppression On the oth er h an d it p ossessed a n umb er of
.
,

advan tages wh ich raised it ab ove m an y of them By v ir .

tu e of its fav oured situ ation at the gateway of Middle an d

U pper Germ an y it was a lively c en tre of d omestic an d
,

foreign trade Great an n ual fairs at E aster and Michael

.

m as assembled within its prec in c ts merchan ts from Western

an d Cen tral G erm an y an d fr om reg ion s f ar b eyon d Be .

sides it was a
, t all t imes a st oppin g plac e f or all sort s of -

trav ellers B ot h Voltaire an d t he Kin g of Pruss ia were

.

seen wit h in its walls Young E n glishmen too and Fren ch

.
, ,

men who wish ed to learn the G erm an lan guage were even
then t o b e foun d th ere Than ks to its Situation it was .
,

further the n atural meetin g plac e for the Assembly of the

,
-

Distric t of the Upp er Rh in e an d if the western distric ts , ,

Fran c on ia Swabia the Upper Rhine the E lectorate of the

, , ,

Rhin e an d Westphalia had any m atter for c ommon con

, ,

su ltation Fran kfort was the most c on ven ient place of

,

meetin g Furt hermore the imperial commission s which

.
, ,

had m an y a disput e t o settle am on g the hun dred s of lord s ,

spirit u al an d t emp oral al on g the Rhin e w ere w on t t o h old

, ,

their session s here Man y of the G erm an prin c es acc ord

.
,

ingly an d espec ially th ose of the n eighb ourin g states

, ,

main tain ed here p erman en t representatives Finally .

,

Fran kfort was historically a fav oured city As the seat .

 t he ILife of t oethe
‘
IO

of l c
the e e t ion an d c oron at ion of the German emp erors it ,

was frequen t ly the sc en e of a gorgeous p agean t .

F or y ou n g G oet h e it was an esp ec ial adv an t ag e t o b e

b orn in the free c ity I n that p eriod of limitation s on ly .

t h ose who b el on g ed t o t he rulin g classes enj oy ed an u n

restric ted freedom of m ov em en t an d breadt h of h oriz on .

I n a m on archy G oet h e w ould h av e b een excluded fr om th is

lib erty In t he Fran kfort republic howev er he b elon ged
.
, ,

t o t he rulin g cl ass an d h en c e en j oy ed t he righ ts am en ities , ,

an d f av ours wh ich in a m on archy are v ouch safed on ly t o

prin c es .

H is m atern al gran dfat h er J oh an n Wolfgan g T ex t or , ,

sc ion of a S ou t h G erm an f am ily of jur ists had b een at t he ,

t im e of t he p oet s b irt h f or two y ears in p ossession of the

’

highest dign ity in the city an app oin tmen t f or life t o ,

t he offic e of ch ief m ag istr at e of t he imp erial c ity H e fill ed .

th is offic e wit h great ab ilit y an d c on sc ien t iou sn ess un til

his sev en ty sev en th y ear
-
when he resign ed on ac
c oun t of his age I n his youth fon d of life an d the
.
,

soc iet y of w om en he alway s r emain ed kin dly b u t b ec am e

, ,

a seriou s m an of f ew word s an d st ric t self c on t r ol

, The -
.

rev eren c e which t he gran d son felt f o his gran dfath er r ,

wh ose life was so pun c tilious so placid so faithfully d e , ,

voted to duty was ren dered c omplete by the fact that t he

,

gift of proph ecy was ascrib ed to him It must h av e exerted .

a d et ermin in g in flu en c e up on y ou n g G oet h e t o see his aged

gran dfather towerin g ab ove his fellow c itiz en s in exp erien c e -

an d bu sin ess ab ility as well as in lib er ality of th ough t .

Wh en in the year 7 3 6 the city c oun cil refused t o gran t a

,
1 ,

sick soldier of t he R eform ed Church his r equ est f or t he

c on solation of a min ister of his own faith he remarked in ,

his rec ord :

“
Sat qu idem orthodoxe jn xta opin i on em on lgi ,

”
sed con tra n atu rale m a qn i tatem et chari tatem .

The wife chief magistrate was a d aughter of

of the
Att orn ey Lin dheim er of the Imp erial Ch amb er b u t a ,

woman of n o p erson al promin en c e She seems to h ave .

Q uit e rt h d x acc rdi g t t he pi i

o o o f t he m a e b t
o n o o n on o ss s , u con

t a y t
r r o nat ur al ju tic e a d ch arit y
s Cf B e d F D H N F
n 7 4
-
. r , 20 .
 1home anb f amily 1 1

b een a good housewife who c ared well for her husb an d an d ,

fiv e childr en .

While G oethe on his mother s Side spran g from a family ’

o f sch ol ars an d offic ials on his fat h er s sid e the root s of his
’

family tree reached down t o craftsmen An d while his .

matern al an c estors came t o Fran kfort from the south of

Germ an y on his fat h er s Sid e t h ey c ame from the n ort h
’

, ,

from the r egion b etween the Thu rin gian F orest an d the
H arz M oun tain s The p oet s temp eram en t came then .
’
, ,

from the happy amalgamation of two classes an d two

races The gran dfather Friedrich Georg G oethe was the
.
, ,

son of a farrier H e learn ed t he t ail or s t rad e b u t did n ot

’
.
,

remain faithful t o his c allin g After he had married his .

sec on d wif e C orn elia Sch ellh orn

,
own er of t he W eid en h of ,

in Fran kf or t he b ec am e an in n keep er an d in t h is c ap ac ity

, ,

in creased t he f ortun e he had alr eady accumulat ed The .

gran d son did n ot kn ow him p erson ally as he died b efore ,

the b oy s b ir th The gran dm oth er on the oth er han d

’
.
, ,

liv ed to en j oy Wolfgan g s early years H e describ es her ’

.

as a b eaut iful s p are wom an of gen t l e b en ev ol en t ch arac t er

, , ,

alway s n eat ly dress ed in w hit e .

To his gran dp ar en t s w as b orn in the y ear 7 t h eir 1 10

t hird child J oh an n Casp ar G oet h e fat her of t he p oet

, , .

After he had b een prep ared for the un iversity at the

C oburg Gymn asium he studied law four years in L eip sic , ,
9

prac tised at the Imp erial Chamb er in Wetz lar an d in the ,

year 7 3 8 ob tain ed at t he U n iversity of Giessen the title

1

of Doc t or of Jurisp rud en c e presen tin g a g ood d issert ation ,

upon a p oin t in the law of in heritan c e The ambitious .

m an h ow ev er did n ot c on sid er his educ ation n ow fin ish ed

, , ,

b u t sough t t o roun d it ou t furth er by a year of trav el .

Toward the en d of 7 3 9 he trav elled through Austria by 1

way of Graz an d L aib ach an d in I taly as far south as

, ,

N aples return in g h ome by way of Fran ce Accustomed

, .

t o pl ain liv in g an d stric t ec on omy at h om e t he exp en siv e ,

n ess ex t ortion s an d d isc omf or t s of I t alian t rav el m ad e him

, ,

in credibly glad wh en he had turn ed his b ack on R om e an d

“ ”

N aples Bu t in l ater life he always sp oke en thusiastic ally

.
 12 t he l if e of G oe the

of the glories of the southlan d an d it was his m ost earn est ,

wish th at his son migh t som e day see th em .

AS a rich w ell in form ed an d exp erien c ed m an it was

,
-
,

his amb ition to h av e t he c it y c oun c il b est ow up on him an

offic e wit h ou t sal ary b u t al so wit h ou t t he f orm alit y of an
,

el ec t ion . When this desire was n ot gratified the sen sitiv e

gen tlem an declared he w ould n ev er aft er acc ep t an y offic e
in t he serv ic e of his city an d in ord er t o fortify h im self ,

again st an y p ossible t emp tat ion t o break his v ow procured ,

( 7 4 ) the title an d ran k of an imp erial c ou n cillor which

1 2 ,

p u t h im on an e qu al it y w it h t he h igh est d ig n it ar ies of t he

c ity an d preven ted his acc ep tin g an y offic e of in ferior ran k .

Not yet fully satisfi ed his son asserts he wooed the dau g h
, ,

t er of t he chief m agistrat e b ec au se a son in law of a m emb er

,
- -

of t he c ou n cil w ould b e exclud ed 0

from the c oun cil ao 1

c ordin g to the c on stitution of the city Thus a c apable .

m an who w ould h av e b een abun dan tly h appy in the prao

,

tic e of his profession r et ired fr om ac tiv e life an d in an u n

, ,

occup ied un fruitful seclusion deep en ed the shadows th at

,

ob scured his exc ell en c es F or he was n ot wan tin g in

.

t h ese . To a lib eral educ at ion he add ed an acut e t hirst f or

kn owledge an d a stron g in t erest in art an d t o a t horoughly ,

hon est ch arac ter a soft an d ten der heart an d warm lov e for
his children for wh ose b est in t erests he shu n n ed n o trouble
,

or sacrific e N evertheless t hese b eautiful qualities ex

.
,

erted n o r eal b en eficen t in fluen c e up on his fam ily H is .

sy st em atic ex ac tin g met h od forc ed all his children s in

’

div idu alities in to on e rigid p edagogic al m ould ; he always ,

d eman d ed tan gible eviden c e of utility an d in sisted up on

a c on sist en cy an d a p ersev eran c e t h or oughly distasteful t o
youn g children In order the more readily to in duce his
.

children to such c on duct he en veloped his lovin g n ature

in a rough ex terior an d imp osed up on h imself a ch eerless
iron aust erity T 0 this was added t he emb ittermen t which
.

rem ain ed fr om his exp erien c es in lif e an d wit h al a fretful ,

irasc ib ilit y which m ad e ev ery r eal or fan cied wron g p ain ful
an d in t olerable .

Such a p eculiar disposition c aused the mother n o less

 1home anb jfamilu 1 3

su f ef rin g than the children She assumed t oward him more .

t he p osition of a ch ild t h an t h at of his pr op er equ al When .

on ly sev en teen year s of ag e K at h ar in a E lisab eth T ex t or ,

had b een sudd en ly t hru st fr om her ch ildh ood j oy s in t o the

seriou s duties of a h ou sew ife H er hu sb an d was her sen ior .

by twen ty on e years so t hat in ag e She was n earer t o her

-
,

first children th an t o him B etween t heir men tal an d .

m oral attain men ts th ere yawn ed n o l ess a ch asm wh ich was ,

n ev er bridg ed ov er by warm aff ec tion She had grown up .

in the freed om of y outh with out an y h igh er educ ation an d

, ,

her learn ed hu sb an d felt it his duty t o fill up t he g ap s in the

t rain in g of his y oun g wife So he t augh t her I t alian an d
.

kept her busy writin g c omp osition s prac tisin g the pian o ,

an d sin gin g I n c on sid erat ion of her oth er duties he was

.

oblig ed ,
much t o his regret n o d oub t t o f oreg o sev eral , ,

ot h er pl an s he had in min d f or her impr ov em en t Bu t his .

good wife was in n o sen se in n eed of all his learn in g N ature .

had b est owed up on her b ett er gift s : a soun d ob serv ation of

m en an d t hin gs ; an ev er seren e an d ch eerful disp osition ,

t h at c ast ev ery black t h ough t at t he d evil s feet ; an ever

’

ac t iv e im ag in at ion up on wh ich She c ould draw as a per

,

p et u al s ourc e of st o r ies ; a k een a ppr ec iat ion of t he b eau t iful

in n at ure an d p oet ry ; the g ift of f elic it ou s expression ;
.

b oun dless p atien c e with others action s which n ever per ’

,

m itted her t o preach m orals to an y on e ; an d the t ac t an d

in clin ation t o ex ert at all t imes an in fluen c e wh ich m ad e
f or p eac e an d g ood will -
Wh en esp ecially difficult m om en ts
.

c ame an d her in n ate an d happy disp osition was un able to

c arry her t hrough She always took refuge in the b ook of
,

b ooks the B ible her on e an d on ly storehouse of wisd om

, , .

An d wit h the help of t his b ook an d it s Divin e Auth or ,

whom she foun d in it an d in wh om she b eliev ed wit h the

,

firmn ess of adaman t she en dured the trials which H eaven

,

in its wisd om laid up on her .

Thus she form ed a valu able c oun terp oise to her husb an d ,

an d t o th is alon e it is d u e th at his n obl e purp oses wer e n ot

defeated an d his fin e qualities n ot ob scured by his own
, ,

weakn esses an d blun ders .

 SCH OOL A N D LI F E

h h m br h r rm
Goet e s o e H is ot e H e an n a o
’
— — J c b r r l
H is sist e Co n e ia— Li e f
—
in t he o e E ah me arly duc
tion — T e Bi e
h — H bl
e ew — br
At tit e ud
t owa t he rd
C — a hurch F h r c ll c
t e
’
s o e t io n s— f d
I n flu en ce of rien s of
t he f amily— B yi h v a it y — I fle e
o ut id e t h h me E arth
s n — n u nc s o s e o

quake f Li b o Sev e Y ear Wa

s on —C u t Th a n qu ar tered i
s
’
r— o n or n c n

t he G et h h u e Fr e ch t h eat r e E l ec t i
o e o s — a d c r
n ati f a — on n o on on o

Germ a E mp er r F ir t l v e Gr et ch e
n — — o S rr wful e d
s o n -
o o n .

HENC oun cill or Goethe was married on the 2 0 th ,

of Augu st 74 8 he br ough t his ,

y o1u n g w if e ,

from her home in the Friedb erger Gasse to his

mother s house in t he st reet c alled Grosser H irschgrab en
’
.

Crow d ed gl oo my Fr an kfort w as h ere light er an d m ore

,

o p en. The h ouse stood on t he west ern limit of t he territ ory

built over so th at from the b ack win d ows of the upp er
,

st or ies t h er e was a wid e ou tl ook acr oss a n umb er of g ard en s

to t he c ity wall ou t ov er the b eaut iful fruit ful v alley of

, ,

t he M ain t o t he h eight s of the T au n us ran g e b ey on d .

Little Wolfgan g liked to l ose himself in this View for the ,

v aried lan dsc ap e approachin g storms an d the glow of th

, ,

sett in g su n n ur t ur ed t he lon gin g s an d an tic ip ation s th at

filled his soul The in terior of the house was origin ally full
.

of d ark c orn ers I n t he year 1 7 5 4 h ow ev er after the

.
, ,

d eath of the gran dmother on whose accoun t C oun cillor ,

Goethe had p ostp on ed all chan ges the house was m ade ,

light an d roomy by a thorough remodellin g Broad stair .

ways an d halls were pu t in an d these were made larger to ,

the eye by the views of R om e which the fath er hun g up in

t hem .
16 t he l ife of G oe the

s wellin g wit h an ger while he tried t o keep b ack the tears

, .

Often he would in terfere b efore I had fin ished an d say

Moth er the prin c ess will n ot marry th at cursed t ailor will
, ,

she ev en if he d oes kill t he g ian t ? Now if I stopp ed an d

’
,

sav ed up the c at astr oph e for t he n ex t ev en in g I m igh t b e ,

p erfectly sure that in the mean time he would h ave arranged

ev eryt hin g an d t hus my imag in ation wh en it failed m e
, , ,

was frequen t ly supplemen ted by his If then the n ext .

, ,

ev en in g I c arried on t he t hread s of fate acc ordin g t o his

,

sugg estion an d said You gu essed it That s the way it ‘ ’

.
,

c ame ou t th en he was all aflam e an d on e c ould see his

,
’

litt le heart b eatin g b en eath his ruff (H alskran se) .

The ch ildren prob ably rec eived all their early educ ation
from their fath er who u sed the p opular old text b ooks such
,
-
,

as Com en iu s s Orbis Pi ctn s G ottfried s Chron icles an d

’
5
,
14 ’
,
1

the like . Later he employed private tutors avoidin g the ,

public schools b ecause of the p ed antry an d obtusen ess

which characterised their teach ers The b oy was however .
, ,

n ot wh olly d epriv ed of t he c omp an ion sh ip of a larger c ircle

of sch oolmates so imp ortan t in the d ev elopmen t of char

,

ac t er for c ert ain of t he priv at e lesson s w ere att en d ed by

,

as m an y as twen t y ch ildren dr awn fr om t he fam ilies of

n eighb ours an d frien d s If we examin e the c ourse of study .

drawn up by the father we must admit that it would n ot ,

h ave been easy to prescrib e a broader an d more lib eral

t rain in g . H ardly an y of the m ore importan t realms of
kn owledge hardly an y of the n obler acc omplishmen ts were
, ,

n eglec t ed The m ost imp ort ant an cien t an d mod ern

.

lan guages V iz Latin Greek H ebrew Fren ch E nglish

—
, .
, , , , , ,

an d Italian history an d geography religion natural

—
, , ,

sc ien c es ,mathematic s drawin g music dan cin g fen cin g , , , , ,

an d ridin g wer e in clud ed on e by on e in the b oy s educ ation

’
.

Facility in German n owhere the obj ect of systematic ,

study in th ose d ays was acquired by t he writin g of com ,

position s th ose c omp osed acc ordin g to rhetoric al rules

—

afford in g the eld er G oet h e esp ecial pleasur e an d by the

’

readin g of c ontemp orary poets The b oy also b ec ame .

familiar with the G erman f olk p oetry through the cheaply -

 fi c hool anb l ife I
7

printed folk b ooks which c ost on ly a few pen ce at the

-
,

b ookstalls an d were in great deman d amon g the children

, .

Religious in struc tion seems to have b een limited in his

earlier y ear s to the readin g of the B ibl e an d we m ay assum e ,

it was his m oth er who guided his study of t he sacred b ook .

The circumstan c e th at he grew up in a sin c erely religious

family where the B ible was the m oth er s favourite b ook
,
’

seem s to t he m ore pr ofou n d st ud en t to h av e b een for e

ord ain ed like ev erythin g else in Goethe s life for the ’

, ,

sp ec ial purp ose of prep arin g his min d for t he h igh est d e

v elopm en t F or wh at c ould all the lit erature th at fell in t o

.

t he b oy s h an d s sign ify wh en c omp ar ed w it h the B ible t o

’
,

which he himself says he owed alm ost all his m oral educa
, ,

t ion an d which occupied his im agin ation un c easin gly an d

,

t urn ed his min d t o ev ery fi eld of t h ough t The B ible ap .

p ealed t o him un der the m ost widely differin g forms an d as ,

b ook of law as ep ic as idyll as hymn or as lov e son g

, , , , ,

aw ok e in him a r esp on se t o ev ery ch ord With his peculiar .

en t hu siasm he d elv ed in t o the u n fat h om abl e b ook an d

made its st ories t eachin gs symb ols an d lan guage his own
, , ,

f orever H e was esp ecially fon d of losin g h imself in t he

.

n ai v et e an d gran deur of the Pen t ateuch Amid those .

O rien tal sc en es peopled with a Simple shepherd folk his

, ,

restless rovin g sp irit foun d p eace an d h appin ess Thus

, .

the b oy was draw n t o n at ur e an d simplic it y by the B ibl e ,

long b efore R ousseau an d Win ckelman n had influen ced

his in tellec tu al life .

Love of the Old Testament was his m otive for studyin g

H ebrew : his teacher was R ec tor Albrech t of the Gymn a ,

sium ,a cl ev er sarc astic l it t l e m an

, The m ore c areful .

readin g of the Old Testam en t in the origin al l an guage con

firmed him in man y a d oub t c on c ern in g the divin e auth or
ship oi the B ible b u t th is sc ep t ic ism d etrac ted in n o wise
,

from his l ove of its epic al an d ethical ch arac ter On the .

ot her h an d he was l ittl e impr essed by the purely dogmatic

,

t eachin gs of the dry old formul as which he had t o learn as a

prep aration for c on firmation I n fac t the result was alien a .
,

tion fr om the Church rath er th an attrac tion to it An d yet .

VO L I —2
18 t he l ife of G oe the

his meditativ e soul was keen ly resp on sive to the sublime

symb olism of the Church which brought him in t o c on sc ious ,

c ommunion wit h God an d the universe If we had n o other .

ev id en c e we sh ould kn ow t his fr om the foll owin g v er ses in

,

F an st wh ich are b u t the cry st all isation of h app y mem ories

,

of his y outh :

6 0111
1 fturgteficf) her Gimmelé liebeS tat
;
$ q mid) b erab in ernfter Gabbatbffifl ,
e;
Q a Hang in (15111111981o beé (S i locfentoneé 8 id h,

i ebet mat brimftiger (fienufa

ll nb ein G
’

Gin unbegreifl bb
ic olbeé G ebn en
Erichmitt) bunt) QBaIb unb QBiefen bingugebn
, ,

ll nb unter taujenb beih en Em mett

g h
l d m QB f b
’

t
i t i ) ir cine eIt ent te n *
.

If we turn aside from the most imp ortan t factors in

G oet he s educ ation to t hose of min or sign ifican ce we must
’
,

men tion his father s valuable c ollection s First of all the

’
.
,

b eautiful well ch osen library in which were to b e foun d

,
-
,

t he G erm an p oet s of the eigh t een th c en tury —exc ep t Kl op ,

st o ck wh ose u n rhymed v ers es wer e d ist ast eful t o t he eld er

,

G oeth e the best Italian an d Latin p oet s Roman an tiqui

—
, ,

t ies the classic works on jurisprud en c e the b est an d m ost

, ,

recen t b ooks of trav el historical an d philosophic al treatises

, ,

an d en cyclop edias of all k in ds Furthermore the father .

,

own ed an exc ellen t c ollec tion of m ap s n atural history sp ec i ,

men s especially min eralogic al Ven etian glass carved iv ory

, , , ,

bron z es an d old weap on s B eside his m an y etch in gs he

, .
,

had a n umb er of oil p ain tin gs an d was c on tin ually on the ,

lookout for n ew acquisition s from h ome artists Whatever .

On ce H eav e ly L ve e t dow a bur i g ki

n o s n n n n ss

Up my br w i Sabb at h ile ce h ly ;
on o ,
n s n o

A d fill ed wit h my t ic pr e ag e ch im ed t he church b ell lowly

n , s s ,
-
S ,

A d pr ay er di olv ed m e i a f erv e t bli

n ss n n ss

A weet u c mpr eh e d ed y ear i g

s , n o n n n

D r v e f r t h my f eet t hr ugh w d a d m ead w fr ee

o o o oo s n o s ,

A d whil e a t h u a d t ear wer e bur i g

n o s n s n n ,

I f elt a w rld ari e f

o i ) me s or n .

Taylor s Tran slati on

’
.
 fi c hool ano l ife 19

was l ack in g in his c oll ec tion s was suppl em en t ed by frien ds

an d rel ativ es who in every way t ook a m ost vit al in terest

,

in the b oy s educ ation

’
.

There was the sp ecial frien d of the Goethe h ouseh old ,

Coun cill or Schn eid er who smuggled in Klopstock s M

,
’

th ere was Past or S tark an u n cle in wh ose library W olf

, ,

gan g disc overed a H omer in Germ an prose ; th ere was easy

goin g H err v on Olen schlager who explain ed the Golden ,

Bull to the b oy an d associated him wit h children of oth er

families in the presen tation of Fren ch plays an d in the
writin g of priz e essay s ; th er e was b esides ob stin ate H err , ,

v on R ein eck who in struc t ed him ab ou t in t er n ation al an d

,

d omestic relation s ; Privy C oun cill or H usgen a shrewd ,

lawyer with a Mephistophelian vein cap able of disc overin g ,

d efects in God himself ; Legation C oun cillor M orit z who ,

taught him m at h em atic s ; an d oth er m en who p art ly b y ,

prec ept p artly by example an d part ly by association in

, , ,

flu en ced him in m an ifold ways I t mu st hav e b een a .

peculiarly ch armin g sight to see little Wolfgan g with his ,

sp arklin g black ey es an d his shrewd p al e fac e l ookin g u p , ,

t o t he v en erabl e p eruk es They were all very fon d of him

.
,

n ot m erely b ec au se of his ast on ish in g qu ick n ess of appre

hen sion an d his origin al c on ception of th in gs b u t also on ,

acc ou n t of the goodn ess an d purit y wit h wh ich his wh ole

b ein g was thoroughly imbued To these m en of mature .

years an d m ore or less morose n ature he was as refreshin g

as the m orn in g dew an d each of t h em sough t t o r ealise in
,

him as in a b elov ed son his own ideal

, , Olen schlager .

wished to make him a c ourtier Rein eck a diplomat H ii sgen

, ,

a jurist t h at he migh t b e in p osition t o d efen d h imself an d

,

his prop erty again st the w orthl ess r ac e of m en .

What won der if the precocious gran dson of the chief

magistrate of the city an d favourite of so man y men of high
p osition sh ould b ec ome exc eedin gly self c on scious an d -

manifest it by a c ertain struttin g d emean our ? H is vanity

b ore him a rich harvest of j eers from his c ompan ion s b u t ,

th ey alway s sh owed a sen se of th eir own in ferior ity by t h eir

attitude t oward him . We always were his lackeys
“ ”
,
 20 t he l if e of G oe the

remark ed in after years his b oyh ood frien d Max Moors who , ,

was two years older than G oethe .

Whatever was lackin g in the formal educ ation of the

b oy was supplied by a t h ousan d oth er in flu en c es in his life .

Wh en littl e Wolfgan g was sen t on erran d s t o craftsm en ,

he w ould w at ch th em at t h eir w ork an d ob serv e t h eir

h ab its of life The sh epherd s an n ual festivals at the
.
’

Grin db ru n n en an d on the Pfin g stweid e brough t him occ a

sion ally in t o t ouch wit h t he rural p opulat ion The great .

fairs at E aster an d M ichaelmas filled his h ead with wild

exc item en t Wares of most v arious kin ds an d n ation al
.

ities a sw arm of buyer s an d sellers from distan t l an d s an d

, ,

t hr on gs of tr avell er s w ere b ef ore his ey es f or w eeks an d

weeks an d gave him an opp ortun ity t o form some con
ception of t he c omm erc e of t he w orld an d of t he p eculiarities

of t he p eople of far away c oun tries

-
B eside these p eriodic
.

en l argem en t s of t he routin e life of the c it y t h ere t ook pl ac e ,

in his yout h sev eral ext raordin ary ev en t s which ex ert ed a

profoun d in fluen c e up on his devel opmen t AS the first he .

men tion s the earthquake of Lisb on in N ovemb er 1 7 5 5 , , ,

which in a f ew momen ts destroyed a splen did rich com , ,

m ercial c it y an d acc ordin g t o curren t ly b elieved b u t

,

great ly ex aggerated rep ort s six t y th ousan d human lives

, .

This terrible calamity was a violen t sh ock t o his faith an d ,

set him t o d oub tin g wh et h er God really is as wise an d as

gracious as the first article of the creed teach es .

Not l on g after t h at c at ast rophe the S even Year s War

’

broke ou t The figure of Frederick II already greatly

. .
,

magn ified by the two S ilesian wars n ow app eared mightier

,

t h an ev er an d presen t ed t o Wolfgan g s eyes a p ers on alit y

’
,

f ar sup erior t o all c on t emp oraries H e an d his father

.

yield ed read ily to the magic of this p erson alit y an d followed

the K in g s succ esses w it h great en thu siasm wh ile his gran d
’
,

father wit h certain of his d aughters an d their husb an ds

, ,

was l oyal t o the E mp eror an d sought t o min imise as much

as p ossible his en emy s m erits an d t riumph s Thu s t he
’
.

family was separated in to two parties an d the old c ordialit y

was p ain fully disturb ed After a few un pleasant sc enes
.
 5 c hool ano l if e

the father utterly avoided the gran dfather s h ouse an d ’

,

Wolfgan g had n o lon ger an y relish for his accustomed

Sun day din n er with his gran dp aren ts A further result .

of th is d issen sion was t he c on t emp t of public Op in ion wh ich

b egan t o Show itself in youn g Goeth e wh en he h eard the

most brillian t achievemen ts b elitt led n ot by the rabble , ,

b u t by m en of ran k an d p osition Alth ough the war had .

in the b egin n in g affec ted t he c it y b u t r em otely through its ,

politic al aspec t it b ec am e in 1 7 5 9 a c ause of imm ediate

disc omfort The Fren ch army of seven thousan d men
.
,

which on January an d occupied Fran kfort remain ed for ,

several years qu art ered up on it s c itiz en s a sourc e of b oth ,

famin e an d disease The G oethe h ouseh old received as

.

in mate the royal lieuten an t C ou n t Thoran cfi a highly < 16

educ at ed c our teou s g en t l eman in v est ed w it h the offic e of

, ,

c omm an dan t of the city Coun cillor G oethe in stead of .

,

b ein g happy un der the circumstan c es to have such an

, ,

eligible gu est quart ered in the h ou se was ex t rem ely v ex ed , ,

’

Pru ssian symp ath iser as he Was by t he n ec essit y of l odg in g

‘

an en emy an d th at t oo in his h an d som est ap ar tm en t

, , , .

All attemp ts on t he p art of the Coun t the family an d , ,

frien ds t o recon cile him t o the n ew c on dition of t hin gs were

fruit less H e b ecame on ly the more con firmed in his ill
.

humour an d on the even in g of the batt le of B ergen n ear

, ,

Frankfort which resulted in a victory for the Fren ch he

, ,

in sulted the C oun t so griev ou sly th at on ly the efficien t

in terven tion of his frien d an d g odfat h er Dolm etsch sav ed
him an d the fam ily from severe t rials .

These n ew c on dition s which weighed so heavily up on

,

the father were t o t he children a sourc e of great pleasure

,

an d profit Stric t disc iplin e an d r egularity of lesson s were

.

relaxed an d a gay active life took the plac e of their cu s

, ,

tom ary m on oton ou s ex ist en c e I n the C oun t s quarters

’
.

there was always somet h in g g ood t o eat somet hin g in ter ,

est in g t o listen t o or som et hin g b eautiful t o l ook at

,
S oon .

after his arrival the C oun t who was an ard en t l over of art
, ,

gathered ab out him Seekatz of Darm stadt an d the prin cipal

Th a G et h e pelli g f t he C u t ame i i c rrect
’ ’
or n c , o s s n o o n s n , s n o .
22 t he l ife of G oe the

r
a tists of Fran kfort t o p ain t for him large p ictures for the
ad orn m en t of his own an d his br ot h er s r esid en c e in Grasse
’
.

A studio was arran ged in t he h ouse an d Wolfgan g who had , ,

wat ched th ese artists b efore wh en at work for his father was ,

n ow in a p osit ion t o ob serv e t h eir produc tion s in all stag es ,

an d thu s en large his k n owl edg e of t he tech n iqu e an d art of

pain tin g S till greater charm an d b en efit was d erived
.

from the Fren ch th eatre which c am e to the city with the

tr oop s . A c omplimen tary ticket rec eived from his gran d
father op en ed t o him the p ortals of this temple of art .

H ere than ks t o the in terest of his moth er he b ecame a

, ,

regular atten d an t in spite of the obj ection s of his father

, ,

who h eld a very low Op in ion of the valu e of t he th eatre .

In th is way he b ec am e acqu ain t ed with the h ighly d ev el op ed

drama of the Fren ch t hrough c ertain traged ies an d a great
n umb er of c om edies an d op erett as The grac efuln ess of the
.

latter made a sp ecial impression up on him an d was prob ably

on e of the c au ses of his m an y l at er at t emp t s in this fi eld .

I n terest in the Fren ch theatre led him to study their “

classic dramatists an d he read all of Racin e an d M oliere an d

,

most of Corn eille A t t he t h eat re he m ad e the ac q u ain tan c e

.

of a h an d som e sprigh t ly lad by t he n am e of D eron es

,
7
,
1

b elon gin g to t he trou p e who all owed him t o g o b ehin d

,

the sc en es an d get a glimp se of the lic en c e of st age life .

Th ough these sights were little suited to his youthful eyes

J
still t h ey later furn ish ed t he au t h or of Wi lhelm M ei s ter m an y

a fin e b it of m aterial Wolfgan g took quite a fan cy to De

. ,

ron es s eld er sister wh ich fou n d expr ession in all sort s of at

’

ten tion s an d c ivilit ies To his sorrow he soon n otic ed

.
,

however th at his ten d er wooin gs were un heeded S till an

, .

oth er d isapp oin tmen t c am e t o him fr om his pl easan t r el ation s

t o t he th eatre S om e h alf my t h ol ogic al h alf all egoric al dra

.
-
,
-

m as in sp ired him to imitation an d in a sh ort time he ,

wrot e a little play an d submitt ed it t o his frien d Deron es ,

secret ly h op in g it m ight p erh ap s b e stag ed H is frien d .

assured him with p at r on isin g mien that it was n ot im

, ,

p ossible b u t a few triflin g ch an ges would h av e t o b e made

, .

These alteration s turn ed ou t to b e so ruthless that the

24 t he l ife of Goe the

The e cclesiastic al elect ors an d m an y of the p etty German

prin c es an d prin c esses app eared in person the more im ,

p ortan t lay elec tors were represen ted by amb assadors of ,

whom B aron v on Plotho from the E lec torate of Bran d en ,

burg was everywhere greeted with whisp ered joy on ao

,

c oun t of the imp ortan c e of his ruler an d his own strikin g

in dividu alit y Furtherm ore the p apal n un cio had arrived
.
, ,

an d t he amb assad or s of Fr an c e Sp ain Portugal an d , , ,

H ollan d an d the high est officials of Austria amon g th em

, ,

t he f am ou s imp erial m in ister C ou n t K au n it z F in ally on

, .
,

the e9 th of M arch E mp er or Fran z al so arriv ed with his

,

two old est son s Then followed a fortn ight of c oron ation
.

festivities which n o matter whether they occurred in

, ,

public or within closed h alls Wolfgan g as gran d son of the , ,

chief magistrate of the c ity was permitted to ob serve from ,

sp ec ial p oin t s of v an t age H e was him self in tr oduc ed t o

.

m an y a high an d n oble lord was en tru st ed with man y a ,

c ommission an d h eard en ough of the n egotiation s of t he

,

el ec t or s am on g t h em selv es an d wit h the c it y t o g iv e him ,

an id ea of the stran ge struc tur e of the G erm an E mp ir e an d

it s c on fl ic t in g forc es .

The exc it em en t of t he c oron at ion also offered youn g

G oet h e t he c ovet ed screen for a lov e affair which had ,

st irred his f eelin gs t o a p assion at e ard our When the m an .

of six t y d escr ib ed in d et ail t h is b oyish exp erien c e it was ,

n ot t o fur n ish his r ead er s wit h a few p ages of pl easin g

en t er t ain m en t b u t b ec au se he was c on sc iou s of t he tur n

,

which it gav e t o his d evelopm en t H ere for the first t ime .

he tasted of the ex tremes of joy an d p ain an d fel t the ,

un feelin g in tru sion of h arsh reality up on his fate an d that

of his frien d s These experien c es quickly matured the
.

b oy in to youn g m an h ood an d sl owly prep ared the p oet for

,

his Gret chen tragedy I t m ay h av e b een l ate in the summer

.

of 1 76 3 wh en Wolfg an g was ab out four teen y ears old t h at

, ,

a frien d wh om he shield s u n d er t he n am e of Pylades in

, ,

t rodu ced him t o ot h er y ou n g m en of humble ran k who ,

sough t t o u se his p oet ic t al en t in a j est They asked him .

to c omp ose a l ov e let t er in v er se in which a b ashful y oun g ,

 fi c hool ano 1 ife 5

girl disc overs love to a youth Wolfgan g c on sented at

her .

on c e an d his n ew acqu ain tan c es disp at ch ed t he rhymed

,

love letter in a disguised han d to a foolish youn g m an who ,

was n ow thoroughly c on vin ced th at a girl wh om he had

b een timidly c ourtin g was madly in love with him As the .

happy lover wished n othin g more arden tly than to b e able

to an swer in ver se G oet h e s servic es were again app ealed
’
,

to. The happy y outh Sh owed his gratitude by givin g an

even ing p ar ty at the h om e of his m ed iators an d there ,

Goethe was astonished to meet a won derfully pretty girl a ,

c ousin of Pylades s acquaintan ces H e c ould n ot rid his

’
.

min d of her image an d as he had n o immediate occasion to

,

return to her c ousin s h ouse he sought her in the church

’

that he m igh t have his fill of gaz in g on her durin g the lon g
servic e The farcic al lov e aff air soon brought G oethe again
.

to the c ou sin s an d to b eautiful Gret ch en H e was to com

’
.

pose a p oetic al an swer t o the lover s letter an d gladly ’

,

un dertook the c ommission thin kin g on ly of Gretchen an d

,

drawin g his in spiration from her dreamin g t hat she might ,

some d ay sen d such a let t er t o him When in the ab sen c e .

,

of t he c ou sin s he sh owed Gret ch en his lyric al effu sion s she

, ,

b egged him n ot t o allow himself t o b e u sed as a t ool in such

a matt er which would lead t o n o g ood b u t rat h er t o pu t
, ,

the p oem in his p ocket an d go h ome To b e sure it was a .

,

pity she added that such a fin e p oem c ould n ot serve some

, ,

gen uine purp ose Goethe eagerly t ook her at her word an d
.

asked her in a lovin g t on e if she would like t o Sign t he

letter When after some hesitation she did it the youn g
.
,

m an was b esid e himself with joy spran g up an d was ab ou t , ,

to embrac e her Bu t she st arted b ack an d b egged him to

.

take his p oem an d leave .

The more G oethe b ec ame in toxic ated wit h Gret chen s ’

app aren t c on fession of her l ov e t he mor e p ain ful was the

,

sep aration fr om the obj ec t of his ad oration wh ich f oll owed

his withdrawal from her c ou sin s stupid tr ick

’
Bu t in a .

sh ort time th ey approach ed him again thin kin g t o make ,

u se of his talen t for an ot h er purp ose They brought him .

an order f or a dirge an d a w eddin g son g the h on orarium ,

26 t he l ife of Goe the

to b e e xp en ded on a b an quet at t heir h ome G oethe .

,

allur ed by the d ouble ch arm of seein g h im self in prin t

an d m eetin g Gret ch en en gag ed t o writ e the p oem s
,
The .

youn g p eople b egan t o m eet alm ost ev ery d ay b u t G oeth e ,

c on c ealed the fact from his f amily With the frequ en cy of .

the v isit s grew his n eed of b ein g wit h Gr et ch en in f ac t it ,

—
,

soon seem ed t o him a n ec essary c on d ition of his ex ist en c e .

M ean while the c oron ation was drawin g n ear an d ,

G oeth e b ec ame Gretch en s tut or in all the d etails of the

’

great state fun c tion The even in g c ompan ies b ec ame m ore
.

an d m ore pr ol on ged an d m or e an d m ore an im at ed an d on ,

on e occ asion sh or t ly b ef ore c or on ation d ay

, t he p ar t y , ,

exc it ed by the f est iv it ies an d augm en t ed in n umb er s by

,

som e n ew arr iv al s fr om abr oad d id n ot d isp er se t ill m orn

,

in g . Wolfgan g had t o steal h ome by a r oun dab out way ,

f or on t he d irec t r oad his f at h er migh t h av e seen him

t hr ough a lit t l e p eep win d ow (t h at m ay still b e seen ) ,

ov erl ook in g t he street c all ed Kl ein er H irschgrab en At .

last c am e c oron ation day Goeth e was up bright an d early

.

in ord er t o see all t he imp ortan t tran sac tion s as plain ly an d

fully as p ossible F or t he elab orate festal illumin ation in
.

t he ev en in g he had an app oin t m en t wit h his frien d s an d

wit h Gret chen To av oid b ein g rec ogn ised he had pu t on a
.

d isguise an d he n ow walked ab out his sweeth eart on his

, ,

arm t hrough t he cr owd s of p eopl e from on e qu art er of t he

, ,

c ity t o an other as h appy as if he were wan derin g over the

,

fi elds of E lysium When they grew t ired an d hun gry

.

the y ou n g p eopl e wen t in t o a r est auran t an d m ade merry

un til a v ery l ate h our G oethe escorted Gretchen h ome an d
.
,

on p art in g she k issed him on t he brow I t was t he fir st an d .

last time th at she showed him such a fav our For mean .

while from a wholly un expected source a heavy storm

, ,

cloud had c ollected over the h ead s of the little c omp an y .

On an excur sion t o H och st in c omp an y wit h Pyl ades

an d Gr et ch en s c ou sin s G oet h e had m et a y ou n g m an wh om
’

t he c ou sin s wish ed him t o r ec ommen d t o his gran df at h er

for an offic e in the c ity g overn men t H e gran t ed the .

request an d the youn g m an was appoin ted From that .

 GO E T H E ,
ZE TA T 15

( F rom G f
oethe B r i e e b
.
y perm iss ion of E l s n er, Berlin)
 Sc hool ano fl
ute 27

d ay Goethe had heard n othin g more of him until the ,

mornin g after c oron ation brought him a terrible remin der

of his prot é g é .

H e was still in b ed wh en his m ot h er c ame in to the room

with troubled c oun ten an ce an d b ade him get up sayin g it ,

had c om e ou t t h at he had b een in b ad c omp an y an d was ,

implic ated in a m ost d iscredit abl e affair C ou n c ill or Schn ei .

d er c ommission ed b y his fath er an d the G ov ern m en t was

, ,

c omin g t o in vestigate the c ase C oun cill or Schn eider his .

,

M essi as frien d soon app eared an d in f orm ed W olfg an g

”
,

t h at several p erson s am on g t h em t he offic er he had recom

,

men ded to his gran dfath er had c oun terfeited man uscrip ts
, ,

t amp er ed wit h will s an d f org ed n otes an d th at he was

, ,

accused of h avin g ab etted th em in t h eir crim es by m ean s

of lett ers an d p ap er s Wolfgan g denied h aving had an y
.

thin g t o do wit h the m atter an d refu sed t o m ake an y

further statemen ts Bu t when the family frien d urged
.

him n ot t o m ake t h in gs w orse by d en ial s an d stubb orn

Silen c e an d m en t ion ed the h ou se wh ere G oeth e had m et
,

Pylades an d Gret ch en s c ousin s assurin g him th at t he ao

’
,

c omplic es in t h at house would soon b e arrested he con ,

sid ered it w is er t o m ak e a cl ean br east of t he w h ol e in c id en t

an d sh ow his in n oc en c e an d t h at of his frien d s esp ec ially ,

Gretchen I n great agon y he un veiled the sweet secret of

.

his lov e an d all the in n oc en t j oys wh ich had Spru n g fr om

it an d en d ed by d eclarin g an d h ere we see the rev elation
,
—

of anoth er great ph ase of his ch arac ter — t h at if t he least

injustic e were d on e t o his c omp an ion s he would d o h im self
some h arm .The kin d family frien d sought to p acify him
on th is p oin t b u t Goeth e n ot t rustin g him saw in his
, , , ,

excit ed im agin ation Pylad es the c ou sin s an d Gret ch en

, , ,

ruin ed by his fran k c on fession s ; an d his grief was so aggra

y ated b t h ese d istressin g t h ough t s t h at he fi n ally threw
y
himself in loud lamentation up on the fl oor an d wept b itterly .

H is terrifi ed sister foun d him in t his st ate wh en she brought

him the c omfortin g n ews t h at C oun c ill or Sch n eid er had ex
pressed a favourable opin ion in the c ase t o an other memb er
of the m agistr acy Wolfgan g c ould apply this c on solation
.
28 t he l ife of Goe the
on ly to him self an d con tin ued gloomily apprehen sive as to
his c omp an ion s H e l ost all in terest in the publ ic festiv ities
.

an d len t a d eaf ear t o his fat her s en treat ies to g o ou t an d

’

see th em H e c on tin ually brood ed over his misery m agn i

.
,

fied a th ou san d fold by solit ud e un til assured of the fate of

-
,

the other s Thus he p assed a n umb er of days an d n ights

.

in weepin g an d ravin g u n til for tears an d sob s he was

,

sc arc ely able t o swall ow an d even his breathin g seem ed,

affec ted Fin ally he was told th at his frien ds b ein g

.
,

foun d virtually in n ocen t had b een discharged with a mild,

reproof an d th at Gretchen had return ed h ome H is sat

, .

isfaction with the on e resul t was c oun terb alan c ed by n ew

grief over the other .

Th en cam e healin g b alm from an oth er sourc e A t utor .

,

whom his p aren ts had secured to care for an d c on sole him ,

t old him wh en qu estion ed ab out the d et ails of t he trial

, ,

th at Gret ch en s in n oc en c e had won a gloriou s t riumph

’

b efore the judges an d that when her association s wit h

, ,

G oeth e were allud ed to she had declared that She had ,

always c on sidered him a mere child an d t hat in st ead of ,

urgin g him on t o q uestion able action s an d mischievous

pran ks she had dissuaded him from t hem This medicin e .

was effec tiv e H e was m ortally offen ded by Gret ch en s

.
’

statemen t an d c on sid ered it in excu sable t h at he sh ould

,

h ave sacrificed sleep p eac e of min d an d h ealth for the sake

, ,

of a g irl who c on sid er ed him a child H owever the woun d .

,

was slow in healin g an d on ly when en tic ed by summer in t o

,

t he d eep stilln ess of the wood s did the soul of youthful

Werther fin d melancholy peace .
3 0 t he I ite of G oe the

p r
of a se a at e st udy of phil osophy as the groun d was com ,

p le t ely c ov er e d by r el ig io n an d p oe t ry .

H e p erfec ted h im self furth er in L atin b ot h on acc oun t ,

of t he cl assic w ork s of R om an lit er atur e an d b ec ause m ost

of the sc ien tific an d n ot a few of the p oetic al w ork s of the

civilised n ation s of E urop e were written in th at lan guage .

H e m astered L atin wit h great ease th ough with out an y ,

real kn owledge of the gramm ar b u t his acquain tan c e with ,

Greek remain ed superficial T0 supply the sh ortc omin gs .

in his differen t studies he had rec ourse to the en cyclop edic

works of B ayle Morhof an d Gesn er
1 9
, ,
20 21
.

In t his man n er G oet h e had acquired at the age of

sev en teen a v ery br oad an d lib er al educ at ion H e had .

b ec om e familiar with the p oetry of the leadin g civilised

n ation s p ar tly in t he orig in al l an gu ag es p ar t ly in tran sla
, ,

t ion s If the Greeks the E n glish an d the I talian s had

.
, ,

b een left somewhat in the b ackgroun d his readin g of the ,

German Fren ch Latin an d H ebrew literatures was all the

, , ,

m ore exten siv e H an d in h an d with t his wen t a kn owledge

.

of the l an gu age an d t he h ist ory of each of t h ese p eopl es ; in

the p olit ic al an d l egal hist ory of Germ an v his k n owledge ex

t en ded t o m in u t e det ails F or his y ears he had m ad e u n
.

u sual progress in t heology an d jurispruden ce H e had .

m ade himself pretty much at h ome in the n atural scien ces ,

less by systematic in struction than by ob servation an d ex

p e rim en t Of t h
. e ar t s h e h ad st ud i e d e sp e c ia lly mu sic a n d
drawin g H e played the pian o the flute later also the
. , , , ,

c ell o an d he drew so b eautifully th at Master Seekatz often

,

sa id t o h is f at h e r i t w a s a p i t y t h a t W o lf g an g w a s n ot
destin ed to b e an artist .

Bu t the you n g m an had also gath ered a rich store of

exp erien c e n ot on ly fr om sc en es of war an d st at e wh ich
,

ch an c e had brought to his door an d n ot merely from his ,

b itter l ove troubles b u t also from the extraordinary con

,

fiden ce which in sp ite of his y out h he in spired in all his

in timate acqu ain tan c es H e had b een given an in sigh t
.

into the privacy of families often a p ain ful exp erien c e t o ,

him an d yet of the

,
gr ea t est imp o r t a n c e f or t he d eep e n in g
 E ar lie st [Droouctiona 3 1

of his in tellec tu al life All these thin gs c ontributed to an

.

early m aturit y an d it is easy t o see why his fat h er who

, ,

looked up on his d evelopmen t as tropical an d wh ose am

b ition s for him were so high c ould hardly await the time ,

for sen din g him t o t he u n iv ersity H e had d estin ed him t o .

the study of law The you n g m an was to learn as much

.

as p ossible fr om t h eory an d prac tic e in Leip sic Wet z lar , ,

Ratisb on an d Vien n a so that the wh ole c areer of a jurist

, ,

an d st at esm an m igh t b e op en ed t o him .

Youn g G oeth e listen ed in Sil en c e as th ese life plan s were

unrolled b efore him H e was dreamin g of other ideals. .

When ever he tried to thin k of somethin g which he would

like t o have an d which would brin g him happin ess in life
, ,

the fan cy p ic ture th at p ossessed the greatest ch arm for him

-

was the wreath of l aurel woven t o d ec or ate the p oet .

This p icture was b u t the reflection of the p oetic talen t

which expressed itself with elemen t al forc e early in his
b oyh ood Am on g his first production s we m ay reckon
.
2 2

the t hree G erman Latin c oll oquies which he c omp osed when
-

eight year s old an d which k in d for tu n e has preserv ed in an

,

exerc ise b ook We are aston ished to see in them such

.
23

in ven t ion in t he d evel opmen t of t he subj ec t such lively ,

humour in the dialogue such skill in delin eatin g the in ,

div id u ality of the sp eak ers an d such quick n ess an d k een ,

ness at rep artee The first c olloquy treats of a fath er an d

.

son g oin g t o the c ell ar The son desires to b e t aken alon g

.
,

as he w ishes t o see his father fillin g up the win e c asks .

”
Slyb oots says the father there is somethin g at the
, ,
“

b ottom of this I c ann ot den y that I have a desire to

“
.

”
see again the c orn erst on e of ou r h ou se F ollow m e . .

Now th ey go d own the stairs ; the son w on der s at the great

darkn ess ; the grave can b e n o darker It soon b ec omes .

lighter H e sees the kettles p ots c asks an d other thin gs

.
, , ,

lyin g about an d then fin ally the corn erston e H e remem

, .

b ers how he had laid it a few years b efore surroun ded by ,

the mason s ; how the over seer was g oin g t o m ake a sp eech ,

b u t his m emory failed him in the m iddl e of it an d he t ore

his h air with rage while t he crowd of sp ec tator s sh ook with
,
3 2 t he l ife of G oe the

laughter The fath er in turn rec alls the difficulties an d

.

d an g ers in ciden t to the remod ellin g of the h ouse an d pro

ceed s t o t he fillin g of t he c ask s To the son s question why ’
.
,

t his is n ec essary t he fat h er r eplies t hat the win e is con

,

st an tly ev ap oratin g an d has t o b e repl ac ed by oth er w in e

t o k eep it fr om Sp oilin g I n th at c ase say s the son

” “
it .
, ,

would b e b etter to an ticip ate by drin kin g it up After .

th is suggestion has b een m et the curiou s son ask s ab out ,

t he d iff eren t sor ts of win e an d wh et h er an y of t he old win es

are c all ed t heol ogic al The fath er laugh s sayin g th at the
.
,

clergy seld om drin k old win e That is tru e replies the ,

”

son addin g p er t ly t h at the t h eol ogian s on the ot her h an d

, , ,

say th at t he jur ists are t he l ov ers of old w in es At this .

p oin t the jurist fath er break s off t he c on v ersation abruptly ,

ord er in g t he son b ack t o his w ork Bu t t h at he m ay n ot .

d ep art from the c ellar un rewarded his father giv es him a

p iec e of wood purp ortin g to b e a remn an t of the m ast of
,

C olumbu s s ship The son tak es up the j ok e an d replies

’
.

with a laugh that he will keep the wood with his other
an t iq u it ies u n t il som e D am asippu s (fool ish d eal er in an
t iq u it ies in H orac e) c om es t o buy t h em With t his n eat .

t u r n t he c o n v er sat ion c om es t o a cl ose .

The sec on d c oll oq uy is a c on v ersation b etween two

sch oolm at es Wolfgan g an d M ax im il ian b efor e t he op en in g
, ,

of sch ool . Wolfgan g gives an exc ellen t p ortrait of him self

as a well bred b oy eag er t o l earn who assum es t ow ard his
-
, ,

un ruly c omrad e the mien of a wise m en tor The b est of .

t he c oll oquies is t he th ird :

F ather What are you d oin g there my son ?
—
.
,

Son M akin g wax figures

—
.

F ather — I t h ough t so
. Oh when will you ever pu t .
,

n uts asid e ?

Son — Why I m n ot playin g with nuts I m playin g

,
’
,
’

with wax .

F ather —
Ign oramus can it b e that you don t kn ow the
.
,
’

mea n g o u
n i f n t s in
‘
t h c o ect o
is n n i n ?
’

The lit t l e r gue h er e i dul g

o i a p t he Lati w rd n e es n un on n o n uc s,

wh ich a m ea b t h ut a d childi h pl ay “ ” “
c n n o n s n s
 E ar lie st lhroouctiono 33

Son — I rememb er Bu t see how well I h ave

Now .

learn ed in a Short time to model in wax .

F ather T0 sp oil wax you mean

.
—
, .

Son — I b eg your p ard on Am I n ot creatin g rather .

clever things ?

F ather Yes in deed. Show m e some of your m al

-
,
.

formation s .

Son Amon g oth er an imals I have made with sp ecial

—
,

succ ess a cat w it h a l on g m ou st ach e an d a c ity m ou se an d

, ,

a fi eld m ou se t o illu strat e on e of H orac e s satir es tran slat ed

’
,

by Drollin ger in to pure German doggerel .

F ather — I like this remin isc en c e b etter th an the

.

b easts th emselves Bu t have you made n othin g else which .

sh ows y our alleged art m ore adv an tageou sly ?

Son — Yes in deed ; h ere is a wh ale wit h m outh wide

, ,

Op en as if t o swall ow u s an d two Ch am ois wh ich E mp er or

, , ,

M aximilian was so fon d of hun tin g th at he is said to hav e

b een un able t o fin d his way ou t of the declivitous rocks till
an an gel in hum an form Sh owed him the p at h .

F ather — Why you apply your scraps of history so

.
,

ap t ly t h at on e must p ard on your misshap en figur es An d .

is t hat all ?
Son By n o m ean s ; f or of all my mod els the on es t o
—

b e esp ecially admired are : the croc odile sh eddin g f alse

t ears t he m on str ou s war el ephan t of the an c ien t s t he
, ,

liz ard frien d of m an the croakin g frog an n oun cin g sprin g

, , ,

all of which lack n othin g b u t life .

“
F other — N on sen se! Who would b e able to rec ogn ise
th em w th ut the lab els
i o ?

Son — Alas ! Is n ot every m an the b est interpreter of

hsi o wn w o rk s ?
“
F ather This statement is quite true b u t n ot
.
,

apropos .

Son — Pardon
my ign oran ce an d deign to look at this
sl eighin g p art y Th ere are just a doz en in it all differen t
.
, ,

partly creepin g an d partly flyin g creatures of which the ,

swan the st ag the walru s an d the drag on seem t o b e the

, , ,

most n atural —
.

V OL I 3
34 t he fl
ute of G oe the

F ath er —
. Y ou m ay th in k so, if you like
b u t it is per
,

fectly app aren t t h at you make n o real distin c tion b etween

b eautiful an d ugly .

Son — Dear father will , you b e so kin d as t o tea ch me

the differen ce?
F ather Certain ly b u t everythin g in season Your
.
—
,
.

p ower of ob servation must first b e more mature .

Son — Oh fiddlesticks ! Why will you p ostp on e it ?

Tell m e ab out it to day rather than to morrow an d I will

- -

listen to you while I play .

F ather I h av e already said it c an n ot b e d on e n ow

.
—
,

-
som e ot h er time Pu t asid e y our childish n on sen se n ow
.

an d g o t o y our work .

Son — I will
. Good b ye .
-
.

B eside the gen eral merits which this c olloquy has in

c omm on with the oth ers it is a m at ter of n o slight in terest ,

h
t at t h e s ev en y ea old b oy in quir es ab out t he d istin c t ion
r — -

b etween t he ugly an d the b eau tiful id eas which the y ou n g ,

are w on t t o c on sid er firmly establ ish ed an d easy of appre

hen sion A n d fur t h er t h at he emb arrasses his fat h e who
.
,
r,

is app ar en t ly ab out t o g iv e t he purely superfic ial d efi n it ion

of h arm on y of prop ortion s by in sistin g on an immediate
“
,

expl an ation u n til t he fat h er n ot kn owin g wh at el se t o d o

, , ,

b id s him have don e with his n on sen se Wolfgan g s c omic al .

’

imitation of t he m an n ers of a m en ag erie k eep er in r ef errin g

t o his an im al s al so d eserv es n otic e .

B oth the c on duc t of the c on versation s in wh ich the ,

father is frequen tly w orsted an d the literary p eculiarities ,

of t he p iec es preclud e t he id ea t h at t he eld er G oet h e dic t at ed

t hem t o his son F or on e is p erfec tly saf e in sayin g t h at t he

.

father even if he had b een in clin ed to take the in ferior p osi

,

tion ascrib ed t o him n ev er was c ap able of such p oetic an d

,

dramatic c omp osition s The on ly thin g which might de .

trac t fr om ou r admir ation of the b oy s in v en t ion b u t wh ich

’
,

at the same tim e w ould in crease ou r won der at his talen t s

in gen eral w ould b e the p ossib ilit y th at the c on versat ion s
,

were reproduction s of real on es Bu t even such a suppo .

 E ar lie st lhroouctions 35

sit ion is on ly
limit ed degree p ossible At least the
to a .

real c on versation s must have b een of greater len gth .

After t hese c olloqu ies we can plac e the M archen vom

’

n eu en P ari s wh ich impresses u s wit h it s clev er a

,
n d ric h

in v en tion The form must b e attributed to the p oet s later

’
.

art as he n ev er wrote it d own till

,
8 Bu t his v ery 1 1 1 .

definite st atemen t forb id s u s to d en y that the c on ten ts

b elon g t o his b oyh ood Then c omes a p eriod of several
.

years b efore we meet wit h an y further in tellectual docu

men ts of G oet he s youth which m ay b e c alled in the
’

broad er sen se literary These are two lett ers of the fourteen
.

year—old b oy written in May an d Jun e 7 6 4 to the seven

, ,
1 ,

teen year old Ludwig Ysen b u rg v on Buri in N euh of

- — The .

letters are the m ore deservin g of c on sideration b ec ause th ey

acqu ain t u s with a lit t le ep isod e in G oet h e s life imme
’

diately af ter the Gret ch en c atastr oph e an d p assed ov er in ,

sil en c e in his aut ob iogr aphy Buri had organ ised a virtue “
.

league c alled t he Arcadian S ociety an d Goeth e wished

,
” “
,

to j oin it The soc iet y rec eived n ew memb ers c autiously

.
,

an d on ly aft er t h or ough in v estigation by the in sp ec t ors .

The in sp ec t or for F ran kf ort was K arl v on Schweit er with z ,

t he l eag u e n am e A lexis When S chw eit er had repeat edly

. z

disapp oin ted his exp ect ation of an in troduc tion t o Buri ,

Goethe wrote to the Arch on in May 7 6 4 After a few ”

,
1 .

formalities an d c omplimen ts he goes on in his letter to ,

c on fess his Sh ortc omin gs in order th at H err v on Buri m ay

,

kn ow wh et h er or n ot th ey disqual ify him f or adm ission .

On e of my chief failin g s is th at I am som ewh at imp etu ous .

I dare say you kn ow ab out the ch oleric t emp eramen t ; b u t

n ob ody f orget s an in sult m or e easily t h an I I am also .

used t o layin g d own the law yet when I have n othin g to ,

say I can h old my t on gu e Bu t I will gladly subm it t o

.

such a d isc ipl in e as on e migh t w ell exp ec t of y our wisd om .

At the v ery b egin n in g of my letter you will fin d my third

fault V iz that I write as familiarly to you as if I had
, .
,

kn own you a hun dred years Bu t what is the differen c e? .

This is a hab it I c an n ot break myself of I t oc .

curs to me that I have further the fault of great impatien c e

 6 t he Il tf e of G oe the
‘

an d a dislike of un c ertain ty I b eg you to decide as quickly .

as p ossible Th ese are my greatest faults Your p en e

. .

tratin g eye will see a hun dred oth er litt l e on es which I hop e , ,

however will n ot exclude m e from your favour

,
.

M ean while Alexis warn ed the Arch on Buri for h eaven s ’

sak e n ot to tak e up wit h G oet h e wh om he had failed t o ,

rec ommen d on acc oun t of his vices On acc oun t of his .

“

vic es On e can t rac e h ere the after effec ts of the rec en t

.
”
—

crimin al lawsuit in which G oet he s n ame had b een in

,
’

v olved From the p olite an swer in which Buri referred

.

him t o Alexis as the pr op er ch an n el of c ommun ic ation ,

Goethe th ought he had some hop e an d wrote again to Buri ,

inn oc en t ly c allin g Alexis on e of his b est frien d s wh om he ,

had b egged to t ell t he wh ol e trut h H e is n ot t o p ass .

over an y of my fault s b u t he mu st n ot k eep b ack my ,

good poin ts either Bu t with all th at I b eg you kin dly to

.
, ,

t ak e t he p ain s t o ex amin e m e y ourself ; for h owev er clev er

Alexis m ay b e somethin g m ay esc ap e him which would b e
,

un pleasan t to you I n some resp ects I resemble a ch ame

.

leon I s my Alexis to b e blamed then if he has n ot yet

.
, ,

st ud ied all my ph ases ? We h ave a lot of block

heads iri ou r cit y as y ou n o doub t v ery w ell kn ow Let u s
, .

s upp ose n ow such a o n e t ak es it in t o his h ead t o j oin y our

, ,

soc iet y H e ask s his t utor t o writ e a let ter for him an d
.
,

a m ost b eaut iful l ett er t oo The tut or d oes so an d the

, .

youn g m an Sign s it In this way you are led t o form a high

.

op in ion of his sch ol arship an d in itiat e him with ou t ex am

in ation When you scrutin ise him closely you fin d t hat you
.

have added to your n umb ers n ot a sch olar b u t a nu m , ,

skull That is un pard on able Now it is quite p ossible that

. .

I am such a on e an d so you n eed to b e on your guard

,
.
”

AS a result of Schw eit z er s rep orts W olfgan g seem s n ot

’
,

t o h av e b een t aken in t o t he l eagu e Bu t this is of min or .

imp ortan c e What in ter ests u s h ere is the letters as ev i

.

den c e of the youn g p oet s talen t s The facility in com ’

.

p osition the self analysis the d omin atin g hum our with
,
-
, ,

which the f ourteen y ear old b oy sp eak s of him self Show

— -
,

ev en in th ese form al l ett er s t he cl aw of t he l ion .

 3 8 t he l ife of G oe the

v in early youth he was seiz ed with a p erfec t rage for

e en

makin g rhymes an d verses an d was en c ouraged by the ap ,

p l au se of his p ar en t s a n d t e ach er s t o g o t o t h e gr eat est ex

t rem es Ab out the year 7 6 3 he b egan to c ollect his p oems

. 1 .

H is fertilit y en abled him to h an d over t o his f ath er as the

yearly in crease of his muse a large quarto v olume of fiv e
hun dred pages .

There is n o kin d of c omp osition in which he did n ot try

his p owers We have already heard of love son gs an d
.

hymn s for a weddin g an d a fun eral ; the religious p oem of

which we h av e heard can on ly b e c on sidered as the last link
in a great ch ain of simil ar produc tion s H e al so wrote a .

lon g series of Anacreon tic p oems H e attempted the epic .

at the age of fourteen in an elab orate prose p oem drawn ,

from the Scriptures of which J oseph was the hero H e

, .

had furthermore set forth t he story of J oseph in twelve

, ,

sc en es ,
some of wh ich t o his great sat isfac tion w er e de

p ic t ed by Fr an kf or t ar t is t s T o t h e e p ic c a.t eg ory b e l on g
further t he stran ge n ov el in which he makes Six brothers
,

an d sist ers en ter in t o c orresp on d en c e with on e an other an d ,

t he hum orou s d escrip t ion s of t rav els an d pleasure excur

sion s in c omp an y w it h his frien ds .

Bu t he was by far m ost fruitful in the dram atic fi eld .

The pupp et Sh ow which his gran dm other had giv en him at

Christmas 1 7 5 3 exerted a great an d lastin g in fluen c e up on
, ,

him . H e soon b egan t o d irec t it him self an d wit h the h el p ,

of his f ath er s serv an t pr oduc ed D avi d u n d Goli ath acc ord in g

’

t o a written t ex t b ook t he littl e f ell ow d eclaimin g t he p arts

-
,

of Dav id an d J on ath an w ith great fire S in ce the pre .

sen t ation was rec eiv ed wit h appl au se ev en if his fat h er f or , ,

p edagogic al reason s did leaven his praise wit h critic al re

m arks t he b oy b ec ame m ore an d m ore ab sorb ed in the n ew
,

t h eat ric al world David u n d Goli ath was c ast asid e an d

.
,

m ore preten tious selec tion s fr om G ottsch ed s Deu tsche

’

Schau buhn e were pu t on the st age as well as I talian ,

German operas which Wolfgan g had rescued from the dust

of his gran dfath er s libr ary By degrees the puppet theatre
’
.

b egan to p all up on the active b oy H e wan ted to take a .

 E ar lie st lhroouctions 39

part in the ac tion himself H e organ ised amon g his frien ds

.

a litt le tr oup e wh ich t he t ail or serv an t of t he h ou seh old

c ostumed an d for years they played en thusiastic ally up on
,

an impr ov ised st age b efor e an aud ien c e c on sistin g of the

youn g ac tors relativ es Bu t just as the b oy had given up
’
.
,

the pupp et pl ay b ec au se he w ish ed t o app ear him self up on

t he st age so he was n ow eager t o giv e al on g wit h the play s
, ,

of ot h ers som e of his own cr eat ion s

,
After his childish .

n ai v et e had ad ap t ed t o t he st ag e som e epic sc en es from

salem D eli vered which h gr j ym n t of the

7 er u t o t e
,
eat en o e ,

sp ec tat or s b u t t o his own d eep v ex ation c omp elled him t o

, ,

tur n from d ialogu e t o n arrat ion he c omp osed some origin al ,

plays th at were c orrect in the tech n ique of the stage H e .

say s in Wi lhelm M ei ster My p assion for dramatisin g “

ev ery n ov el I r ead an d all the h ist ory I was t aught was ir

resistible ev en in the c ase of the m ost refractory m aterial
,
.

Wh en ever we had a l esson in the history of the

w orld I c arefully m arked where som e m an was stabb ed or
p oison ed in a p eculiar m an n er an d my im agin ation hurried ,

ov er t he exp osit ion an d t he u n f old in g of t he pl ot an d

hast en ed on t o the in terestin g fift h act At t he sam e t im e .

”

he had a m an ia f or read in g plays an d d ev oured a great m ass

of t h eat ric al pro duc t ion s The F ren ch t h eatr e prob ably
.

in creased t h is p assion gr eatly an d in the c ourse of tim e he ,

k n ew n o greater happin ess th an t o read write an d act , ,

plays an d wh en ever there were p erforman c es in Fran kfort

, , ,

t o att en d t h em This p assion ate in clin ation c ould n ot b u t

.

brin g in t o the world a h ost of dramatic c omp osition s In .

the ou t lin e of his life wh ich he sket ch ed for Di chtu n g u n d

Wahrhei t (his autob iography ) t he p oet men tion s man y l ost ,

pieces of the Fren ch type Amon g th em was the myth .

ol ogic al all eg oric al p iec e wh ich he submit t ed t o his frien d

,

Deron es also t he tragedy of B elsaz ar the first red action of

, ,

Di e Lau n e ales Verli ebten which was writt en in Al ex an drin es

,

an d has b een preserv ed in a sm all fragm en t A min e an d , ,

prob ably the c omp osition s m en tion ed in letters from

L eip sic I sabel Ru th an d Seli ma Bu t his dramatic muse
,
-
, , .

also p aid fit tin g t ribu te t o the R oman s an d I talian s We .

4 0 t he l ife of Goe the

kn ow t h at he imitated Teren ce an d wrote an I talian op era ,

La Sposa Rapi ta .

That a sixteen year old youth who c ould look b ack

- -
,

up on such a fertile p oetic activity who had rec eived praise ,

an d adulation for his produc t ion s fr om y ou n g frien d s an d

old an d who had b een c on sc iou s of the p ow er of his g en iu s
, ,

sh ould fin d difficult y in keep in g t o a regular c iv ic c areer ,

such as his fath er pl an n ed f or him was to h av e b een fore ,

seen .I n fac t the ex ample of his fath er who aft er so much

, , ,

study t hought an d tr av el led a solit ary life b et ween his

, , ,

fireproof walls c ould n ot b u t make him d oubly resolved not

,

t o f oll ow in his tr ack s Not t o study law was th erefore

.
, ,

with him a settled purp ose H e th ought that he had mad e .

su ffic ien t c on c ession s t o t he d em an d s of prac tic al l if e wh en

he fixed up on a ch air in a un iv ersity as his g oal an d to th is

en d d et ermin ed t o study t he classic al lan gu ages an d an
H e had proudly sign ed himself in Moors s album
’
tiq u ities .

A L over of B elles L ettres ”

At all oth er times he c are
-
.

fully guarded the secret oi his plan s c ommunicatin g t hem

on ly t o his sister whom he t errifi ed t h er eby n ot a lit t l e .

Fin ally came the time for Wolfgan g to go to Leipsic ,

an d he was g lad of it f or he eag erly l on ged t o g et away

,

from h ome an d n ative city H e was ou t of sympathy with .

b oth : h ome b ecause of the pedan tic surlin ess of his

,

fat her ; n ative city b ecause of the crimin al trial an d the

,

defects in the municipal con stitution which he had learn ed ,

to kn ow so well An d so it c am e ab out th at at t he en d
.
,

of S ep t emb er 1 7 6 5 when he left his n at iv e c it y he turn ed

, ,

his b ack upon it as in differen tly as if he had n ot b een

reared there an d was n ever to return .
 F I R ST SE M E STE R OF STU D E N T LI F E

ll
Ga an t Lei p ic s Goet h e
ch a ge dre a d c duct— R et ai peculia i
— n s ss n on ns r

tie f peech
s o F eeli g f freed m A i t cr atic appear a ce f
S — n o o — r s o n o

Leip ic — G et h e priv at e life A mb iti b e a pr f e r f

’
s o t s -
on o o sso o

b elle l ettr e Di c ur ged by t h ohme H i p em

s - — a se B — s o s s o s con

d em e d —n D ub t h i w l
t e t
a B ur
o h i msa u cri p ts— U i o n n — ns s n s s n

v er it y l ec t ur e a e b arr e
s dull u ati f act ry— N f d e f
s r n, ,
ns s o o on n ss or

card da ci g Mela ch ly a d l ely

s or n n — n o n on .

N compan y with B ookseller Fleischer an d his wife ,

Goethe an odd little b oy all bun dled up (as he de

, ,

scrib es h im self t en y ear s l at er ) j ourn ey ed by the great ,

p ost road t hrough H an au Fulda E rfurt Au erst adt N aum

-
, , , ,

burg Rippach j estin gly allud ed to in A u erbachs K eller

,
—

t o Leip sic gallan t Leip sic famed throughout E urop e

,
,
,

as t he cit y of lin d en s on the Pleiss e is c all ed on t he tit l e

page of a guid e b ook publish ed in the year 7 2 5 by I c -

1

can der of D resd en B oth adj ectives were apt The . .

great fairs the famous univ ersity an d the exten sive b ook
, ,

trad e of wh ich L eip sic was ev en th en t he c en t r e had

, ,

spread it s n am e t hr ough ou t all the c ou n tries of E urop e an d

brought represen tatives of all E uropean n ation s from time

t o time with in it s walls M oreover wealth higher educ a .
, ,

tion an d in t ern ation al c omm erc e in c on jun c tion with a

, ,

Fren ch colon y had produced an aristocracy of man n ers an d

,

ou tward app earan c es t h at m ad e t he term gallan t seem ”

well deserv ed E very German who en tered the city felt

.

imm ediately t h at a fin er at mosph ere prev ailed h ere Youn g .

Lessin g who had prep ared himself for the univ ersity on ly a
,

I a d e i t he p eud
cc n ym f J C C ell Cf E ph v 7 7 5
r s s on o r u or ,

41
4 2 t he l ife of Goe the

few miles from Leip sic was p ain fully surprised to see how ,

”
f ar he was b ehin d the p eople of t he gallan t c ity H e “
.

c omplain ed b itterly of his utter ign oran c e in matters of

soc ial in terc ou r se an d of his ru stic un refi n ed p erson If ,
.

we wish to get an idea of the typic al L eip sic dan dy as con

trast ed w ith a c oun try bumpk in we sh all d o w ell t o t ak e
Goethe s advice an d c on sult Zacharias Ren ommi st ( Brag
’ ’

g ad ocio) ,
wh er e in a w ell k n ow n p assag e t he g o dd ess of -

fashion calls ou t to a J en a studen t by the n ame of Rauf

b old ( Bully) :
Sci nnr ein Sein i
gg er nerm irf hie jb n
c lccl e Sra d n , ,

lnrlicl) nnb Gibfinen fd necllicb marbt

ib iebicl) b ier liic .

E b rin Barf nermanblencl) in einen jcbmargen Qi entcl;

Rein put hebecfemebr hie anfgcpnstc GdJeitcl
!

Sn Sena lief; bit nnr ein larger e ni cl fe bfin ,

élSeit heifer mirb bit b ier ein langcr a ffc lflag Jtebn .

© ein nngciiinnntcs Saar gleich t cinctn © pcrlingsneftc

QBie[n ifslnb liifzt bir nicht hieleich tegelbeQBeite .

Gie bieigt fpottifcl) inrg nrn beinc S§ iiften jclfl

'’

, i gt ,

Sci [ linger ans (Sirifctt nnb {tart mit G i olb belcgt .

Sic Stenter laf; allein bieiclnneren Gticfcln briicfen

f
,

QSieiann hieS t i bcben nich t ein feihner C trnmpf entgnc fcn ;

’

Q ein c en merheilein nnb iniipf inn ii) n ein éBanb

‘

Bum 8 eicl) cn bahbu hid) in meinem Sieicl) befannt

. , .

Qierabicbcn non nnn an bienngegognen Sunbel

’

6 9nd) gierlicl) nnb gallant nnb ricrbc nad) Sancnbel fi

,

Co me b e a Leip iger a d d ff thy rur al ai

, z n o r

Th at r e der t hee ab urd a d di u t the fair

n s s n o o s o

A abl e b ag wig m ake f t hi e u eemly qu eu e

s o n ns

A d let t hy well fri ed h air

n hat b cur e fr m iew ;
-
zz no o s o V

I J e a it i t ru e h r t l eev e a e well e ugh

n n , s ,
s o s s r no ,

Mor e modi h h er e i Leip ic app ear a l ger cuff

s n s s on

Thy h ck i li ke t he e t f ome u tidy b ird ;

s o s n s o s n

Thy yell w wai t c at it t h ee ill up my w rd

o s o s s , on o

T o h rt it f all ab u t t hy hip i m cki g f ld

o S o s o s n o n o :

Procur e a lo g g i et t e ri chly t rimm ed wit h g ld

n r s on , o

Be e b t tr p er feet i h eavy b t arr ayed ’

n on u oo s n oo s ,

Silk h o e will er t ak e t he f a cy of a m ai d
s soo n n

Sm all b e t hy w rd a k tt ed ribb s at it hil t

o . no on s

Thy wor all egia c e t t hi l a d b et oke t hu t hou wilt

s n n o s n n s

Be i c e i
n p eech a d gall a t a d boori h br awli g hu n
n S n n ,
n s n s

Thy per o aye exh ale weet l av e d er my o

s n s n , s n .
 f S e me ste r of S tnoent Il ife
‘
i rst 43

We are n ot a litt le surprised at the ready rec ogn ition ,

on t he p art of ou r y ou n g stud en t of the sup er ior eleg an c e ,

of t he S ax on c omm erc ial an d educ at ion al m etr op olis ev en ,

t h ough he had c om e fr om a l arger 5

an d w ealt hier c it y 2
,

n earer t he seat of Fr en ch cult ur e wh er e he had gr ow n u p ,

in the mid st of the f orem ost f am ilies

”

E v en his dress did n ot c om e up t o the stan d ard of

L eip sic taste To b e sure his father had p erson ally select ed
.
,

for his cl ot h es t he fi n est an d b est m at erial s ; b u t in his

ec on om ic al Sp irit he had had t h em m ad e by his servan t ,

an d while the art of t his am at eur t ailor m ay well h av e su f

ficed for t he Fran kfort taste in t he L eip sic c ircl es wh ere ,

youn g Goethe moved it seemed ridiculous After his eyes .

were Open ed by some symp athetic w oman frien ds he

wasted little time in exch an gin g his en tire wardrob e for a
n ew on e in the L eip sic st yle I n ot h er featur es of his ou t .

ward appearan ce esp ec ially in his man n ers he had a great

, ,

d eal t o l earn b efore he c ould feel h im self on an equalit y

with Leip sic gentlemen ; an d as he was given to extremes
in his y out h he p assed at on e b oun d fr om the Old Fr an c on ian
h ab it s t o t he most affect ed roc oc o If you c ould on ly see .

writ es his frien d H orn who en t er ed t he u n iv er sit y a

”
him , ,

sem est er l at er in a lett er t o the y ou n ger M oor s expr essin g

, ,

his in dign ation at G oeth e s d ef ec tion fr om the cust om s of

’

his n ative c it y w uld h r w h g r

“
y ou o ei
,t e g o m ad it an e o r

burst with laughter I c an n ot u n derstan d at all how a

.

m an can ch an ge so quickly All his h ab its an d his whole .

b earin g at presen t are as differen t from his former c on duc t

as day is fr om n ight H is prid e has m ad e him a f op an d
’

.
,

his cl oth es with all t h eir b eaut y ar

,
e in such foolish t ast e ,

th at he is the m ost c on sp icu ou s p er son in t he wh ol e u n i

v ersity Bu t this d oes n ot disturb him ; n o matter how
.

much on e hold s up his follyt o him ,

Wian mag ilmnhion icin nnb gels unb St alls bcgmingen ,

tar icinen (Goeth

S b
enic t iann man 3nr S
i lugbeit bringen .
*

Amphi on might on e b e an d
,
c quer r ck a
on o nd woo d
Bu t Goet h e forc e t o reali e hi good
’
n e er a s s
44 t he l ife of Goe the

H e has ad op ted uch gestures an d p oses with his han ds that

s

on e c an n ot p ossibly refrain fr om l augh in g at t h em He .

has acquired a gait t h at is simply in t olerable Oh ! if you .

could on ly see it !

11 m arche apas co m pté s ,

vi d es q u atre facu lté s

Com m e u m rect eu r su i .

Bu t his cl oth es an d m an n er s were n ot all H is lan .

guage too foun d n o fav our in L eip sic society F or th ough

, , .

his fath er had always in sisted t h at the children strive for

a c er tain purit y of l an gu age still the m ore d eep seat ed ,
-

peculiarities of the Fran kfort dialect were n ot to b e eradi

cat ed. B esid es G oeth e was fon d of spicing his lan guage
,

with vigorous biblical phrases n ai ve expression s from the ,

old chr on icles an d blu n t prov erb s

, An d so t he p eop le of .

Leip sic who claimed to h ave an old an d universally rec og

,

n ised m on op oly of the b est G erm an an d c on sid er ed a t hin ,

watery style as perfection looked upon Goethe s mann er ,

’

of sp eech as vulgar an d stran ge ; an d they urged p oor

Wolfgan g on all sides to submit in matters of lan guage also
t o the dic tation of the gallan t c it y Bu t wh ile he readily .

acc omm od at ed h im self in out ward m att er s his ch an ge of ,

idiom was scarc ely n otic eable .

The criticism of his Fran kfort p eculiarities h owever , ,

disturb ed b u t little the youn g studen t s enj oymen t of the ’

n ew lif e th at had daw n ed f or him H e had b een set free . .

This gl orious feeling swells his breast an d in his joy he ,

writes in a letter to his frien d Riese :

Sci) lebc b ier
So mic ein Tagel her anf einem Qlft ,

Sm fe b i t QB lb l
f ) g b
i i i m b wi t
'

fin cn a c re e t at cn eg ,

Der nngcftiirt hiefanfic Enft geniefst ,

Wilt feinen fi l i
f gtti en n on Qt au m 3a Qi nam ,

5 m
3 i n Qi nfcl) 3a éBuicl) fic l) fingenb bingnfcbmingen l
’g
.

j ur here My so o n

I lik e a bird t h at i a h ady w d

’
s s, ,
n S oo

I h ali g fr eed om
n n a b e di g b ugh
on n n o ,

D t h u di t urb ed e j y t he b almy ai
o n s n o r

A d flit at will fr m t r ee t t r ee
n o o ,

Fr m bu h t o bu h a d make weet melody

o s s . n s .
4 6 t he l if e of G oe the

c an n ot b elieve he says in a letter of the 3 t h of Oc t ob er

,
1 ,

“
what a fin e thin g it is to b e a professor I was c ompletely .

charmed t o see some of these p eople in th eir glory Ni l .

is tis l di di u s gravin s ac hon orati u s O u loru m an imi qu e

p e
sn ,
c .

aci em i ta mihi pers trin xi t au ctori tas glori aqu e eoru m u t n u llos ,

”
p ra ter hon ores Profess aras ali os si ti a m .

G oethe s thoughts as we kn ow were of a professorship

’

, ,

of b elles lettr es b u t his f ath er prob ably th ough t he m ean t

-
,

on e of law wh ich was a g ood st epp in g st on e to the h igh er

,
-

offic ial c areer .

Thus the L eipsic heaven durin g the first w eeks smiled

b en ign ly up on ou r studen t Bu t Soon cloud after cloud .

c am e up an d the little bird which at first had rej oic ed so

,

loudly b ecame gradually stiller an d stiller .

Am on g the m en to wh om Goethe brought an in tro

~

duc tion was Privy C oun cill or B ohme professor of history ,

an d c on st itu tion al law W it h fr an k dev otion to the ideal .

t he i u t h c on fid ed t o him his plan of g iv in g up jur isprud en c e

'
‘

an d d ev ot in g h im self t o t he study of t he cl assic s an d

p oetry Bu t he had c om e to the wron g m an with his con
.

f ession I n st ead of supp ort in g him in this purp ose the

.
,

professor t urn ed u pon him a cold d ouch e of prac t ic al ad

vic e an d disp aragemen t of b elles lettres The professor ad -
.

vised him th at if he in sisted on takin g up the study of the

classic s t his c ould b e d on e through the m edium of juris
,

prud en c e ; in n o c ase however sh ould he take the step , ,

with out the c on sen t of his p aren ts A later c on versation .

with Frau B ohme who was as wise as she was amiable , ,

c ompleted the work of persuasion b egun by her hu sb an d .

The youn g eagle let his win gs b e cropped an d hopp ed ab ou t

’

sorr owfully up on t he gr ou n d of pr ofession al study .

H is gloom was d eep en ed wh en Frau B ohm e c on d emn ed

'

some p oem s of his wh ich he had r ec it ed t o her w it h ou t

men tion in g the auth or As this fault fin din g criticism was .

-

on occ asion c on tin ued by Prof essor s M oru s an d Clodiu s

There i thi g m r e pl e did m r e dig ifi ed a d m re h ur

s no n o s n ,
o n ,
n o on o

abl e Th eir aut h rit y a d re w d a l ed my eye a d my oul t h at

o n no n so zz s n s

I t hir t fo
s h ur b t t h at f a pr fe r hip
r no on o u o o sso s .
 jfirs t S e me ste r of S tuhent l ife 47

an d s upp orted by good groun ds the poet was seiz ed with ,

rage an d con tempt for ev erythin g he had ever written in

p oetry an d prose an d he merc ilessly threw almost all the
,

fin e t hin gs which he had br ought alon g from Fran kfor t

in to the fire . H is lan dlady good old Frau S traub e was
, ,

n ot a lit tl e frigh ten ed wh en t he smoke from the fire of t h is

h eroic sacrific e wen t driftin g through the hou se H is .

sorrow ov er the d estr oy ed writin g s w ould h av e b een l ess

in t ol erable if the crit ic ism of Fr au B ohm e an d oth ers had

n ot at the sam e t im e prov ok ed in his y ou n g h eart a d oub t

of his p oetic t al en t an d a d isgust wit h p oetic c omp osition ,

which had previously afforded him so much happin é ss .

So he writes the elegiac lin es to Riese :

(Sang anbreQBnnfd n fieigen jest als innit ,

Seliebter 8 re11nh in meiner lBrnft h

, e rauf .

S11 meifa t mic icbr id) mid) 3111 531151111111

, 1 neigte,
QBiegrater G al; in meine m Qinfen fd) l11g ,

Si llit hem id) hiencrfolgte hielid) n111 ,

Sem Sied ai1nh feinem Seiligtnme ineibtcn

li n h n id) i her Ji
S li nf f
en anften Sl a d n n g c n
Sin ofines S i n nnhansgeftrecfteéj i ii nhe
'

élioll S ebnfud nreich ten Qld) S 11 meih

. t mein %
, t ranh, ,

Qliiefel) r id) ( 11nhgemili mit unrcd n ) glaubte ,

S ic S linfe liebtemid) nnhg1i b mir oft

'
’

Gin S lich Gs flung non meiner fieier 3111111

.

JJiand) ftolges Eieh has abet nic

S
h t h i Sli f
’

,
e n en ,

11nh nicbt l oll o reid) tcn 8 111111 mein Stalg

.
,

Set glaubt es hat in ticf 311 mir l) e1ab

,

Sid) Glitter nieherlich cn .

QIllcin fanm tam id) l) er als jd m rW

ell he ,
ebel
58 011 meinen a gen fanf als id) hen S iii bm
,

fib g fs
er ra en il t hernah
l iiinner jal) 11nh crj m ,

£8 11 nicl hagn gebhrte S i nlnn nerhicnen

’

, .

“
9 a fat) id) erft haf; mein crbabner ( slug
,

QBieer mir fd) ien nich ts mar als has l iemiil m

,
f

Ses QBnrms im Stanbe her hen t ler fich , t

8 111 Sonn fid) fdnringen nnhmic her binauf
’

Sid) fcbnt Gr ftriinbt empor 1inhminbei lid)

.
4 8 t he l ife of G oe the
li nhangftlid) fpannt er aIIc S
ternen an
11nhbleiht am Stanh .

An d this was G oethe s only b itter experien c e : after ’

n ot

t he n ov elty had w orn off he Was ev en m ore sorely dis

app oin t ed in his u n iv er sit y in struc t ors I t is true the .

faculties with which he was c on c ern ed c on tain ed man y

prominen t an d highly h on oured m en Bu t what c ould .

th ey offer t o t he y ou th alr eady so far adv an c ed an d eager

t o seet hin gs at on c e in th eir first an d in t h eir fin al an aly sis ?
Amon g the philologists the most brillian t was E rn esti ,

th orough an d sou n d in his explan at ion s of the classic

aut h or s an d a m et h odic al critic of t he B ible b u t wit h out
, ,

origin al it y Goethe heard his lectures on Cic ero s Orator T

.
’

Q uit e ot h er
l gi g w t h a her et fore on n s no n o ,

D ear frie d c ome urgi g up wit hi my brea t

n ,
s n n s

Th u k we t m e much t p e y i cli ed
o no s o o s n n

A d h w my b
n o m t hr bbed wit h deadly h at e os o o ,

W hich c e I b r e t ward t h e wh ev ery t h ught

on o o os ,
o, o

D ev t ed t t he law it
o a c tit y
o ,
s s n ,

N l e t t mu e ft a d weet allur e
or n o s s
’
so n s s

A tt e tiv e ea n eag er l i
g g h a d
r, n or ,
on n n s

I l ve ext e d d W ell t h u k w t my frie d

n o n e o no es , n ,

M y firm b lief u f u d ed t h u g h it pr v ed
e ,
n o n o o

The mu e did l v m e ev er a d a
s o e , n n on

My g i pir ed
son M a y a pr ud r efr ai
ns n o n

R e u d ed fr m my lyr e b t
so n t t he gift
o ,
u no

Of mu e f A p ll
s ,
I my prid e
n or o o o n

I wee ed t h at e e t he g d ab v e
’
n n o s o

Did c d e c e d t m e
on s n o

c rc e had I come wh e 1 ! the mi t

S a , n 0 s

Befor e mi e ey e r ll ed b ack a I b eh eld

n s o . s

The f am e f ch l ar gr eat a d fir t perc eiv ed

o s o s ,
n s

Wh at gift al e h all m erit deat hle fame

s on s ss

Th e fir t I aw t h at mi e ex alt ed flight
n s s n ,

A w r ev eal ed
S no ught diff ered fr m t he w rm ,
no o o

C t e di g wit h t he du t t h at ee
on n n high s ,
s s on

The eagl e m u ti g t t he a d l og n n o su n n on s

T ar H e writ h e a d t ruggl e t ill er ec t

o so s n s s, , ,

Twixt h pe a d fear he tr et ch e every erve

’
O n s s n ,

A d f all b ack gr v elli g

n s o n

TI a l ett er t R ie e B i 4 G et h e wrot e at t he time t h at he wa

n o s , r 1 ,
o , s

heari g t h em t h at t he lect ure wer e t he D e O at e O

n , s on r or .
-
.
 jfirst S e meste r of S tuhent l ife 49

an d n o d oub t learn ed somethin g from them b u t he did n ot ,

receiv e the en lighten men t which he specially desired on the

c an on s of esth etic critic ism H e rec eiv ed somewhat greater
.

b en efit from E rn esti s c olleague M orus a youn g m an of

’
, ,

thirt y his t abl e c omp an ion at Privy C oun c ill or Ludwig s

’

, ,

who in private c on versation op en ed his eyes to the faul ts

of r ec en t G erman liter at ure Those up on whom this task
.

sh ould h av e f all en Gottsch ed an d Gellert were in n o w ise

, ,

c apable of helpful criticism G ottsched was the v ery m an

.

who had u sher ed in t h at in an e in sip id m ov em en t again st ,

which the youn ger gen eration was rev oltin g H e was a .

sup er an n uat ed au t h orit y who had ou t liv ed his r epu t at ion

when Goethe came to Leipsic H e was ev en un able to .

asser t his soc ial st an d in g All L eipsic d esp ises him

“
. .

N ob ody associates with him writes Wolfgan g to Riese ,

.

The v isit which G oet he an d Schlosser m ad e him in the

Sprin g of 7 6 6 an d wh ich G oet h e imm or talised in a d elic iou s
1 ,

b it of gen r e in his au t ob iography will always remain a ,

won derful symb olisation of the c on trast b etween the old

an d t he n ew at an imp ort an t t urn in g p oin t in Germ an -

lit erat ure .

Gellert on the c on trary st ood extraordin arily high in

, ,

the estim ation of y oun g an d old Bu t with in his n arrow .

fi eld of vision there grew n o fruits that Goethe c ould en j oy .

From his lec tures on literary history an d esthetic s ou r

youn g studen t c ould c arry h ome at most a few learn ed
facts ; for Gellert had n o c on c eption of the p oetry th at 26

wells up ou t of a full h eart an d gen uin e feelin g I n all his .

lectures ontaste Goethe n ev er heard him men tion the b est

n am es of t he t im e : Klopstock Kleist Wielan d Gessn er , , , ,

Gleim Lessin g Gersten b erg eith er in p raise or in con

, , ,

d em n ation H is et hic al l ec tures b earin g eviden c e of a

.
,

b eautiful soul an d n oble symp athy made an impression ,

for the momen t b u t wh en critic ally examin ed they lost

,

their pleasin g gl am our H is prac tic al ex erc ises in G erm an

.

an d L atin c omp osition for the cultiv at ion of t he un der

stan din g an d st yl e w ere equ ally dist ast eful t o G oet h e sin c e ,

G ellert obj ected to v erse in c omp osition s while impassion ed , ,

VOL I -
4
so t he l ife of G oe the

stirrin g prose med t o his tame min d somethin g ou t

see

lan dish an d obj ec tion abl e Clodiu s a y oun g er c olleagu e

.
, ,

soon t ook ch arg e of G ell er t s ex erc ises an d he was som e

’

what more p atien t with p oetry Bu t his own v erses .

rattled so with th eir an tiquated fetters that th ey brough t

d own the b itin g sarc asm of his gift ed hearer .

Goet he rec eiv ed n o greater satisfaction fr om the ph ilo

soph er s Of r eal b ein g the world an d God t he st ud en t
.
, ,

t h ough t he kn ew ab ou t as much as t he pr of essors an d in ,

m ore than on e resp ec t t heir philosophy seemed to him v ery

lame So it was n ot to b e won d ered at that t oward the en d
.

of the sem est er t he d ough n u t s wh ich c am e fr om t he fryin g

p a n j u st a t t he h our wh en W in ckl er w as l ec t ur in g w er e

m or e of an attr ac tion t o him th an t he professor s philosophy

’

an d br ough t t he collegi u m phi los ophi cu m t o a sweet b u t

un timely en d The same professor s physic al lec tures
.
’
,

h owever proved to b e of p erman en t value to him an d he

, ,

rememb ers them later in his study of the theory of c olour .

The professors of law t o which it was his duty to d ev ote ,

himself c ould n ot have kep t him in t heir field even if their

,

lec tures had Sh own more t horough n ess an d in t elligen ce

t h an t hey r eally did Thus the un iversit y whit her he had
.
,

gon e with such great expec tation s had b ec ome for him in ,

on e semest er a p lac e of b arr en learn in g an d dull m ed iocrity .

H e al so gradually l ost in terest in his social affiliation s in

Leip sic H e had en dured t he criticism s of his clothes an d
.

man n ers was more sen sitive when his lan guage was foun d
,

fault with b u t wh en his judgmen t was disapproved of an d

,

he was exp ec t ed to m eet t he soc ial r equirem en t s in c ard

playin g an d dan c in g b ot h of which were odious to him he
, ,

b ec ame emb ittered H e was brought fac e t o face with the

.

fac t th at he the much admired an d over in dulged prodigy

—
,
-

of Fran kf or t ; he the gr an d son of the ch ief m agistr at e of

,

the c it y t reat ed at h ome wit h m ark ed r esp ec t was per

, ,

son ally of n o imp or t an c e h er e an d t h at if he c ar ed t o en ,

jy y
o an c on sid e r at io n he mu st c on f orm t o t h e d em a n d s o f
Leip sic society Too proud an d with all his wav erin g too
.
, ,

self assur ed t o y ield he pr eferr ed t o withdraw in t o solitud e

-
, ,
 K L OPSTO C K
A f ter the Pain tin g b y F u el

( r
F om Lif e an d Times of Goschen , b y permission of J ohn M urray)
 K A TCH E N SC H O N K OPF , B E H RI SC H , O E SE R

Arriv al of Ho r chl r I tr duc

n an d S osse — n Goet h e
o tion t o t he S hon
c k o pf s—

an d K at he i c l ve G et he c ci us t h ey a ever m arry
n n o — o on s o c n n

Their a ciatio — A iv al — Triumph— A n ette— A t h er riv al

sso ns r n no

J eal u y Lett er t Beh i h— L ver p ar t a frie d — Beh i h

o s — s o r sc o s s n s r sc
’
s

ch ar act er I fl e e r G eth e Sl d er Ode t Beh i h

— n u a
nc —
ov o — n s o r sc

Goet h e av i d Gell ert

o d Bohm e A
s ciati wit h the Br eit
n — sso on s

ko pf s a d t eO
n h b erm a — S t udy f et ch i g w i
nn st h St ck— Pai t i g o n o n n

a d dr awi g wit h Oe e Oe e i fl e e A vi it t t he D r e d e
— ’
n s r— s r s n u nc s o s n
n

Gallery

T b egin ning of the sec on d semester Goethe was

the ,

mad e h appy by the arrival of two of his Fran kfort

frien ds : cheerful litt le b an dy legged H orn (c alled -

H orn chen an d J oh an n G eorg Schl osser lat er t o b ec om e ,

the hu sb an d of C orn elia The former c ame t o study t he

.
,

latter for a sh ort soj ourn Schlosser was Wolfgan g s sen ior.
’

by twelve years an d for some time had b een en gaged in the

practice of law at Fran kfort Bu t he had given up practice .

b ec ause it failed to satisfy the larger aspiration s of his

min d an d he had accepted a p osition as private secre
,

t ary an d p ed agog ic al adv iser t o Duke Friedr ich E ugen of

Wurtemb erg in c omman d of a regim ent of dragoons at
,

Treptow on the Rega in Pomeran ia Passin g through .

Leipsic on his way t o his n ew fi eld of lab our he stopp ed a ,

few week s an d was much in G oeth e s c omp an y Greatl y ’

.

att rac ted t o t h is ser iou s st eady ch arac t er wh ose r ep ose an d

, ,

sagac it y were d oubly impr essiv e wh en c omp ared wit h his

own t hough t l ess an d v iv ac ious n at ure an d wh ose t h orough ,

an d broad educ ation c omm an d ed his h igh esteem Goeth e ,

spen t w ith him m an y h ours ev ery day in d eligh t ful c onv er

52
 matche n Schonhopf ‘

, E ehrisch, Ge se r 53

sation , felt his old p oetic impulse return Schlosser s

an d .
’

Visit h owever assumed for the youth tin ged as he was

, , ,

with melan ch oly a much greater importan ce than that

,

of a m ere t emp orary in t ellec t u al an d Spiritu al stimulu s .

Schlosser had en gaged b oard an d lodgin gs of the Vintner

SchOn kopf in the Briihl an d in v it ed G oethe t o din e with
, ,

him every day The p eople th ey m et th ere were : the good

.

Assessor H errmann am ateur of art an d later burgomaster , ,

of L eip sic ; the refi n ed Privy C oun cill or Pfeil ; quiet Zach a

ria br oth er of the p oet ;

,
F alstaff Kreb el editor of geo ,

graphical an d gen ealogic al han d b ooks b eside several -

,

stud en ts of n obl e b ir th fr om the B altic prov in c es of Ru ssia .

We m ay take the p oet at his word th at n o spec ial p ersuasion

was required on the p art of his table c omp an ion s to in duc e
him t o t ak e his m eal s w it h t h em ev en after Schl osser s
’
,

departure for the SchOn kopf househ old c on tain ed a stron ger
,

magn et than its distin guished an d cultured guests Th is .

was the d augh t er of the h ouse An n a K ath arin a Schon kopf , ,

c alled by Goethe An n chen or An n ette while her real n ick ,

n am e was K et ch en After a very few days of acquain tan c e

.

t he y oun g m an s h eart w as all afl am e an d his r el at ion t o her

’
,

formed from n ow on the c en tre of his Leipsic life K atchen

, , .

SchOn kopf is un an im ou sly praised by all who k n ew her .

She had a prett y figure an d a pleasan t op en fac e a good , ,

deal of un derstan din g was n atu ral cheerful somewhat , , ,

roguish a good ,
h on ourable warm hearted girl H orn
—
, , .
,

who lived at Schon kOpf s c alls her the m ost Virtu ous an d
’
,

p erfec t of girls an d assures his frien d Moors t hat Goethe

,

an d K atchen seemed t o b e b orn f or each oth er Goethe .

loved her with the full ardour an d seriousn ess of an hon est ,

Op timistic y out h an d yet fr om the v ery b egin n in g of his

,

p assion he is c on scious th at she can n ever b ec ome his wife;

c on scious that there will c ome an h our when duty an d
n ec essity will c omman d his sep arat ion fr om her An d for .

t hat reason in his quiet m om en ts he disapproves of his

,

l ov e mak in g which mu st ar ou se illusory h op es in K atchen s

’
-
,

heart N evertheless he d oes not c on quer his in clination

.
,

b u t giv es it free c ourse for two full years I n th is con du ct .

54 t he l ife of G oe the

lies a moral weakn ess which in view of the seriousn ess with
which he l ooked up on t he relation ship c an n ot b e explain ed
as the friv olit y of a st ud en t esp ec ially as t he sam e phen om e
,

n on r ecur s sev er al t imes in t he m at ur e m an Bu t it is cer .

t ain t h at it was n ot ou tward c ircum st an c es which d iscl osed

t o him t he aiml essn ess of his l ov e ev en in it s fir st st ages , .

N eith er was he in flu en c ed by the fear that his fath er would

n ev er giv e his c on sen t t o such a u n ion (f or his p assion w ould

h ave given him the p ower or at least the c ourage to break

d own every resist an c e) n or was it t he prid e of his social su
,

p e rior it y t o a g irl who in d ee d w a s acc ord in g t o his expres ,

sion wit h out p osit ion an d w it h ou t m ean s f or in a l et t er t o

, ,

Moors he sp eak s of t hese th in gs with c on t empt I t was .

rath er the n eed dimly c on sc iou s in his min d of rou n din g

, ,

ou t his exp erien c e an d n ot all owin g h im self t o b ec om e firmly

rooted un til he Should have realised his vaguely formed ideal

of l ife t ow ard wh ich he y ear n ed as if imp ell ed by irresist i
,

b le n ec essit y On t he ot h er h an d was t he n o less irresistible

.

p ower of a lov e p assion which wen t far b eyon d the ordin ary
-
,

limits of glowin g youth So th ere c on ten ded within him

.

t wo migh t y d emon ic p owers w hich cru sh ed b et ween t h em ,

all ot h er c on sid er at ion s suggest ed by reason or by con

sc ien c e .As n ow so l at er I t is easy t o u n d er st an d th at
,
.

from such a struggle the v iolen c e of which was greatly

,

heighten ed by the torm en ts of sub tle c asuistry he suffered ,

in ten sely Tossed ab out by c on flic tin g emotion s an d wild

.

c apric es he tortured himself an d his b elov ed at times

, ,

all who k n ew him b ey on d all en duran c e, So in faithful .

remembran ce of th ose day s G oethe in his autob iography

c an n ot often en ough ch arac terise his state of min d at th at
period as moody whimsic al c on fused stubb orn an d the
, , , ,

like ; an d the rec en tly publish ed letters to Behrisch an d ,

Di e Lau n e des Verli ebten emph at ic ally v erify t his self ,

charac terisation .

Let u s tak e his lett ers as the saf est guid e t o t he d ev el op

m en t of t h eir relation ship I n th is way we sh all n ot on ly
.

rec eiv e ou r fir st d eep an d sur e in sigh t in t o the h ear t of

t his Sin gular m an ; we Sh all al so b ec om e acqu ain ted with t he

 1katchen Schonhopf, E ehrisch, Gese r
' ' '

55

p oet in his early greatn ess F or t hese letters are n ot hin g .

l ess th an a c ompan ion piece t o Werther ch aracterised by ,

all t he imp erf ec tion an d st ormy improvisation of y ou th .

Goeth e had b een in love with K etchen sin c e the en d of

April 1 7 6 6 an d she th ough three years older return ed his
, , , ,

love with all her heart For who c ould hav e resisted the .

w on derful th ough ecc en tric youth wh en b e p oured ou t the ,

gold of his heart an d m n d The lov e was kept secret from

i ?

K atchen s f ath er an d m ot her an d g iv en ou t as a m ere

’
,

frien dly in t erest Sin ce the l ov ers felt v ery sure th at her
,

p aren ts w ould termin ate her relation s with such a youn g

an d arist ocr atic gen t l em an as b ein g t o n o purp ose F or .

greater secrecy G oeth e feign ed a l ove affair with a w ell b orn - -

youn g lady of w hich h ow

,
ev er he must soon af ter h av e
, ,

grown weary H is lov e of K atchen was for the stud en t

.
,

Wolfgang reason en ough for takin g his m eals n ot on ly at

,

n oon b u t al so in t he ev en in g a t t he Schon k opf inn an d f or ,

dividin g man y of the in terven in g h ours b etween the tap

room an d the family livin g room ab ov e B esid e the man y -
.

opp or tu n ities wh ich f avo urabl e fortun e afford ed th ere w ere

sp ec ial occasion s f su ch as sin gin g in st rum en t al mu sic an d , ,

t h eat ric al s f or goin g t o t he dear h ouse in t he Br uhl an d

,

st ayin g t h ere as l on g as p ossibl e .

The summer m on th s of 1 7 6 6 p assed in un dist urb ed hap

p in es s o f l ov e A riv al w ho
.
p u t in h is app ear an c e serv e d
on ly t o h eigh t en the h app in ess of Wolfgan g who alw ays ,

c ame off triumphan t Thus he writes with pride an d .

jy
o in t h e b eg in n in g o f Oc t ob er fr om t he wr it in g d esk “
-

of his littl e on e who had gon e with her m oth er an d the

(
”
,

un succ essful wooer to the th eatre to Tutor Behrisch wh om , ,

he had m et in the mean tim e an d wit h wh om he had b ec ome

in timate :
It is v ery pleasan t to ob serv e a m an t akin g all con
“

ceiv ab le p ain s t o m ak e h im self l ov ed b u t with ou t the l east ,

Therigi al i i Fre ch D uri g the fir t two year in Leip ic

o n s n n n s s s

Goet h e ft e m ad e e f Fr e ch f
o n t he ake f pr actic e
us o A hi pa n or s o S s s

i
s oni cr ea ed a d he b eg a t o t ur t
n s n at ur e t he f or eig n idiom v a i h ed
n n o n ,
n s

fr m hi lett er
o s s
5 6 t he l ife of G oe the

s ucc ess a m an who for every kiss would c on tribute two

,

louis d or to the p oor fun d an d yet will n ever get on e an d

’
, ,

t h en see m e c omfortably seat ed in a c orn er an d c on sid ered

by the oth er m an as an ill man n ered blockhead an d yet
—
, ,

without Showin g my b eloved an y atten tion wh atever or pay

in g her a sin gle c ompliment rec eivin g fav ours for which ,

t his m an would mak e a j our n ey t o R ome I wan ted to .

leave when she wen t b u t to prev ent m e she gav e m e the

,

key t o her writin g d esk w it h p ermission to d o or t o write

-
,

wh atev er I liked S tay h ere she said till I return ’ ‘

.
.
, ,

You always h av e some n on sen se in y our head eith er in ,

verse or in prose ; pu t it on paper at your leisure I will .

offer f at h er som e excu se f or y our st ay in g up h er e ; if he

sees wh at is b ack of it w ell we c an t help it Furth er ’ ’

—
, .

more she left m e two fin e apples the gift of my riv al I

,
—
.

at e t hem ; t h ey t asted exc ellen t

”
.

A few days later he excused himself to Behrisch for n ot

havin g acc epted an in vitation to supper H e had rec eived .

a n ote fr om his little on e urgin g him to c ome to her as ”

,

soon as p ossible I flew to her I foun d her alone! The

. .

wh ole family was at t he play God in h eaven ! wh at a d e .

light t o b e alon e wit h on e s sweet heart four hours con ’

secu tiv ely ! They passed wit hout our n otin g them H ow
"

”
happy these four h ours m ade m e !
The win t er of 1 7 6 6 1 7 6 7 g oes by with out ou r hearin g
—

an y thin g fur ther ab ou t his love in his c orr esp on d en c e He .

c eased to write to Behrisch I n May 1 7 6 7 he mention s .

, ,

K atchen s n ame for the first t ime to his sister r emarkin g

’
, ,

with feign ed in differen c e that the little Schon kopf girl ,

deserved to b e rememb ered amon g his acquain tan c es ; th at

she was a v ery good girl wit h a straigh tf orward h eart an d
,

a pl easin g ar t l essn ess who l ook ed after his wash in g an d his

,

clothes an d th ereby earn ed his love for he was n ot affected

, ,

by her b eauty In August we learn furt her t hat in her

. .
!

honour he has n amed a collection of p oem s A nnette .

Autumn c ame The love affair had lasted n ow a year

.
-

an d a half The excited youth tormen ted b y c ontra

.
,

dictory mood s had gradually b ec ome more an d more ex

,
 matche n Schonhopf ‘

, E ehrisch, Gese r 57

c g fastidiou s sen sitiv e an d distrustful an d was always

a tin , , , ,

d eman din g n ew an d surer proofs th at he was the sole

p ossessor of K atchen s h eart ’
You mak e the ligh t b on d
“

of l ov e a h eavy y ok e is the apropos remark of E rid on

,

( G oet h e) in D i e L au n e d es V erli ebten Th is r esul t ed in .

str ain ed r elat ion s an d ev ery trifl in g in c id en t c ould n ot b u t

,

produce a crisis Such in cid en ts occurr ed durin g the fair

.

which came ab out this tim e .

At the SchOn kopfs two y ou n g stran gers had tak en

’

lodgin gs an d were to tak e b oth dinn ers an d supp ers in the

,

h ouse This was ann oyin g to the suspicious lover an d

. ,

K atchen su sp ec tin g what a storm was brewin g b egged

, ,

him in advan c e with the warm est pr otestation s of her

,

love n ot to tormen t her with j ealou sy swearin g that she

, ,

”
would b e his for ev er Bu t wh at ca Sh
. n e
“
sw rea ? ex

claimed the c aptiou s lov er Can she swear n ev er t o see

.

oth erw ise t h an n ow ? Can she swear th at her h ear t Sh all

b eat n o m or e ? t o d ay I was st an din g by her an d
talkin g whil e She play ed wit h t he ribb on s on her b on n et
, .

Sudd en ly the youn gest b oy cam e in an d asked his moth er

f or a t ar oc c ard The m ot h er wen t t o the d esk an d t he
.
,

daught er passed her han d ov er her eye an d rubb ed it as ,

if som et h in g had g ott en in t o it Th at is what makes m e .

furious I am foolish you thin k Well hear further

.
, .
, .

I h ave seen the girl d o this b efore H ow often she has don e .

exac tly the sam e t h in g in ord er to get her h an d up t o her

,

fac e an d c on c eal her blushes an d her c on fusion from her

mother ! an d would She n ot d o t he sam e thin g t o dec eiv e
her lov er th at She did t o esc ap e her m oth er s n otic e?
’ ”
In
the n ext l etter he is c alm again ; he h op es th at th ese su p
posed rivals will soon drive each other m ad Bu t scarc ely .

h ave a few days m ore passed when there rages within him
a wild er st orm t h an ev er An ot her such n ight as this he
.
,

exclaims in an ot h er l etter to Behrisch of the 3 th of

,
1

Octob er an d I sh all n ot n eed to go to hell for all my sin s

, .

You m ay have slep t p eac efully b u t a j ealous l over who , ,

had drun k just en ough ch amp agn e to w arm his blood t o a

pleasin g heat an d to en kin dle his imagination to the highest
5 8 t he l ife of G oe the

pit ch ! At first I c ould n ot sleep t ossed ab out in b ed , ,

spran g up raged ; an d th en I grew tired an d wen t to

,

l p
S e ; bu t
e h ow ol n g ? I had stupid dreams of tall p eople ,

plum ed h ats tob acc o pip es tou rs d adresse tou rs de passe

, ,
’

p a s s e an,d t h en I w o k e up an d c on sig n ed it a ll t o t he d ev il .

After th at I had a quiet h our pleasant dream s H er ac , .

customed mien b eck on in g at the d oor kisses as we p assed

, , ,

an d th en all of a sudd en ft ! she had m e in a b ag

, ,
After .

that it seem ed as if I were away fr om her b u t n ot ou t of the ,

b ag ; I wish ed t o b e let ou t —
an d aw ok e The cursed b ag
,
.

was in my head Then the id ea c ame to m e sudden ly that

.

I would n ev er see you again for I had firmly mad e up my

—

min d to it an d am still h alf in the n otion an d th at I felt in

,
—
,

a m om en t when I w ould n ot h av e g iv en the d ev il a p en n y

t o r an som my litt l e on e fr om his cl aw s in a p aroxy sm of ,

fever th at made my h ead swim I tore up my b ed chewed .

,

a c orn er of my h an dkerchief an d sl ep t till eigh t o cl ock up on

’

t he p alatial ruin s of my b ed I will b e wise which

.
,

in the c ase of a l ov er m ean s t o b e c alm I t is a n ew ad .

dit ion t o my c ollec tion of p istols which I b egan durin g this ,

fair For t o p out an d m ake a row would d o m e n o g ood !

.

She has phrases t h at st o p on e s m out h as y ou k n ow an d

’
, ,

make her accuser look like a b ig n in n y wh en she feeds him ,

on t h em
”
.

The n ex t day he addresses an app aren tly cheerful letter

t o C orn elia ab out wh olly in differen t t hin gs ; feel s h owev er , ,

forced to in sert : Like an April day it is on ly a whim with ,

m e th at I am cheerful an d I w ould b et ten to one th at,

t o m orrow a stup id west w in d w ill bl ow up a rain

”
-
On .

the 1 6 th he has a stup id sc en e wit h K at chen ab out a stup id

t oothp ick Then he is pretty c alm for a fortnight The
. .

fair guests have gone h om e yet a n ew rival has app eared in ,

the p er son of a f ell ow st ud en t by the n ame of Ryd en ; b u t

-

K etchen treats him so b adly that Goeth e enj oys the situa
t ion . Th en he is sob ered down an d kept in his room by a
fall from his h orse un til the week b egin ning N ovemb er
,

8 th which brin g s a w ou n d t o K at chen s feelin g s th at the

’
,

lov er can n ever again en tirely h eal .

60 t he l ife of G oe the

un derstan d that he c ares m ore for your society th an for

min e H e is forcin g m e to giv e him some m essage t o you
.
,

ev en if it d oes n ot am oun t t o an yt h in g I n Spit e of my .

an ger at him I am grat eful t o him for giv in g m e an oppor

t u n ity t o t ell you th at I am ev er y our s
’
.

“
After Fr aulein Ob erman n had read the lett er she ,

assur ed m e She did n ot u n d er st an d it ; my girl r ead it an d ,

in st ead of r eward in g m e f or c omin g an d th an kin g m e for ,

my affec tion treat ed m e so c oldly th at Fr aulein Ob erman n

,

an d her br oth er c ould n ot h elp n otic in g it This c on duc t .

,

which she kep t up the en tire ev en in g an d all day M on day ,

gave m e suc h offen c e that M on day n ight I fell in t o a fever

, ,

which racked m e terribly through the n ight with hot an d

c old an d kept m e at h ome the wh ole day after well B ehr
,
—
,

isch d on t exp ect m e t o t ell it in c old bl ood H eav en s

’
.
,

This ev en in g I sen t d own stairs for somethin g The maid -

.

came b ack with the n ews t hat she had gon e to the play with
her m oth er I had just p assed through a chill an d at
.
,

t h is n ews all my blood was on fire H a ! at t he pl ay ! at a.

t im e wh en She kn ew t h at t he on e She l ov ed was ill H eav .

en s ! Th at was t errible ; b u t I forg iv e her I did n t kn ow .

’

wh at pl ay it w as H ow ? Can it b e t h at she is at the play

.

wit h them ? Wit h t h em ! Th at m ad e m e tr emble ! I mu st

kn ow I dress myself an d ru n like a madm an t o the
.
—

th eat re I take a ticket for the gallery I reach my seat

. . .

H a ! a n ew discom fitu re My eyes are weak an d c an n ot see

.

as far as the b ox es I th ought I sh ould lose my min d was

.
,

goin g to ru n h ome an d get my glass A poor fellow who .

was stan din g at my sid e r escued m e fr om my c on fu sion I .

saw t h at he had two I asked him as politely as I k new

.
,

how to len d m e on e ; he did so

,
I looked down an d foun d
.

her b ox -
O Behrisch
I foun d her b ox She was Sittin g in the c orn er b eside
.
,

a little girl God on ly k n ows who t h en Pet er t h en the

, , ,

mother Bu t n ow ! B ehin d her chair H err Ryden in a

—
.
,

very affection ate p ostu re H a ! F an cy m e! Fan cy m e .

,

up in the gallery with an op era glass seein g that ! Dam

— -

n at ion ! Oh ! Behrisch I thought my head would burst with

,
 1katchcn S chonkopf, E ehrisch, Ge se r
'

6 1

rage They were playin g M iss Sarah [Sampson ] Fr aulein

. .

Schulz was in the title rOle b u t I c ould n ot see or h ear ,

an yt hin g My eyes were on t hat b ox an d my h eart was

.
,

p alpitatin g Now he lean ed forward so th at the little girl

.

who sat by her c ould see n ot hin g Now he stepp ed b ack . .

Now he lean ed ov er the ch air an d said som et hin g t o her .

I gn ashed my teeth an d wat ched him T ears c ame in to .

my eyes b u t th ey were c aused by the strain of lookin g

,
.

I h ave n ot yet b een able to Sh ed an y tears all even in g .

H eaven s ! heaven s ! Why did I have to excuse her at th at

m omen t ! Yes I did it I saw how She treated him quite
, .

coldly t urn ed aw ay from him h ardly an sw er ed him seemed

, , ,

t o b e imp ortu n ed by him I th ought I saw it all Ah my . .

,

g l a ss d id n ot fl a tt er m e a s my s oul d id I w ish ed t o s ee it ! ,

0 heav ens ! an d if I had really seen it l ove w ould n ot h av e ,

b een the fin al cause t owh ich I Sh ould have ascrib ed it

,
.

—
On w ith my st ory Thus I had sat for a quarter of
.

an h our an d saw n ot h in g b u t wh at I had seen in t he first

,

fiv e min u tes Sudden ly the fev er c ame on m e with full

.

f orc e an d f or a m om en t I t h ought I sh ould die ; I gav e t he

g l as s t o my n eighb o ur a n d d id n ot st o p t o w alk I r an ou t ,

of the h ou se an d h av e n ow b een wit h y ou f or tw o h our s

—
.

If you kn ow a m ore un h appy m an th an m e with so much ,

t alen t such good pr osp ec t s

, an d such adv an t ages ju st , ,

n am e him an d I will k eep Sil en t All ev en in g I h ave tried .

in v ain t o w eep ; my t eeth w ould c om e t ogeth er an d wh en ,

a m an gn ash es his teeth he c an n ot weep .

“
An other n ew pen A few m ore mom en ts of quiet . .

O my frien d ! Already the third sheet I c ould write you .

a t h ou san d with out get tin g tir ed I h av e slept in .

my chair for a quarter of an hour I am really very ,

weak .

H ow shall I p ass this n igh t ? I dread it I have b een .

-

asl eep again ; I am v ery w eak To m orrow I sh all go ou t .

-

t o see her Perhaps her c old n ess t oward m e has ab ated

. .

If n ot I am sure I shall have a double attack of fever to

,

morrow night Let it c ome! I am n o lon ger master of

.

myself What was I doing the oth er day when my horse

.
,
62 t he l if e of G oe the
b ec ame un man ageable an d ran off ? I c ould n ot h old
him ; I saw d eath at l east a t erribl e fall b ef ore my ey es
, , .

I risked t he d an ger an d jumped off Th en I had c ourage . .

Perh ap s I am n ot t he m ost c ourag eou s of m en am on ly ,

b orn t o b e c ourageous in d an ger Bu t I am in d an ger n ow .

an d y et n ot c our ag eou s H eaven s ! Frien d d o you k n ow .

,

what I m ean ? G ood n ight My brain is all in a muddle

-
. .

Oh if the su n were on ly up again !

,

Wedn esday morn in g I h ave p assed a terrible n ight I .

,

dream ed ab out Sarah 0 Behrisch I am a little c almer .

, ,

b u t n ot much I sh all see her to day We are to rehearse

. .

M i n n a [von Barn helm] at the Ob erm an n s an d She will b e

’

th er e . H a if She sh ould c on tin ue t o b e so c old t o m e I

, ,

c ould pun ish her M ost terrible j ealousy should torture

.

her Bu t n o n o I c an n ot d o th at
, , .

8 PM Yesterday ab out this time how differen t it

.

{
,

was fr om n ow ! I h av e re r ead my lett er an d w ould cer -

tain ly tear it up if I c ould b e ash am ed of app earin g b ef ore

,

y o u j u st as I r eally am Th is V iol en t l on g in g an d th is .

equ ally v iol en t dr eadin g th is rag in g an d t h is bliss will ac ,

q uain t y ou wit h t he youn g m an an d you will pit y him .

Wh at yest erday made the world a h ell t o m e t o d ay makes ,

-

it a h eav en an d will c on tin u e t o d o so u n t il it can n o

, ,

lon ger make it either of the two .

She was at the O b erm an n s an d we w ere alon e for a

“ ’

quarter of an hour It t akes n o l on ger for u s to b ecome

.

rec on ciled I n vain does Sh akesp eare say : Frailty thy

.
‘
,

n am e is w om an the im age of frail t y would m ore easily b e

’
,

foun d in a youn g m an She saw wherein she was wrong .

,

She was t ouch ed by my ill n ess an d she f ell up on my n eck ,

an d b egged f orgiv en ess : I fo rgav e her all .

I had the stren gth n ot t o tell her ab out my foolish

ac tion s at t he play You see She said we were at t he
‘ ’ ‘
.
, ,

play yesterday ; you must n ot b e an gry at that I had .

moved my ch air clear in to the c orn er of the b ox an d seat ed

Lottchen b eside m e so as to b e sure that he should n ot Sit
n ear m e . H e st ood b eh in d my ch air the wh ol e tim e b u t I ,

av oid ed talkin g wit h him as much as p ossible I talked .

 1katchen Schonkopf, B ehrisch, Gese r

with a lady in the n ext b ox an d wished I were over there

wit h her 0 Behrisch I had p ersuaded myself y esterday
.
’

t h at I had seen all t h at an d n ow She t old m e ab out it , .

She ! clin g in g t o my n eck G ood n ight I am .

-
,

diz z y as yesterday b u t for an other c au se My fever did

, .

n ot return t o day ; as l on g as t he w eat h er r emain s good it

-

will prob ably n ot return Good n ight .

-
.

“
Ann ette sen ds you greetin gs Two sh eets n ow I .
,

th in k I sh ould st op G ood h eaven s what a lot of writin g !

.
,

I have read it ov er again an d I b eliev e it w ould alien ate ,

y o u fr om an y st r an g er b u t y ou w ill t ak e p it,
y o n y our
frien d It is true that I am a b ig fool b u t I am also a
.
,

good fellow An n ette thin ks so ; d on t you too ?

.
’
,
”

A week later he rep orts to Behrisch that K atchen is in

un told misery The rec on ciliation was on ly temp orary
. .

Goeth e keep s p esterin g K atchen ev ery little while On the .

Dec emb er : I am still in a b ad very b ad humour ;

“ ”
4 t h o f ,

on the 1 sth of D ec emb er : I will an swer you b ecause I ,

am in a g ood hum our an d the weath er is n ow ad ay s v er y

chan geable H e is h on est en ough t o c on fess :
.
”
All the “

vexation s t hat c ome up b etween u s are my fault She is .

an an gel an d I am a fool .

The win ter semest er is at an en d an d his stav in Leip sic ,

is t o l ast on ly on e more sem est er H is c on scien c e b id s .

him more urgen tly th an ev er c om e to a clear u nd erstan d

in g wit h K atchen .

I n March 1 7 6 8 he writes to Behrisch :

, ,
Listen B ehr ,

isch ; I can n ever f orsake the girl I d on t wan t t o ; an d yet

’
,

I must get away from here I wan t t o get away ; b u t she ,

sh all n ot b e u n h appy if she r em ain s w or thy of m e an d th at

, ,

she n ow is ! Behrisch! she sh all b e h appy An d yet I .

Sh all b e so cru el as t o rob her of all h op es That I must . .

For wh oev er g iv es a girl h op es m ak es promises If She ,

.

can get an uprigh t hu sb an d an d liv e h app ily wit h ou t m e

'

how glad I sh all b e ! I kn ow my obligation s to her ; my

han d an d my mean s b elon g to her ; she shall h ave every
th in g t hat I can giv e her Curses upon the m an who .

marries b efore the girl is married th at he has mad e wretched !

64 t he l if e of G oe the

She hall n ever feel the p ain of seein g m e in the arms of

s

an oth er b efore I h av e felt the p ain of seein g her in an ot h er s

’

arm s an d p erh ap s ev en t h en I sh all sp ar e her t h is t errible

,

feelin g The explan ation for which K atchen s reserv e

.
”
,
’

has m ean while prep ared t he way is fi n ally m ad e in April , .

On the twen ty Six th of t he m on th he writes t o Behrisch :

-

Oh th at I c ould tell you ev erythin g ! I c an n ot it would

, ,

c ost m e too much of a struggle Be it en ough for you to .

k n ow that N ette an d I h av e p art ed an d we are h appy It , .

was h ard w ork b u t n ow I sit h ere lik e H ercul es who has

, ,

finish ed all his tasks an d surv ey the glorious b ooty I t , .

was a t errible t im e b efore the expl an ation b u t t he ex ,

plan ation c ame an d n ow n ow I k n ow for the first time

,
—

what life is She is the b est most amiable girl Behrisch

.
, .
—
,

we are livin g on the m ost pleasan t an d m ost frien dly

t erm s ju st as you an d She d o
,
No m ore c on fiden tial con .

v ersation s n ot a w ord of l ov e an y m or e an d so pl eased

, , ,

so h appy : Behrisch She is an an gel , .

The warm frien dly relation sh ip is k ept up ev en after

Goethe s d eparture from Leip sic Not un til K atchen is
’
.

b etroth ed t o D oct or K an n e in May 7 6 9 does it b egin , ,

1 ,

gradually t o c ease .

Ab out t he same time t h at Goethe en tered the Schon kopf

h ouse he b ec ame acquain ted wit h the m an t o wh om he
c on fided by word of mouth an d by letter the j oys an d
sorrow s of his lov e E rn st W olfg an g Behrisch , U n til his .

soj ourn in I taly Goethe was always in n eed of such an ‘

old er frien d t o wh om he c ould c on fess Behrisch was —

el ev en year s his sen ior The m an y violen t st orm s of his

.

em otion al life m ad e him l on g for a symp at h et ic soul who

c ould p our oil up on the troubled waters an d whose c ool , ,

clear reason in g c ould pilot him safely b etween the Scylla

an d Ch arybd is of his vague d esires an d p assion at e em ot ion s .

I n Leispic it was Behrisch later S al z m ann th en M erck , , ,

an d at last Fr au v on S tein .

Behrisch who had come t o L eip sic as t ut or t o the tw elve

,

year old C oun t of Lin d en au an d had taken lodgin gs in

-
,

Auerb ach s H of n ot far from Goethe s rooms was on e of

,
’
,
 1katc he 11 Schonkopf, E ehrisch, Ge se r
’ ’

65

the o dd est creatures im agin able H is very app earan ce was .

st ran ge en ough : he was sp are b u t w ell bu ilt had m arked , ,

features esp ecially a large n ose wore a wig from morn in g

, ,

till n ight dressed h im self v ery n eat ly b u t alw ay s in gr ay

, ,

of wh ich c ol our he sough t an in fi n it e n umb er of sh ad es ,

an d wh en ou t walk in g alw ays w ore k n ee breech es an d low

sh oes a d agger at his sid e an d his hat u n d er his arm pre
, , ,

sen t in g a perfec t typ e of t he roc oc o gall an t With this .

sub servien cy t o f ash ion an d t he sol em n d em ean our which he

aff ec t ed was d oubly c on t rast ed his w aggish cr it ic al n at ure , ,

which j oin ed issue with an yb ody an d ev eryb ody Bu t as .

he did it clev erly an d was n ot sp arin g of h im self he was an ,

in exh au stible sourc e of en tert ain m en t t o his frien d s With .

his merry satir e he was m ore p ow erful t h an Frau B ohme

an d M oru s in u n d ermin in g G oet he s f ait h in the con t em por
’

ary p oet s sh owin g h owev er m ore c on sid erat ion for his
, , ,

frien d s own product s an d p ermittin g him to c on tin ue his

’

poetic attempts on c on dition he should n ot publish an y

t hin g . H e promised in return t o c opy the p oem s fi n ely an d
n eat ly for G oet h e wh ich would b e a greater h on our th an if
,

t h ey were prin t ed H e k ep t his promise fait hfully t h ough

.
, ,

it c ost him great p ain s By his crit icism he st ren gt h en ed

.

Goet he s aversion t o t he empt y lab oured style an d his

’
, ,

in clin ation to the n atural an d t ru e H e mu st th erefore .

, ,

h ave taken true d elight in a lamp oon in which his youn g ,

frien d had made the stilted p athos of Professor Clodiu s the

t arget of his wit Goethe had v eiled his satire in a laudat ory
.

p oem on the pastry c ook H an del an d had written it on a

-
, ,

wall i n H an del s house that was c overed with in scription s

’
.

S ome time later when Clodiu s s vapid drama M edbn was

,
’
,
.
,

received with great applause H orn added a few verses t o ,

t he p oem m akifig it r efer t o the dram a an d pu t it in t o

/
,

c irculation in this form S oon everyb ody kn ew it an d it .

,

was al so kn owm w hat cliqu e had produc ed it an d the ,

well bred society of L eipsic was n ot a little in dign ant at the

-

origin at ors of such an in fam ou s l ib el The f eelin g of in .

dign ation exténd é d to Dresden an d sOOn reached the ears

l l

of C ou n t Lin den au s f at h er who was great ly d isturb ed t o

’

,
V OL I —
.
5 .
66 t he l ife of Goe the
see his u r in volved in such an offen sive aff air
’
son s t to .

There were other good reason s for b ein g dissatisfied with

hi m . H e associated wit h girls who if we m ay b elieve ,

Goethe s assuran ces were in deed b etter than their reputa

’
,

tion b u t wh ose m an n er s w ere t o say t he least a trifle t oo

, , ,

c omplaisan t H e drew his frien ds in to these association s

.

an d as a shrewd m an of the w orld assum ed the direc tion

, ,

of t he c ot erie So his circle c ould n ot fail to fall in t o a

.

c ertain ill repute an d it was n otic ed with displeasure that

, ,

ev en on his walks wit h the y ou n g C ou n t he was surr oun d ed ,

by the frivolous characters ; in fact he even took his pupil ,

in to the garden of th ese affable b eauties Thi s was all .

whispered to the C oun t s father by Leip sic gossip s with the

’

usual exaggeration s n o d oub t an d in Octob er 7 6 7 c ost

, , ,
1 ,

Behrisch his p osition Yet it was n o l oss to him for his

.
,

exc ellen t qu alific ation s pr ocur ed f or him a m ore agreeabl e

app oin t m en t at t he C ourt of D essau Bu t the l oss of this .

b eloved M en tor c aused Goet he the greatest sorrow an d

an ger H e g av e v en t t o his f eelin g s in som e b itter od es
.

direc ted to Behrisch I n the sec on d we read :

.

Sbrlid nr Warm ,

8 lieb e hiefes Sanb !

Sate Sumpfe ,

SampfcnheDitchernebel
Qierinebcn ibre a sfliifie
Sier an e
r r b
g ennlic
t .

Sebarort
Sd) 1ihlid) e1 Snieiten,
’

illihrhcrbhblc
Sbrer E na beit!

l d
f fg
) il i ten ll fcr

Biegt hie moll nftige ,

g lam m e n e
gg giin te S c l
h g
an e ,

Seitreic b elt 110 m S o nne nf bl

tra .
68 t he l ife of G oe the

H is assoc iation s wit h Professor B ohme which had at on e ,

t ime b een so v alu able t o him c eased wit h F rau B ohm e s

’

death in February 7 6 7 H e wrote a most c ordial lett er

,
1 .

t o C orn elia in her h on our sayin g t h at She had c ar ed for him ,

with a m oth er s z eal an d c on fessin g that he had always

’
,

gladly heeded her c oun sel an d th at he had n ev er giv en her ,

offen c e sav e by his h atred of c ard s Bu t from t he v ery .

b eginnin g he had felt n o real in terest in her husb an d an d ,

n ow t h at t he t en d er b on d b etw een him an d t he pr ofessor s

’

wife was broken an d Goethe was afraid of b ein g sc olded for

,

n ot at ten d in g l ec tures he b eg an t o av oid t h is h ou se as w ell

,
.

B eside the SchOn kopfs he kep t up his in terc ourse wit h ,

on ly f our f amilies : t he Breitkopfs t he Ob erman n s t he , ,

Oesers an d the S t ocks

,
The h ead of the Breitk opf family .
,

who liv ed in the S ilv er B ear in the U n iv ersit at sstrasse was ,

the propriet or of the fam ous publish in g h ou se H e had .

in v en t ed the print in g of mu sic fr om m ov able typ es was

'

th or oughly educ ated a l ov er of art an d a c oll ec t or of

, ,

curios H is two son s B ern hard an d Gottlob who were

.
, ,

st ud en t s at t he u n iv ersit y whil e G oet h e was t h er e w er e ,

distin guish ed for th eir music al talen t ; an d the older on e

c omp osed am on g other t hin gs the music t o Goet h e s first
, ,
’

published c ollect ion of lyric s usually c alled the L eipziger ,

Li ederbu ch Th ey had two sisters C on st an z e t o wh om

.
—
,

H orn was p ayin g c ourt an d Wilh elmin e The BreitkOpfS , .

en t ert ain ed frequ en tly wit h mu sic an d t h eat ric al s On .

in timat e t erm s w ith th em were the Ob erm an n s who liv ed ,

n early opp osit e t he SchOn kopfS an d who also had two ,

daughters in the bloom of youth on e of whom played with ,

G oeth e in Lessin g s M in n a [von Barnhelm] which was giv en

’
,

sev eral tim es at the Ob erm an n s in the win t er of

’
6
7 7 1

1
7 6.8 G oe t h e app ear ed in t he rO le of t he serg ean t m aj or -
.

I n an at tic ap art m en t in t he S ilv er B ear liv ed E n g av er r

S tock who did a great deal of work for the Breitkopf firm
, ,

a good in du st rious m an an d alth ough in st rait en ed

, ,

c ircum stan c es always in the b est of humour Goeth e

, .

l earn ed et ch in g of him an d u n der his guid an c e execu ted

s ev eral l an d sc ap es t wo of wh ich acc ordin g to Th iele
,
—on e ,
 Ge se r
’ ' ’ ’

1katchen Schonkopf, E ehrisch, 69

dedic ated to his father the other to Assessor H errm ann ,

m ay still b e seen in G oeth e s h ouse in Weimar while the

’
,

origin al pl at es are kep t in t he L eip sic c it y library He .

al so l earn ed w ood en grav in g of t his m od est artist

-
an d ,

am on g other t hin g s m ad e cu ts for SchOn kOpf s l ab el s

’
.

S t ock had married youn g an d his two d aughters who , ,

b ecame v ery well k n own later M in n a as the wife of

—
,

G ottfried K orn er an d Dora as the b etrothed of the writer

,

Hub er were on ly fiv e arid seven years of age Goethe

—
.

was a frequ en t visit or an d was c ordially rec eived by the

,

litt le family of the artist A charmin g sc en e from t hese .

in timate assoc iation s has b een han d ed d own t o u s by

Friedrich F erster in the words of Frau K ern er A wrin kled .

master of arts gave the children daily lesson s As all .

were c on fin ed t o on e room G oeth e frequent ly h eard the ,

in struc tion N ow it happen ed on e day that we had to

.

read aloud from a chapter of E st her which seem ed to him ,

un suitable for youn g girls G oethe had listen ed quiet ly .

for a time ; sudden ly he spran g up from my father s w ork

’

t able sn at ch ed the B ible from my han d an d c alled ou t t o t he

,

tu t or wit h furiou s v oic e : Sir how can you let t h ese lit t l e
‘
,

girl s read such st ories ! The mast er t rembled an d q uaked ;

’

f or G oethe c on t in ued his lec ture wit h more an d m ore

severit y till m ot h er st epp ed b etween t h em an d sough t t o
,

pacify him The master stammered somethin g ab out G od s

.
’

word b ein g all plain at which G oethe quoted t o him :,

Pr ov e all t hin g s ; h old f ast th at wh ich is g ood Then

‘ ’
.

he op en ed t he New T estam en t turn ed ov er the l eav es for ,

a m omen t u n til he had fou n d wh at he was l ook in g f or

, .

‘
H ere Dorchen he said to my sister read this to u s
, ,
’
,
‘
.

This is the S ermon on the Moun t ; we will all listen t o you .

’

AS Dorch en stamm ered an d was t oo fright en ed t o read ,

G oethe took the B ible from her an d read u s the whole

ch apter addin g some very edifyin g rem arks such as we
, ,

had n ev er h eard from ou r t ut or AS a r ew ard f or such a .

serv ic e of lov e he v ery r ead ily allow ed Frau S tock t o c omb

his t an gled h air wh ich hun g d own in h eavy brown locks

, .

F ar m ore imp ortan t t h an all the association s ab ov e

7 0 t he l ife of Goe the
m ention ed was that with Friedrich C oser director of the ,

Ac ademy of Paintin g which was at th at tim e located in the

,

Pleissen b u rg Goeth e took in struction u n der him in ord er

.

t o p erf ec t h im self in drawin g an d p ain tin g What he .

really rec eived h owever was m ore t h an mere h elp in

, ,

t echn iqu e . Oeser was n ot a v ery t alen t ed ar tist b u t he ,

had a fin e an d for his t im e v ery exc ep tion al appre

, , , ,

ciat ion of art I t was prob ably he from wh om Win ck el

.

m an n first learn ed the secret of the Greek id ea of b eauty ,

an d so of all b eaut y as was l on g t h ought v iz n obl e

“
, , .
,

simplic it y an d quiet great n ess This id eal which had the

.
,

eff ec t of a purgin g b at h up on t he roc oc o was the c on st an t ,

th em e of Oeser s th eoretic al t eachin g an d alth ough he

’ ‘

, ,

c ould n ot rid himself of the prev ailin g mann erism yet he ,

.

turn ed G oet h e away fr om t he sh all own ess an d u n n at ur al

n ess of t he r oc o c o to a pure an d d eep c on c ep tion of thin gs .

Goethe ackn owledged this ext raordin ary servic e of Oeser s ’

in pr ofoun d gratitud e After return in g to Fran kfort he

.

writes to his teacher : H ow greatly I am in d eb t ed to you ,

d earest professor th at you h av e sh own m e the way to the

,

t rue an d t he b eau tiful ! My lov e of the b eautiful ,

my kn owledge my in sight d id I n ot g et t hem all from y ou

, ,
?

What a c ert ain t y what a Shin in g t ruth the stran ge an d

,

almost in c ompreh en sible st at em en t has pr oven to b e th at ,

t he st ud io of a great ar t ist is a b ett er plac e to d ev elop a

buddin g ph ilosoph er or a buddin g p oet than the lecture
”
room of a philosoph er or a critic ! A n d t o Oeser s amiable
’

an d clever daugh ter Fr ied erik e wh om he m et at her fath er s

’
,

apartmen t s in the Pleissen b u rg an d at t h eir c ou n try h ome ,

in Dolit z an d to wh om he l ik ed t o g o when ever he felt b lue

, ,

t o b e ch eered by her op t imistic philosophy he writes : A “

,

great sch olar is l ik ely t o d espise the simpl e b ook

of n at ur e an d yet n oth in g is t ru e t h at is n ot simpl e
, Who .

ever f oll ows the simple p ath let him go on his way in,

sil en c e
. I than k your dear father for it ; he first
prep ared my soul for this st yle .

Oeser al so m ad e acc essible t o him the c ab in et s an d

p o r t f ol ios of t he L eip sic l o v er s of art Hub er K reu ch au f , , ,
 1katchen Schonkopf , B ehrisch, Gese r
'

7 1

Winkler an d Richt er an d in this way n ot on ly wid en ed

, ,

his h oriz on b u t al so d ev el op ed in him a f eelin g for t he con

,

dition ality of w ork s of art AS his t h ought s had b een .

str on gly d efl ec t ed in an ot h er d ir ec t ion by L essin g s Laokoon

’
,

which had app eared Sh ortly b ef ore it was n atural t h at the ,

d esire sh ould arise in him t o t est an d furth er train his eye

an d his in sigh t by t he study of t he rich art t r easur es of
Dresd en E arly in M arch 1 7 6 8 he m ad e a p ilgrim ag e t o
.
, ,

the S ax on c ap it al an d in ord er t o b e u n d er n o restrain t

, ,

an d at t he sam e tim e min dful of his fat h er s w arn in g t o

’

av oid t he r obb ery of h ot el s he en gag ed l odgin g s at t he ,

house of a c obbler a relative of the theologic al studen t

,

Lim precht who occupied the room n ext to his in L eip sic
,
.

The h on est c obbler a prac tic al ph il osopher fon d of work

, ,

an d p erf ec t ly satisfi ed wit h his n arr ow c ircum st an c es ,

aff ord ed t he stud en t the gr eat est amu sem en t w ith his
orig in al witt y
,
an d ready sp eech an d as G oet h e tried t o
, ,

assume the sam e m an n er t ow ard t he ch eerful ph il osoph er ,

he en gaged in his turn the good will of his lan dlord While .

he was h appy over his ch oic e of l odgin gs in Sp ite of th eir ,

m odest y an d simplicity t he p icture gallery the chief aim

, ,

of his j ourn ey surp assed all his ex pec t at ion s

, E v en t he .

splen d our an d purit y of t he arch it ec t ure t he shin in g ,

floors the daz z lin g frames the solemn stilln ess over all
, , ,

in sp ir ed him wit h won d er an d rev eren c e Bu t ab ov e .

ev erythin g el se t he p ain tin g s H e c ould n ot l ook at t h em

.

en ough an d t ook adv an t age of ev ery av ail abl e h our t o l ose

,

himself in their c on t emplation The Dutch pain tin gs es .

p eciall y c ap t iv at ed him H e w a s pr ep ared

. f or t h em by
his art studies at h ome an d in L eip sic an d t h ey satisfied his
fi
,

lon gin g for n ature an d the real Upon the Italian s on 7

.
,
2

the oth er h an d for wh om he had as yet n o real stan d ard of

,

judgmen t he b estowed on ly p assin g atten tion acc eptin g

, ,

their v alue m ore fr om his c on fiden c e in oth ers th an from

his own c on vic tion H e was presen t ed by an oth er visitor
.

t o the direc t or gen eral of t he gallery H err v on H aged orn

-
, ,

who showed him his priv ate c ollec tion s an d heartily en ,

j oyed the en thusiasm of the youn g lover of art .

7 2 t he l ife of G oe the

Goethe did n ot examin e the an tique art at Dresden ,

b ec ause he says he felt his in ab ility t o master even the

, ,

picture gallery An other reason m ay h ave b een the b ad

.

way in which the w orks w ere displ ayed in the p avilion s an d

sh ed s of the p ark (Gr osser G ar ten ) wh ich m ad e a real st udy
,

of t h em sc arc ely p ossibl e . F or in Dresden at th at tim e

an tiqu it ies w ere v alu ed on ly as arist ocratic g arden d ec ora
tion s. After a soj ourn of twelve days Goeth e dep arted
,

from Dresden gloriou s Dresden ”

richly laden with
-

kn owledge of art history an d esthetic s .

 LI TE R A R Y I N F LU E N C E S A N D PO E TI C C R E A TI ON S

r ry p vert y of
Lite a o t he age I n flu en ce
-
of Lessin g — Wie an l d— Sh ake
pear e— Ot h er
s ud F ertilit y Die La e de
st ies— Die — un s Verli ebten —

M i t h ldige
sc u — A v er in t t r agedy A
s on ette N e e Liede
o — nn — u r

Tr adit i al t yle Occ a al p em I mpr veme t in t yl e

on — s i — s on o s o n s

I ll e — Ki d e
n ss nf frie d
n ss o n s .

HE last semester open ed Goethe s atten dan ce at .

’

lec tures sh owed n o improvemen t The first an d .

real purp ose of un iversity study he had missed .

An d yet wh en l ookin g b ack ov er his y ears in L eip sic he had

'

, ,

reason t o b e very well satisfied Alth ough he was n otice .

ably ab sen t from l ec tures an d n ot on ly sipp ed b u t dran k

deep of the cup of life s j oys yet he d id n ot sq uan der his
’
,

days in idle pleasure N omin ally he was still a studen t of

.

law b u t ac tu ally he d ev oted all his h ours of study t o the

,

wh ole wide realm of fin e arts an d b elles lettres Whatever -

.

c ame to him in this way he received with keen delight No .

matter how arduous the lab or of acquisition n o matter ,

how much st udy prac tic e or readin g was in v olv ed his z eal
, , ,

n ev er fl agged .

We have already in dic ated how earn estly he sought to

attain k n owledge an d profic ien cy judgm en t an d t ast e in the , ,

field of the fin e arts Of m ore imp ortan c e here are his

.

literary studies t o which we sh all n ow turn ou r attenion

,
.

I n his aut ob iography G oeth e n ev er wearies of describ in g

the liter ary p ov er ty of the age in which his youth f ell Now .

he c alls it watery prolix in an e ; again he Sp eaks of G ott

, ,

sched s w at ery w ast e wh ich alm ost subm erged ev ery th in g ;

’
,

again of the b arr en im it ation of the sh allow an d the w atery

, ,
74 t he l ife of G oe the

from which scarc ely an idea has survived ; again of the ,

watery fl ood ab out the German Parn assus most perfec tly ,

t ypifi ed in Bodm er s N oachi de Wherever he turn ed

’
.

his eyes water water n oth in g b u t water

, ,
Bu t wherever
,
.

t he w ater had sub sid ed he b eh eld b ef ore him the broad , ,

flat pl ain h ere an d th ere c ov ered over with a n eat trim

, ,

littl e garden while his heart lon ged for towerin g moun tain s
, ,

frien dly valleys an d dark f orests ,

.

Goethe who with the in stin c t of a great gen ius felt a

, , ,

yearnin g for migh ty m en of in n ate origin ality of th ought ,

feelin g an d action foun d everywhere n othin g b u t prosaic

, , ,

tim orou s p ed an tic Philistin es or where t here had b een a

, , ,

departure from reality sen tim en tal an d prudish shep ,

herdesses who led their l amb s ab out by a pin k ribb on while

,

th eir l an gu ishin g sh eph erd s in gorgeou s arr ay disc oursed

sweet mu sic on the flu te The Dresden chin a of th ose d ays
.

gives a gen eral idea of the taste of the period For chin a it .

m ay h ave b een t ol erabl e b u t for p oetry it was outrageou s , .

Few in d eed were th ose who c ould offer the growin g

gian t an ythin g b etter Lessin g appealed stron gly to his
.

reason On the t hresh old of old age Goeth e spoke with the
.

great est en t husiasm of t he b en efit he had received from

Lessin g s writin gs durin g his st uden t days H e c ompares
’
.

Laokoon with a ray of ligh t which desc en ded up on him

t hr ough d ark cl oud s From the region of limited ob
.

serv ation he tran sp orted u s t o t he free fi eld s of t h ough t .

The d ogma U t pi ctu ra poesi s, so l on g misu n d erstood ,

’
,

was d on e away with ; the distin c tion b etween sculpture

an d p ain tin g on the on e h an d an d p oetry on the other , ,

was m ad e cl ear an d the bran ches of b oth n ow app eared

,

d iv erg en t n o matter how cl ose t ogether lay their roots

, .

The sculp tor an d the pain ter sh ould keep within the b oun d s
of the b eau tiful ev en if the p oet who must m ak e u se of
, ,

everyt hin g of imp ort an c e is at lib ert y t o tran sgress t h em , .

The sculp tor an d the p ain t er appeal to the outer sen se ,

which is satisfied on ly by the b eautiful ; the p oet to the

The r efere c e i t H r ac e A P eti a 3 6
n s o U t pi t a p e i
o ,
rs o c ,
1 : c ur o s s

it quae i p pi t e t e apiat m agi

”
cr ,
S ro et
us s Cs, c s, c -
.
 l iterarg finfluences anh lpoe tic t reations 75

im agin ation which is able to en dure the ugly We saw all

, .

the c on sequen c es of t his great idea illumin ated as it w ere

by a sudden fl ash of lightn in g an d all the descrip tion s an d
,

O pin ion s of prev iou s cr itic ism w ere c ast asid e like a worn ou t

garment .
”

Farther on Goethe again praises the supreme force of

these fun damen t al c ompreh en sive id eas whi ch b ore such
, ,

abun dan t fruit in t he impression able min ds of L essin g s

’

c on temp oraries .

H en ce there is n o room to d oubt that Goethe felt his

in tellectual devel opmen t ex traordin arily adv an ced by Lao
koon . Bu t the result c an n ot h ave c ome fr om th ose
sen ten c es which G oethe esp ec ially emph asises in t his con

n ection . For that the sculp tor an d the p ain ter must keep
within the b oun ds of the b eautiful by which Lessin g ,

mean t ideal b eauty of form is a prin ciple which Lessin g

, ,

un der the sp ell of Grecian ideal s vigorously defen ds ; b u t ,

it is n ot on e of his fun d am en tal prin cipl es n or d oes it ,

n ec essarily f ollow fr om t h em Least of all can Goethe have

.

approv ed of the feelin g w h ich led L essin g t o l ook askan c e

upon the pain tin gs of t he D ut ch school an d relegate lan d
sc ap e an d p or tr ait ure as in ferior im it at ion s t o t he sec on d
, ,

ran k For it would brin g his en thusiasm for the Dut ch

.
,

his in differen c e t oward the I talian s his d eep in t erest in ,

lan d sc ape an d p ortrait an d his then ideal of b eauty in

, ,
28

n o wise c ompreh en d ed by h arm on iou s lin e int o irrecon cil ,

able c on trad ic tion We m ay rather supp ose that youn g

.

Goethe saw wherein Lessin g s idea of b eauty was lackin g

’
.

H e was h owev er c arried away by the masterly clearn ess

, ,

with which Lessin g made the distin ction b etween p oetry

an d p ain tin g an d d isp elled the h armful c on fusion brough t
,

ab out by t he t heory t h at the two were on an equ alit y .

The chief fun damen t al teachin gs th at the two arts are com ,

p e lled by t h eir d iffer en c e in r esourc es t o r epr esen t d iff er en t

thin gs an d in differen t ways th at p ain tin g is limited t o
,

form an d poetry t o action an d that p aintin g can on ly su g

,

gest action through form while p oetry can on ly suggest

,

form through action these fun damen tal t eachin gs must

—
 7 6 t he l ife of G oe the

h ave b een youthful Goethe tryin g to grope his way

,
to the
ou t of the prev ail in g d arkn ess a fl ash of ligh t n in g dis ,

p ellin g the gl oom an d rev ealin g the ob stacles that had

bl ocked his p ath These n ew ideas had brought con
.

d em n ation on two thin g s Simultan eou sly : in literature ,

descriptive p oetry which claimed so man y vic tims at that

,

time ; in p ain tin g allegorisin g in which the age wit h

, , ,

Oeser in the l ead was rev ellin g an d which Win ckelm an n

, ,

had declared t o b e the high est mission of m odern art Fur .

therm ore t he theory of the suggestive m omen t in p ain tin g

, ,

an d of the r epresen t ation of physic al b eauty in p oetry t he ,

keen in sight in to H omeric art an d man y other clever de ,

tail s as well as the ter se style u n ique in G erm an literature

, , ,

an d yet so brillian t an d dramatic mu st h ave c on tribu ted t o ,

the y ou n g m an s en thu siasm

’
.

Goethe makes n o express men tion of Lessin g s other ’

great critic al work Di e H ambu rgische Dramatu rgi e the

, ,
29

greater part of which had appeared b efore April 7 6 8 ,

1 .

An d yet th ere can b e n o d oub t t hat while a studen t he read

it an d drew from it a large m easure of in format ion an d en
,

jyo m en t T h
.e s t ruggl e ag a in st u n n at ur al n ess ag a in st s t iff ,

regularit y again st fl at n ess triviality an d mawkish sen ti

, , ,

m en talit y the appreciation oi the p eculiarly n ation al

,

( H an sw ur st ) t he d ef en,
c e o f t he so v er eig n t y of g en iu s t h e ,

c on stan t referen ce to Shakespeare as the in c omparable

model all of this mu st have impressed the youn g m an
,

deeply an d added to his in stin ctive sympathy with these

views the light of clear kn owledge .

Di e Li teratu rbri efe t oo m ay h ave first c ome to G oeth e s

’
, ,

kn owledge at this time an d Lessin g s b old statement that ,

’

t h ere were sc en es in the d esp ised f olk b ook of D octor F au st -

worthy of a Shakesp eare d oub tless foun d an ech o in his

min d In deed it m ay b e that this Opin ion open ed his eyes
.

for the first time t o the dep t h an d dr am atic p ossib ilities of

the mat erial B eside L essin g s critical works there was a ’
.

p oetical production which G oethe greeted with great joy

, ,

M i nn a von Dorn helm E ven if the y oun g stud en t pr ob ably

.

did n ot as yet grasp with t he cl ear c on sciou sn ess of the

 7 8 t he l if e of G oe the
critic al digression s the prolix discussion s of su perficialities, ,

which charac terise Wielan d s writin gs from 7 6 4 to 7 6 8 ’

1 1 ,

c an n ot have escap ed the eye of the youth who had enj oyed
L essin g an d Shakespeare Bu t youn g Goethe was in d ebted .

t o the grac eful p oet an d c on v ersat ion alist for his free f ac ile , ,

m an oi the w orld Spirit p eculiar to t he Su ab ian p oet an d so

- - -
,

rare in n ative writers for his en j oymen t of sen suous deligh ts , ,

an d for his attemp t t o giv e th is element of life pleasin g

p oetic al expression th at harm onised the sen suous an d the ,

spirit u al If G oethe in his old age lays Sp ecial emphasis on

.

the effec t of M u sari on up on him an d att ribut es it t o his ,

b elief th at in it he saw an tiquity livin g an d breathin g again ,

t his c ircum st an c e m ay h av e c on tribut ed t o his en thu siasm ;

b u t th ere can b e n o d oub t t h at his impression was d eep en ed
by the fact that he a moody lover saw his relation to , ,

K atchen refl ec ted with strikin g resemblan c e in the relation

b etween Phan ias an d the heroin e in the first b ook of
Ad u sari on Shortly after his Leip sic period Goethe b ec ame
.

a sev er e critic of Wielan d s art b u t he built up on its b eau

’
,

t iful p eculiarities n ev ert h el ess an d Wilhelm M ei ster an d ,

Komi s che E legi en were erec t ed up on t his f oun d ation .

B eside Lessin g an d Wielan d t here remain s on ly Klop

st ock who migh t h av e ex er t ed a d et erm in in g in flu en c e up on

G oethe Bu t Klopstock s era was past H e had filled the

.
’
.

b oy with en thu siasm b u t was u n able t o h old the y oun g ,

m an un der his sp ell exc ep t in m atters of lan guage an d

rhythm * Klop stock s seraphic t en den cy was p aralysed
.
’

by Wielan d s trivial muse while his p atriotic vein had b e

’

c ome odious t o ou r studen t b ecause of the b ardic blare of his

imit at or s The war son gs of Gleim an d Raml er were m or e
.

t o his likin g b ec au se th ey had spru n g from d eed s an d had

,

the true in w ard rin g The pl ays of the L eip sic distric t tax .
-

Werther p em f t he Wet l ar peri d h w t he t r g

an d t he o s o z o s o s on

i flu e c e f K l p t ck
n n p etic t h ug ht a d feeli g Cf Ly G ethe
o o s o
’
s o o n n on , o s

Ve halt i e K l p t k ( Leip ic d i )
r n s u The i flu e ce a ee i t he
o s oc s ss n n s s n n

lyric i clearly p i t ed t by G eb el i t he c mme t ary f hi electi

s s o n ou o n o n o s s on s

fr m G ethe P em a w rk t which I feel I ught t refer i a much a

o o
’
s o s, o o o o ,
n s s

Biel ch w ky aid t h at
s o sm a i c e L ep er had h w a d eep a u d er
s no n s n o s o n s n n

t a di g of G et h e lyr ic a P r fe r G ebel C — ’
s n n o s s s o sso o .
80 t he l if e of G oe the

F aust b u t the studen t who kn ew much and would like t o

,

kn ow all .

H is c ompreh en siv e high er educ ation was n ot accom

p a n ie d by a c orr esp on din g cl earn ess of f eel in g an d k n ow

ledge On the c on trary the opp osin g sch ool s an d d oc trin es

.
,

with which he was b eset had brought his brain in to a

chaotic c on dition from which he rescued himself b u t
,

sl owly .

Asid e from Di e M i tschu ldigen his production s b etray ,

little of the inn er crisis Th ey did n ot go d eep en ough to

.

b e c aught by the m ad Whirlp ool s b en eat h From the dis .

cou ragin g criticism of M oru s Clodiu s an d Frau B ohme his , ,

rec overy was rapid H is p oetic impulse was so u n con

.

q u er a b le t h at n o d o ub t s of his t alen t an d of his ach iev e

men t c ould suppress it H e took up writing again which

.
,

b ecame from n ow on an ever in creasin g n eed of his in -

tellectu al life F or in Leipsic b egan t hat in clin ation

“
. as ,

he rem arks in Di chtu n g u n d Wahrhei t t o tran sform every ,

thin g which pleased an n oyed or oth erwise occup ied m e

, , ,

in t o a p icture or a p oem an d thu s t o pu t t he matt er asid e

, ,

at the sam e t ime c orrec t in g my ideas of ext ern al t hin gs an d

rest orin g my peace of min d To b e sure n ot every thin g ,

he produc es in L eip sic b ears as yet t his stamp F or by the .

sid e of p oetic al c on f ession s ru n s the art ificial p oetry t hen

in v ogu e an d t his is evid en tly rec eiv ed with great er ap

,

p l au se by h is fri en d s t h a n t h at wh ich w a s b orn of h is h ear t .

Poetic ac tivity stren g th en ed again the you n g man s

’

faith in his genius an d he Sp eaks of the criticisms which he

,

receives with c ool c omposure Sin c e I am wh olly with out

.

pride he writes to his sister in May 7 6 7 I can trust my

,
”
,
1 ,
“

inn er c on v ic tion which tell s m e th at I p ossess som e of the

,

qualific ation s requisite in a p oet an d that I m ay some day ,

with diligen ce b ec ome on e I wish people would

.

leave m e alon e If I have genius I shall b ec ome a p oet

.
, ,

even if n o m an c orrec t m e ; if I h av e n on e all critic ism s are ,

in v ain With this c alm t rust in himself he produc es

.
”
,

espec ially in his l ast two y ear s in L eip sic an ev er in creasin g ,

-

h ost of comp ositions : c ome dies tragedies son gs epigrams , , , ,

 l ite r at i} ilnflnences anh lhoetic t reations 81

r des dithyramb s p oems to accompan y etchin gs an d

sati es , o , ,

drawin gs n ovels in letters an d so forth Of this great

, , .

m ass on ly a few t hin gs h ave b een preserv ed .

Let u s first c on sid er the two m ost ex ten sive pr oduc tion s ,

D i e Lau n e des Verli ebten an d Di e Ill i tschu ldigen .

Di e Lau n e des Verli ebten piece was ,

30
or A min e as the
,

first called did n ot origin ate in its earliest form in Leip sic
, ,

b u t in Fran kf ort I n t his f orm it was app aren tly n othin g

.

b u t an impr ob able u n real p ast or al dr ama c on struc t ed af t er

, ,

t he u su al p att er n an d G oe t h e was ash am ed of it two year s

,

later an d rec ast it c ompletely when he learn ed from ex ,

p erien ce wh at h e h a d pr e v io u sly sough t t o f abr ic at e ou t o f

ab strac tion s Con sequen tly his statemen t that the piece
.
, ,

as we kn ow it spran g fr om his r el ation t o K a

,
tchen is
t h oroughly accurat e I n deed we m ay assume that it cor
‘

resp on d s to the reality in a greater degree than we are able

t o pr ove The p oet c ertain ly declares to his Sister that it
.

is a c areful c opy from n ature He t ook un u su al pain s with .

the lit t l e play of fiv e hu n dred Verses I n Oc tob er 6

7 7 .
,
1 ,

he had b een at w ork at it for eigh t m on th s ; he had n ot

min ded workin g ov er whole situation s two or three times ,

b u t wh en he t h ought he had fin ish ed he had m ad e on ly a ,

fair b egin n in g Thus the sec ond redac tion p assed t hrough
.

the crucibl e so often t h at sc arc ely a hu n dred verses of it

were left F in ally in April 1 7 6 8 he puts the w ork asid e
.
, , ,
.

“
There you h ave the c omedy he writes to Behrisch ;
”
,

y ou w ill ha d
p y l r ec og n is e it H or n in sist s t h at I m a k e .

n o m ore ch an g es in it f or fear of sp oilin g it an d he is ab ou t ,

right .
”

Two c ouples are c on trasted with each oth er : E ridon

(Goethe) an d Amin e (K atchen ) Lam on an d E gle (prob ably ,

suggest ed by H orn an d C on st an z e Br eit k opf ) Lamon an d .

E gl e are mutually tru stful an d by gran tin g each oth er a ,

c ertain amoun t of lib ert y en j oy an un disturb ed lovers ’

h appin ess Bridon an d Amin e infl amed with a d eep er

.
, ,

m ore passion ate love c an n ot en j oy their h appin ess b ecause, ,

E ridon p ersecutes Amin e with j eal ou s mistrust an d will

gran t her n o pleasure of which he is n ot the sourc e E gle .

VO L . I -
6
82 t he l if e of G oe the

at te mpts to in cite her frien d Amin e to resist t he tyran n ical

m oods of E rid on Bu t her gen tle frien d feel s t oo weak for
.

t he t ask an d so E gle her self u n d ert ak es t o cure t he l ov er

,

of his j eal ou sy She lures t he sev ere m oraliser in t o her

.

arm s an d m akes him kiss her an d t h en makes him ash am ed

an d reforms him .

The in trigue is in gen iou s an d the un ravellin g clev er .

At the v ery m om en t when Brid on is wildly en raged over a

merely seemin g b u t wh olly in n oc en t b etra yal on the part
of Amin e he him self b ec om es gu ilt y of a r eal an d m ore
,

culp able on e for which he aton es in sh amean d rem orse

, .

We are surprised at the youthful poet s art in keepin g ’

t he f our ch arac t er s distin c t fr om on e an ot h er : L am on san e , ,

som ewh at sup erfic ial j ovial d au n t l ess ; E gle clev er fl

,
uen t
, , , ,

good n atured c oquettish ; E ridon p eevish moody carping

-
, , , , ,

p assion ate easily c ap tivated by an y b eautiful maiden an d

, ,

fin ally Amin e ten der affec tion ate devot ed her pure heart
, , , , ,

like Iphigen ia s in cap able of dissimulation or the slightest

’
, ,

un faithfuln ess or d eception even if th ey are on ly the mean s,

t o t he pur est en d We ob serv e on ly on e fault in the d e

.

lin eation of the characters in E ridon H is charac ter is — .

clear cu t b u t n ot c omplet e I n order t hat we m ay un der

-
.

st an d why A min e is u n willin g in spit e of his p et t y t yr an n y, ,

t o dismiss her m oody l ov er the p oet ought t o h av e giv en

,

him b esid e his whim sic al n ess bri llian t gen iu s an d in his
, , ,

good m omen t s b ewitchin g amiab ility That Goethe failed

,
.

t o d o this is explain ed by t he fac t th at he was b ot h p oet an d

m odel Ab sorb ed in givin g a lifelike reproduction of him
.

self he ov erl ook ed the p oet ic al aspect of his n atur e We .

meet this same thin g occ asion ally in his later p oetic d oubles .

G oethe disguised his piece un d er the mask of the trad ition al

p ast oral play Bu t it was as differen t from c on temp orary
.

or p r ec edin g pl ay s as a livin g m an from a p orc el ain figure .

Wh ereas Di e Lau n e des Verli ebten b elon gs to the Fran k

f ort period on ly in gen eral outlin e Die M i tschu ldiggn is ,
31

firmly rooted in the soil of his n ative city The p oet him .

self say s : H ow man y f amil ies had I n ot seen hurl ed in t o

ruin or b arely rescued from the very brin k either directly
, ,
84 t he l ife of G oe the

purse when he is scared in to the alc ove by the approach of

,

t he l an dl ord The lan dl ord aft er a v ain search f or the

.
,

letter flees at the soun d of step s It is S ophie soon

,
.
,

followed by Alcest There develops a warm love sc en e

.
-
,

which S ophie quickly brin gs to an en d when Alcest b ec omes

t oo imp etu ou s Whil e he is accomp anyin g her to the m ain
.

door Seller escap es by a side en tran c e Alcest n otices the

,
.

t heft an d soun ds an alarm in the m orn in g Sophie an d her .

father have mutually c on fessed meanwhile th at they h ave

b een in Alcest s r oom in the ev en in g an d each thinks the
’
,

ot h er is t he th ief By a promise to Sh ow the eagerly de

.

sired let ter Alcest persu ad es the l an dl ord to d en oun c e his

,

daughter as the culprit Alcest is disgusted with S ophie s .

’

d epravity b u t is n on e the l ess b en t up on acc omplishin g his

,

purp ose with her S oon he sees his mistake an d disc overs
.

in Sell er t he real crimin al Bu t as the in n oc en t on es are

.

al so c on sc iou s of guilt t h ey as acc omplic es h eaded by

, , ,

Alcest forgiv e the c omm on t hief Seller

, , .

The d evel opmen t of the plot sh ows th at the you n g p oet

was n either m orally n or artistic ally equal t o the subj ec t .

Wh en in a lat er criticism of him self he says this piece

, ,

offen d s ou r est h et ic an d m oral f eelin gs t his sev er e j u d g ,

men t is c orrect ; b u t n ot merely as he remarks b ec ause , ,

“

of t he h arshly ou tsp oken [m ean in g d oub t l ess in suffic ien t ly ,

acc oun t ed f or] crimin al ac ts of the ch arac t ers b u t still m ore ,

b ec ause of the c on tradiction s in their c on duct The p oet .

exp ec t s t oo much of u s We afe to b elieve that S ophie an

.
,

exc ell en t creat ure a m od el of virtu e who r epresen t ed in

, , ,

the eyes of cultured Alcest divin it y girl an d frien d ac , , , ,

cept ed as a hu sb an d t h at m on st er t h at bru te t h at stup id , , ,

malicious c owardly lyin g vagab on d S eller merely b e

, , ,

c ause she was twen ty four an d had n o more chan ces to

-

lose .
”
We are to b elieve that Alcest cherishes the highest
resp ect for SOphie an d yet b elieves the worst of her : b e
,

lieve that he has a great an d n oble soul an d yet c on ducts ,

himself like a crimin al an d from his crime will pluck sweet

,

fruit s for himself ; th at a father whose d aughter is every

“

thin g t o him in his c ircum st an c es d en ou n c es her as a thief ,

 l ite rat i) ilnflnences anh lhoetic t reations 85

f or no her reason than to satisfy his miserable idle

ot ,

curiosity We can n ot do it H en c e it is also imp ossible

. .

f or u s t o b e r ec on ciled to the h appy en d wh ere th ey all ,

sh ake h an d s as acc omplic es This sc oun drel S eller ought .

.

t o have b een kick ed ou t when he had cr own ed his m oral

depravity an d infam ous laz in ess by c omm on thievery T0 .

b e sure th at would h ave precluded a h appy out c ome b u t it

, ,

was a fatal mistake in the p oet t o w ork toward such an en d .

This fault however brin gs u s to the rec ogn ition of a deep

, ,
fi

seated ch ar ac teristic of the p oet esp ec ially in his early life ,

Just as he disc arded the dramatic plots b elon gin g to the

same cycl e of m ot iv es as D i e M i ts chu ldigen b ec au se of the

thr eat en ed tr agic en d so al so the c ou n t less oth er tr agic

,

plots which occupied him in his youth Not un til several .

years later did he h ave the c ourage t o un dertake tragedy ;

b u t ev en t h en when he him self is p erson ally in v olv ed he
, ,

seek s to av oid a t rag ic ou t c om e The most c on spicu ous .

ex ampl e is Stella H e had in h erited fr om his m ot h er a ‘

desire to keep away from the sad an d terrible A smaller .

m an w ould n ot h av e suffered from t he same p eculiarities in

p oetry as in life b u t wit h him the two were on e
, .

An ot h er r em ark able t hin g ab out D i e M i tschu ldigen is

the fac t t h at he v eil ed his work on t his dr am a in the d eep est
secrecy While he is c on stan tly chattin g ab out the pas
.

t oral pl ay an d ab ou t d oz en s of u n fin ish ed pl ot s eit h er t o

, ,

his sister or t o his frien ds he is c ompletely silen t ab out Di e ,

M i tschu ldigen An d yet he seems to h av e b een rat her

'

proud of the w ork At least he later gave a copy of it to

.

Friederike Brion .

In ou r c on d emn ation of the play we must n ot fail t o

st at e th at it c on t ain s b esid e it s r ad ic al f ault s m an y t hin g s

which evoke ou r resp ect for t he p oet s t alen t The rapidly ’

.

movin g action the Dutch min iature p ain tin g of the first
,
-

act , t he c omic al situ ation s an d lan guage am on g oth er ,

t hin gs b etr ay his r are gift s

,
.

B oth Die Lau n e des Verli ebten an d Di e M i tschu ldigen

Sh ow the old t ech n ique of t he Fren ch stage an d the old

form the Alexan drin e The latter is especially surprising

, .
,
86 t he l ife of G oe the

as Goethe at the age of xt een made sp ort of the Alex

Si

an d rin e an d in the fift h act of B elsaz ar (of which on ly a few

lin es survive) had gon e over to the iamb ic p en tameter .

We ob serve the same l oyalty to tradition in A n n ette a 2

,
3

c ollection of p oems made in 7 6 7 an d on ly recen tly dis 1

c overed an d in N eu e Li eder which he published an on y

, ,
33

m ou sly in 1 7 6 9 with mu sic by B ern h ard Breitkopf They .

are c on c eived in the tr adition al ev en if less m awkish ,

phraseology an d in the powdered affected style of the

, ,

German an d Fren ch an acreon tic an d worst of all are for , , ,

the m ost p ar t artific ial : clev er c on c eits on l ove virtu e , ,

c oyn ess moon light bridal night way of the w orld h ere
, , , ,

an d t h ere adorn ed with prec ociou s d id ac tic rem arks which ,

soun d dr oll en ough in the m ou t h of ou r y ou n g studen t .

If we ask why Goethe in Spite of all adverse criticism in

, ,

spit e of k n owin g b ett er followed the old ways the ex

, ,

plan ation is n ear at han d N ob ody likes to forego applause

. .

Not yet brave an d stron g en ough t o win over the public t o

som eth in g n ew in the p oem s which he in t en ds for the
,

public he remain s faithful to p opular taste Th at Goethe .

was subj ect t o such ext ern al pressure even t hr ough the ,

medium of his frien ds who were his n earest critical an d

,

readin g public we can assert with the greater security as

, ,

we p ossess oth er sp ecimen s of his L eip sic lyrics which he ,

dashed off without an y other purp ose than t o relieve his

feelin gs A few of the fi nest of them we h ave already
.

in terwoven in ou r discussion as from the odes to Behrisch , ,

from letters to him an d to Riese H ere we will men tion .

further the p oem addressed t o Schl osser (from the sprin g

of in which he expresses in sad E n glish v erse his , ,

t ormen tin g d oub t s as t o his wort h as m an an d p oet ; an d

t hese t ouchin g v erses t o his m ot h er (May in which ,

he b egs her n ot to misin terpret his l on g silen c e :

Eat; feinen Bmeifel had)

3 1111 theta als 1111ir hieSa bfcit hes Soh
rtlic
'

, ns ,

S ic id) Sir febnlhig bin ans meiner St aff

m
,

Sntmicben ein Jo w
. nig als h
e e
,r gels ,
88 t he l ife of Goe the

N either did Goethe n eglec t epic p oetry in Leip sic For .

Gellert s c omposition c ourse for example he prepared

’
, ,

sh or t n ov els in ep ist ol ary f orm depic tin g p assion ate34

,

love scen es The less fav our they foun d in the eyes of the
-
.

t each er t he dearer t h ey wer e t o the pupil an d he preserved ,

th em fr om the h ol oc au st t o which b ef or e his d ep ar tur e f or

,

S trasburg he devoted the m ost of his Leip sic attemp ts

,
.

Bu t wh atev er th er e m ay h av e b een in the way of epic com

p osition s am on g th ose d estr oyed or later lost it is c ertain ,

t h at n oth in g equ all ed the soul stirrin g l ov e st ory tin gl in g

- -
,

with pulsation s of life which in his h ours of emotion Slipp ed

,

from his fin gers in his l etters to Behrisch .

If G oethe like his later frien d Jung S tillin g had b e

, ,
-
,

liev ed th at he st ood in imm ediat e p er son al r el atio n sh ip

with God it would b e easily c omprehen ded For in a

,
.

won derful man n er the ev en t s of his life the h appy as well ,

as t he sorr owful u n it e t o f orm a great h arm on iou s wh ole

, , .

Thu s he might h ave c on sidered it a wise decree of fate th at ,

at the en d of his L eip sic ep och he c on t r ac t ed a l on g and

sev ere illn ess F or it was n ec essary th at t he m oral an d
. .

in t ellec t u al c on fu sion in t o wh ich he had fallen b ec au se of ,

t he t h o u san d n ew an d c on fl ic t in g in flu en c es t o w hich he had

b een subj ected Should b e c orrec ted by a period of isolation
, ,

en f orc ed r est an d self ex am in at ion

,
-
.

By his own acc oun t th ere were m an y thin gs which con

Spir ed t o brin g a d an g er ou s crisis up on him I n an accid en t .

t o his c arr iage on t he j our n ey t o L eip sic he had ov er tax ed ,

his lun g s an d a lin gerin g p ai n had resulted wh ich b ec am e ,

m ore acute aft er a fall from his h orse in Oct ob er 7 6 7 ; ,

1

while etchin g he had n ot b een c areful en ough in guardin g

,

again st t he fum es of the ac id s ; the tr ouble was fur t her ag

d by i mpr p r d i by t h h vy M r s bur b r
‘

g ra v at e a n o e et e e
,
a e e g ee ,

an d by in c on sid erat e at t emp t s t o h ard en his b ody p ar t ly ou t ,

of w an t on n ess p ar t ly ou t of m elan ch oly an d p art ly ou t of

, ,

a b ad applic at ion of n ew t h eories ala R ou sseau A Violen t .

reac tion in dic ated by a h em orrh age set in an d for d ays he

h overed b etween life an d death H e sp en t several weeks in
.

b ed an d required m ost c areful n ur sin g As a soothin g .

 l ite r at a finfluences anh lhoetic t reations 89

b alsam upon a p ain ful woun d he felt the love an d sym

p athy man ifested ab out him an d which he th ought was u n
d eserved for am on g those who t ook lovin g c are of him there
,

was n ot on e wh om he had n ot offen ded in som e way or oth er

by his h ateful mood s The en tire Breitkopf family the .
,

S tock s an d we m ay well add the SchOn kopfs an d the Doser s

, , ,

treated him as a n ear r elativ e H orn was ab out him every .

momen t Assessor H errman n gave him every free h our

, ,

likewise Lan ger Gron in g (a fell ow stud en t from Bremen

,
-
,

later amb assad or an d mayor of the H an se t own ) an d others ,

wh om he does n ot men tion by n ame t ook a warm in terest ,

in his w elfare Th ey n ursed him they amu sed him when

.
, ,

c on valesc en t they took him drivin g t o the n ear b y c oun try -

seat s an d b est ow ed up on him ev ery thin g el se t h at pr omised

,

relief or refreshmen t Thus he gradually rec overed stren gth

. .

Bu t he was far fr om h avin g regain ed his f orm er h ealth when

on his b ir thd ay in the year 7 6 8
‘
i1 e l ef t L eip sic1t o r et urn

h ome H e c ould n ot persuade himself t o b id the Sch en

.

kopfs good b ye I was in the n eighb ourh ood he writes

-
.
“
,

t o SchOn kopf from Fran kfor t I was even at the d oor an d “

,

c ame t o the st airs b u t I had n ot the heart t o c ome up

, .

H ow Sh ould I ev er h av e gott en d ow n f or t he l ast t im e ? I

d o n ot n eed t o ask you t o rem emb er m e ; y ou will h av e a
t h ou san d occ asion s t o t hin k of a y oun g m an who f or two ,

an d a h alf y ear s was a p ar t of y our family who n o d oub t , , ,

oft en gav e you c au se f or v ex ation b u t was n ev er t h el ess a , , ,

good youn g fellow ”

.
 AT H O M E A GA I N

R et urn from p c F amily di cord Dul e of Fr f r

Lei si — ls — n ss ank o t — S ow
r ec very f h ealt h Fr aulei o Klet t e b e g i fl e e St udy
o o - — n v n n r
’
s n u nc

of m ag ic — A lch emi tic al exp erime t — O

st h er t udie — Mi de n s s s su n r

t
s a di g wit h hi f th er D ep arture fo Str a burg
n n a — s r s .

ITH wh at proud h op es the elder Goethe must h ave

seen his h ighly gift ed son set tin g ou t f or t he

un iversity three years b efore an d in what a ,

c on d ition he saw him return ! An ill an d senile y outh *

,

with out his d oc tor s h ood in d eed with out an y n otable ad

’
,

van c emen t in his specialt y E verythin g seemed lost : time .

,

mon ey h ealth st udy An d so his return t o his fat h er s

, , .
’

h ouse was marked by a st ormy scen e foreshadowin g the ,

oppressiv e sult rin ess of the succ eedin g m on th s Wolfgan g

’

foun d in his h ome n othin g to stimulate him In the little ’

family th ere were two parties quietly opp osin g each other ,

an d c on sequ en t ly all t he in m ates were ou t of sor ts which ,

served on ly t o increase his ill hum our H is fat her who was -
.
,

n ot prac tisin g an y pr ofession had d ev oted his en tire educ a ,

t ion al en ergy t o C orn elia durin g her br oth er s ab sen c e an d

’
,

in th at way r obb ed hen of m an y an inn oc en t joy of y out h .

She the stran gest comb in tion of sev erit y an d gen tlen ess
,

e
of stubb ornn ess an d ob edien c e en d owed w ith a m ost acut e ,
,

critic al faculty which m ercilessly exaggerated her own an d

,

ot h ers faults c ould n ot pardon her father s harsh on e ’

,

sid ed n ess an d was fill ed wit h Viol en t an ger again st him as

, ,

Cf B i 7r K a m a1 wa t a ige erf ahr e ? Am KO pe alt

1 : nn n s r ur rs n r r ,

un d j u g a J ahr e H alb iech

n n d h alb ge u d
n, sey —C,
un s n zu s n .

90
9 2 t he l ife of G oe the

my p eople who were in n o c on dition t o c on sole th em selves

, ,

”
much less m e .

U n til the f oll owin g March the p atien t was c on fi n ed

eith er t o his b ed or t o his r oom Durin g the succ eedin g .

mon th s his health was c on stan t ly on the men d b u t still ,

n ec essitated a qu iet ret ired l ife Pain ful th ough the quiet
,
.

lon esomen ess was to the p oor little fox as he liked to call
*
,

himself in those d ay s yet it afforded him an opp ortunity to ,

c on tin ue the pr ocess of clarific ation an d deep en in g already

b egun 1I1 his Sickroom in L eip sic After he had twic e b een .

brought to the great strait through which all must

p ass he ren oun ced the c old ration alism an d still m ore
, , ,

decidedly the scep tic al n egation to which he had len t a

,

listen in g car in the p ast years an d turn ed to a m ore p ositiv e ,

fait h in God an d the world This process of tran sformation .

was h elp ed on by the in fluen c e of ten der p ious Fr aul ein ,

Su san n a K atharin a v on Klettenb erg a frien d an d relative ,

of his m oth er After Fr aulein v on Kletten b erg had gon e

.

thr ough m an y p ain ful w orldly exp erien c es an d d isapp oin t

m en t s she had f oun d p eac e an d joy of soul in the d oc trin es
of M or avian ism Goet he saw wit h adm iration how She
.

b ore wit h c omp osure everythin g ev en chron ic illn ess e , ,

r

gardin g it a n ec essary p art of her tran sit ory life on earth .

H e was gl ad t o c ome in t o touch with such an ex al t ed or , ,

as t he p oet c all s her b eau tiful soul th at breath ed the air

, ,

of h eav en ; an d it did him g ood t o u n b osom h im self t o her

an d lay b ar e b ef or e her his un rest his imp atien c e an d all , ,

t he asp ir at ion s m edit at ion s an d weak n esses of his h ear t

, ,
.

When his pious frien d ascrib ed it al l t o his7lack of r ec on cilia

tion wit h God an d he half j okin gly ret or ted that he b e
,

liev ed he him self had som e th in gs to f orgive f or God ,

sh ould h av e l en t m or e effic ien t aid t o his in fi n it ely g ood

will the c onversation usually en ded in a dispute or with

, ,

the rem ark of Fr aul ein v on Kl etten b erg th at

“
he was a
f oolish fellow N ev erth el ess th ese c onv ersation s left b e
.

hin d fruitful suggestion s which Goethe followed ou t un til , ,

A allu i n t t he f x f t h f abl w h l
s on o t hi t ail Cf H aged r
o o e e o os s . o n,

F ab u E rz i No 6 D er F u chs ohn e Schwan z —C .

,
 Elt 1home Elgain 93

he had c on structed f or himself a curious h alf Christian -

,

half myth ologic al philosophy allied to N eopl aton ism an d

-
, ,

in spit e of its Christian c ol ourin g t o p an th eism an d in , ,

which he foun d temp orary p eace .

This same frien d an d Doc tor M et z who was her physi ,

cian as w ell as his own led him t o studies an d in v est ig ation s ,

of a my stic al alch emistic al an d m edic al n at ur e

,
The ,
.

w orks of Georg v on Wellin g Parac elsus B asilius Valen , ,

t in u s v an H elmon t an d the A u rea C aten a H omen wer e

'

, ,

t ak en up on quiet win ter ev en in gs an d r ead wit h great de

light p artly by himself an d p art ly in c ompan y with Fr au
, ,

lein v on Klett en b erg an d his mother H e was esp ecially .

attr ac ted by t he A u rea Caten a H omem in which t he cycle

'

of n at ure was d escrib ed in a b eau tiful h alf my stic half -

,

scien tific way an d by t he w ork s of t he d arin g

,
profoun d , ,

fan tastic Paracelsus from which he c opied c opious n otes ,

in t o his diary The spirit which d omin at ed these works

.

was closely relat ed t o the m agic al an d t h ey seemed t o op en ,

up a mysterious sup ern atural world to the youn g adept , ,

b efore wh ose eyes the n ight studyin g magus was already -

drawin g his magic circl es N eit her did he n eglec t t o try .

l( ikewise f ollowin g t he ex ample of Fr aulein v on Klett en

b erg) by way of ch emic al experimen t to discover t he
, ,

mysterious in terrelation of thin gs H e fitted up a small .

l ab orat ory experimented at his win d furn ac e with alembics

,

an d ret orts p art ly t o pr oduc e so c all ed n eutral sal t s p ar t ly

,
-
,

t o ex t r ac t a v irgin ear th fr om l iq u or silicu m an d ob serv e its

t r an sition in to pregn an cy To b e sure he did n ot succ eed .
, ,

b u t these stu di es an d exp erim en ts u n d er the guid an c e of

t he chemic al c omp en dium of Boerhav e br ough t him cl oser
t o meth odic al ch emistry an d gav e him at the same time
true c ol our s an d h appy m otiv es for his germin atin g F au st .

S ide by sid e with his phil osophic al alchemistic al an d , ,

C id eri g t h v ry l arge e m ad e by Biel ch w ky f G et h e

’
on s n e e us s o s o o s

o w w rd i writi g t hi bi gr aphy t he w rd a hf
n o s n n he d ( i
s e t ig at
o o n c orsc n nv s

i g ) f hi t ex t mu t b e a mi pri t f
n o s N a htf he d a d my t ra l ati
s s n or c orsc n ,
n ns on

e d eav ur repr duc e t he mea i g f t he l atter w rd Cf G eth e ’

n t o s o o n n o o o s

lett er t Fried rike Oe e ( B i

o e i which the w rd s r ei N a ht
r .
, n o s, n c

f
orsc he d e M ga
n ccur C
r — us
”
o .
94 {the l ife of G oe the
medic al in vestigation s wen t hist oric al philologic al es , ,

t h etic an d jur istic st udies in which we can pl ain ly see

, ,

G oethe s b en t t oward n ature an d empiricism Wh erever

’
.

in his readin g he fi n d s an yt hin g ab out t he sup eriority of

t h at which is or igin al an d drawn from exp erien c e ov er
musty th eory an d th at which is merely learn ed it ev okes ,

a liv ely ech o in his breast .

I n Fran kf ort we fin d b u t litt le liter ary ac tivity He .

gives the fin ishin g t ouch t o the L eipsic c omp osition s an d ,

works at a story an d a farc e of which we kn ow n othin g

d efin ite A p eriod in which he ploughed an d sowed an d his
.

h eart lay fallow was n ot c alculated to produc e a h arvest .

At the appr oach of the f oll owin g sprin g Goeth e f ou n d ,

his h eal th an d esp ecially his spirits sofar ren ewed th at he

, ,

felt able t o c omplet e his study of the law at an oth er u n i

v ersit y At least he d esired t o get away from Fran kfort
.
,

again as soon as p ossibl e The h eavy air at h ome weigh ed

.

up on him an d his relation s with his father were in the

,

highest degree un refreshin g When his father impatien t

.
,

at t he l on g un welc om e in terrup tion of his son s c areer

’
, ,

of t en off en d ed him m ost p ain fully by sugg est in g t h at on ly

a litt l e will p ow er w as n eedful t o st art t hin g s g oin g ag ain

—
,

G oethe in sulted him in t urn by b oyish t hought less c on tra ,

diction an d by prec ocious criticism which pu t his father s,

’

t aste an d in sigh t in an evil light There were p ain ful

.

c ollision s th at c aused woun ds which the m other was able

,

t o h eal on ly in a limit ed m easur e .

The elder G oeth e had sel ec ted S trasb urg as the sec on d
un iversity for his son After securin g his d egree Goeth e
.
,

was t o trav el t hrough Fran c e an d liv e in Paris for som e

tim e H e was q u it e in f av our of these pl an s which pr omised
.
,

him so much pl easure an d at the t he en d of M arch

, 77 0 ,
1 ,

with as l ight a h eart as b efore in the autumn of 7 6 5 he 1 ,

left his n ative city .

 t he ILife of G oe the
‘

9 6

N either the con valescen t n or the n ative of Fran kfort who , ,

had c om e fr om the b eautiful an d fruitful region s of the

M ain an d the Rhin e c ould b e so c ompletely c arried away
,

by the quiet ch arms of the Alsatian lan dsc ape Bu t the .

jy
o of l if e wh ich c am e t
,
o him in ev er in creasin g m easure -

af ter the fir st dull weeks fill ed him with a gl ow of heal t h ,

an d h appin ess wh ich he had n ev er b ef or e felt an d gave a ,

golden hu e to every c orn er of the c oun try ; an d wh at the

realit y had lacked was supplied by the glam our of m em ory
wh en on l ookin g b ack Alsatia wh er e he had exp erien c ed
, , ,

his physic al an d in tell ec tu al r egen eration app eared t o the ,

p oet a h omogen eous pic ture b ath ed in a flood of light .

E arly in April Wolfg an g arriv ed in S trasburg in a still ,

un c ertain state of h ealth As he en tered the on e tim e .

-

imp erial c it y he had a presen tim en t th at it would h ere b e

,

d ecided wh ether or n ot he sh ould p ass the remain der of the

most imp ort an t years of his d ev elopment as an in v alid an d ,

wheth er or n ot his lofty y outhful dream s of future happin ess

an d fut ur e great n ess sh ould v an ish lik e soap bubbl es in the -

air . H arassed by such d oub ts he had sc arcely d escen ded ,

at the Wirt sh au s z u m G eist wh en he op en ed a litt le me mo

ran d u m b o ok whi ch Co u n c ill or M or it
-
had giv en him f ort he z

j ourn ey an d f oun d the B ible v erse : E n large the plac e of

,
“

t hy t en t an d let t h em stret ch f or t h the cur tain s of th in e

,

h abitation s ; sp are n ot ; len gth en thy c ords an d stren gthen ,

t hy st akes F or t h ou sh alt spread abroad on t he right

.

h an d an d on the left an d he was won derfully moved , .

This c omf ortin g exh ortation of the sacred oracle m ay h av e

h elped to preserv e the ten d er t rustful religious frame of , ,

min d which had c ome up on him un der the in fluen c e of

Fr aulein v on Kletten b erg an d his illn ess .

I am still just as I used t o b e he writes in the first

“ ”
,

d ays in S trasburg to his L eip sic frien d Lim precht exc e pt ,

“

t h at I am b et ter r ec on c iled wit h t he L ord ou r God an d wit h

his d ear son J esu s Christ
”
Whoev er c ann ot like E li
, .
,

ez er he preach es a f ew m on th s l ater t o a frien d in

”
,

Worms with perfect f aith in the c on stan t provid en ce of

,
“

God tru st the fate of a wh ole fut ure w orld t o the waterin g
,
 Str asbur g 97

of his c am l e s, is in deed in a
rry plight ; there is n o help
* so

f or him F or what c oun sel c ould t h ere b e f or him who

.
,

will n ot b e c oun selled of God ? Reflection s are a

trivial c omm odit y b u t in prayer t h ere is v ery great pr ofi t ;
,

a sin gl e wellin g up in the h ear t in the n ame of him wh om

we c all a L ord un til we can addr ess him as ou r Lord an d
, ,

we are ov erwh elmed with c ou n tl ess blessin gs The .

h eavenly physician has again ren ewed the flame of life

within m e .

S trasburg where there was little at that time b eside the

,

garrison an d the officials to remin d on e that it b elon ged to

Fran c e made upon Goethe at his arrival a humble im
,

pression I t is n ot a h air s bread th b ett er or worse th an

.
“ ’

ev erythin g el se I kn ow in t he w orld t h at is t o say v ery , ,

ordin ary This is his opin ion after the first fort night
”
. .

Bu t t he m ore his dull eyes brighten ed the h igh er the c it y ,

rose in his estimation .

No sm all sh are in this rev olution must b e att rib uted to

his t abl e c omp an ion s H e d in ed at the table d hote kep t
’ ‘

by some maiden ladies by the n am e of Lauth in the K n ob

lochsg asse an d fou n d th ere a v ery pl easan t c ircle
,
There ,
.

were at first ab out t en lat er t wen t y good f ell ows in t he , ,

c ompan y almost all pursuin g some higher c allin g most of

, ,

t h em st ud en t s of m edicin e Tho l eader was J oh an n Dan iel .

S al z man n clerk of the Prob ate C ourt a b achel or of forty

, ,

eight y ears who admin ist ered his offic e with t he great est
,

c are for the welfare of widows an d orph an s From his .

readin g thought an d experien c e he had gath ered a rich

, ,

fun d of w orldlywisdom an d as to this he add ed gen tlen ess , ,

dign ity an d man lin ess an d was of m ature age the leader
, , ,

ship o f the R ou n d Table had for years d ev olved up on him .

H is liv ely in terest in literat ure h eld his y ou n g c omp an ion s

t oget her n ot on ly at the table d hote b u t al so in a societ y
’
, ,

of b ell es let tres in which he likewise wield ed the sc eptre

3 - 6
.
,

Of all the c omp an y it was he to wh om Goeth e b ec ame most

attach ed an d he in tur n grew v ery f on d of t he yout h of such
,

refin emen t an d such ambition N earest to S alz mann in .

V OL . 1 —
7
Cf Gen xxw
. .

.
9 8 t he l ife of G oe the

ag e was a knigh t rder of S ain t Louis as Goethe

of t he o ,

c alls a p en sion ed Fren ch c aptain without sayin g an ythin g

further ab out his n ame a most ecc en tric m an with the , ,

fixed idea that all virtue c om es from good mem ory an d all
vice from forgetfuln ess an d th at he alas ! was afflicted with , ,

this sourc e of all ev il An oth er memb er of the c ompan y .

was the theologic al stud en t Fran z Lerse of Buch sweiler in , ,

Alsatia G oethe s favourite frien d immortalised in Gé tz

,
’
, .

H is n eat clean outward app earan c e c orresp on d ed to his

,

in n er life H e was an h on est clear h ead ed d etermin ed

.
,
-
,

youth with a pure an d n oble soul which won for him the
, ,

c on fiden ce of all an d fitted him to act as p eacemaker when

,

ev er a disput e ar ose H is love of art an d p oetry an d his

.
,

dry humour roun ded ou t a pleasin g p erson ality The

,
.

m edic al studen t M eyer v on Lin dau was of a wh olly differ

, ,

en t n ature u n c omm on ly h an d som e g ift ed wit t y b u t of

, , , ,

an irrepressible l ev it y Of the remain ing memb ers of the.

c omp an y two other Al satian s were closely associated with

Goethe : the theologic al stud en t Weylan d an d the law , ,

st ud en t E n gelb ach t he latt er on ly for the fir st few m on t h s

,
.

The societ y rec eived a v aluable addition at t he b egin n in g

of t he sec on d semest er in t he p er son of H ein rich J u n g ,

c alled S tillin g H e was a m an of great ten dern ess an d a

.

d eeply religious n ature who on ly n ow at the age of thirty , , ,

aft er str an ge vic issit ud es had reach ed the p oin t wh en he ,

c ould d evote himself to the study of medicin e H is u n .

alterabl e faith in God rested up on t he m an ifold u ps an d

d own s in his life in which he b elieved he c ould rec ogn ise
,

ev erywh ere G od s prov id en c e Furth ermore he was th or

’
.
,

oughly educ at ed an d h ighly apprec iat iv e of all t h at is g ood

an d b eautiful H e had c ome with an eld erly surgeon by

.

the n am e of Tr oost who wish ed t o in f orm himself of t he

,

recen t progress in his art an d had appeared at the L auth s ,

’

table d hote
’
The d escription which he gave of his ar
.

rival is such a faithful picture of himself G oethe an d the , ,

en t ir e c omp an y th at we m ay in ser t it h ere wit h a few

, ,

omission s in the plac e of an illu stration : Ab out twen ty “

,

person s dined at the table an d they [S tillin g an d Troost] ,

19 0 t he l if e of G oe the

no rthern Lorain e with Weylan d who had a numerous ,

acquain t an c e an d man y relativ es in t h at c oun try E n gel .

b ach was t heir comp an ion as far as Saarbr ucken The .

frien d s first rode to Zab ern where they admired the bish op s ,
’

palace an d the darin g moun tain road Die Zab ern er S teige , ,

t hen t o Buch sweiler wh ere Weylan d s p ar en t s gave t hem

’

a warm welc om e ; fr om t h er e ov er t he B astb erg where t he ,

p etrified sh ells en grossed Goethe s atten tion to Liitz elstein ’

, ,

an d t hen t hr ough t he vall ey of t he S aar d own t o S aar

br ucken H ere G oeth e c ame in t o a rich in dustrial terri
.

t ory which t han k s t o his rel at ion s w ith t he S aarbruck en

, ,

presiden t v on Gun d erode he was en abled to examin e

, ,

t horoughly The op eration of c oal min es glass works iron

.
,
-
,

works alum works an d oth er in dustrial establishmen ts

,
-
,

charmed his great eyes p eerin g ab out on every side an d , ,

in spired him f or the first tim e with the l ove of tech n ic al

an d ec on omic en t erprises wh ich he evin c ed in so m an y ,

ways in his later official c areer in Weimar After the .

frien ds had taken leave of E n gelb ach in S aarbrucken ,

where he had received a c oun cillorship they return ed v ia ,

Zweibr ucken t o Alsat ia en t erin g t he c oun t ry at t he rocky,

f ort ress of B it sch On their furt her j ourn ey t hrough t he

.

B aren thal where th ousan d s of trees were rottin g in t he

,

primeval forests Goethe foun d more iron works an d c oal

,
-

min es while in the b aths of N iederbron n he plun ged in to

,

the spirit of an tiquit y an d the ruin ed fragmen ts of r elief s

, ,

c apitals an d c olumn s which looked ou t stran gely up on

, ,

him from t he mid st of p easan t c ottages furn ish ed him n ot ,

lon g after with a fin ely ton ed b ackgroun d for his Wandrer

’

Goethe asserts that he proc eeded v ia Reichshofen an d H a

gen au an d made a visit at the parson age in S esen h eim ,

b u t we k n ow th at he did n ot en t er this rem ark abl e h ouse

till som e m on th s l ater .

Return in g from the b eautiful j ourn ey refreshed in b ody

an d spirit he gave him self ov er m or e an d m or e to a m ore
,

cheerful v aried social life To b e sure he soon gave up

, .
,

assoc iation with the p iou s p eopl e t o wh om he had br ough t

an in tr oduc tion fr om Fr a ulein v on Klettenb erg for they , ,
 s traehurg 10 1

lackin g the spirituality of his frien d soon b ecame an in ,

t ol erabl e b ore to him with th eir m on oton ou s ed ifyin g dis

c ourse On the other han d S alz man n had in troduc ed him

”
.
,

in to a n umb er of families wh ere he passed man y h ours , .

In terc ourse with these families created within him a feelin g

of the n eed of cul tivat in g his so c ial t alen ts n ow so lon g ,

n egl ec t ed an d wh ile he had d efied Frau Bé hm e s c ou n sel

’

t hat he sh ould learn t o play c ard s he n ow willin gly followed ,

came his old dislike of dan cing an d after he had gon e to the ,

b alls in the suburb s and dan ced with the prettily dressed
m aids to try if he were able to keep time he wen t to a
, ,

Fren ch dan cin g master for instruction

-
.

Th ese lessons were the means of brin gin g Goethe into a

little love episode which was destin ed to open his eyes to
7 3

his dan gerous p ower of f ascin ation The d an cin g m aster .

had two pretty youn g d aughters who h elp ed their fath er ,

in his in struc tion The new pupil exerted a magn etic in

.

flu en ce over the h eart s of b oth b u t more p owerfully over ,

that of the old er Lu cin de ; b u t E milie too the youn ger

, , , ,

who had already given away her heart an d han d b egan ,

aft er so m e t im e t o b e afraid of t he han d some studen t She .

b egged him n ot to c ome to her house a request wit h which ,

he c ould the m ore read ily c omply she add ed as he had , ,

already c ompleted the c our se in d an c in g wit h great succ ess .

An d in ord er that it m ay really b e the last time t h at we

“

sp eak with each oth er t ake she said what I sh ould other
” “
, , ,

”
wise have refused you an d kissed him most lovin gly At
, .

this mom ent the side d oor fl ew op en Lu cin de burst in an d ,

overwh elmed her sister with p assion ate r eproach es sayin g ,

that this was n ot the fir st h eart she had r obb ed her of an d ,

th at her sister s t riumph s had c ost her th ousan ds of tears

’
.

Now you h ave taken him away from m e I .

kn ow th at I have l ost him b u t you sh all n ot have him ,

eit her. With these words she c aught Goethe by the head ,

t o his c on fu sion an d ast on ishm en t an d kissed him re

'

p ea t ed ly dn t he m ou t h F e ar my cur se
.
; m“
isf or t u n e up on

misfortun e for ever an d ever up on the first girl who after

10 2 t he l if e of G oe the
me kisses these lip s ! She t h ough t t h at th is curse would
fall up on her sister G oethe withdrew from her un can n y
.

c aresses an d l eft the h ouse n ever t o return

, .

If we fin d G oethe t oward the en d of the first semester

already assoc iatin g with a large n umb er of frien d s sc atter ed
f ar an d wid e ; fin d him n ow in S trasburg an d n ow aw ay on
j ourn eys ; an d if as we shall soon h ave occasion to do we
, ,

fin d him in add ition to t h ese soc ial distrac tion s en gaged in

, ,

man ifold ways in the study of art an d scien ce we sh all ask ,

ourselv es wit h som e c on c ern as his f at her must h ave d on e

, ,

What is the state of his law studies I s his L eip sic h ab it

?

repeatin g itself here ; is his in satiable thirst for kn owledge

an d soc iety drawin g t he y ou n g m an away fr om his first
duties an d un derminin g his foun dation for the future?
,

F ate which was so often frien dly t o him had to his good
, , ,

fortun e brought him t o S trasburg Alth ough the city was

, .

st ill en tirely G erm an y et at t he ,

u n iv er sit y Fr en ch w ay s

had gain ed a c ertain footin g I n the study of law the

.

practical ten den cy of the Fren ch was followed an d the stu ,

d en t was n ot required t o kn ow an ythin g ab out the histor

ic al an d phil osophic al d ev elopmen t of the law b u t solely ,

an d simply t o kn ow t he law in f orc e This kn owledge .

was acquired wit h out an y sp ecial effort by t he aid of so

c alled tutors or as we c all th em n owad ays c oaches
, , , .
”

G oethe took advan tage of such assistan ce an d as he had ,

made good u se of his last days in Fran kfort an d rem emb ered ,

more than he thought from his b oyhood study an d from the

years at Leipsic he succ eed ed in spite of all serious an d
, ,

t rifl in g obj ec tion s in p assin g his c an did ate s ex ami n ation

’
,

with great ease at the en d of the summer semester From .

n ow on he was reliev ed of t he dut y of at ten d in g l ec tur es ;

t h ere rem ain ed for him on ly the writin g of a disser tation in

ord er t o ob t ain the d oc t or s d egree an d op en up f or h im self
’

t he c ar eer of a jurist The dissertation f or the preparation

.
,

of wh ich he all otted h im self the sp ac e of a year cl aim ed v ery ,

little of his atten tion C on sequen t ly from Octob er 1 7 7 0

.
, , ,

on much of his tim e was fr ee

, .

A less sterlin g n ature th an his would h ave degener

1 04 t he l if e of G oe the

rupture the v ery heart in his breast Also his secret fear .

of grav eyard s church es an d oth er l on ely plac es at n igh t

, ,

he so c omplet ely eradic ated by rep eated visits th at l ater in

life he was hardly able with all the artifices of his imagin
,

ation to rec all again the shudderin gs of his you th

,
.

I t w ould n ot h av e b een w orth while to m en tion all th ese

little traits of the p oet if it were n ot that they illustrate his
,

stric t self cult ure an d the ex traordin ary en ergy he applied

-

to ov erc ome his weakn esses Who of the man y thousan d s

.
,

of brav e m en who suffer fr om diz z in ess w ould imit at e his ,

break n eck attempts t o discipline himself on the spire of the

-

cathedral To him in deed it seemed worth while to climb

?
, ,

t o the finial of the high est pin n acle of the tower an d n ot to ,

brook an y hin dran ces whatever For the glorious work of .

E rv in u s a Stein b ach was t o him from the very first momen t

an ev er in cr easin g sourc e of deep est pleasure
-
H ere he .

b ec ame acquain ted with a w ork of art of such great n ess ,

sublimity an d b eaut y as he had n ev er b efor e seen

,
It .

filled his soul as with the j oys of heaven an d he return ed to ,

it even in g an d morn in g t o view it on all sid es from all dis ,

tan c es an d in every ligh t

,
H ow often the even in g twi
.

light wit h its pleasan t stilln ess He exclaims a few mon ths ,

aft er his dep ar t ure from S t rasburg in an essay on G erm an

architec t ure has refreshed my eyes wearied with close
“
, ,

lookin g as it melted the c oun tless parts in to great masses

, ,

an d t hese st ood b efore my soul in t h eir simplicit y an d

greatn ess ! What a fresh impression the cathedral m ade
upon m e in the m orn in g haz e how j oyfully I stretch ed ou t ,

my arms toward it an d b eheld the great harm onious mass

,

full of life d own to the min utest p arts ! The migh t y work
seem ed to him n ot a pr oduc t of human h an d s b u t a creation

of n ature ev ery thin g p erf ec t in form ev en t o the smallest

, ,

details everythin g sub ordin ated to the whole In an ger

, .

he c ast asid e the old err on eous esthetic d oc trin es of the

wan t of t ast e in G othic art H e had b een taught t o in t er
.

pret Gothic as meanin g an ythin g irregular un n atural or , ,

full of c on tradiction b u t n ow it seemed to him to mean the

,

highest p ossible degree of regularity n aturaln ess an d har , ,

 E traoburg 105

mon y An d wh at had b een design ated as pat chwork an d

.

over ad orn men t seem ed t o him t o b e the m ost n at ural m ost

-
,

suggestiv e m ost b eau tiful orn am en tation

, the in v en tion ,

of a divin ely in spired gen ius t o reliev e the w eigh t of the ,

mass an d give to the whole structure the impression of

perman en t solidity an d pleasin g gracefuln ess Mere lookin g .

an d admirin g did n ot satisfy him lon g H e b egan t o in .

v estigat e t o m easure to draw

,
H e en d eavoured t o pr oduc e
, .

in his drawin g all t hat was lack in g an d all th at was com

p let ed studyin
, g esp ec ially t he t ow er To h is fin e e ye it .

seemed prob able th at f or the t ower a fiv e p oin ted crown -

had b een the origin al plan a supp osition wh ich to his j oyful
, ,

sat isfac tion was con firm ed by t he origin al drawin g

, .

The youth who on Fren ch soil was glowin g with en

, ,

thu siasm for his fatherland t h ought it p ermissible to ,

c on sider Gothic as the genuine German style ; and in his en

thu siasm he ren am ed t he G othic G erm an an d in the re ,

verberatin g echo of his studies of the Strasburg cathedral ,

Von deu tscher Bau ku n st D M E rvim a Stein bach, he

'

. set

forth t o the world with a ton gue of fire the glory of t his
style .

D M . . v
di is m an ib u s , a formula c mmo o n in an cien t R o ma n in scrip
t ion s — C
. .
 TH E B E GI N N I N G OF TH E LI TE RA RY R E V OLU TI ON

g
Ori in of rm a d Stre m vem
t he Sto -
n -
S v r g y
ss o g u e t
n — o e ei n t of en i s— Con
f rmit y t at ure F lk—p et ry— H erd er t he pirit f t he e l
o o n — o o s o r vo u

— G eth e the l ead er H erd er i fl e e H i c c epti

— — ’
ti
on o f s n u nc s on on o

p et ry H i view
o — s Sh ak e p ear e a d f lk p etry Sh ak e pear e
s on — — s n o o s
’
s

i fl ue ce G et h e H m er
— i fle — O i —G et h e ’ ’ ’
n n on o e a
o s n u nc ss n s o s

i
n flu e c e
n hi c mp
on a i — Fre ch lit er at ure c d em ed
s o n on s n on n

Le —
nz M d er ati g i fl ue c e
o n n n s

OE TH E S f aith in the prev ailin g d octrin e of esthetics

’

received n o less a sh ock from the c on templation

of E rv in u s s b eau tiful m on um en t t owerin g up in t o
’

t he h eaven s t h an it had previou sly exp erien c ed from t he

readin g of Lessin g s L aokoon I n deed the eff ect of t he
’
.

c ath edral was as much profoun der th an that of the b ook

had b een as mu st always b e the c ase with a w ork of
,

art c omp ared w it h on e of critic ism At the same time .

it c on firmed in him the c on c eption already dimly fore ,

sh ad ow ed in his c on sc iou sn ess of the b eautiful an d of the ,

p ower of genius I t open ed wide the p ortals of his soul to

.

a n ew r ev el ation of t he w orld of life an d of art —

a revela , ,

t ion th at swept ov er him in S tr asburg an d fou n d in him it s

most in spired disciple and m ost glorious fulfilmen t .

F or th is n ew rev el ation the effect of which G oeth e ,

rightly characterises as the G erman literary revolution the ,

way had l on g b een prep arin g .

The Thirt y Years War had buried the culture an d ’

material prosp erity of German y b en eath its ruin s an d ,

through it s en dl ess d iv ision in to tin y states the n ation had

degen erated in to n arr own ess an d in sign ifican ce M iser .

1 06
 108 t he l if e of Goe the

but rev olution , was their

un uttered wat chword An d thus .

t he way was prep arin g f or an ep och in which gr eatn ess

f ailed to satisfy an d the mon strous an d the in com prehen
,

sibl e w er e d em an d ed wh en t he cl ear an d d istin c t mu st g iv e

,

way t o the chiaroscur o wh ich m akes u s divin e an d im ag in e

,

heaven ly truths an d b eauties which reason an d eyesight

c an n ot disc ern For it was felt in stin ctively that the
.

visible an d the t an gible t hat which can b e demonstrated ,

an d t aught c an n ot b e fi n al ; th ere must b e som ethin g b e

,

yon d ou r vision dimly appreh en sible to the proph etic soul

, .

Therefore p eople turn ed their b acks up on rationalistic

d oc trin es an d en lighten m en t as up on credul ous submission
t o d ogma syst em or t ex t b ook
, E sth etic an d religious
,
-
.

mysticism on the other han d was embraced with ard our

, , .

An d the ten den cy in this direc tion was the m ore n atural
b ec ause German y was so b arren an d prosaic that it was a
pleasure t o b e intoxicated with ex alted mysticism an d
fan ciful dreams Through this philosophy the p eople came
.

in t o touch with secret f orc es th at p erm eate the u niverse ,

an d the m or e in sign ific an t t he in dividu al was in an ab solu te

govern men t an d the m ore he felt himself a mere cipher a
, ,

puppet t axed in blood an d mon ey the more he was d e

, ,

lighted to b e a part of the in fini te the world spirit an d t o ,

-
,

sh are in a sov er eign t y which sc offed at the c on temp tible

duod ecim o sov ereign ties of this world .

The divin e elemen t in the in dividual was his geniu s .

This gen ius c ould claim ab solute in depen den ce of all human
laws in life art an d scien ce Wh at m an had fixed up on
, ,
.

an d establish ed was tyr an nic al arb itrary unju st Ao , , .

cord in gly salvation c ould n ot lie in ob edien c e t o l aws an d

rules b u t solely in ob edien c e to gen ius Whoever cared to

,
.

adv an c e Vic t oriou sly mu st f oll ow it s leadin g th at is t o say , ,

mu st not b e a sl ave to rules n or an imitator he must —

, ,

b e origin al .

B eside the voic e of on e s own genius the pure revelation ’

of the divin e sp irit was f ou n d on ly in n ature H en c e .

C on formity t o N ature the wat ch cry n ow seriou s n ow

,
”
— -
, ,

friv olous of the m ore highly organised amb itious youth

, , .
 meginning of the l ite r ar y
} R e v olution 1 09

Accordin gly th ey foun d the highest an d g reatest achieve

m en ts of m an in that p oetry in which in dividuals or n ation s
had n ot foll owed h ard an d fast rul es b u t sol ely the in
- -
,

sp iration of gen iu s ; am on g the Greek s it was H om er ;

am on g the Sc ots the C eltic b ard O ssian; am o n g the E n g
‘

lish Sh akespeare ; it was furthermore foun d in the B ible

, , ,

an d in f olk son g I n t his way t he y oun g gen eration sou gh t

-
.

to g ain at least an in n er freed orrf, an d ob tain the rights o f

7 x

ev ery in d ividual t o n atural d ev el opm en t an d freed om of

movemen t at least in the realm of the spirit Outwardly

,
.

the stat e an d societ y pu t shackl es up on t h eir h an ds an d

feet pu t wigs upon t heir h eads daub ed t heir fac es with p aint
, ,

or du st ed th em w it h p owd er an d ch eck ed the fr ee m ov e ,

men t of their b odies by orn amen t al cuffs an d frills A .

youn g gen eration with such str on g p assion at e feelin gs ,

n eed ed symp at h et ic soul s t o wh om t h ey c ould un burd en

t h eir h ear ts ; h en c e t h er e d ev el op ed in G erm an y such a cult

of frien d ship as was n ev er k n ow n A youn g gen eration with .

the c on sc iou sn ess of such p ower an d sov er eign ty had n eed

of ac tion Bu t as eit h er n othin g was b ein g d on e in the
.

sl eepy mon oton ous burgher life of the fath erlan d or

, ,

ev eryt h in g t h at w as d on e d esc en d ed up on t he m asses of

the govern ed like rain an d sn ow ; an d as t h ere was n o

eff ec tiv e mean s of brin gin g ab out an y ch an ge of c on dition s ,

all t heir cravin g f or ac tiv ity sough t an out l et in p oetry

an d h er e ac tion p assion at e stormy ac tion w
,

, as ev erywh ere
, ,

deman ded Fin ally it was eviden t that the existin g lan
.
,

guage was n o lon ger an adequate chan nel for the n ew an d

overwh elm in g fl ood of f eelin g Not the well ordered flow .
-

of sp eech only an imp assion ed st amm erin g

, an ec st atic ,

b abblin g was capable of utterin g the inner Storm an d

,

S tress .

This is approximately the in tellectual c on dition these ,

are in the main t he views the aims an d m an ifestation s , ,

which came to the fron t in Germ an y with the forc e of a ,

genuin e revolution in the seven th an d eighth dec ades of the

,

eight een t h c en tury an d from which in sp ite of all exc esses

, , ,

an in estim able bl essin g accru ed t o t he in tellec tual lif e an d ,

1 IO t he l ife of Goe the

es ep cially the p oetry of Germ an y The most imp ortan t pro .

m ot ers of t his m ovemen t were Win ckelm an n H am an n an d , ,

H erder These m en were also the focus for the rays which
.
, ,

c omin g from Greec e E n glan d an d Fran c e en kin dled a n ew

, , ,

fire in the soul s of G erm an you th Of these m en H erder .

,

had ab sorb ed wh at ev er of in spiration the oth er two an d

th eir f or eru n n er s had or igin at ed In him were u n ited .

Klop stock s exalted flight Lessin g s g reat c on struc tive

’
,
’

critic ism Win ckelman n s c on scious subj ec tivity an d love ’

of n ature H am an n s d ist ast e f or rul es an d sy stem s an d his

’

, ,

preferen ce for the origin al the dark an d the deep as re , ,

v ealed by c on templation an d prophetic in tuition All the .

seed s of the rev olu tion had b een sowed in his breast an d ,

here they had sprun g up in to a n ew an d magn ificen t con

ception of in t ell ec tu al l if e Thus in 7 7 0 at the age of . 1 ,

t wen t y six he c ould b e c on sid ered t he real h ead of the

-
,

German revolution ary m ov emen t .

Bu t H erd er was n ot a g en eral who c ould lead on t o

vict ory H e was with out the person al magn etism which
.

b in ds an army b ody an d soul t o their leader ; the dithy

, ,

ram b ic fl igh t s of his eloq u en c e l acked win n in g warmt h ,

an d w or st of all he had n ot t he p oet ic power t o t r an sf orm

, ,

t he n ew g osp el in t o migh t y acc omplishmen t .

O n ly on e m an p ossessed th ese qualification s at th at

tim e an d t h is was W olfgan g G oeth e
,
H e was al so the on ly .

m an with the p ower t o prev en t the preciou s ore of the

movemen t from b ein g buried b en eath its dross an d to ,

clean se the ragin g stream of the slime which it carried alon g

in it s c ourse an d spread it ou t over the fi eld s t o en rich
,

t h em What a won derful decree of Providen c e th at at the

.
,

m ost opp ortun e m omen t the gifted leader of the rev olu
t ion c am e to t his u n iqu e m an c ommu n ic ated his id eas t o ,

him an d th at t hus t he y ou n ger b u t great er gen ius m ore

, ,

certain of vic tory received in to his han d s the staff of the

,

fi eld marshal !
H erder arrived in S trasburg in the early days of Sep
t emb er 1
77 0
, as t r av ell in g c omp
, an ion of the P r in c e of
H olstein E utin Alth ough his servic e in this p osition had
-
.
 JBeginning of the l ite r ar y
} R e v olution 1 1 1

b egun n o farther b ack than the middle of Jun e yet it had ,

already b ec ome in t olerabl e to him b ec au se of disc ord wit h ,

the prin c e s tutor an d b ec au se of it s c on fin ement A fort

’
.
,

n igh t aft er his arriv al he resign ed Bu t an Op eration on a .

lachrymal fistula c ompelled him to prolon g his soj ourn in

S trasburg Goethe had hardly h eard of the arrival of the
.

promin en t m an when he wen t to pay him his respects

, .

B ein g kin dly received he did n ot fail to rep eat his visit
, .

Durin g the l on g an d p ain ful treatm en t ou r studen t was

able t o m ake him self very u seful t o the p atien t as a n ur se ,

an d al so by h elp in g t o p ass aw ay the tediou s h ours wit h

chat an d cards The frien dship b ecame more in timate
.
,

an d soon Goethe was H erd er s d aily c omp an ion in t he sick

’

room from morn in g till evenin g .

Herder was on ly fiv e years older th an Goethe Bu t .

while this disparit y in age makes some differen c e in early

life H erder was still farther in advan c e of Goethe in wealth
,

of exp erien c e k n owl edg e an d in sigh t

,
G oethe was still
, .

growin g H erder was mature It had been his fortun e to

, .

see a great d eal of t he w orld From K on igsb erg where he .

,

had fel t t he determ in in g in flu en c e of K an t an d still m ore of

H aman n he had gon e t o Riga ; t hen ce he had t aken a lon g
,

v oyage which brough t h ome to him the greatn ess of the

,

sea which G oeth e had n ev er seen t o Fran c e an d had sp en t

, , ,

six m on t hs in the c ou n t ry which was t hen t he c en tre of

culture In Paris where he lived a mon th an d a half he

.
, ,

had learn ed as much as p ossible of b ooks an d m en or atory

“
,

an d the t heatre dan c in g an d p ain tin g,

music an d the ,

”
p eople . H e had mad e the acquain tan c e of Did er ot ,

d Alem b ert Barthelénry an d oth er well kn own writer s

’
-
, ,
.

From Paris he turn ed to Brussels an d An twerp where he ,

saw the treasures of Dut ch art I n L eyd en he m et the .

distinguished phil ologist R u hnken an d fin ally his travels ,

brought him to H amburg where he enj oyed several weeks ,

of L essin g s societ y
’
.

With a great fun d of kn owledge of the world and men

he united a profoun d min d wh ich had made exten siv e study
of an cien t an d m odern lit eratures an d had drawn from t hem
1 12 t he l if e of G oe the

h r fin est an d most fruitful thought As yet b u t little

t ei .

of wh at was stirrin g his soul had r each ed the public ; b esid e

a f ew t rifl es he had j ust publish ed his F ragmen te fi ber di e

n eu ere deu tsche Li teratu r an d his K ri ti s che Walder

,
Bu t .
,

as G oeth e t ells u s all th at he acc ompl ished in aft er life

,

was already ou tlin ed in his min d C on sequen tly he was .

prep ared t o reveal to his youn g frien d the full splen dour of
his tr easure of th ought .

The faithful y ou n g frien d did n ot fin d it easy t o qu en ch

his t h irst at H erd er s f oun t ain F or n ature had bl en d ed wit h
’
.

H erd er s amiable spirit a strain of b ittern ess an d he was

’
,

much given to av en gin g his own trial s an d tribulation s by

ridiculin g oth er p eopl e ; an d the stron ger an d more fortun ate
t he on e with wh om he c am e in c on t ac t t he m ore he in dulged
this h ab it . Thus good hearted Wolfgan g who would
-
,

gl adly h ave an ticipated the exc ellen t m an s every wish was ’

oft en m ad e t o f eel t he stin gin g l ash of his sarc asm so th at ,

ev en a year l at er the sc ars st ill sm ar ted an d he still f el t ,

like a Whipp ed d og when he thought of H erder s sick room ’

-
.

H erder spared n othin g Now it was Goethe s n am e n ow

.
’
,

his f al se t ast e n ow his in n oc en t p eculiarities or h obb ies

, ,

n ow his l ack of acut en ess up on w hich t he s age p oured o t

,
u

his sh arp ac idit y ; b u t n ot hin g c ould in duc e G oet h e t o

f orsake the great m an H e wrestled with him as J ac ob
.
,

with the an gel of the Lord an d held him fast un til he re

,

ceiv ed a blessin g .

I t was the d awn of a n ew w orld from wh ich H erd er ,

drew b ack the curtain for him a world of which he had ,

oft en b een v agu ely c on sc iou s b u t which had as yet re ,

main ed en veloped in a cloud of dreams To see this w orld .

n ow in r ealit y an d h ear it c on vin c in gly p ort ray ed as

,

b eautiful an d good gave his spirit win gs an d when he felt

, ,

their m ight y p ower in fl igh t he tr embl ed with joy In .

memory of th at j oyful soarin g of his spirit he c ould in l ater ,

years ch arac terise those d ays in spite of their humiliation s

, ,

as w on d erful h appy d ays full of gloriou s pr oph ecy an d

, , ,

c all his meetin g with H erd er a most imp ortan t even t .

Let u s ex amin e in d et ail what G oeth e c ould an d did

, ,
1 14 t he l ife of Goe the

G oethe) Poetry must stan d the higher the n earer the

. ,

p oet whether a p eople or an in dividual stan ds to n ature

, , .

H en c e the m ost glorious p oems are th ose of the most

an c ien t p eopl es or of sav ages an d th ose of t he son s of
, ,

n at ur e M oses H om er O ssian
,
F or civilisation is n ot con
, ,
.

du civ e t o p oetry I t has d epriv ed u s of firm n ess of eye

.

an d h an d sur en ess of t h ough t an d expr ession spritelin ess

, ,

an d gen uin en ess of f eel in g an d so ev en of the c ap ab il it y of

,

apprec iatin g the great p oet s an d h earin g the sp irit of

n at ur e wh ich sin g s in t h em .

Bu t it is n ot by imit atin g great p oets th at we attain to

an y th in g b ett er an d high er ; it is by l ear n in g fr om t h em the

art of p oetry t he art of r efl ec tin g in p oetry ou r own n ature

, ,

hist ory man n er of th ought an d lan guage ; th at is to say

, , ,

we mu st imit ate ourselv es must b e origin al ,

—
.

Such p oet s w ere amon g the an cien t dramatists S oph

, ,

ocles an d ZE schylos ; am on g t he m odern Sh akesp eare , .

Therefore it is ab surd t o judge Shakesp eare by the rules of -

the an c ien t s E ach has r epr esen ted his own world in the
.

drama Shakesp eare foun d b efore him a world n o longer

.

simpl e an d h en c e his dram as c ould n ot b e simpl e

,
He .

p ort rayed hist ory sit uation s great ev en t s in t heir actual

, ,

c omplexit y an d man y sidedn ess an d he remain ed faithful -

,

t o tru t h an d n atur e wh en he tr ac ed the c our se of hist ory

an d human fate thr ough all t h eir v ariou s sc en es an d st ages .

H e l ays hold of a hun dr ed sc en es m arsh als them b ef ore him , ,

an d quick en s th em wit h a sin gl e spirit an im atin g the wh ole .

H e sp eak s the l an gu ages of all ages an d c on dition s of m en ,

is t he in terpreter of n ature in all her t on gues Wh en on e .

read s him theatre act or curtain all vanish On e sees b u t

, , , ,
.

a world of dr am atic h ist ory as great an d deep as n atur e ,

.

F or the p oet as god of the dr am a n o clock strikes up on

t ower or t emple f or it is his t o create b oth m easur e of sp ac e
,

an d of tim e This measure of time an d space dwells in his

.

soul ,
an d th it her he mu st tran sp or t his audien c e by his

magic an d c omp el th em to accep t his stan dards .

As the dramatist mu st l earn from Sh akesp eare so must ,

the lyric p oet fr om t he son g s of the c ommon p eople an d ,

 JBeginning of the l iterarv R e v olution 1 15

p cially from the old Sc otch lays of O ssian which H erder

es e , ,

c on vin c ed like almost everyb ody else of their gen uin en ess
, , ,

d oes n ot hesitate to plac e on an equality with the folk son g -

.

I n his ch arac terisation of the f olk son g h owever he u n -

, ,

c on sciously av oids t akin g the clever fraud of Macpherson

in t o c on sid eration The f olk son g he explain s is full of
.
-
, ,

fresh n ess stren gth obj ec tivity ; it sp eaks it reason s n ot

, , , ,

it p ain ts ; there is n o ot h er c on nec tion am on g its p arts t h an

amon g t he trees an d bush es of t he f orest h en c e it s b old ,

tran sition s an d d arin g strok es L an guage an d rhythm are

.

the exac t expression of the c on ten ts an d th erefore an or

g a n ic p a r t o f t h e so ng .

H erder sp oke with n o litt le en thu siasm of H omer and of

the B ible wh ich he t augh t G oeth e for the first time t o ap
,

p re c ia t e a s p oe t ry H
. om e r he c all s a ll n a t ur e an d M oses ,

he plac es by the side of H omer an d h en c e also by the sid e , , ,

of O ssian .

H e furth er turn s G oeth e s t h ough ts an d atten tion to

’

Pin d ar s dithyramb s makes him acqu ain ted with H amann s

’ ’
,

favourite ideas an d expression s reads Goldsmith s Vi car ,

’

of Wakefield t o him p oin t s him t o t he gr eat sat irist Swif t

, ,

an d brin gs t he N or se myt h ologic an d h er oic son gs of the

E dda n ear er t o his heart .

Through th ese th oughts and in spirations H erder b ecame

Goethe s guide an d lib erator Whatever of creative power
’
.

in p oetry an d lan guage t her e was l aten t in Goeth e s g enius

’

he dev el op ed in to c on sciou s an d free ac tivity F or th at .

reason Goethe eagerly devoured everythin g that Herder

p u t at h is d is p o sa l H e.f el t the n a t ur al n ess o f t h is f ood ,

which strengthen ed broaden ed an d exalted his wh ole b e

, ,

in g. H omer O ssian and Shakespeare b ec ame f av ourite

, ,

b ooks with him as the B ible had b een sin c e his early youth
, .

Bu t whil e O ssian aft er a few y ears again retired in t o the

b ackgroun d H omer and Shakespeare remained his com
,

p an ions through life .

The influen ce of Sh akesp eare on G oeth e in his S trasburg

period c ann ot b e overestimated True the British p oet .
,

had already so c aptivated him th at he placed him b eside

 I 16 t he l ife of G oe the

Geser Wielan d as his teacher b u t this very groupin g is

an d ,

evid en c e t h at the full gr eat n ess of the p oet had n ot yet

dawned upon him It c ame over him first through H erder

. .

Now when ever he read Shakesp eare in the quiet of his r oom ,

as he t ells u s in Wi lhelm M er ster it seem ed t o him as if ,

a m agician w ere m ovin g a h ost of spirit s ab ou t him in

an etern al c ircle of ch an ge an d he was vex ed if an yb ody
,

brought him b ack from this magic world to talk of an other .

All the prophetic feelin gs which he had ever had ab out m an

an d his f ate he saw d evel op ed an d fulfilled in Sh akesp ear e s
’

plays They seemed to him the work of a heaven ly gen ius

.
,

an d like H erder he felt t hat he had b efore him n ot p oem s

, , , ,

b u t the huge op en b ook of fate As he expresses him self in

.

the m an ifest o Z u m Shakespearestag written a y ear later he

, , ,

felt his life in fin itely broaden ed Now for the first time .

he d ared t o leap in t o the fr ee air an d n ow for the first tim e ,

he b egan t o f eel th at he had h an d s an d feet An d when he .

saw how much in ju stic e he had su ffer ed fr om t he tyr an n y

of rules an d how m an y free soul s w ere still crouch in g in

,

t h eir fet ters his h eart w ould h av e burst within him had
,

he n ot mad e it t he busin ess of his life t o raz e th eir prison s .

H e grasp s m ore distin c t ly t h an H erd er the p oin t of v iew of .

the Sh akesp earian dramas which assur es th eir in n er u n it y

,

an d dram atic eff ec t p erc eivin g that the p eculiarit y of t he

,

ego the preten ded freed om of the will cl ash es with the
, ,

n ec essary pr ogress of the wh ol e Our distorted taste so ”

’
.

ob scures ou r v ision th at we are almost in n eed of a n ew

creation t o deliver u s from t h is d ark n ess The m ost of .

Sh akesp eare s critic s are off en ded at his ch arac ters

’
Bu t .

he cries ou t : N ature n ature! n othing so n ear to n ature

“
,

as Sh akesp eare s m en !
’

While the freedom an d sureness of Shakespeare s genius ’

gave him b ack his own freedom an d suren ess ; while he ad

mired Sh akespeare s d eep in sight in to the c onfusion of the
’

world and thus deepen ed his ovi n ; an d while from the r

p sych ol ogica l m in iat ur e dr a

win g of ch arac t
-
er s wh ich he ,

comp ares with the in gen ious w ork s of a wat ch he d eriv ed ,

the rich est n ourishmen t for his own art n everth eless this ,
 “
1 18 t he l if e of G oe the

folk son g develop ed Goethe s lyric p oetry over n ight in to

-
’

full fl ower H e n ever c omp osed m ore fragran t son gs than

.

Das M aili ed an d D as H eideraslein or an ythin g full er of ,

feelin g t han Willkommen an d A bsehred

'

H erd er tarried in S trasburg seven m on th s ev ery day ,

of wh ich was full of m ost fruit ful in struc t ion for G oet h e .

The querul ous m an who l ook ed up on the c ity at first as a,

m ost miserable b arren disagreeable plac e b ecam e m ore

, , ,

th an ever disgu sted af ter t he f ailure of t he op eration on his

eye an d at E ast er
, 77 he w a s gl ad in d eed,
t o l ea
1v e A s
1 ,
.

he had b ec om e fi n an c ially emb arrassed G oeth e b orrowed ,

a su m of m on ey f or him wh ich was r eturn ed l on g aft er it , ,

was pr omised acc omp anied by some mockin g d oggerel

, .

A year later when his b etrothed had written in praise of

,

G oethe H erder replied that he was in reality a good m an

, ,

b u t extrem ely fickle an d far t oo much like a sp arrow ;

h owev er he was the on ly m an who had visited him regularly
,

durin g his c on fin emen t an d wh om he had b een glad t o see .

The aristocratic in differen c e with which he h ere sp eaks

O f G oet h e was f or t he m ost p ar t f eign ed .

Wit h t he free an d d arin g ideas which Goet h e had re

ceiv ed fr om H erd er s t each in g s wit h t he en t hu siasm wh ich
’
,

he had d ev elop ed f or Sh ak esp eare H om er an d O ssian he , , ,

in fec ted the wh ole c omp an y at the table aha te an d ar oused

’ ‘

am on g t h em such a fury of S torm an d S tress t h at t he com

m on thin gs of every day life were c omplet ely submerged
— .

Nature an d freed om b ec ame the guidin g prin c ipl es of t he

youn g frien ds ; they wan ted t o produce ev erythin g of
th emselv es in u n tramm elled lib erty with ou t artificiality ,

an d with out sub servien c e t o rul es .

ޤ fb
reunb c a
ft Q iebe B
é ru berfb f
c a t ,

i rfigt bieficb nicht non felber her 2* ‘

That was the w cry giv en ou t by G oethe an d soon after in

ar -
,

corporat ed in the origin al t ex t of F au st an d guid ed by it , , ,

t he youn g ic on oclast s ov ert hr ew all the obj ec tion s of tr adi

Frie d hip l ve a d br t h erhood

n s ,
o ,
n o

Speak t h ey ot fo t h em elv e wit h out t he aid of a t ?

n r s s, r
 JBeginning of the l iterarv R ev olution
‘

1 19

t ion an d c on ven tion ality This war cry also formed the .
-

c en tral th ough t for the c on vivial c elebration s which th ey ,

h eld for the greater exaltation Of th eir spirits on the plat

, ,

form Oh the t op of the un fin ished t ower of the c athedral ,

wh ere th ey tossed off brimmin g bump ers to the h on our of

the set tin g su n .

With his m ost intimate frien d s Goethe had other sp ecial

pleasures H e often drov e down the Ill with Lerse an d by
.
,

t he light of the l an tern in t he Rupr ech tsau read O ssian

an d H om er w ith him an d occup ied the sam e b ed w it h him ,

b u t did n ot sleep an y Oft en on such occ asion s he would

.

g o in t o ec st asies sp eak w or,

d s of pr oph ecy an d m ak e Lerse ,

fear he would go mad as the latter humorously related in ,

Weimar a gen eration later .

I t elated t he y oun g m en t oo th at th ey c ould n ow b e , ,

c ordially glad of their G erm an n ation ality an d that th ey

c ould look d own up on the swaggerin g Fren ch with con
temp t .F or n ot on ly had th ey h eard from H erder th at
n ob ody c ould at t ain t ru e greatn ess with ou t d ev el op in g in

his own life the ch arac teristic s of his p eopl e b u t also th at ,

.

the Fren ch l it erature f or wh ich t h ey had l on g sin c e con

ceiv ed an av ersion w as in r ealit y of n o acc ou n t
?

I t had .

grown old an d arist ocratic while E urope was thirstin g f or ,

rejuv en ation Fren ch criticism it seemed t o them l acked

.
, ,

creative p ower was on ly n egativ e disparagin g ; Fren ch

,
—
,

p oetic s was a prison in which the dram a was lan guishin g ;

t he classic al Fren ch dra ma was a p arody on itself From .

the b oasted E urop ean c el ebrity V ol taire t h ey were re , ,

pulsed by his dish on esty his b arren wit an d his c oldn ess , , .

I t was evid en t t o th em th at he u n d er stood n eith er the

B ible n or Shakesp eare n or n ature I n the presen c e of
, , .

t he E n cycl op edists th ey f elt as if th ey w ere walkin g ab out

am on g the inn um erabl e m ovin g Sp in dl es an d l oom s of a
great fact ory An d to cap the climax the m aterialists with
.
, ,

H olb ach at their head ! H is Systeme de la N atu re seemed

t o th em so p allid so C imm erian so c ad averous t h at t h ey
, , ,

shudd ered at it as at a gh ost Bu t wh en the auth or m ad e .

t he plea th at as an old m an r etir ed from ac tive life he had

,
1 20 t he l ife Of G oe the

had n o other ambition than to serve the truth the youn g ,

p eople sc offed at him sayin g : Old churches have dark ,

“

win dows an d H ow cherries an d b erries taste on e must

,
”

ask children an d sp arrows F or the c old b arren n ess an d

”
.

t he sen ile t orp or wh ich t h ey t h ought they d isc overed in

Fren ch literature they c ould fin d n o c ompen sation in such
m en as Diderot an d R ou sseau of wh om the latter esp ecially ,

had app ealed stron gly to th em with his c all b ack to “

n ature I n deed the fate of R ousseau who was at that

.
, ,

time livin g in p overty an d ob scurity in Par is serv ed t he ,

rather to an ger them an ew at the Fren ch B esides there r

.
,

was the rotten n ess in the public life of Fran c e which was ,

discussed in S trasburg with great b ittern ess an d which ,

m ade it easy to foresee the c oll ap se of the state .

Acc ordin gly the youthful c omp an ion s took delight in c ast
in g overb oard ev eryth in g Fren ch An d on the v ery fr on tier .

of Fran c e t h ey f el t th em selv es th or oughly rid of every th in g

th at sav our ed of th at n ation They even obj ected to the .

Fren ch sp oken by th eir n eighb ours an d wou ld n ot p ermit ,

an y ot h er lan guage th an G erm an to b e u sed at the t able .

This revolution ary free an d p atriotic spirit of t he com

, ,

p an y w as c on siderably stren gthen ed at E aster 7 7 by ,

1 1 ,

t he arrival of t he Liv on ian p oet J ac ob L en H e was ,

z .

tw en ty y ear s of ag e was a stud en t of th eol ogy an d was

, ,

ac tin g as t ut or t o the two y ou n g C ourl an d B ar on s v on

Kleist who were goin g t o serv e in the Fren ch army H e
,
.

was a n eat t rim little b ody som ewh at b ashful gen tle of
, , , ,

good p arts an d fair poetic talen t an d with his strivin g for , ,

freed om an d origin ality fitted in to the Storm an d S tress ,

- -

circle very well Rec eived with open arms he with Jun g
.
,

Goethe an d Lerse formed a circle in which as Jun g S tillin g

, ,
-

remarks everyb ody felt at home who c ould appreciate the

,

b eautiful an d the good Bu t it was the misf ortun e of the .

youth gifted with so man y sup erior qualities that his ,

min d in sufficien tly d eveloped by serious study was n ot

, ,

capable of the expan sion which he desired to give it H e .

ov erw orked it an d the t hin fabric gave way

, .

That he formed too high an opin ion of him self was in no ,

1 22 t he l if e of G oe the

B eside L en z still an other memb er of S alz man n s society

,
’

is w orthy of m en tion H ein rich L eop old Wagn er a studen t

, ,

of law who af t erw ard s wr ot e Dr e K i n derm orderi u E v en

'

.
,

if he did n ot hin g w or thy of m en tion during G oeth e s stay

’ ’

in S trasburg yet as he was c ou n t ed soon af terward on e of

, ,

t he leadin g t yp es Of t he S t orm an d S tr ess p eriod an d c ame - -

in to cl ose t ouch with G oeth e he must b e in clud ed for the ,

sak e of c ompl et in g the p ic tur e .

The ab solute return to n ature or to wh at was c on sid ered ,

n at ure an d the r ev ol t fr om l aw s an d c an on s was f or G oeth e

, ,

an d his frien d s fraugh t with t he great d an ger th at th ey

might b ec ome rud e l ackin g in form mon strous c onfu sed
, , , ,

an d t hu s ruin th eir p oetry an d t h eir lives Bu t wh ile .

G oethe s thorough educ ation an d the happy in stin c t of his

’

gen ius usually brought him b ack at critical momen ts to the

right way man y exp erien c es an d impression s especially
,

preserv ed his min d from fallin g in to un wholesome ex

t rav agan ces Thus his c omplete l oss of self in the sombre
.

ch arm of G othic architecture was c oun terb alan c ed b y the

c on templation of the sun n y art of R aphael which a h appy ,

chan c e brought t o his atten tion in the tapestries used to

dec orat e t he buildin g wh ere M arie An t oin et te t he future ,

q ueen of Fran c e was t o b e rec eiv ed on her arrival in S t ras

,

burg While in Dresden he had p assed by Raph ael with

.
, ,

in differen c e h ere he w ould gl adly h av e studied rev ered fl

, ,

ev en worshipp ed him ev ery d ay an d ev ery hOu r The in .

flu en ce of the R om an ruin s which he had seen in N ied er

bron n was in the same direction as was also the exc ellen t ,

c ollec tion of plaster c asts of an cien t sculp ture which he

saw in M an n h eim on t he r eturn j ourn ey t o Frankfor t .

The m elan ch oly mist in the atmosphere of O ssian was

effec tu ally ov erc om e by the brigh t su n of H omer And ,
;
fi n ally his whole ch arac ter was moderated an d purified by
,

his t ru e l ov e of a lov ely n obl e girl wh ose b rightness turn ed

, ,

the n ight in t o day —

Friederike .
 F RI E D E R I K E

Goet h e s
’
fir st vi it
s h eim The Brion f amily an d the Vica of
in Sesen — r

Wak fie
e ld G et h e l
— et t er t o Fr ied erik e —
’
sH i vi it at Chri t m a
o s s s s

Fried erike i Str a burg Goet h e E a t er vi it C fe ion f love

— n s — ’
s s s on ss o
— Wi llk mme d A b h d M i li ed Fried erik e
i — ill e — ’
o n e a uu sc s n ss

Goet h e l et t er t Sal m a
’
s —sH e d e ert Fried er ke H i rea n
o z i — nn s s s so
-
D ie u eu e M elu si u e .

OE TH E in troduc es wit h great solemnity the ao , ,

c oun t in his autob iography of his relation to

, ,

Friederike Three times in signific an t p assages

.

he suggests it in a t on e of d eep feelin g b u t n ot un til t he ,

f ourth time d oes he satisfy ou r curiosity First he p oin ts .

,

ou t from t he t op O f t he c at h edral a lit t le sp ot t oward wh ich

he is drawn by a lovely ch arm an d lets it fade away again ,

from ou r sight ; then he tran sp orts u s in to the darkn ess of

a m oun t ain f orest an d there in the stilln ess of the n igh t t he
,

sou n d of hun tin g h orn s rec all s t o him the imag e of a f air

creature b u t sc arcely has the app arition fl ashed b efore ou r

,

eyes wh en it v an ish es like a m eteor ; th en he rid es through

the forest of H agen au alon g bridle p ath s wit h which love -

,

had made him familiar toward his d ear S esen heim we —

,

learn n ow at least the n ame of the place an d at last we

—

thin k he will l ead u s t o his l ov ed on e b u t again he digresses ,

an d t ells u s of H erder an d The Vi car of Wakefield An d .

on ly when he has d on e with this topic d oes he th in k the

m oment has arrived n ot in deed t o remove the veil alto , , ,

geth er from the pic ture so dear so sacred to him b u t to , ,

lift it little by little un til we are inspired with en ough ,

reveren ce to b eh old it in all its in n oc ent b eauty .

1 23
1 24 t he l ife of Goe the
Friederike awaited wit h as much imp atien ce by her
,

relativ es as by u s en ters the room like the first star in the

, ,

ev en in g sky Slen der an d ligh t as if she had n o weigh t to

.
,

b ear she came trippin g in an d it seemed almost as if her

, ,

n eck w ere t oo d elic at e t o supp ort the h eavy bl on d braid s

of her d ain t y h ead H er m erry blue eyes looked fran kly

.

ab out an d her n eat litt le t urn ed u p n ose breath ed the air

,
-

as freely as if th er e c ould b e n o c are in the world ; her straw

hat was h angin g on her arm so th at the guest had the ,

pleasure of seein g her for the first time in all her b eauty an d
lovelin ess .

I n the early p ar t of Oc tob er 1 7 7 0 Goeth e had b een in , ,

trodu ced to the family of Past or Brion by his frien d Wey

lan d who was related to th em by marriage The family of
,
‘
.

the p ast or which seemed t o the p oet to mirr or t he Primr ose

,

household numb ered at that time seven : t he kin dly

, ,

n oble f at her fifty t hree y ear s of age the well bred d ign ified
,
-
,
-
,

mother in her forty sixth year four daughters an d on e son

,
-
, , .

Of t he f our d augh ters the oldest was n o lon ger at h ome , ,

b ein g already married Of the other three ac tive r oguish .

, ,

M arie Salom ea wh om G oethe c alls O livia ou t of The Vi car

, ,

of Wakefield was twen t y on e F ried erike ab out n in et een

,
-
, ,

an d t he t hird S ophie ab out fourteen , She is n ot m en, .

tion ed by G oeth e as she does n ot fit in to the p arallel b e

,

t ween the Brion family an d the Primroses Bu t we are .

made acquain ted with the son Christian seven years of , ,

ag e who in h on our of his E n glish pr ot otyp e is c all ed

, , ,

M oses G oeth e had just en tered upon his twenty sec on d

.
-

year a few weeks b efore Acc ordin g to his acc oun t he .

b egan his visit by a m erry littl e episode in which he in

du lged his f on dn ess f or m asqu eradin g by app earin g in
shabby cl othes as a p oor studen t of t heology On the fol .

lowin g morn in g h owever as Friederike had cau ght his

, ,

fan cy an d he wished to en gage hers in turn he was vexed

, ,

at the ugly disguise an d rod e away to Dru sen heim pu t on

, ,

the lan dl ord s son George s b est cl othes an d app eared again
’ ’

in S esen h eim with a christen in g c ake in his h an d which ,

occ asion ed all sorts of surprises an d j okes Goeth e tells .

1 26 t he l ife of G oe the

as winged a horse t o m e h ere in the midst of n oisy Strasburg

, ,

as ev er it can b e t o you in your p eac efuln ess when you ,

keen ly feel the separation from your frien ds The c ircum —

st an c es Of ou r h omew ard j ourn ey you can prett y w ell im

agin e if you w ere abl e t o see in my l ook s how sad I f elt

,

at p artin g from you an d if you ob served Weylan d s eager

’

n ess t o get h om e gl adly as he would h av e stay ed wit h you

,

un der other circumstan ces H is thoughts wen t f orward .

,

mine b ackward an d so n aturally the c on versation c ould

, , ,

b e n eith er ex ten siv e n or in t erestin g Fin ally we .

arrived an d the first t h ough t which occurred t o us an d

, ,

which had b een ou r c on solation on the way was a plan t o ,

see you ag ain soon Th ere is someth in g so dear in the h ope

.

of m eetin g ag ain An d we with ou r p amp ered hearts wh en

.
,

an y t hin g m akes u s t he least b it sad are alw ays ready w it h ,

the remedy an d say : Dear h eart b e quiet ; you will n ot

‘

, ,

l on g b e sep arated from th ose you love ; b e quiet dear ,

heart An d then we make for it a shadow pic ture that it

.
’

m ay mean while h ave somethin g at l east an d th en it is ,

ob edien t an d quiet l ik e a lit tl e ch ild wh ose m ot h er g iv es it a

d oll in stead of the apple which it ought n ot t o eat E n ough —

,

w e are h ere an d you see t hat y ou w ere wron g ! Y ou w ould

, .

n ot b eliev e t h at t he n oise of t he c it y would grat e on my ears

aft er y our sweet c ou n t ry j oys C ertain ly Mam sell S tras ’

.
, ,

burg n ever seemed to m e so empty as n ow I hop e it m ay .

b e b etter wh en time sh all h av e w orn away a little of the

m emory of ou r delightful un restrain ed en j oymen t when , ,

I shall n o lon ger feel so vividly how good how amiable my , ,

frien d is Bu t can it b e t hat I c ould or would forget it

.
?

NO I will rather keep the little heartache an d write to

,

y ou of t en A n d n ow m a
. n y m a n y t h an k s ; m an y m an y , ,

sin c ere r em embran c es t o y our d ear p aren ts ; t o y our d ear

sister m an y hu n dred s of which I would gladly repay to

”
you .

Whether or n ot G oethe as he plan n ed return ed soon to , ,

S esen heim we do n ot kn ow At all even t s he was th ere in .

the win t er p erh ap s at Christmas after he had an n oun ced

— —

his visit with t he b eautiful v erses 3 9

 jf oerihe
rie 1 27

Sci) tommehalb ibr golbnen S linber,

,

Qiergebené fperret nué her QBinter

Sn unit emarmen Oluhen ein .

QBir mollen unt 311m gem legen

11nhtaufenbfii ltig lineergttjen ,

11116 Iieben mie ble(i ngelein .

953k mollen HeineQ rfingcben miuben ,

QBir molIen Heine Otrii ufa cben binben

11nhmleblefleinen Rinber feinfi ‘

They were brought still cl oser t ogether by a protracted

v isit perhap s at the b egin nin g of Len t which Frau Brion
- —

an d her d augh ters mad e in S trasburg Bu t th eir in ter .

c ourse in the city was n ot as intimate an d un convention al

as in the c oun try an d for th at reason G oeth e h ailed wit h
,

delight the E aster vacation which was to brin g him to his

,

loved one again in her h ome On E aster E v e he moun ts .

his h orse an d is off on a wild rid e t o S esen h eim

6 6 ichlug mein $ er5 gefc bminb 311 $ ferbe —

11nhfort milb mieein 65 e gur c lac

, bt !
Q er l enb wiegte{th an bie (Srbe
‘
,

11nh an beu Qiergen h ing bieSiac bt .

Och on ftunb im W ebeltleib bie (fi che

QBieein getiirmter S l ideba ,

9530 ?finfternié ant Dem (Geftraucbe

Witt bunbert fcbmargen Qlugen fol) .

m
fil er ent hon einem QBolfenbugeI
Oat) frbliifrig ans hem S ufi berbor
Oleélfiinbefe m
b gan en Iei e l
f g gii el ,

ll mfauften fe bau erlid) m ein Db r .

SDieW adji fcljuf taufenb ll ngebeuer

My childr e d ear I come at la t
n , s ,

E e t h u g h t he wi t er chilly bl a t
’ ’
n o n s s

I helter warm d th b id
n s t ay o us s .

We 11 it be id e the ch eery fi e
’
s s r

A d mut u al j y u t ld i pir e
n o s n o ns

A d l v e lik e a gel all t he d ay

n o n s .

A d lit t l e wr eat h of fl wer we ll wi d

’
n s o s n

A d lov ely lit t l e

n eg ay b i d ; n os s n

Like litt l e childr e w e will pl ay n

1 28 t he l ife of G oe the

Ouch i f h
ta u en b ac e
r m ar mein Sh ut ;
9mm(S i eift mar ein nergeh
re nb ?
s en e r ,

Wieln gangeé herg gerflot in (Slut l ’‘

In pite of the late h our of Goethe s arrival in S esen heim

s
’

he f oun d the two old est d aught ers of the p astor still sittin g
b efore the door ; t hey seemed n ot much surprised b u t he ,

was when Friederike whispered to Olivia loud en ough for

, ,

him t o h ear : What did I tell you ? There he is E arly

“ ”
.

the n ex t m orn in g Fried erik e c all ed him f or a walk With .

a l it tl e att en tion I was abl e on this m orn in g to b eh old

Friederike s charac ter in all its ph ases so much so that to

’

m e she was always the sam e durin g the wh ole tim e .

H er n ature her figure n ev er app eared m ore ch armin g t h an

,

when she passed alon g a raised footpath ; the grac efulness'

of her m ov em en t s seem ed t o v ie with the fl ower b edecked -

eart h an d the in exh au stibl e ch eerful n ess of her c oun ten an ce

,

with the blue sky The refreshin g atmosph ere which she
.

breath ed she brough t with her to the h ouse an d it was soon ,

n otic eabl e t h at she k n ew how t o solv e t rifl in g difficul ties

an d t o oblit erat e t he impression of lit tl e un pl easan tn esses .

The purest joy that o n e can h ave in a b eloved p erson

is t o see t hat p erson givin g joy t o others Friederike s ’
.

b earin g in the comp an y was universally helpful On walks .

she h asten ed hith er an d thit her an an imatin g spirit an d , ,

Q ui ck t hr obb ed my h eart — t o h or e ! up ! l eap ! s

Swift a a warri r t t he fight !

s o o

The ev e i g lulled t he earth to leep

n n s ,

A d e t he m u t ai hu g t he igh t
’
n o r o n ns n n .

I r be of mi t t he ak upr ear ed
n o s o

I t t oweri g limb
s f m
n t rou i es o on s s s z .

From every bu h t he d ark e peered s n ss

Wit h c u tle holl w gho t ly eye

o n ss o ,
s s

A bov e t he m u t ai cloud t he moo

o n n- n

Looked l eepy t hr ugh t he mi t y h eap

s o s

The W i d oft W i g were b eat i g

n
’
s s n n s n soo ,

Maki g my fl e h wit h t err or cr eep

n s

The igh t f rmed myriad mo ter di re

n o ns s ,

B t till I
u s ught f fear did k ow ;
no o n

My br ai wa a c n umi g fi e
s on s n r ,

My heart di lved i ferve t gl w

sso n n o .
1 39 t he l ife of Goe the

on e which acc ompan ied the presen t

pain ted ribb on of a ,

Klein e B lu men klei n e B latter

,
I n the origin al f orm of the
.

son g he pray s t o f ate th at the lif e of th eir l ov e m ay n ot b e

the life of a r ose .I t was c er tain ly an h on est sin c ere ,

prayer b u t he had n ot reckon ed with the un c on querable

,

p owers within him .

May c ame an d en tic ed the lover often er than ev er b efore

in t o the garden s an d fi eld s of S esen h eim N ature had .

decked h erself with all the charms of a b eautiful sprin g .

I n el oquen t w ord s the p oet pr aises the cl earn ess of the

heavens the splen d our of the lan dscap e the ethereal m orn
, ,

in gs the mild ev enin gs of th ose well rememb ered d ays

, ,
-
.

An d in his M ai li ed we can h ear ech oes of the same rap ture ,

en din g in a jov ou s jub ilee of l ov e an d life :

6 0Ileht bleEerche
Gelang unb Q uit,
ll ub JJl orgeuhlumeu
S

Oeu himmelé buft ,

Ollie lchblchIiebe
Wilt warmem éBIut ,

O le bu mlr hugeub
ll ub greub
’
uub 5 mm
8 11 ne Q leberu
ue
n

ll ub Ol ugeu glblt ,

Oel emlg glllclfllch

i sle bu mlch lIleh t!

The l ark le l vet h ss o

Sweet g a d ai
son n r,

A d bl m of m or i g
n oo n n

H eav e fr agr a ce r are

’
n s n ,

Th a I l ve t h ee
n o

Wit h f d d e ir e
on s ,

F o t h u r e ewe t
r o n s

M y y ut hful fi e
o r

Gi t j y a d pirit
v s
’
o ,
n s

Fo g a d glee ;
r so n n

Be ev er h appy
A th u l t m e!
’
s o ov s
 jfrieOerihe 131

The h appin ess of the l overs was at its z en ith Just .

t h en Fried erik e was tak en ill it was th ought with con ,

—

sump t ion an d the p oet who had b een as on e w alkin g in

—
, ,

his sl eep was sudd en ly ar ou sed t o sob er th ough t

,
He .

was d eeply p ain ed wh en it d awn ed up on him t hat wh at

f or Fried erik e was d own righ t earn est for him was on ly a ,

b eautiful dream H e wen t to S esen heim at Whitsun tide

. ,

an d durin g a stay of sev er al w eek s b egan sl owly t o wrest l e

with his c on scien c e for its c on sen t t o f orsake Fried erike I t .

is sad an d yet fasc in atin g t o f oll ow the struggl e through the

letters which he at the time wrote to his S ocrates S alz mann , .

I n the first he says : It is n ot v ery ch eerful ab out m e h ere ;

t he lit tle on e c on tin u es sadly ill an d th at m ak es every thin g
l ook ou t of j oin t T0 say n othin g of the con sci a men s n ot
.
, ,

alas ! recti *
which is ever presen t with m e Yet my head is
, .

still ab ov e wat er .

I dan c ed with the eld est on Whitmon day from two

O cl ock in the aft ern oon till twelv e O cl ock at n igh t wit h
’ ’

ou t c easin g exc ep t durin g the f ew p au ses for refr eshm en ts

,
.

Ju stic e v on R eschwoog had len t his drawin g room we had —

,

picked up some good t ravellin g musician s an d so we d an c ed ,

with the fury Of a st orm I forgot my fever an d sin ce then .

it has b een b ett er t oo An d yet if I c ould say

, .
,

‘
I am happy that would b e b etter th an all else
,
’
.

Who is t can say I am at the worst

‘ ’
say s E dgar ,

[in K i n g L ear ] Th at is al so a c.o n sol at ion d ear frien d , .

My h ead is like a weather c ock when a storm is approach -

,

ing an d t he gusts of win d are ch an geable .

A week l ater he writ es : A few words are at all ev ents “

, ,

b ett er than n othin g H ere I am driv en from pillar to .

p ost . The world is so b eau tiful ! so b eautiful ! if

on e c ould on ly en j oy it ! This Often vexes m e an d I often ,

read myself edifyin g lec tures ab out makin g the m ost of the
present ab out t his d octrin e which is so in dispen sable to
, ,

ou r h appin ess b u t wh ich m an y a pr of essor of eth ic s f ails to

,

grasp an d which n on e prop oun d s with clearn ess Adieu . .

Bu t the mel an ch oly m ood is ob stin at e A fortnight .

Cf V rgil E
i . i 6 4 me ib i c cia recti C
,
— u , 0 : ns s on s . .
132 t he l ife of G oethe

later we read in a third lett er : I am c omin g or I am n ot , ,

or —wh en this is all over I shall kn ow b etter ab out it th an

n ow . I t is rain in g wit h out an d within an d the hid eous ,

west win ds rustle in the grap e leaves b efore my win dow -

an d my an i mu la vagu la is like the littl e w eath er c ock -

over y on d er on t he church t ower ; turn th ee ! turn th ee !

‘ ’
-

t hu s it g oes the liv el on g d ay although the b ow th ee

‘
!
,

stretch th ee ! wen t ou t of fashion some time ago

’
.

The l on ger he stay s the m ore the b eautiful dream fad es

away .The fifth week he writes :
I t is n ow ab out tim e th at I sh ould return an d I in
“
,

ten d t o an d in t en d t o b u t wh at is t he u se of in t en din g
, , ,

wh en I see the fac es ab out m e The c on dition of my

?

h eart is peculiar my h ealth is as waverin g as ev er b u t the

, ,

world is more b eautiful than I have seen it in a lon g time .

“
A most pleasan t c oun try p eople who love m e a cycle , ,

of j oy s Are n ot t he dream s of y our childh ood all ful

‘
.

filled I often ask myself wh en feastin g my eyes On this

?
’

heaven of happin ess Are n ot th ese the fairy gard en s you

.
‘

lon ged for ? They are th ey are I feel it dear frien d an d

’

, .
, ,

feel th at on e is n ot a whit h appier wh en he ob tain s what he

has d esired The m akew eigh t ! t he m akew eight ! which
.

fat e throws in to the sc ales wit h every joy we have D ear .

frien d it requires a good deal of c ourage to keep from b e

.

c oming emb ittered in this world .

H e return s t o S tr asburg with the c on sciou sn ess th at his

relation s with Friederike are b u t the produc t of his fan cy .

an d mu st en d in sorr ow The th ough t of it b egin s to .

worry him Bu t the p ower of sweet h ab it outweighs an d

.
,

he c on tin ues the l ov ely in t erc ourse m ore by l etters how , ,

ev er th an by v isits
,
H is stay in S trasburg was appr oachin g
.

t he en d ; ju st b efore his d ep ar tu re an d his l ast visit in

S esen heim he wrote to S al z man n : My eyes will n ot stay “

o pen an d it is on ly n in e Oh how I love regularity! Ou t .

,

l ate last n igh t routed ou t of b ed early this morn in g by

,

plan s ! The inside of my head l ooks like my room ; I

can n ot fin d ev en a scrap of p ap er exc ep t th is blue Bu t , .

C f Spa tia . H ad 5
r A imul a
nu s,v agul a bl a dul
r a et —C
2 : n ,
n , c .
1 34 t he l if e of G oe the

was rewarded by c omplete ab solution The torturin g

n ot .

m em ories return ed ever an d an on an d years later drove ,

him as we sh all see on c e m ore t o the simple Alsatian par

, ,

where Friederike s n oble rec on cil ed soul fi n ally

’
son age , ,

lib erated him from th em .

What separated G oethe from Friederike Why did he ?

feel th at there was n o p ossib ility of unitin g his life an d h ers ?

The sh allowest an swers h ave b een given t o these ques
t ion s S ome say th at as the son of Fran kfort patrician s he
.

c on sidered himself t oo aristocratic ; others that he despaired ,

of ev er g ain in g t he appr ob ation of his f ath er oth ers t h at , ,

Fried erike was n ot his in tellec tual equal Bu t in view of .

,

t he d eep warm l ove which thrill ed him thr ough an d t hrough

, ,

an d of the vac illatin g sp irit th at c ame ov er him as early as

May 1 7 7
,
it is n ot w orth while t o en ter in to a d etailed
1 ,

d iscussion of these attempts at explan ation In t ruth the .

,

sam e m en tal proc ess rep eat ed it self as in t he c ase of K at chen .

I n t his in st an c e G oeth e has abun d an t ly ligh ten ed the task

of d isc ov erin g his fi n al m otiv e by the g en t l e h in t in the

S esen heim idyll with referen c e to the tale Di eu eu eM elilsiu e , .

Let u s rec all t he gist of t he st ory A m an makes t he .

ac q u ain t an c e of a m aid en wit h wh om he is ext raordinarily

pleased Alon e with her on a green mead ow c overed
.
“
,

with grass an d flowers shut in by rocks with the music of, ,

ru n n in g water in his ears what heart un der such surroun d

,

in gs would h av e rem ain ed u n feelin g Bu t the lov ely

”
?

creature b elon gs t o the dwarf kin gdom an d the m an can ,

remain with her on ly on c on dition th at he make up his

m in d to b ec ome as small as she is H e decid es to do so . .

By mean s of a rin g which she puts on his fin ger he b e

, ,

c omes a dwarf The m aiden leads him in to her kin gdom

.
,

t o the pr esen c e of her fath er t he kin g of the dwarfs The , .

kin g greets him as his future son in law an d sets the weddin g - -

f or the f oll owin g d ay Wh at a terrible state of min d I

“
.

foun d myself in all at on ce wh en I heard th em speak of ,

marriage! H e is ab out t o esc ap e b u t an t s the allies of

”
, ,

the f ath er ln law ch eck him an d will n ot let him go

- -
,
Now .

”
I small as I was was in the h an d s of still smaller b ein gs
, , .
 Jfrieoerike 135

Th ere is n o h elp for him he must b e married Now let , .

m e p ass ov er all c erem on ies ; en ough we w ere married , .

Bu t m erry an d gay as ou r life was n everth eless there were ,

l on ely h ours when on e is led to reflec t an d there happen ed

, ,

t o m e wh at had n ev er b ef ore happ en ed t o m e b u t wh at ,

an d how y ou sh all hear E v erythin g ab out m e c ompl etely

.

c orrespon ded to my presen t form an d n eeds the b ottles ,

an d gobl et s well prop ort ion ed for a tiny tippl er in deed if

-
, ,

y o u w ill b ett,
e r pr op ort ion ed t h an w it h u s The d a in t y .

m outhfuls t asted excellen t to m y little p alate ; a kiss from

the litt le m outh of my wife was O ! so sweet ! an d I do n ot
d en y that the n ovelty mad e these c on dition s m ost agree
,

abl e t o m e Bu t withal al as ! I had n ot forgott en my

.
,

former estate I felt within m e a stan dard of former great

.

n ess which mad e me rest l ess an d u n h appy Now I un der .

st ood for t he first time wh at the ph il osoph ers migh t m ean

by their id eals by which m en are said to b e so torm en ted

, .

I p ossessed an ideal self an d often in my dreams seemed to

myself like a giant I n sh ort my wife the rin g my dwarf .
, , ,

figure an d so m an y other b on ds mad e m e c ompletely u n

,

h appy so th at I b egan t o thin k seriously of escapin g

, .
”

H e files t he rin g in tw o an d regain s his former si e z .

Here we h ave the explan ation Goethe had form ed an .

id eal for himself which it seem ed t o him would b e d estroyed

,

by a union with Friederike The gian t had n o desire to .

lead the life of a dwarf H en ce the in ward unfest the .

,

vacillation of his soul an d the feelin g th at he was graspin g,

aft er sh ad ows wh en he b egan t o th in k of the c on sequen c es

,

of his l ove I n wh at a t errible state of min d I f oun d m y

“
.

self when I heard them speak of marriage! H is id eals

”
,

t ormen ted him th ey drov e him irresistibly t o plun ge in t o

,

t he fl ood of f ate t o try th er e his tit anic p owers an d liv e up

,

to his c ap ab ilities .

I n the presen c e of such a demon ic impulse toward life

an d fr eed om which asser ts itself as a n atural n ec essit y it
, ,

is ou t of pl ac e to sp eak of right or wr on g Great geniuses .

,

less masters of themselves than oth er m en are mu st like , ,

the migh ty forc es of n ature foll ow t he laws in h eren t in ,

136 t he l ife of Goe the

h mselves They are sen t t o redeem humanity while

t e .
,

in the ful film en t of th eir mission th ey b ec ome en tan gled ir

gu ilt So al so Goethe An d for his tresp asses even for
. .
,

t h ose in to which he fell with a pure heart as with Fried

,

erike he had to pay d early

,
Retributive justic e by givin g
.
,

him a vivid im agin ation an d a m ost delic ately sen sitive soul ,

had f oreord ain ed th at he sh ould aton e b itterly for ev ery

fault more b itterly than m ost m en in cludin g many of his
, ,

most in telligen t frien ds have ever b elieved In view of

, .

the sun shin e which fl ood ed t he high plac es of his life ,

p eople h ave b een too pron e to overlook the gloomy clouds ,

which now an d then almost terrifyin g an d to the super

, ,

ficial ob serv er alm ost in explic able arose from the dep t hs
, .

The n obler an d purer Friederike s n ature the more she

’
,

su ffered in sil en c e t he more the p oet saw her im age su

,
. .

roun ded with the gl ory of a madonn a From the two .

Marys in Gate an d Clavig o she asc en ds gradually u n til at

the en d of F au st she reaches in Gret chen her h eaven ly
t ran sfigu ration .
138 t he l ife of G oe the
his amb ition were gon e by A chair in the U n iversity of .

S trasburg where t he professors were so n arrow min ded

,
-
,

an d a p osition in the Fr en ch G ov ern m en t aft er he had

b ec ome filled with a stron g aversion to everythin g Fren ch ,

had v erv l ittle charm f or him C on sequen tly he rej ected .

t he pl an allurin g th ough it would on c e h av e b een

,
He .

t h ought his freed om Of m ovem en t would b e b et t er gu arded

if he sh ould fulfil his fath er s wish es an d set tle d own for
’

t he presen t as an advoc at e in Fran kfort .

The fi n al c on dition s were yet t o b e m et H e mu st .

n eed s b ec om e a d oc t or of jurisprud en c e an d t o ob t ain ,

the d egree a dissert ation was n ec essary H avin g so little .

in terest in t he sp ec ial pr oblem s Of jurisprud en c e he ch ose ,

a gen eral t op ic h alf in the fi eld of church hist ory h alf in

, ,

t he fi eld of c on stitu tion al law The them e was a stran ge .

on e. G oeth e followin g in the p ath of Rousseau s C ou trai

,
’

Soci al wish ed to est ablish the th esis th at the lawgiv er n ot

,

on ly m ay b u t mu st fix up on a c ert ain cult which n eith er

, , ,

t he cl ergy n or the l ait y sh all b e p ermitt ed to ren oun c e .

Bu t th ere sh ould b e n o in v estigat ion of on e s own th ough ts

’

an d feel in gs By this arran gem en t he th ought he c ould

.

an t icip at e all d ispu t es b et ween church an d st at e O f which ,

he had seen en ough sin c e ch ildh ood an d at the sam e tim e ,

provide for the n ec essary freedom of c on scien ce H e .

el ab orated th is th ough t wit h much in du st ry an d critic al

acum en h av in g n o oth er c en sor in min d th an his fath er

,
.

The faculty which had t o examin e all disser tation s

,

presen ted n ot on ly from the scien tific stan dp oin t b u t also

,

from the stan dp oin t of the c ommon welfare raised ob jec ,

tion s t o the th esis an d Dean E hrlen gav e G oeth e the

,

frien dly advice n ot to publish it b u t in stead of presen tin g , ,

it f or the d oc t or s d egree t o apply f or the lic en tiate s de

’ ’

gree by m ean s of a disputation on c ertain theses Goeth e .

ac t ed up on t he suggestion with d eligh t F or he him self .

had deep misgivin gs with regard t o his d issertation an d ,

was able t o c on sol e his fath er with the pr omise t o en large

an d im pr ov e it l at er an d th en publish it ,
Goeth e with .
,

t he h elp of his c oach had soon selec t ed six ty fiv e t h eses

,
-
 E eparture f rom Gtraehurg 1 39

k
t o ta e the plac e of the dissert ation Cert ain of th em .
,

”
such as Law is by far the m ost gl oriou s of all studies
“
, ,

m ay p erh ap s b e attributed to the c oach un less t h ey are ,

bitin g ir on y The prop osition th at l egislation b el on gs ex

.

clu siv ely t o t he prin c e is n ot t o b e w on d ered at in a p eriod

of ab solutism We are more aston ish ed th at the prin c e

.

sh ould b e t he sol e in terpret er of t he law an d th at t o prev en t ,

reason from b ecomin g folly each n ew prin ce should b e

required to promulgate n ew in terpretation s in every gen er
ation . Bu t the youn g m an who in his p oetry was an , , ,

en thu siast ic ap ostle of lib erty an d t he p eopl e d esires t o ,

t on e d own his ab solutist c ol ourin g by m ean s of the osten ta

tiou s th esis : S alus rei publicae suprema lex esto with ”
,

ou t rev eal in g who is t o d ec id e wh at is the salu s rei pu bli cce

an d who is t o c omp el the p rin c e t o fulfil the esto ,

C on fron ted by such quain t t heses p artly dashed Off in a ,

spirit of gen ial hum our it was n ot v ery h ard for Lerse ev en
, ,

if he was n o jurist t o drive his frien d in to such a tigh t

,

place in c ourse of the disputation th at G oethe in terrupted

his flow of L atin with the remark : Brother I b elieve you ,

are goin g t o h ec t or m e The public c erem on y wh ich

”
.
,

occurr ed on t he six t h of Au g u st p assed off with great ,

merrimen t an d levit y says Goeth e an d the youn g p oet

, ,

b ecame a licen tiate in law As the titles of lic en tiate an d

.

d octor had equal value in German y he was from n ow on ,

called even Officially Doctor Goethe The disputation

, , .

seem s t o h av e b een f oll owed by an in augural b an qu et an d

th at j oyful excursion with his frien d s in t o Upp er Alsatia of ,

which Goethe tells u s in the eleventh b ook of Dichtu n g u u d

Wahrhei t H e went to Molsh eim K olmar Schlettstadt
.
, , ,

E n sish eim an d th en t o the Ottilien b erg fr om the t op of

, ,

which he on c e more c ast his eyes with great pleasure ov er

t he fair field s of Al satia while the d ist an t blue of the Swiss
,

mountain s awoke in him a n ew lon gin g .

Thus he had wan dered over Alsatia almost from one en d

t o the oth er an d had fi n ish ed his sight seein g Paris n o -
.

longer occupied his fan cy sin ce he had c ome to despise the

,

Let t he public we l b t h upr me law a e e s e

1 40 t he l if e of G oe the

Fren ch more th an ever From S trasburg he wen t straight

.

home .

H e left the cl ear l an d as on e b orn t o a n ew life . The

old p er iod of ill n ess limit ation s oppression was p ast
, , , A
.

n ew era Of h eal th freed om an d great n ess had d aw n ed in

, , ,

which he with exub eran t might strove toward his lofty

, ,

goal The sacred oracle which had sp oken c on solation to

.
,

him in his first h our in S trasburg was v erified , . It had

b ec ome n ecessary for him t o en large the plac e of his ten t
an d t o l en g th en his c ord s ; f or he had spr ead abr oad on the
right han d and on the left .
14 2 t he l ite Of G oe the

s maller essays tran sl ation s j ourn als of travel broadsides

, , , ,

an d p oem s H e arran ged ev eryth in g n eat ly an d urged his

.

son t o c ompl et e an d publish his m an y writ i n gs .

This however was an ythin g b u t Goeth e s amb ition his

, ,
’

reluctan c e t o app ear in prin t h avin g b een in ten sified by

H erder s severe criticism A n d the c ompletion H ow
’
? .

sh ould he get t im e for t h at wh en a hun dred n ew subj ec t s

an d plan s w ere stirrin g his soul an d pr essin g him t o w ork

t hem ou t ? E v er sin c e the d ays in S trasburg his min d had
b een occupied with two imp ortan t figures of the sixt een th
c en tury Gate an d F au st F au st gave way to Gate The
, , .

problem of F au st was t oo great to b e solved otherwise than

t hr ough a sl ow pr oc ess of ev olution whil e Ga te might b e ,

c ompleted in a shorter time B esides the p oet was very .

,

str on gly attrac ted by the ch iv alr ou s p erson alit y of Ber

lichin g en as well as by the fresh atm osph ere of his time .

So wit h all the en thu siasm of his n ature he b egan t o c ast

the hist ory of this n obl e G er man in dram atic f orm at
“ ”
,

first as usual with out p u ttin g pen t o p aper With fiery

, , .

z eal he u n r oll ed his ou t lin es t o C orn elia d ec laimin g wh ol e ,

s c en es un til she b egged him earn est ly in stead of always

, ,

lau n chin g fort h in t o t he ai t o writ e some of it d own He r, .

w r ot e t he first sc en es an d she was pl eased wit h t h em b u t , ,

wise as she was expressed her stron g d isb elief th at he

,

w ould h ave the p er severan c e t o c on tin ue an y furth er .

H er d oub ts st imulated him ; he k ep t at work an d wit h in ,

six week s b efore t he en d of

, 77 it w as fi n ish ed Th en 1 1 , .

he sen t c opies t o his old er frien ds an d awaited th eir

judgmen t .

H ardly was Gotz don e wh en he b egan on Sokrates ; he

m ay also h av e d on e som ethin g m or e on C asar which he
'

had b egun in S trasburg so th at of dramas al on e f our ,

t rem en d ou s subj ec t s F au st Ga te Sokrates an d C asar w er e

, , , , ,

up on his min d B esides he issued the pamphlets with

.
, ,

which we are familiar on Shakesp eare an d German archi ,

t ec ture c omp osed son gs t ran slat ed fr om O ssian an d Pin d ar

, , ,

an d wit h the b eg in n in g of t he n ew year plun ged in t o a busy

ac tivit y as r eviewer An d who can t ell wh at oth er thin gs
.
 Elovocate ano 3 ournaliet 14 3

were whirlin g through his brain an d how man y of th em

were ev er pu t on paper ? For he ch arac terises his small
c omp osition s of th a t p eriod as a far r eachin g w orld p oetry -
.

T oward the en d of No tem b er 7 7 he writes to S alz man n : ,

1 1 ,

My nisu s forward is so in ten se that I can seld om c omp el

myself to stop for breath An d in F eb ruary 77
.
”
: I t ,
1 2
“

is imp ossible f or the m ost rapid scrib e t o k eep a diary of

my c on dition s .
”

From this in n er seethin g an d fermen tation he sought

relief in l on g walk s F or days at a time he liv ed on the
.

road s like a messen ger trampin g ab out from plac e to plac e

,

b etween the Taun us M oun tain s an d the Rhin e an d M ain .

Not in frequen tly he roamed ab out t hrough Fran kfort in the

sam e way c ame in at on e gat e at e his din n er at on e of t he
, ,

large h otels and then walked ou t of the city at an other

,

gate On the way he would sin g to himself stran ge hymn s

.

an d dithyramb s in t he st yle Of Pin dar who t oget h er w it h ,

H om er an d Sh akesp eare n ow occupied his wh ole soul On e .

of th ese son gs which G oeth e wh en gr owin g old t oo sev erely

, , ,

charact erised as h alf n on sen se has b een preserved as Wau ,

de ers St rm lied
r u Amid the fury of the st orm breath es the
.

yout hful p oet s proud c on fiden c e in his gen ius

’
.

H is st r oll s assum ed d efi n ite purp ose wh en he b ec am e

more in timately acquain ted with Darmstad t This c ame .

ab out through J oh an n H ein rich M erck } a m an who f or 0

sever al years ex ert ed a great er in flu en c e ov er G oeth e t h an

an y of his ot her frien ds M erck b orn in 7 4 in Darmstadt

.
,
1 1 ,

t he son of an ap othec ary had m arried in early life a g irl

[

from Fren ch Switz erlan d an d in 1 7 6 8 was in v ested with the

,

Offic e of milit ary p aym ast er in his n ativ e c it y H e was a .

m an of acute un d erstan din g p oetic talen t an d fin e t ast e , , .

H is in t ell ec tu al in terest s embrac ed the m ost varied field s .

I n lit er at ure the fin e arts an d d escrip tiv e sc ien c es he was

, ,

equally at hom e H e tran slated a great deal from the

.

E n glish publish ed essays in esth etic critic ism discu ssed

, ,

certain phases of art history an d wrote stu dies an d de ,

scription s of prehist oric an im al r em ain s an d a great n u m ,

b er of review s for the leadin g literary magaz in es H e also .

144 t he l ife of Goe the

e mb arked upon imagin ative c omp osition wrote fables , ,

st ories an d satires so t h at t he l ist of his writin gs is of con

, ,

sid erab le l en gt h Bu t the high regard which he en j oyed

.

am on g his c on t emp oraries was d u e l ess t o his ac tu al achiev e

men ts t han to his person ality If c orrect judgmen t that .
,

c ompreh en ds the reality in thin gs an d m en with c ertain ty ,

always c arries with it sup eriorit y th is must b e d oubly tru e ,

in an ep och wh ich m ore t h an an y oth er d elighted in vague

,

feelin gs an d h az y views an d c on ception s If we c on sider .

,

furth er th at he was very agreeable an d witty in society

,

an d v ery efficien t in bu sin ess it is n ot difficult t o u n d er

,

st an d why the b est m en an d w om en such as G oeth e H erd er , , ,

Wielan d K arl August the H essian lan dgravin e K arolin e

, , ,

Duch ess A n n a Am alia an d man y oth ers priz ed him as a

, ,

m an of extraordin ary w orth an d cherished the w arm est

feelin gs for him It is true the same gifts which made
.
,

him v alu able c ould al so ren der him terrible H is p en e .

t ratin g eye r eadily disc ov ered the w eakn esses an d fault s of

m en an d wh en n ot b oun d by c on sid eration s of resp ec t he
, ,

kn ew how to lay them b are with c old c on t emp t Likewise .

he was able by a sob er critic ism t o d estr oy at a sin gle bl ow

an y pl ayful amu sem en t u n f ou n d ed en t husiasm sen t im en
, ,

t alit y or in dulgen t l oyalt y

,
I n t he ligh t of t his sid e of
.

his n at ure Goeth e liken ed him t o M ephist oph el es H ow .

j ustly appears n ot on ly from the well kn own traits de

,
-

scr ib ed by G oet h e b u t al so fr om t he r em ark of K ar olin e

,

F lachslan d who writes of him : If we hav e an y pleasure “

, ,

ev en if it is in sign ific an t (wh at is t he differen c e he alw ay s

in j ec ts som ethin g sour in t o it On e alm ost fan cies on e
.

is list en in g t o Gret ch en in F au st This M ephistophelian .

t rait was in t en sified by m an y un t owa rd experien ces I n .

t he y ears t h at c on c ern u s at presen t it was esp ec ially the

un happy relation s with his wife which emb ittered him ;
later in life un fortun ate busin ess ven tures c on tributed to
his m align ity An d yet at b ottom his h eart was good
.

an d l ovin g an d ev en c ap able of m ost ten d er feelin g To .

his frien d s he c ould b e touchin gly d ev oted F or G oeth e .

esp ec ially he ch erish ed the w arm est l ove all his life l on g .
 146 t he l ife of G oe the
gen tle mediocrity was to him an ab omin ation For this
, .

reason Goethe mocks him in Pater Brey as the m an who

“
desires to rec on cile moun tain an d valley c over over all ,

rough plac es with plaster of Paris an d lime or more rud ely , ,

in the 7 ahrmarktsfest zu P lu n derswei leru would gladly ,

all of th em m odify t he swin e in to lambkin s r ec t ify

,
He .

always sid ed with the w om en As with th ose of Darm .

st ad t,
so with Julie B on d eli the frien d of R ousseau an d ,

Wielan d an d with S ophie Laroch e author of Steru heim at

, , ,

on e t im e Wielan d s b etr oth ed The letters an d ribb on s

’
.

from his sen timen tal frien d s he kept ab out him well arran ged ,

in sev eral c ask ets an d exhib ited th em t o oth er s with wor

,

shipful mien an d m an y b eau tiful w ord s Over this en .

raptured butterfly the ethereal maiden s of Darmstadt

raved ; they dreamed themselves in to a p astoral child
world with him an E lysian fairylan d where th ey built
, ,

b owers of frien dship in which he was their ap ostle an d

,

th ey his sain t s E ach of the sen timen tal m aid en s had

.
,

aft er the fashion of the time her p oetic al n ame : Fr aul ein ,

v on R ou ssill on was c all ed Uran ie ; Fr aulein v on Ziegler ,

Lila ; K arolin e Psyche The m oSt sen t imen tal of the

, .

sen t imen t al w as Lil a She had her t omb an d a t hron e in

.

her gard en her arb our s an d roses an d a lamb which at e

, ,

an d dr an k with her She w orshipp ed her frien d s an d the

.

m oon on her kn ees an d Ob serv ed feasts and fasts on the

arrival an d d ep ar ture of her gu est s .

In to this c ommun ity of sain ts Goethe was introduced

by Merck in the sprin g of 7 7 2 an d a single meetin g was all 1 ,

th at was required esp ec ially as Ap ostl e Leu chsen rin g was

,

away on a j ourn ey t o m ake the y oun g d oc tor t he decl ared

,

favourite of the sen timen tal frien ds For he t oo c ould .

, ,

b e pl ain tive t en d er an d sen tim en tal with esp ecial ease at

, ,

t h at time as the emb er s of his l ove f or Fried erike were st ill

,

sm ould erin g in his h eart H is b eauty an d gen iu s did the

.

rest B ec ause of his frequen t l on g walks which n ow ex

.
,

ten ded to Darm stad t t h ey c alled him the wan d erer or ,

pilgrim H e usually pr otrac ted his visits several d ays an d

.
,

when he sat d own on the b en ch in fron t of M erck s h ouse ’

 Elbvocate ano Sournaliet 14 7

t he ef male frien d s would quickly gather ab out him an d give

audien c e t o gen iu s E v ery d ay th ey t ook a w alk ou t in to
.

the f orest of Bessu n gen an d offered up sacrific es up on the ,

rocks which the m aiden s an d Goethe followin g their ex

, ,

ampl e had sev erally appr opr iat ed r ow ed up on the quiet

, ,

p on d an d the maiden s dan c ed in a circle ab out him If

, .

he t h en san g his son g s or if he impr ovised to th em on ,

p oetry love an d frien dship the shady wood was tran s

, , ,

formed in their fan cy in to Temp e an d E lysium When the .

b eautiful wan d erer started h ome his youn g admirers would

acc omp an y him ou t thr ough the c ity gate an d th ere with
kisses an d tear s take l eav e of th eir heav en b estowed -

fI lOII
'

L Goethe reared a Pin daric mon umen t to those

in n oc en t sen tim en tal d ays in the three od es E lysiu m
, , ,

Pi lgers M orgeu li ed an d F elsweihegesau g , .

*

Little did he susp ec t when he m et M erck that the

acquain t an c e would b ear such fair fru it ; for origin ally
t h ey un it ed f or war an d c on flic t in which on ly the st out ,

hearts of m en were available The n ew rev olution ary .

party felt a c ertain n eed of fin din g a j ourn al in which they

c ould procl aim th eir prin ciples t o wider circles An op .

p o r t u n it y w as off er ed in t he F rau kfu rter Gelehrten A n z ei gen ,

t o which the publish er Privy C ou n cill or Dein et wish ed t o , ,

giv e n ew life It seems th at M erck won over t o the n ew

.
,

ideas by H erd er an d Georg Schl osser a c on vert of G oeth e s

’
, , ,

m adé the n ec essary n egotiation s with Dein et B eginn in g ,

with J anuary 1 1 7 7 2 the A n z eigen b ec ame the organ of the

, ,

youn g gen eration with M erck as direc tor The j ourn al

, .

app eared twic e a w eek an d was d ev ot ed exclu siv ely t o

review s Goethe tell s how these were prep ared : Who
.

ever had r ead the b ook first m ad e a rep ort oft en an ot her , ,

rep ort ed on t he sam e b ook ; it was discu ssed c omp ared w ith ,

ot h er public ation s an d if a d efi n it e r esult was arriv ed at

, ,

som e on e u n dert ook the review This acc oun ts for the fact .

th at sev eral reviews are as th orough as th ey are spritely ,

as pl easin g as th ey are satisf ac t ory I was frequently made .

Cf L y G ethe Ve k
on ,
K l p wh er e t he i flu e c e f Kl p t ck
o s r z o n n o o s o

on t h e e p em i cl early h w
s o s C s s o n -
.
 14 8 t he l ife of G oe the

se cretary ; my frien ds all owed m e to in terrup t their work

with my j okes an d when I felt equal t o a subj ec t esp ecially
,

dear to my heart t o presen t my views in dep en d en tly

, .

This occurred with great frequen cy F or we m ay say with .

a reason able d egr ee of c ert ain ty t h at he was the chief con

t ributor t o the j ourn al H is articles br eath ed the happy .

exub eran c e of y ou t h an d t he c omm an din g p ow er of gen iu s ,

an d wh en his l ash fell up on the v en erabl e p erukes it m ad e

the p owd er fly H erder remarked : G oethe is for the “
.

m ost part a haughty youn g l ord with the terrible spurs Of a

gamec ock H e did m ost cru el execution on good sweet
.
”
,

G eorg Jac obi wh om he dispat ch ed with on e h ard blow as a

,

woman an d a weaklin g B eside the l aughin g or an gry .

thru stin g asid e of the Old an d the w eak th ere is at the sam e
tim e an un c omm on am ou n t of d ep th an d b eau ty in t he
reviews They were rarely reviews in the ordin ary sen se
.

of the w ord b u t r at h er t he effu sion s of his y ou thful h eart

, .

Often he forgets his real purp ose even the pl ac e where he ,

is writin g an d as th ough he w ere sp eakin g t o him self in

, ,

solitud e he bursts f ort h in t o m ost imp assion ed m on ol ogu e

, .

Thus in his review of the Gedi chte vou ei n em poln i chen

,
f
s

7 u d eu he l
,
au n ch es ou t sudd en ly in t o t he sol em n c on f ession

an d prayer :
Raise up 0 Genius of ou r fatherlan d a youn g m an
, , ,

who full of youthful p ower an d ch eerfuln ess shall b e the

, ,

b est c ompan ion in his own circle suggest the most pleasin g ,

game sin g the m ost j oyful son g an d b e the life of the

, ,

chorus in the roun delay ; t o wh om the b est dan cer sh all

j oyfully exten d her h an d t o c aptiv ate wh om the
b eautiful the witty an d the cheerful maid sh all all exert
, ,

t heir ch arm s ; who sh all al so p ermit his sen sitiv e h eart t o

b e en sn ared b u t sh all proudly burst his b on d s in the m o
,

m ent when awakin g from his p oetic dream he sh all fin d

, , ,

t h at his godd ess is on ly b eautiful on ly witty on ly ch eerful ; , ,

wh ose v an it y offen d ed by the in differen c e of a reserved

,

m aiden shall imp ort u n e her unt il through forc ed an d

, , ,

feign ed sigh s an d tears through myriad civilities by day ,

an d lan guish in g mu sic an d son gs by n igh t he sh all fi n ally ,

 1 5 0 t he l ife of Goe the

work on H omer with the words : O ye great Greeks an d ,

t h ou H omer H om er !
,
Bu t ev en thu s tran sl ated an n otated
, , ,

cited explain ed so sorely w oun ded bruised lacerated

, , , , ,

t orn driven an d dragged ov er st on es an d thr ough dust an d

,

p ools his flesh does n ot dec ay n o worm gn aws at him ;

—
,

f or t he blissful god s c are f or him even after d eath

”
H e is .

also furiou s at t h ose who t hin k th ey can explain t he liv es of

great m en by a few f ormulas such as apply to average ,

creatures Thus he says in the review of DieLiebedes Vater

.

lan ds by S onn en fel s :

,
Lycurgus S olon Num a appear as , ,

collegw Gym n asii [sch oolm aster s] who d ic tate exerci ti a ao ,

c ordin g to the c ap acity of th eir pupils To see in the results .

of the liv es of th ese gr eat m en wh om we kn ow on ly by ob ,

scure trad ition s prin c iple p olitic al pr in c iple pu rp ose ev ery

, , ,

where an d explain t hem as such in a p olemical writin g with

,

the clear n ess an d defin it en ess of a l ab ourer who expl ain s

cab in et secrets state rel ation s an d intrigues over a glass
, , ,

of b eer ! To t hrow the light of reason up on secrets (for what

great historical data are n ot secrets to u s ?) to which on ly
t he m ost pr ofoun d sp irit can p en et rate with pr oph etic in
t ui tion ! Similarly we read in an other review : With out “

an y feelin g of wh at such a m an has b een without the ,

fain test con ception of wh at such a m an m ay b e the writer ,

has h ere produc ed a m ost miserable eul ogy The career .

of this stran g e g en iu s his v ic t ory ov er so m an y difficul ties

, ,

his m elan ch oly d issatisfac tion wit h all succ ess b ec omes ,

un der the pen of ou r scribbler a very c ommon place cu rsu s

hu mau i oru m et bou aru m artiu m an d his p eculiarly ch ar ,

act eristic h ead b ec om es a w ell wrin kled r esp ec table every -

, ,

d ay m ask Rousseau s key n ote of Storm an d S tress

” ’
-
.

fin ds expression in his cry : The state of religion the “

,

p ol it ic al c on d it ion s m ost cl osely r el at ed t o it the oppr ession ,

of l aw s the still great er oppr ession of social affiliation s an d

, ,

a t h ousan d oth er t hin gs will n ev er p ermit t he p olish ed

gen tleman an d the p olished n ation to b e origin al ; they
muffle the voic e of n ature an d erase every feature with ,

w hich a charac teristic pic ture c ould b e produc ed H en c e .

t he greater emphasis in oth er p assages on the d em an d th at

 Hovocate ano 3 ournalist 1 5 1

the p oet creature ; he must sin g like the b ird

b e his own

in the air he must m ak e it his sol e bu sin ess t o attain to the

,

perfect developmen t of his p owers with out regard to public

or appl au se That is also the b est esthetic s that teach es
.

the artist t o lib erate himself F or h ere the artist is all .

imp ort an t ; he must feel n o joy in lif e exc ept in his art an d , ,

ab sorb ed in his in strumen t mu st live in it with all his ,

powers an d feelin gs What does it matter whether or n ot

.
,

the gapin g public wh en it has c eased t o gap e can acc ou n t

, ,
”
t o itself for its gap in g ?
The artist s on ly other way to l earn is n ot from philo
’
,

soph ic al d ogm as b u t from t he m ast ers of his art S in ce

“
, .

th ese are n ot to b e had everywh ere let the artist an d ,

am ateur give u s a n epi [ p ers on al acc ou n t ] of hi s

en d eav ours of the difficul ties which h av e m ost imp eded his
,

progress of the p owers with which he has overcome Of the

, ,

chan c e which has help ed him of the spirit which has c ome ,

ov er him in c ert ain m om en t s an d illum in at ed him f or the

rest of his life till at last by degrees he has risen to might y

, , ,

possession s an d as kin g an d c on queror exac ts tribute

, , ,

from all c orrelated arts in deed from all n ature ,

”
These .

would in deed b e gold min es of empiric esth etics Bu t .

what artists a e w ll g d qual fi d o such self an alyses ?

r i in a n i e f r —

F or the highest an d b est thin gs c ome from un c on sc ious

in fluen c es .

The succ ess of the j ourn al was n ot as great as the

c ollab orat ors m ay h ave expected To b e sure from Zurich .
,

to H amburg it creat ed in all the lit erary c ircles sen sation ,

admiration or an ger acc ord in g t o c ircumst an c es ; t o b e

, ,
.

sure it hurl ed abroad a h ost of fireb ran d s wh ich sc orch ed

, ,

here an d kin dled th ere b u t it c ould n ot h op e t o p en etrate

,

the great mass of the public F or th at the th oughts were .

too deep the l an guage t oo wild an d ob scure

,
A good man y .

c omplain t s were raised on this p oin t Furthermore there .

,

c ame ab out n ot as a result of religious sc epticism (for the

,

reviewers were n ot freethin kers) b u t b ec ause of their n a ,

t ural an d human in terpr etation of all b iblic al an d religiou s

question s an d b ec ause of th eir h ostilit y to all priestcraft
, ,
I SZ t he l ife of G oe the

violen t c onflicts with the clergy which c omp elled them t o

,

omit th eol ogic al critiqu es or m ak e t h em c ol ourless Bu t .

t h ese thin gs w ould n ot h ave c ost t he j ourn al the fur th er

c ollab oration of the leaders N on e of them was seriously
.

in clin ed to sacrific e his t alen t s t o it c on tin u ou sly As .

early as July M erck b ec am e tired of d ir ec tin g an d resign ed

in f av our of Schl osser .H erder was t oo far away had too ,

much other busin ess an d in ten ded t o b e m arried the

,

followin g year Schlosser was b etrothed an d was lookin g

.

el sewh ere for a p osition an d G oet h e was the l ast m an who

,

would have c on sidered the j ourn alistic work t o which he

c on sen ted an ythin g more th an a rec on n oitrin g skirmish
in to the en emy s territ ory SO at the en d of the year the
’
.

closely allied quadruple leadership retired from the j ourn al

an d c on sign ed it t o m ore in sig n ific an t assist an t s u n d er t he
win gs of the Giessen professor K arl Friedrich Bahrdt , ,

whereby it lost its sign ific an ce .

Goeth e was still in the first glow of his critical occupation

an d in the first st ag es of his pr ac tic e as a c ou n sell or at law ,

when he again left Fran kfort for some time H is father .

desired t hat as a prep aration f or a higher c areer he should

w ork f or several m on t h s in the Imp erial Chamb er in Wet z
lar . Goet he was glad to c omply with the wish for he had ,

n ev er acquired an y t aste for his n ative c it y Frankfort “

.

is still the sam e old n est he wr ote to S al z man n after he

, ,

had b een h om e just t hree m on th s ; spelu n ca a wret ch ed ,

h ole . In the middle of May 1 7 7 2 he left for the litt l e

, ,

city on the Lahn wh ere he was t o experien ce a n ew idyll ,

f or which the fruitful lan d furn ished the prose a pure l ove
“
,

the p oet ry .
1 54 t he l ife of G oe the

c alculated t o overc ome the p oet s reluctan c e to follow the ’

legal pr ofession The German supreme c ourt was a dust

.

c overed an tiquated mechan ism irrep arably d amaged with

, ,

in an d with ou t I t s ru st y wh eels which slowly pl ough ed

.
,

t hrough the san d of un decided c ases gave forth a ,

frightful creak at every turn Plain tiffs if th ey wished .

,

t h eir c ases t o proc eed w er e obliged t o apply t o the sp okes

,

Of the wh eel s t he p ow er of t h eir m on ey or th eir in fluen c e .

The wret ched n ess of this m ost n oble c ourt had for d e “

c ades b een kn own through out the empire b u t E mperor ,

J oseph II was the first to take serious measures for remedy

.

in g t he evil I n 7 6 7 a c ourt of in sp ec tion c omp osed of

. 1 ,

tw en ty f our represen tativ es of the estates of G erm an y

-
,

assembl ed in Wet z lar f or the purp ose of in v estigatin g first ,

Of all the weak p oin t s in t he p er son n el of t he Imp erial

,

Chamb er In the c ourse of four years the in vestigation

.

resulted in the arrest of three most n oble judges for the

w orst kin d of brib ery Mean while the musty atmosphere
.

of W et z l ar had affec t ed the c ourt of in sp ec tion produc ,

in g profou n d disc ord am on g its m emb ers an d b rin gin g its

busin ess to a stan dstill .

Such was the c on dition of t hin gs which Goethe foun d ,

an d he would h av e n eed ed t o b e eit h er an en t husiastic or

an amb itiou s jurist if u n d er such c ircum stan c es an d hav
, ,

in g n o official obligation s he had taken an y in terest wh at ,

ev er in the miserabl e pr oc eedin gs of this miserabl e c ourt

41
.

H e preferred to wait an d see wh at occup ation s his gen iu s

an d h ear t w ould suggest .

H e en g aged l odgin gs in the n arrow d irty Gewan ds ,

gasse where su n an d moon rarely sh on e This was pre

, .

su m ab ly n ot his own ch oic e b u t t h at of his great au n t t he ,

-
,

aged wife of Privy C ou n c illor L an ge who with her two , ,

d aughters lived on the n ext c orn er

, .

The uglier an d d arker it was in the town the m ore he ,

l oved to live ou t in the c oun t ry where Sprin g had lavished

her full splen d our E v ery t ree every h edge is a b ouquet
.
, ,

of bl ossom s an d on e w ould f ain b e a c ockch af er an d fl oat

ab ou t in t he sea of sw eet fr agran c e Just outside the ”

.
 l otte I 55

to wn th ere was a well (der Wildb acher) A well t o , ,

which I am drawn by a spell like M elusin e an d her sisters , .

Not a d ay p asses b u t I sit th er e an h our Then the maids .

com e fr om the t own to get w at er t he m ost in n oc en t an d ,

n ec essary occup ation t h at ev er t he d augh t ers of kin gs

t h emselv es en gaged in Recen tly I came to the

.

well an d foun d a youn g maid who had set her vessel on the ,

lowest step an d was lookin g ab out to see if some frien d

would n ot c om e al on g an d h elp her lift it to her h ead I .

wen t d own an d looked at her Shall I help you lass ? .

‘

,
’

s aid I She blushed an d said : Oh n o sir ! NO ceremon y

—
.
, , .

-
She adjusted the cu shion on her h ead an d I h elped her .

She than ked me an d wen t away These are p assages .

from Werther which with out d oub t reflect Wetz lar im

,

pression s an d exp erien ces An other of Goethe s favourite .

’

sp ots was the gard en of the Meckelsb u rg on t he L ah n b erg ,

from which there open ed up a splen did view of the Lahn

valley Bu t he was also fon d of lyin g in the tall grass
.

d own by on e of the little brooks emptyin g in to the Lahn

n ear Wet z lar wit h H omer in his han d to lull his ragin g
,

h ear t t o rest On his lon ger walks he came t o the village

.

of G arb en h eim (Wahlh eim in Werther) an d t h ere he foun d

s uch a c oz y l it t l e pl ac e b en eat h t wo an c ien t lin d en s in fr on t

'

of t he church th at he gradually c ame to prefer it to all

ot h ers .On a c ool m ornin g on a hot aftern oon on a warm , ,

m oon light n igh t he c ould b e foun d th ere H e had a t able

, .

an d a ch air brough t fr om the in n n ear by an d dr an k his

coffee or milk j oked with the village ch ildren sket ch ed or
, , ,

read .

These solitary en j oyments of the sprin g lan dsc ape did

him in finite g ood In the sc en ery in the c omm on p eopl e
.
, ,

an d in the children t here was so much p eac e an d h app in ess

an d such a rich fi eld for his p oetic an d ar tistic eye that he ,

desired n othin g more The c omm on p eople kn ow m e

.
“

already an d l ov e m e esp ecially t he ch ildren writes ”

, ,

Werther .E sp ecially the ch ildren

“ ”
n o won d er He ,
-
.

had always b een a frien d of c hildren Amon g S tock s ’

.

children an d Merck s he had already m ad e his c on qu est s

’
.
 1 5 6 t he l if e of G oe the

I t was the same here On his very first walk to Garben

.

h eim he formed a frien dship with t hree little b oys the ,

youn gest of wh om was six mon ths t he sec on d ab out four ,

years old On leavin g he gave each of them a kreutz er

.
,

th at for the y oun gest t o his m ot h er t h at she migh t buy a ,

roll for the little on e s supp er S in ce then he relates in

’
.
“
,
”

Werther I often go there The children are quite used to

, .

m e They get sugar wh en I drin k c off ee an d sh are my

.

bread an d butter an d clabb er in the even in g On Sunday .

th ey alway s get t he kreu t z ers an d if I am n ot th ere after ,

prayers the lan dlady has orders to distribute them They

, .

are c on fid en tial an d tell m e ev eryth in g an d I enj oy es ,

pe ci ally t h eir p ass io n s an d simpl e o u tbur st s of d esir e wh e n ,

more children c ollect from the village .

”

S oon he was to b ec ome the j oyously greeted un cle of

a group of pretty an d n oisy ch ildren 1n the c ity H is circle .

of acquain t an c e had gradu ally wid en ed al th ough such was ,

n ot his d esire In the G asth of z u m Kron prin z en th ere

.

gathered every day for din n er a merry c ompany of young

practitioners l egation secret aries plain tiffs an d defen dan ts
, , , ,

who like G oethe were v ery lit t le burden ed wit h work ; an d

, ,

t he m ore th ey were b ored by t he c on fusion an d f orm alit y

Of t he Imp erial Ch amb er an d t he c our t of in sp ec t ion the ,

more they sought c omp en sation for the dull atmosphere Of

c ourt or busin ess in j okes an d games They organised a .

Roun d Table : the c omman der in chief at the head the - -

,

ch an cellor at his side then the m ost imp ortan t state officials
, ,

fin ally the knights in the order of their sen iority Whoever .

was rec eived in to the c ircl e was dubb ed a kn ight with the
usual formalities A mill serv ed as a castle the miller as
.
,

sen esch al A calen dar c on tain ed a list of the memb ers of

.

the ord er Goeth e b ec ame a memb er an d b ecause of Gate

.
,

van Berli chin gen which he had prob ably brought alon g in
,

m an uscript receiv ed the n ame of GOtz the H on est

, .

Am on g the memb ers Goethe b ecame more intimately ac

q u ain t ed w it h B a r on v on K ielm an n se gg e o f M e ckl en burg , ,

a c omp eten t an d r eliable m an ; v on G ou e of H anover , ,

secretary t o the B ru n swick Legation an odd dissipated , ,

1 5 8 t he l ife of G oe the

in t erestin g This tim e however I formed no other judg

.
, ,
”
men t of him than that he is n o ordin ary m an K estn er .

attemp ts for his frien d a d et ail ed ch arac terisat ion of the

n ew prac tition er This characterisation offers the m ost strik
.

in g an d c ompreh en siv e p ic t ure th at an y c on temp orary has

given u s of youn g G oethe as he app eared b etween S trasburg
an d Weim ar I t ru n s : H e has a great d eal of t al en t is a
“
.
,

true gen iu s an d a m an of ch arac ter

,
H e p ossesses an ex .

traordin arily lively im agin ation an d h en c e gen erally ex

presses himself in images an d similes H e also says him self .

th at he always expresses h im self figurativ ely an d can ,

n ev er expr ess h im self literally ; b u t t h at wh en he is old er

he h op es t o t hin k an d sp eak his th ough ts as they are .

I n all his em otion s he is imp etuous an d yet has often ,

great p ower over him self H is man n er of thinkin g is n o

.

b le . Free from prejudic es he acts as seems b est to him

, ,

with out troublin g himself ab out reputation fashion or , ,

c on ven tion All c on strain t is odious to him H e l ov es

. .

children an d en tertain s himself with them a great deal .

H e is b iz arr e an d t her e are sev er al t hin gs in his m an n ers

an d out ward b earin g t hat might m ake him disagreeable .

Bu t wit h children an d w omen an d man y ot hers he has

n ever th el ess a g ood st an d in g H e has a very great resp ec t
.

f or t he f em ale sex In pri n cipii s he is n ot yet firm an d is

.

on ly b eginn in g t o striv e af t er a d efi n it e system H e has a .

very high opinion of Rousseau is however n o blin d wor

—
, , ,

shipp er of him H e is n ot wh at on e c alls orth od ox yet n ot

.
,

ou t of prid e or c apric e or f or the sake of puttin g on airs

, .

On c ert ain fun d amen tal thin gs he unb osom s him self to
very few an d does n ot like to disturb others in the con
,

t en tm en t of t heir own id eas I t is tru e he h ates sc ep tic ism

.
,

st riv es aft er t ru th an d d efi n it e id eas on c ert ain fu n d a

men tal question s ; thin ks too that he already has clearly

, ,

d efin ed id eas on the m ost imp ortan t of th em b u t as far as , ,

I h ave ob served that is n ot yet the c ase H e n ever goes

, .

t o church n or t o t he L ord s Supp er an d seld om pr ays ;

’
, ,

f or he says : I am n ot hyp ocrite en ough for that On

‘ ’
.

cer tain subj ec t s he is at tim es in r ep ose ; at tim es h ow ev er , ,

 l otte I S9

yh g
an t in b u t t h at ven erates the Christian religion
. He ,

b u t n ot in the f orm in which ou r t h eol ogian s presen t it .

H e b elieves in a future life an d a b etter state H e striv es .

after t ru t h b u t values the feelin g of it higher than it s

,

demon stration H e has acc omplished a great deal for his

.

ag e is w ell in formed an d w ell r ead b u t he has t h ought an d

,
- -
,

reason ed still m ore H is chief study has b een b elles

.

lettres an d the fin e arts or rath er all fields of knowledge ,

exc ep t t he so c all d bread an d butt er sc ien c es

e — -
On the -
.

margin of this rough draught K estn er added : I was goin g “

t o d escrib e him b u t it w ould tak e t oo l on g ; for th ere is a

,

great d eal to b e said of him In a word he is a very re .

,

markable m an .
”

This very remarkable m an un in ten tion ally c aused hon

est K estn er m an y an un h appy h our K estn er had b een .

b etrothed for four years I n 7 6 8 he had secretly plighted. 1

his tr oth t o the fifteen year old Charl otte Buff d augh ter of
— -
,

the S t eward of t he Teut on ic Ord er That serious solid .

,

K estn er engaged to marry such a very y oun g girl is the

b est of eviden c e that his fian cé e must have p ossessed n u
c ommon ly superior qualities An d such in deed was the .

c ase .

A blue eyed bl on de with a most agreeable expression

-
,

n eat in figur e p erf ec t in h eal th m erry wit h a sh ad e of

, , ,

saucin ess p ositive an d sure burd en ed with n o sch olarly

, ,

educ at ion of fin e feelin gs b u t free fr om all m audlin sen ti

, ,

men tality en ergetic an d fon d of work a refreshin g sigh t

,
—
.

She had early b ec ome accu stom ed to a busy life F or .

S teward Buff was richly blessed with children Of the .

six teen b orn eleven had liv ed an d so the sec on d d augh ter
, , ,

Lotte stron ger an d clearer h eaded th an the oldest Karolin e

,
-
, ,

had her h an d s full with w ashin g an d dressin g the little on es

an d fillin g th eir hun gry m ou th s B esides th eir excellen t .
,

m other had died m ore th an a year b efore an d the man age

m en t of the large h ouseh old had fallen up on Lotte Bu t .

as her duties multiplied t he str en g th an d ch eerfuln ess of

,

her rare n ature were c orresp on din gly in creased H er ap .

p ea ran ce n ev er b etr ay ed t he f ac t t h at sh e w a s burd en e d

 1 60 t he l ife of G oe the

with work worry From early morn in g till late at n ight

or .

she acc omplish ed her d aily w ork as if it w er e pl ay

“
I t is .

well n igh a miracle rem arked the aston ished K estn er

-
,
”
.

True there was n ot much time for the readin g of b ooks or

,

idl e en t er t ain m en t H er h an d s sc arc ely f oun d tim e t o .

rest when visit ors c ame I n deed the guests were n ot in .

frequen tly pu t to w ork an d G oethe often h elp ed her pick ,

fruit or was pu t to work with K estn er at cuttin g up b ean s .

Goethe b ecame acquain ted with this highly gifted girl

at a little b all which som e y ou n g p eople fr om t he Imp erial
,

Ch amb er had arran ged for the third Whitsun tide h oliday
in V olp er tsh au sen an h our an d a h alf fr om Wet z lar K est
, .

n er d et ain ed by Offic ial bu sin ess was u n abl e t o g o ou t w it h

, ,

the p art y C on sequen tly L otte j oin ed G oeth e s p artn er ’

.

we do n ot kn ow her n am e an d his c ou sin Fr aulein Lan ge

—
, ,

an d it b ec am e G oeth e s du t y to c all f or th em at the

’

Deu t schord en shof or as th ey said for sh or t Das Deut sch e , , ,

H au s As he en tered the house he foun d L otte as we m ay

.
,

assum e in t he p osition w hich he d escrib es in Werther :

“
,
in
b all c ostum e an d cuttin g bread for her little brothers an d
sist er s E v ery t hin g else t oo t he driv e ou t t he b all
”
-
.
, , , ,

t he r et urn m ay h av e o ccurred on t he whole as it is

,
—
, ,

pictured in Werther O n ly two imp ortan t fac ts are .

chan ged G oethe did n ot yet kn ow that Lotte was b e

.

tr oth ed to K estn er an d K est n er did n ot stay away fr om the ,

b all as the Alb ert of Werther b u t c ame a few h ours later

, , .

This on e meetin g decided Goeth e s l ove My gen ius ’

.
“

was an evil gen iu s he writes sh ortly after his d eparture

”
,

from Wetz lar when he drove m e ou t to Volpertshausen

,
“
.

An d yet a g ood gen ius I c ould n ot wish to have sp en t my .

days in Wetz lar in an y b etter way It was n atural th at .

”

he sh ould in q uire after L otte s h eal th the n ext day an d that

’

“
C a h rl
cu g br d bu r
ott e ch ldr
t t in c ea an d tte for t he i en — t he s en e of
t he b all— t he childr e cli g i g r u d W er t h er f ugar a d pict ur e f
n n n o n or s ,
n s o

t h at ki d b et r ay n litt le i ve tive p wer t h at th ey h ave excit ed t he

,
so n n o

ridicule f me E gli h critic t wh m p etry i a t hi g f p mp t t he

o so n s s o o o s n o o ,
no

b eautiful v e t ure f r ealit y The b eaut y a d a t f We the i t i

s o n r O r r s no n

t he i cid e t
n b t i t he r epr e e t at io
n s, uWh at i a t b t r epre e t a
n s n n . s r u s n

Lewes , Goethe i
”
t ion ? — —C
, 1 7 2 . .
 “
162 t he l if e of G oe the

frien d B orn c alled his atten tion to the gossip of the t own
an d add ed If I were K estn er I sh ould n ot like it What
, , .

can it l ead t o ? I presum e you will separate th em ? an d ”

t he like G oeth e said t o him

,
Well I am f ool en ough t o
, ,

c on sider her an extraordin ary girl ; if she sh ould d eceive

m e an d pr ove t o b e a c omm on fl irt an d if she were t o u se
, ,

K estn er as a screen for her m an oeuvres in order the m ore

securely t o l avish her ch arm s t he m om en t I d isc ov er ed it ,

w ould b e the last of ou r acquain tan c e N othin g b u t .

t h ese mu tu ally pur e an d high sen tim en t s m ad e it p ossible

for the three who had g ot ten in t o such p eculiar an d d elic ate
,

rel ation s t o p ass in h appy h arm on y the b eautiful m on th s

,

of sprin g an d summ er .

G oethe n ot b ein g burden ed by official duties was the

, ,

m ost frequen t guest at the Deutsch e H aus In the man i .

f old duties Of overseein g the fields an d mead ows kitchen ,

garden an d fl ower garden he was L otte s c on stan t com ’

p an ion If K estn er s busin ess permitted he was also pre

.
’

sen t . M eetin gs in her h om e altern ated with excursion s

an d w alk s in t o the en vir on s Thus on e d ay resembled .

an ot h er an d all seem ed t o b e h olid ay s The wh ole c alen d ar .

sh ould h av e b een prin t ed in red The m ore G oeth e t ru st ed .

h imself an d Lotte the m ore he gave the rein t o his feelin gs

an d t he m ore t h ought lessly he b ec ame in v olved in the t oil s
of his gr owin g f on d n ess f or her H is ev er busy fan cy m ay .
-

h ave played a p art in this It un c on sciously c oloured .

t hin gs with it s own r osy ligh t Thus in Dresden wh en he .

,

was wh olly d ev oted t o Dut ch art his l odgin gs in the h om e ,

of a c obbl er had app eared t o him as a p ain tin g by Ost ad e .

H ere in Wetz lar he was so full of H omer that the m aids at ,

t he well remin d ed him of the d augh t ers of kin gs in the

heroic age an d the h augh ty ox roastin g wooers of Pen elop e
, ,
-

were alive b efore him wh en he c ooked his green p eas in the

in n kit ch en at Garb en h eim I won der whether there in
.
,

the Deut sch e H au s wit h its gard en s an d field s he did n ot ,

also p erc eiv e the p alac e of Alc in ous an d in L ot te the l ov ely ,

N ausicaa? Thus p assion m ay h ave heated fan cy an d

fan cy in turn passion H e sought to calm his h eated bl ood
, , .
 JLotte
‘
163

by p oetic reproduc tion of wh at he experien c ed an d saw .

When it was n ot rhythmic p oetry in t o which he p oured the

fuln ess of his h eart it was letters an d even reviews for the
,

F ran kfu rter Gelehrten A n z eigen H en ce the maiden that .

he p ain ted wit h such in spiration in the review of the P oems

of a P oli sh 7 ew was n o oth er t h an L otte .

The m ore his love for L ott e in creased the n earer c ame ,

the p ossib ilit y of a c on flic t in spite of t he in n oc en c e of all

,

his purp oses There were K estn er relates man y re

“ ”
.
, ,

markable scen es in which my regard for L ott chen was

,

heigh ten ed an d he b ecame m ore prec iou s to m e as a frien d ;

b u t I was often in wardly ast on ish ed t hat l ove can m ake suc h
stran g e creatures even of t he st r on gest an d ot h erwise m ost

in d ep en d en t min d s F or the m ost p art I pitied him ; an d

.

had m an y an in ward struggle wh en I t h ought on the on e , ,

h an d I might n ot b e in a p osition to make L ottchen as

,

happy as he c ould make her b u t on the other han d c ould , , ,

n ot en dure t he t h ough t of l osin g her Bu t t he three pur e .

hearts always foun d it easy to c ompromise an y differen ces

arisin g from G oeth e s p assion aten ess Thus we learn for
’
.
,

ex ample fr om K est n er s diary t h at on c e ab ou t t he middl e

’
, , ,

of August Goet he had given L ott e a kiss H on est L ot t e

,
.

had rep ort ed it t o her b et r ot h ed an d he was a lit t le vexed ; ,

whereup on Lotte had un dertaken to c ool Goet he s passion ’

.

On the fourteen th [Augu st] in the even in g the diary

“ ”
,

c on tin ues Goethe return in g from a walk c ame up to the

,
“

house H e was treated in differen tly an d soon wen t away

. .

On the fifteen th he was sen t t o At z b ach to take an apric ot

to the steward ess At ten o clock in the even in g he c ame
’
.

to see u s an d f oun d u s sitt in g ou t in fron t of the d oor ; his

flowers were in differen tly left un t ouched ; he felt it an d
threw th em away ; sp oke in similes ; I w alked with G oeth e
through the street s till twelve o clock ; rem arkable con
’

versation seein g that he was full of an ger an d had all sorts

,

of imagin ation s which we fi n ally l augh ed at lean in g again st

, ,

a wall in the m oon ligh t

”
.

An d it was well so ; an d c ertain ly th ere w ould sc arc ely

have been an y further n eed of the lectu re which Lotte
1 64 t he l if e of G oe the

gave him the n ext d ay t o in duce him to guard himself more

c arefully Two days later he had an en gagemen t t o meet
.

Merck in Giessen an d as L otte had also gon e t hith er on a

,

visit his critical frien d Merck b ec ame acquain ted with her
,
.

H e f oun d L ott e as he wr ot e his wif e w orthy of the pr aise

, ,

which Goethe had so en thu siastic ally lavish ed up on her in

his letters b u t he felt t h at it w ould b e a g ood t hin g if his
,

hot bl ood ed f an t astic W olfg an g were turn ed aw ay fr om

—
,

her . Acc ordin gly on the n ext day h avin g m et a queen ly ,

frien d of L otte s in Wet z lar he sc olded him th oroughly for

’

n ot h av in g c ourt ed th is Ju n o esp ecially as she was free an d ,

with out wooers H e added that G oethe failed t o see wh at

.
,

was b est for him an d h eart ily disapprov ed of his sp ecial

,

h obby of wastin g time M erck would have b een glad to .

t ake G oet h e h ome wit h him an d G oet h e t oo w ould h av e , , ,

b een glad t o go b u t wh at was the u se of inten din g when

,
“

he saw the f ac es aroun d him ?

”

The twen t y eigh th was G oeth e s b irt hd ay as well as

-
’

K estn er s On the twen ty seven th G oethe sat with Lotte

’
.
—

alm ost all day In t he even in g t h ey cu t up b ean s till m id

.

n igh t an d t he twen t y eigh t h w as solem n ly u shered in wit h

,
-

t ea an d frien dly f ac es From K est n er G oet h e received as

.

a presen t t he litt le Wett st ein edition of H om er t h at he ,

might n o lon ger n eed t o c arry the l arge E rn esti edition on

his walks Goethe tarried a fortn ight l on ger p ostp on in g
.
,

his d ep art ure from on e day t o an oth er Fin ally the situa .

tion b ec ame d an ger ous b ec au se of the p assion at e warmt h ,

which his relation s with Lotte had assumed It was his .

desire to avoid c ausin g t he lovers even the slightest trouble .

So he d ec ided to leav e on t he m orn in g of S ep temb er th r1 .

H e told the b etrot hed c oupl e n othin g of his in t en tion s an d ,

so the l ast ev en in g wh ich he sp en t wit h th em was d oubly

rich in remin iscen ces By chan ce Lotte b egan to sp eak of .

t he c on d ition aft er life of m eetin g an d rec ogn isin g on e an ,

oth er in t he b ey on d This brought her t o the death of her

.

mother an d she herself an d her hearers were deeply moved

, .

Then she brought the c on versation t o an en d an d suggested

t h at it was time t o go h ome Goethe profoun dly m oved .
, ,
1 66 t he l ife of G oe the

fate that I cann ot in reality add t o to d ay morrow an d -

to—

day after to morr ow as I m ay oft en h av e d on e in j est

-
,
.

Be ch eerful u n d er all circum stan c es dear L otte ; you are ,

happier than a hun dred oth ers ; b u t d o n ot b e in differen t ,

an d I d ear L otte am h appy th at I r ead in y our eyes th at

, ,

yo u b el iev e I sh all n ev er ch an ge Ad ieu a t h ou san d .

,

adieus !
With that he was away from Wet z lar an d from the
Deut sche H aus t he sc en e of four m on th s of h appin ess
,
.

H ow was his dep arture rec eived t here ? K estn er en tered

in his diary :
Sept ember 77 1 1 ,
1 2 .

This m orn in g Goeth e wen t away without takin g leave .

H e sen t m e a n ote wit h som e b ook s H e had l on g sin c e .

said th at ab out t his t ime he sh ould t ake a j ourn ey t o Co

b len t z where t he milit ary p aym aster M erck exp ec t ed him

, , , ,

an d t h at he sh ould n ot say g ood b ye b u t set Off sudd en ly - .

.

SO I had exp ec t ed it Bu t th at I was n otwith stan din g

.
, ,

un prepared for it I have felt deep in my soul That morn

, .

in g I c ame h ome from t he offic e H err Doct or Goethe ‘

.

sen t t his at t en o cl ock I saw the b ooks an d also the n ote

’ ’
.
,

an d k n ew t h at it would say : H e is gon e an d was q uit e

‘ ’

dej ec ted S oon after H an s [ Buff] c ame to ask m e if he

.

were really gon e Frau Lan ge had taken occ asion to sen d
.

word by a ma d : i I t was v ery ll m an n ered of D oc t or

‘
i —

Goethe t o leave in this way with out sayin g good b ye -

.
’

L ottchen sen t b ack the reply : Why did you n ot teach ‘

your n ephew b etter ? Lott chen in order to b e c ert ain

’
, ,

sen t a b ox which she had of G oet h e s t o his h ou se H e was

’
, .

n o l on ger th ere At n oon Frau L an ge had again sen t

.

word that she was goin g t o write Doc tor Goethe s mother
,
’

how he had c on duc ted him self E very on e of t he children

.

in the Deutsche H aus was sayin g : Doc t or G oet h e is gon e !

‘ ’

At n oon I t alked with H err v on B orn who had acc omp an ied ,

him on h orseb ack as f ar as Brau n fels Goeth e had told .

him of ou r c on versation l ast ev en in g G oethe had gon e .

away in very low sp irit s I n t he aftern oon I brough t

.

Lotte the notes from Goethe She was sorry ab out his de .
 JLotte
‘
16 7

p arture an d while she was readin g them t he tears came in to

her eyes .Yet she was glad th at he was g on e as she c ould ,

n ot giv e him wh at he d esired We sp oke on ly of him .

,

n eit h er c ould I t hin k of an yt hin g el se t h an him

”
.

If later association s did n ot prove it these simple lin es ,

would show how pure an d c ordial were the mutual relation s

of t he t hr ee n obl e souls Ten d ays later K estn er was in .

Frankfort At f our O cl ock I w en t t o see Schl osser an d

.
“ ’

lo ! G oeth e an d M erck were there I t was an in d escrib able .

jy
o f or m e ; he f ell up on my n eck a n d a lm ost squ eez ed t he

life ou t of m e We wen t ou t f or a walk on the

.

ramp art etc We m et a woman un expectedly When

, . .

she saw G oet h e j oy b eam ed fr om her c ou n ten an c e she ran

, ,

up to him sudden ly an d in to his arms They kissed each .

ot her c ord ially ; it was t he sister of A n t oin ette

Our hem Glucfllcheu hr trltt G

e hohue ber phhfh
t l c e Gleger , ,

11nhber blehergen hegmlugt l or her Ill ch

elubeGott *
, ,
.

While in the midst ure an d love in

of his revellin g in n at

Wet z lar G oethe had b een d eeply p ain ed that H erd er had
,

sen t b ack Ga te w it h a fault fin d in g crit iq ue E v ery th in g -

.

was a mere pr oduc t of t he in t ellec t he said ; furth erm ore , ,

Shakesp eare had c ompletely ruin ed him The disciple .

had gon e t oo far in imit atin g his m aster to suit t he great

ap ost le of Sh akesp eare Of what avail to the auth or was .

the approv al of M erck an d S al z m an n by the sid e of t his

weight y judgmen t Bu t he was n ot in the least disc ouraged
? .

I t must b e m elted he an swered H erd er in July purified

” “
, ,

of dr oss ,
am algam at ed wit h a m ore prec iou s m et al an d ,

rec ast Then it will b e sh own t o you again

. Bu t f or such .
”

a rec astin g t h ere was in Wet z lar n o tim e n o t ran quillity , ,

an d wh en he left Wet z l ar he b ec am e so f on d of art t hrough

his study of p ain tin g th at he d isc arded all literary work f or
the first mon th s an d d ev oted alm ost all his l eisure h ours t o
drawin g en gravin g an d et chin g ; in d eed on his lon g soj ourn
, ,

in Darm stad t he ev en in fec t ed M erck wit h his en thusiasm ,

J u t i fr t f t h m a w alk Ph ebu t he Py t hia v ic t r

s n on o e n s o s, n o ,

A d t he ubdu er f h ear t
n A m r t he weet mili g g d
s o s, o ,
s s n o
16 8 t he l ife of G oe the

sa yin g that he would b ec ome a p ain ter yet We ad .

vised him very st ron gly to do so writes K arolin e Flach s

,

lan d in the n ai ve speech of the Darmstadt sain ts Bu t .

aft er his return t o Fran kfor t in the middl e of Dec emb er ,

his irrepressible p oetic in stin c t b egan to reassert it self .

H e t ook up Gotz again erased the crud e p ain ful an d ex

, , ,

ag gerat ed feat ures limited t he n umb er of figures in his

,

eloqu en c e m ad e t he expression s m ore pit hy an d archaic

, ,

l ooked after the m otives more carefully restrain ed for ,

artistic reason s his f av ouritism f or Adelh eid t o wh om he had ,

given en tirely too much influen ce in the dramatic develop

men t sought t o alleviate the fragmen tary c on dition of the
,

ac tion an d in a few week s t he p iec e lay b efor e him in its

,

sec on d an d impr ov ed f orm E v en t his he did n ot con

.

sider m ature en ough for public ation b u t on ly as a pre

,

p arat ory study which he some day would m ake the b asis
,

of a furth er redac tion t o wh ich he w ould d ev ot e m ore

lab our an d thought F ortun ately just at this stage Merck

.

c ame to Fran kfort at the b eginnin g of F ebruary 1 7 7 3

, , ,

an d asked him wh at he m ean t by this everlastin g filin g

an d rec astin g I t on ly m ad e a th in g differen t an d seld om
.

b ett er ; on e must see how what on e has written affec ts t he

public an d then always t ake up somethin g n ew When
, .

Goethe obj ec ted that he feared the publishers migh t refuse

the piec e —for how would th ey judge the work of an aut h or
,

un kn own an d presumptu ous b esides M erck overcam e —

t his obj ec tion t oo by offerin g t o take p art of the risk in

, ,

t he public ation of the play G oethe was to provide the

.

p aper he would b e resp on sible for the printin g Goethe

, .

very willin gly accepted the offer an d in May the wild,

product was printed in Jun e published , .

1 7 0 t he l ife of G oe the

purp ose also in the tit le which he pu t on the m an uscript of

t he first dr aught : H i story of Gottfri ed von B erli chi ngen
Dram ati sed .

S tran ge y outh who wish es t o give in the drama the

,

biography of a brave m an ! S tran ge b u t it was on ly a true ,

symp t om of a stran g e p eriod .

H erd er had preach ed t hat history was the essen c e of the

Shakesp earian drama an d pu t the m ain stress on the great
,

ev en t H istory echoed the y oun ger gen eration an d pu t

“ ”
.
, ,

the acc en t on the great m an TO chisel him ou t of historv .

an d pu t him on the st age so t h at everyb ody would ex

claim There is a fellow for you seemed to the youn ger
, ,
”

m en t o b e the high est mission of t he dram atist The .

“

mum my of an Old h ero which the b iographer an oin ts an d

p erfumes an d in to which the p oet breathes his spirit
,
.

Th en he arises again the n oble d eparted an d in tran s , ,

figu red b eaut y c omes for th from the b ooks Of history an d

lives with u s again O h how sh all I fin d word s t o in dicate
.
,

t his c ordial feelin g f or the r esurrec t ed d ead an d sh ould —

we n ot gladly f oll ow th em t o A lex an dria t o R ome through , ,

all t he ev en t s of t heir liv es an d ourselv es b e abl e t o say : ,

Blessed are the eyes th at h ave seen thee H ave you n ot

a d esir e t o l ook up on t h em g en t l emen an d see in ev en , ,

t h eir sm all est ac ts how t h ey b ear the rew ard s an d buff et s of

fortun e ? Thus exclaims Len z in his remarks on the
”

th eatre p erh ap s on ly ech oin g G oeth e s effusion s

’
—
in his
p eculiar way An d this l on gin g for great m en always
.
,

aliv e in t he h ear t of y ou th mu st h ave burn ed wit h great ,

in ten sity in an age of p ettin ess an d weakn ess The m ore .

t he presen t was l ackin g in gr eat m en or at l east such as the ,

heart l on ged for the more z ealously they were dug up ou t

,

of t he grav es of t he p ast Caesar S ocrates F aust G otz .

, , , ,

an d soon M ah om et al so occupied G oeth e s min d If GOtz ’

.

was the first t o m at ure n ot the l east c ause was the fac t ,

t h at in him w er e emb odied the v ir tu es which w er e upp er

’

most in G oethe s affec tion s in theyears 7 7 an d 7 7

’
1 0 1 1 ,

b ecause he saw in the world the greatest lack of these very

Cf G t h e l et t er t Sal m a q u t ed ab v e
’
. oe s o z nn ,
o o .
 Got3 von ilBerlichingen
' '

1 7 1

virtues v i z bravery in depen d en c e h on esty kin dn ess a

, , , , ,

s traigh tf orward ,
sp irit ed free an d n oble life H on est
, , .

GOtz wit h his iron han d was t o draw the world ou t of the
mire in to which it had fallen I t is on ly by these p olitical .

an d artistic purp oses t h at we can expl ain G oeth e s temp

’

t ation t o dramatise t he b iography of G ot z F or a less .

dramatic subj ec t can scarcely b e foun d ; a chron ological

series of raid s an d c amp aign s temp orary lead ership in the ,

Peasan t s War an d fin ally a lon g p eac eful old age in his

’

, ,

an c est ral c astl e . The really dramatic elem en ts had to b e

en tir ely in v en ted by G oeth e H e did this by creatin g the
.

characters of Weislin gen an d those associated with him ,

v iz : Ad elheid Marie an d Fran z ; t h at is t o say the p oet

.
, , ,

welded up on the Glitz drama or b etter up on the dial ogued

-
, , ,

history of G otz a Weislin gen drama This Weislin gen

’

-
, .

drama is to such an exten t the prime m otive of the ac tion

t hat t he qu estion has b een justly raised wh eth er t he drama ,

might n ot b e more fittin gly called Adalb ert v on Weislin gen .

E v erythin g c on c ern in g G ot z is treated epic ally an ,

epic al b iography as it were,

This d eprives the Gotz drama
.
-

of a c en t ralised op eratin g c au se such as is essen tial ev en in ,

an epic . I t s u n it y on t he ot h er h an d is b ased solely up on

, ,

t he p erson alit y of the h er o The dram a proc eeds with a

.

chain of adventures un til the cha in fin d s it s n ec essary en d

in the d eath of G otz If it did n ot occur to him in the
.

sec on d act t o c ool his wrath on t he Nur emb erg m erch an t s

returnin g h ome from the Fran kfort fair an d if it did n ot ,

c ome in to the min ds of the p easan ts in the fifth act to press

him in t o servic e as t heir lead er t he drama would c om e t o ,

an un tim ely d eath in the middle of t he sec on d or at the en d

of the f ourth act An d yet G oeth e c ould easily h ave pro
.

du ced a m ore c oh eren t pl ot if in the sec on d act he had , ,

made Weislin gen s treachery the chief m otive GOtz c ould

’
.

have declared in d eed would h ave b een c omp elled to d eclare

, ,

a n ew feud again st the B ish op of B amb erg in ord er to pun ish

the trait or an d his protec t or Bu t h ere we can see how .

little Goethe th ought of a drama as a stage piece an d how

much he was b en t on merely depictin g in dialogue the life
1 7 2 t he l ife of G oe the

of his h ero in its most ch aracteristic momen t s In the .

b iography the feud with B amb erg is followed by th at with

Nuremb erg an d this by the execution of the imp erial b an
,

an d the imprison men t in H eilbr on n ; an d in t his ord er

G oethe dramatised the material .

Bu t if p olitic al an d artistic t en d en cies kept the p oet t oo

close to history his dramatic in stin c t held the m ore c omplete
,

sw ay in the cr eation an d el ab oration of t he W eislin g en

drama which in the first v ersion threaten ed t o submerge

,

the history of GOt z The Weislin gen drama h owev er

.
-
, ,

d oes n ot owe its existen ce merely to the effort to breathe

dramatic life in to the dialogued b iography In the history .

of G ot z G oeth e had p aid tribut e t o t he esth etic p olitic al , ,

an d soc ial id eal s of y ou t h H ere was p ortrayed a fellow “ ”

.
,

who h eedin g on ly the voic e of his gen ius d eclared war

, ,

up on the ab surd laws of m en an d their still more ab surd

d oin gs who fought for the good an d the true freed om an d
, ,

n ature ev en if he him self had t o f all b en eat h t he ir on t read

,

of hist ory Bu t som et hin g furth er wit hin the p oet was
.

st rugglin g f or p oetic r ealisation As life with out the in .

g r ed ien t of l ov e or w it h o u t l ov
,
abl e w o m en seem ed t o ,

him dull an d empt y so al so lit erat ure ,

H en ce the man ly .

st ory of G ot z had t o b e in terw ov en with t he Weislin gen

drama which m ay b e called a hymn to the p ower of woman s

,
’

ch arms E very m an who c omes within the sph ere of

.

Ad elheid s radian t b eaut y an d seductive charms su c

’
43

cu m b s : Weislin gen the veteran love maker ; Fran z the

,
-
,

b oy ; Lieb etrau t the f ool ; K arl t he crown prin c e ; n ay in

, , ,

the first v ersion even h on est Sickin gen as well as t he

, ,

gyp sy b oy an d the b ailiff of the vehmic c ourt The u n

, .

c an n y charm s of the b eautiful w oman drive m en an d b oys ,

wh ose hearts are n ot n aturally d epraved to treachery an d ,

murder as if they had n o wills of their own

, .

An other purely in ven ted female character of the Weis

lin gen drama is Marie sister of G otz a most n oble c on trast
-
, ,

to Ad elh eid The l atter a wid ow d omin eerin g c oquettish

.
, , ,

with an in ordin ate l on gin g for love an d p ower ; the former

a m aid en pur e un selfi sh an g elic who exten ds her h an d to
, , , ,
1 74 t he l if e of G oe the

a p assion with him an d made him forget su n m oon an d , ,

t he d ear stars
”
.

N evertheless it was n ot the material alon e which made

t his c omp osition a lab our of love with him The play was .

at t he same t im e t o m ark t he b egin n in g O f a n ew era em ,

b odyin g as it did the f orm of the n ew th eories of art

, , .

S in ce these taught th at it was the task of the serious drama

t o brin g b ef ore ou r eyes a great m an through all the t rials
of f ort u n e in his life an d sin c e t he ob serv an c e of t he tra ,

dit ion al rul es of the u n ity of tim e plac e an d action was an , ,

ob stacle in t he way of t his t ask t h ey w ere ru thl essly t hru st ,

asid e This brought the p oet at the same time n earer to

.

trut h an d n ature the great fun d amen tal t h ought s of t he ,

S torm an d S tress movemen t We can see the true delight

- -
.

which he took in dealin g the old techn ique of the theatre a

p owerful blow H e hurries u s through a space of man y .

years whirls u s b ack an d forth b etween B amb erg Augs

, ,

burg H eilbron n the Sp essart [M oun tain s] an d J axthau sen

, , , ,

an d giv es u s in st ead of a sin gl e c omprehen siv e ac tion a

, , ,

multitude of dramatised even ts What did he c are whether .

,

or n ot such a p iec e c ould b e p erf orm ed ! If n ot so much the ,

w orse f or the t h eat re A s in t he pl ot he p aid n o at t en tion .

,

t o t he t radition al laws of dram atic art or t o t he req uire ,

m en ts of the stage h avin g regard on ly to the simple truth ,

(the hist oric al progress of ev en ts) so also in the lan gu age , .

The dramati s person ce sh ould sp eak their true an d genuin e

dialect n ot an artificial literary German H en c e G oeth e
, .

with un heard of b oldn ess c ast the sacred literary lan guage
-

ov erb oard an d in syn t ax,

vocabulary an d in flections , ,

sough t t o repr oduc e t he n atural lan gu age of t he ch arac ters .

If an y one cares to measure the advan ce over former plays ,

let him c ompare the op en in g Of M i n n a von Barn helm with

t hat of Gate I n b oth c ases the sc en e is an in n an d Les
.
,

sin g evid en tly tries t o strike a realist ic t on e An d yet how .

en tirely d ifferen t is t he l an gu age of Just an d the l an dl ord

from th at of the moun ted soldiers the peasan ts an d the , ,

lan dlord in Gate! The former the c orrec t un iversal literary

German the latter a free h omely dialectic archaic c ollo
, , , , ,
 G litz, von lBerlichingen 1 75

q u ialGerman An d we must n ot forget th at the f orm er is

.

in a c om edy an d the latt er in a great historic al tragedy .

Thus the wh ole of Gate its hero its ideas its techn ique
, , , ,

an d its lan gu age was a d ecl aration of war again st t he

,

old an d the tradition al again st limit ation s an d in f eriorit y

,
.

Fully c on scious of this revolution ary ch aracter Goeth e ,

wrote to M erck a n ote acc ompan yin g a copy of the play

5 4 *

Qllleu erucleuré uub

S
h t { gl u en
ll ub alleu Ilterarlfchu S
e taten

QBelleu m l lr o bleeu S lll ieru,

l Ih l S

Sirltlfalteru uub ih n Ge
re c m
ih f n
l ter

QBoh l elu jeber out feinem hunt J - R

en din g with a lin e closely resemblin g GOtz s vulgar challen ge ’

to the imperial herald .

Bu t G oet he s d efi an c e t o the en emy was unn ec essary

’
.

The p oetic b eauties of his drama were so extraordin ary that

hardly an y marked obj ection s were heard The greatest .

furore as was to b e exp ected came from the applause of

, ,

t he you n ger m en t o wh om t he an on ym ou s pl ay was n ot

,

merely a splen did c omposition b t a stroke for lib erty as u

well Burger un d er the first impression wrote to B oie :

.

B oie! B oie ! The Kn ight with the Iron H an d what a ,

play ! I can scarcely c ontain myself for en thusiasm H ow .

sh all I th an k t he au th or f or my d eligh t ? Why he deserves ,

the n ame of t he G erm an Shakesp eare What a .

th oroughly German subj ec t ! What darin g treatmen t !

N oble an d free as his hero the auth or tramples the miser
,

able c ode oi rules u n der his feet an d c on jures up b ef ore ou r

eyes an en tire ep och with life an d breat h in its m in u test

veins . May fortun e smile up on the n oble free ,

m an who was m ore ob edien t to n at ure th an t o t yran n ical

,

T every p eruke a d c ari c at ur e

o n ,

A d m u i g critic f lit r at ur e
n o s n o e ,

To h hl
t ese P i istin es thu we a s c n

Critic a t er a d all t h eir cl a

s s n n,

E ach fo fr m hi wi d w h w
us o s n o s o
I 7 6 t he l if e of G oe the

art . O B oie d o you n ot kn ow Tell m e

,
who he is ?
,

t ell m e th at my rev eren c e m ay er ec t an al t ar t o him

,
.

As Bii rger of the N ort h so also Schub art of t he S out h ,

was en thu siastic ov er t he p iec e H erder n otwith stan din g .

,

his h ar sh an d u n frien dly l etter t o G oeth e was full of ad ,

m iration ev en for t he first draught Wh en you read it “

.
,

he wrot e t o his fian cé e in July 1 7 7 2 y ou t oo w ill exp er ien c e , ,

a few h ours of h eav en ly joy There is an un c omm on .

am ou n t of G erm an p ow er d ep t h an d tru th in it
”
an d in , , ,

his p amphlet Von D eu tscher A rt u n d K u n st he p oin t ed in

, ,

sugg estiv e an d el oqu en t t erm s t o G oet h e as t he G erm an

Sh akesp eare Bu t even th ose who were offen d ed by the

.

irregul arities in the pl ay were n ev er th el ess fully appreciat ,

iv e of it s merit s Let f orm b e f orm was the critic ism

” “
.

in the F ran kfu rter Gelehrten A n zeigen ; ev en if the au th or

had written in Chin ese f orm we sh ould h av e t o priz e his ,

gen ius Rath er twen ty times as man y oddities as occur

.

in this pl ay than the in sipid twaddle which on e has t o

swall ow in t he G erm an play s of t o d ay Christian -
.

H ein rich Schmid small min d as he was remarked in the

, ,

D eu ts che M erku r A play in which all three un ities are

.
‘
“
,

m ost cruelly mistreat ed which is n eit her c omedy n or ,

t r agedy an d yet t he m ost b eaut iful most in t er est in g m on

, ,

st rosit y f or wh ich we would gl adly exch an g e a hu n dred of

,

ou r lachrym ose c om edies We had read the play .

sev eral tim es an d t h ough t we c ould reason c almly ab ou t

ou r d eligh t b u t b ef ore we w ere aware we w ere again in t he

, , ,

midst of an in toxic ation of feelin g an d all rules ev en the , ,

determin ation to criticise v an ished like sh ad ows b efore ,

t his vigorou s lan gu age of the h ear t Wielan d too n ot in , ,

t he l east blin d t o t he w eak n esses of t he pl ay an d in sp ite of ,

his an ger ov er an att ack by G oeth e praised it an d as , ,

edit or of the M erku r d ef en d ed it again st some un f ou n d ed

,

fault fin din g of his c ollab orator Schmid

-
,
.

The public f oun d its great est pl easure Goeth e tells u s ,

in Wilhelm M ei sler in the subj ec t mat ter : in the arm oured

1
,
-

kn ight s the Old c astles the sin c erity in tegrity an d hon

, , , ,

est y b u t esp ec ially in t he in d ep en d en c e of t he ch arac ters :

,
 1 7 8 t he l ife of G oe the
hist ory of a m an in to a dialogue an d hawks the thin g for a
drama? Bu t that Lessin g despite all this remain ed silen t , ,

proves th at he was un c on sciously un der the sp ell of the

gen ius Of his y oun g riv al .

After c alm c on sideration he m ay h ave had the same

h opes of the highly gifted p oet as Wielan d prophetic ally
expressed in t he M erku r t h at p erh ap s t h ere w ould c om e a
,

tim e wh en aft er d eep er study in t o the n ature of t he hum an

soul he w ould b e brough t t o the c on vic tion t h at Arist ot le

was righ t after all that his rules were b ased on laws of
,
—

n ature m or e th an on c apric e c on v en ien c e an d ex ample , , .

If we to day far away from the din of p arty strife ap

-

, ,

proach the play n either d az z led by its ten den cies n or

,

terr ified by the un restrain ed lic en ce of its techn ique we ,

c an n ot b u t j oin in the applause of the great maj ority ,

wh ether we try it by t he hist orical or by the ab solute

st an d ard stan d ard s which
—
h owever are inapplic able to , ,

as t o the m ost of G oet he s work s

’
.

Wh at German drama even the masterpiec es of Lessin g —

n ot exc ep t ed c ould at that time c ompare with Gate in

—

richn ess brillian cy an d warmth To b e sure M i n n a von

,
?
, ,

B a n helm an d E mi li a Galotti are from the p oin t of view of

r ,

formal art in c omparably greater masterpieces ; b u t by the

,

sid e of Ga tz t hey are b u t vig or ou s an d clever drawin gs com

p ared with a mural pain tin g revellin g in rich c olour an d
brimming over with the sap of life .

What a varied crowd of people the poet gathers ab out

us ! The imp erial kn ights the bishop s the lan squen ets , , ,

the city aldermen the m erch an t s the emp eror mon ks

, , , ,

jurists p easan ts gyp sies memb ers of the vehmic c ourt

'

, , , ,

m en women b oys children

, , An d how t hey stan d ou t
, .

b efore u s ! Who ever drew such m en kn ights bishop s , , ,

w mo e n a n d b ys b efore The iron han ded Gotz the m an

,o ? —
,

of fid elity brav ery k in d n ess an d l ov e of lib er t y the h er o

, , , ,

with the soul of a child ; an d his opp osite weak Weislin gen , ,

t o wh om lib ert y is n ot hin g an d en j oymen t ev erythin g an d ,

who allows himself t o b e h auled ab out through life by the

favour of prin ces an d women An d again their youn g .
 G6 t3 von lBerlichingen 1 79

d oubles : Georg the fin e healthy servan t Of Got the

, ,
z ,

golden b oy who c an n ot await the day when he shall ride

,

f orth in coat of mail up on his own h orse ; an d Fran z V eis ,

V

lin gen s p age un stable in dulgin g in sen sual in toxic ation s

’

, , ,

who c an n ot await the d ay wh en his b eautiful lady l ov e -

sh all listen t o his l ove s d esire ; further Oleariu s

’
an d , , ,

d octor of can on ical an d civil law vain glorious in spite of the ,

limits of his kn owledge servile flatterer of the great ; the ,

B ish op of B amb erg surroun ded b y women an d c ourt fools

, ,

d ev ot ed wh olly t o the c omm on selfishn ess of prin ces an d

the c omm on in trigu es Of t yran t s ; t he dru n ken st ammerin g , ,

starin g Abb ot of Fuld a an d c on tr ast ed wit h th ese wise , , ,

n obl e Br ot h er M artin who h ates the idl en ess of m on ks an d

,

is h appy th at he has seen a m an lik e G ot ; t he h on est z ,

prosy emperor who in the mid st of the turmoil of affairs

,

feels very clearly wh ere his true frien d s stan d An d b eside .

this gallery of m en the p ortr ait s of wom en : the firm com ,

p osed efficien t h ousewife E liz ab eth ; good gen tle ten der
, , , ,

Marie an d the irid esc en t serp en t the b ewit chin g she d evil
, ,
-

Adelheid Wielan d said Of them that the greatest master

.
,

of ch arac t er pain tin g -

Sh akespeare himself was n owhere
, ,

g r ea t er t h an o u r p oe t in h is p o r t r a it s o f M arie E l i ab et h ,
z ,

an d A d elh eid .

The p oet an imates even ts with n o less art th an he does

p eople E ven such c omplex situation s as the siege of
.

J a x t ha u s en an d t h e figh t w it h t h e imp eria l t r oo p s h e

brin gs b efore ou r eyes with the greatest clearn ess An d .

with what simple mean s he acc omplish es it ! a series of -

fleetin g sc en es a few c asual w ords an exclam ation a

, , ,

h asty c on versation to tran sp ort u s in to the mid st of the

ac tion .

The same c ompac t effec tive art is seen in the p ortrayal

,

of m om en t ou s soul st ruggl es Two exampl es m ay illus .

t rat e this Weislin gen takes leave of Adelh eid in order n ot

.

t o break his word t o G ot z an d M arie Adelheid s art s of ’

.

p ersuasion an d seduction have b een fruitless She looks .

at him an grily .

Wei slin gen : Do n ot l ook at m e so .

 1 80 t he ILife Of G oe the
‘

A delheid : Will y ou be ou r en e my an d yet e xp ec t u s to

smil e on y ou ? Go !
Weislin gen : Adelheid !
A delheid : I h at e you .

F ran z : My grac iou s l ord , the b ishop wish es to s p eak

with y ou .

A delheid : Go ! Go !
F ran z : He b egs you to hasten .

A delheid : Go ! Go !
Weisli ngen : I will n ot say good b ye I shall
-
,
see you

g
a ain .
”

An oth er example Weislin gen has b een p oison ed by

.

Fran z Fran z c omes t o him an d sees him in his misery

. .

H e u tters n ot a word b u t crush ed by a sen se of guil t falls

, , ,

at the feet of his l ord .

Weislingen : Fran z arise an d c ease weepin g I may

,
.

g et up ag a in Wh il e.t h er e is l if e t h er e is h op e .

F ran z : Y ou n ev er will Y ou mu st die

“
. .

Wei s in gen I mu st
l : ?

F ran z : Poison ! Poison ! From you r wife I ! I ! .

H e ru n s away an d t hrows h im self in t o t he M ain Wh en .

h ave t he deep est soul st ru ggles b een p ortrayed more

lac on c ally ; when m ore eff ec tively
i ?

An d what a gamut of f eelin gs the p oet c arries u s through !

Verily t he critic in the F ran kfu rter Gelehrten A n z eigen was
,

right when he wrote : From the m omen t of the siege of

“

Gotz s c astle your heart will warm t o him ; you will tremble
’

for him in the tower am on g t he p easan ts an d the gyp sy

,

rabble you will shed tears over the sun that refresh es him
,

in his dyin g h our an d you will re ech o his cry of Freed om !

‘
-
,

freedom ! Bu t he ought n ot to h av e fail ed t o say th at

’

ou r h ear t is warm fr om t he m om en t wh en G ot z app ears an d

Georg b egs to b e t aken al on g t o the fight F or it was .

an oth er t rem en d ous sup eriorit y of the pl ay th at it was ,

fl ooded with a stream of w arm bl ood such as on ly the ,

glowin g h eart of ou r p oet c ould pour in to it .

If we add to all this the great hist orical b ackgroun d

which Goethe has drawn with such won derful distin c tn ess
 W E RTH E R

a q year— Goethe eare t frie d c atter— Cultivati n of hi

u iet
’
s n s n s s o s

in er lif e L t t e cult D eat h f J eru al em The Wert h er m d

n fi — o - — o s oo

Th ught f uicide R emedy ought i liter ary r eproductio

o s o s — s n n

F orm ch e — Subj e ti e eleme t wa ti g f ec d p art fur

os n c v n s n n or s on

i hed by i tercour e wit h M ax e La R ch e— Met h od of writin g

n s n s o

A aly n i f t he pl t
s s o — The c at a t r ph e t he at ur al u t g r wt h f
o s o n o o o

Wer t h r ch aract er Tw f ld mo iv e f uic de Simplicit y f

e
’
s t i — — o o o s o

pl t Wealt h f ce e a d ch ar act er — St yle— Succ e f t he

—
o o s n s n s ss o

ov el Le in g adv er e critici m We the cr a e Goet h e

— —
’ ’
n — ss s s s r r z s

w rld f ame
o -

HE year 7 7 3 was for G oethe a very quiet on e H e

1 .

was m ore t h an ever d ep en d en t up on himself In .

O ctob er of the prec edin g year Corn elia the most ,

z eal ou s an d symp at h et ic c omp an ion of his life an d am

b ition had b een b etr oth ed to his frien d J oh an n G eorg

, ,

Schl osser an d this had t urn ed her interest in an oth er

,

direc tion On the 1 4 th of N ovemb er of this year she left

.

Fran kfort to go with her husb an d first to K arlsruhe , ,

th en to E mmen din gen in B ad en where he had fou n d a ,

p osition as district judge The d ear circle of Darm stad t .

sain t s was al so br oken Good Uran ie died in April Goethe s ’

. .

en thusiastic b earin g c au sed t he w orld t o su sp ec t m or e in

t im ate relation s b etw een him an d Uran ie t h an in reality

existed .H e suff ers a m art yrd om of p ain th at he is for
b idden t o erec t a m on umen t to the memory of his d early
b eloved frien d b ec ause he d oes n ot c are t o c on fron t the
n on sen sic al g ossip of the world S oon after early in May .
, ,

H erder came for his bride K arolin e Flachslan d The wed , .

din g was c elebrated m errily N everth eless for some n ot ,

 W e r the r 183

very clear reason G oeth e an d H erder c ame in to such ,

str ain ed r el ation s t h at all in t erc our se b etw een th em c eased

,

for a lon g tim e A few days after H erd er s weddin g M erck ’

.
, ,

as a memb er of the suit e of L an dgr avin e K arolin e start ed ,

on a j ourn ey t o St Petersburg which kep t him aw ay from .

,

h ome for the remain der of the year while his wife wen t t o ,

her relativ es in S wit z erl an d An d fi n ally ab out the sam e .

, ,

time K est n er an d L ot t e were still f arth er r em ov ed from ou r

p oet up on takin g up th eir resid en c e in H an over Such of .
.

G oethe s frien ds as were left in Fran kfort the eld er Schlos

’

ser H orn Riese Krespel an d his sist er the t hree Gerocks

, , , , ,

the two Mil n ches an d oth er s m ean t n o m ore t o him th an a

, ,

sligh t en h an c em en t of his soc ial pleasur es Of m ost value .

t o him still was his moth erly frien d Fr aul ein v on Kletten ,

b erg who in spite of his b ack slidin g h ot t o b e sure

, ,
—
, ,

int o in fidelit y b u t in to a l ack of pos it ive Christian b elief

,

still loved him c ordially b ec au se fr om his pr of ou n d t oler ,

an c e an d his symp at h etic apprec iation of t he t ru e orth od ox

p osition she was led to hope that he would yet fin d God in
Christ H elpful as an exch an ge of Opinion s with this
.

charitable an d clev er frien d m ay at times have b een ,

her heaven c en t red soul was an in adeq u at e soun d in g

-

b oard f or his th ousan d p assion ate emotion s lon gin gs an d , ,

ac tivities .

Bu t the m ore k een ly G oeth e felt th at the circl e of his

d earest frien ds was growin g n arrow an d un resp on sive the ,

m ore he built up his own in n er life As he c overed the .

walls of his room with Raphael s heads an d filled it with ’

Greek busts so he p eopled his imagin ation with a gallery of

demigods heroes an d an gels from Prometheus Caesar
, , , , ,

Mah omet an d F au st to L otte an d in silen t in terc ourse

, , ,

with their spirits was able t o satisfy the manifold n eeds of

his h eart .

The an gel L otte justly triumph ed over the d emigods

an d her oes F or t he fascin ation wh ich she had ex erted
.

over him had n ot c eased with his d ep art ure from Wet z lar ,

— in f ac t it had n ot even m od er at ed
~
,
The refreshin g pic .

t ure of her m aid en ly ch arm s rem ain ed ever b efore his eyes .
1 84 t he l ife of G oe the

H e was drawn toward her by an alm ost un c on trollable lon g

in g . When I c ome to the Friedb erg Gate it seem s to m e as
“
,

if I sh ould h ave to c om e to you he exclaim s six weeks

”
,

after his d ep ar tur e fr om Wet z lar An d wh en in N ovemb er .

, ,

his broth er in law goes t o Wetz lar on busin ess he wan

— -
,

ders b ack the p erilous path an d remain s there three days .

On the last even in g he still had detestable th oughts of su

”
ioide I t was tim e th at I wen t he said in a letter t o
“
,

K estn er In Fran kfort he seeks to c ompen sate himself for

.

the loss of the real L otte by her silh ou ette which he has ,

fasten ed to the wall of his room I just said good night .

“
-

”
t o L ot te s silh ouette
’
(S eptemb er 5 B efore I 2 ,
“

wen t to din ner to day I greeted her pic ture c ordially ( Oc

-
”

tob er 8 th) Yesterday even in g dear Kestn er I c on versed

.
, ,

with Lotte an d you for an hour in the twilight

I was feelin g my way t o the d oor my hand
t ouch ed p ap er it was L ott e s silh ou et t e
’
.

I assure you it was a pleasan t sen sation I gave her a most

, ,

”
hearty greetin g an d wen t on (Dec emb er 1 sth) B efore .
“

goin g to b ed I feel like biddin g you good n ight an d sweet -

,

L otte t oo to wh om I have already said good morn in g an d

, ,
-

good even in g a great man y times to d ay (J an uary

- -
1 1 ,

After Palm Sun d ay April 4 1 7 7 3 t he day of ,

1 , ,

Lotte s weddin g he in ten d s to bury her silh ouette Bu t

’
, .

it still h an gs there on the w all an d sh all h an g t h ere till I

On the 1 th of April he writ es : I cann ot yet un der

”
die . 0

stan d how it was p ossible f or m e t o g o away from L otte

”
.

H e asks her t o sen d him her brid al b ouquet an d wears it on ,

a walk t o Darm stad t An d so it g oes on ; an d it makes

.

b u t little diff eren c e th at L ot t e is the wife of an oth er an d

blessed with a child For I still see her as I left her
. .

As late as Augu st 1 7 7 4 we h ear an outburst of p assionate

, ,

adorat ion c alled f orth by t he visit of L ott e s childh ood

’
,

n urse You can im agin e how much the w om an was to

“
.

me an d that I sh all c are f or her If b ones of saints an d .

lifeless rags which have touched their b odies deserve

ad oration an d c areful preservation why n ot t he human ,

creature who touched you carried you as a child in her ,

 1 86 t he l if e of G oe the

him t h at diligen c e an d growin g in sight would ever make

an y thin g m or e of him ?

The appl au se wit h which the great public had greeted

Gotz migh t well h ave given him m ore assuran c e of the
v alue of his literary achiev em en t s Bu t while the roar of .

t his appl au se was st ill in his ear s he b egan to see d an ger ou s

t en d en c ies in t he pl ay wh ich he must av oid An d wh at .

was the applaudin g public t o him A herd of swin e as “ ”

?
,

he expressed himself in the vig orou s l an gu age of the S torm

an d S tress p eriod
— The public had hardly the f ain test
‘

c on c ep tion of the b est thin gs th at he had offered E ven .

the m ost c ap able of his imm ediate assoc iates were so far
away fr om him in symp athy t h at he occ asion ally felt him
self in t h at app allin g solitud e of which the greatest sp irit s

h ave ever at times or in some c ases p erman en tly b een

, , ,

c on scious When in 7 7 3 this lon esomen ess b ec ame m ore

.
,
1 ,

in ten se shrill cries of p ain d isclosed his ag on y

,
My p oor .

life is turn in g in to a c old b arren rock I am wan derin g

, .
”

in d esert s wh ere th ere is n o water ; my h air is the on ly

”
sh ad e an d my bl ood t he on ly f ou n t ain .

A n d was it n ot t o b e exp ec t ed t h at d esp air sh ould at

t im es lay h old of him ? Th ose he l ov ed he c ould n eit h er
p ossess n or en j oy wit h out restrain t or guilt I n fact he .
,

t resp assed if he ev en sh owed his l ov e ; his v ery existen c e

brought un h appin ess an d all un kn own to him c ast a , ,

blight on ten der soul s .

An d wh at were the c on dition s in his h ome an d in the

wid er circle of his frien d s ? An excellen t fath er b u t ,

p ain fully ou t of h arm on y with wife an d children ; a

sist er b etrothed to a n oble m an of fin e educ ation yet
, ,

with un c ertain prosp ec ts of t rue h appin ess I n other .

families m oreover he had from early youth seen m isfor

, ,

tu n e cr im e disc ord h at efuln ess of every d escrip tion ; an d

, , ,

in p olitic al circles n arrown ess selfi shn ess brib ery an d , , ,

c ow ardic e .

To crown all this he had a ran klin g realisation of the

fragmen tary n ature of his own kn owledge H e with the .
,

profoun d min d th at wished to pen etrate to the heart of

 We rthe r 18 7

h gs
t in ,
v r b ein g remin ded anew of the n arrow limita
was e e

t ion s of hum an u n d er stan din g .

C on c eive n ow th ese oppressive agitatin g torturin g , ,

th ough ts an d f eelin gs exp erien c es an d ob servation s at

,

work up on a most d elicately organ ised soul a prey to ,

violen t passion s an d sympathisin g with all man kin d N o

, .

won der that life seemed a burd en an d the world a prison !

H en c e it is we fin d t his highly favoured m an in the b est
years of his y outh en tertain in g th ought s of suicide * I .
“
,

”
t oo h on our such a d eed
,
he writ es Oc tob er 1 0 1 7 7 2 on
, , ,

rec eipt of the f alse n ews of v on Gou es suicide In Wetz lar ’

.
1
,

on the 9 th of N ov emb er he had very suicidal thoughts ”

, .

A n oble h eart a keen min d he says t o S ophie La Roch e

, , ,

at the en d of N ovemb er wit h refer en c e t o J eru salem s

’
,

d eath how easily they p ass from extraordin ary feelin gs

,
“

t o such d et ermin ation s an d life wh at n eed h av e I t o ,

-”

sp eak t o y ou of t h at ! I do this b ecause it will seem for

”

the n ex t few d ays as if you had in m e a laz y teach er For .

I am in a state of p erturb ation in which they say it is n ot ,

profi table to leave the world (to J ohan n a Fahlm er March

”
, ,

If on e s gen ius did n ot c on vert ston es an d trees

“ ’

in t o ch ildren on e would n ot c are t o liv e

”
, ( t o R Od erer ,

aut umn of If I still live I owe it t o y ou he

“ ”
, ,

writes N ovemb er 2 1 7 7 4 t o K estn er with referen ce to

,
1 , , ,

ev en t s in Wet z l ar I n G ou es dram a M asu ren in wh ich

’
,
.
,

the memb ers of t he Wet z l ar R ou n d T able are c opied is ,

foun d this c on versation :

F ayel [Gotter] : I see th at suic ide c ould also fin d a
place in your system .

Gatz [G oeth e] : An d wh at h av e you t o Offer in ob jec

tion t o it pr ay ?
,
Your c ommon plac es ?
F ayel G otz you are j okin g ; you will n ot kill y ourself
, .

Gatz : O n ly in c ase I were c old blooded en ough to -

t hru st a d agger in t o my h ear t

”
.

This agrees with G oethe s st atement in his autobiography ’

t h at in his Werth er p eriod he k ep t a well sh arp en ed d agger -

The gl rific ati o f d eat h ionP methe

o wr it t e i 7 7 3 i al n ro u s, n n 1 , s so

i dic ativ e f th i fr am e f mi d
n o s o n .
 t he Jl if e of G oe the
‘
188

lyin g b eside his b ed an d t ried repeatedly t o sin k the sharp

p oin t of it a few in ches in to his breast ; an d with wh at he
writes t o Zelter in 1 8 1 2 I kn ow righ t well wh at determ in
ation an d effor t it c ost m e at th at tim e t o esc ap e from t he
waves Of death Of c ourse all these waves of m elan ch oly
.
”

were on ly sporadic an d lasted b u t a few momen ts They .

were on ly d ark vein s run n in g through the white marble of

his soul n ot r amp an t weeds which fasten th eir roots in t he
,

sm allest cr ev ic es an d gr adu ally ov erru n t he m arble an d

crumble it t o p ieces Bu t fr om fear th at th ese momen tary

.

fit s of desp on d en cy migh t b ec ome m ore p erman en t an d

p erilous he felt the greatest n eed of curin g him self of th em ;
an d as alw ays a literary creation seemed t o him the b est
, ,

remedy .

J eru salem s d eath furn ish ed him the d esired plot Bu t

’
.

he was still un d ec id ed as to the f orm of the w ork At first .

he fav oured t he dram a b u t as t his seem ed imprac tic abl e,

he hit up on t he ep ist ol ary n ov el which had b een m ad e so ,

p opular by Richardson an d R ousseau an d which had some ,

dramatic features The w ork proc eed ed b u t slowly for

.
,

he still lacked the subj ec t ive elem en ts f or the sec on d p art .

Bu t soon a pain ful exp erien c e gav e him these Immediat ely .

aft er his d ep art ure fr om W et z l ar G oeth e had b ec om e a

close frien d Of the La Roch e family in E hren breitstein H e .

had visit ed t h em f or sev eral d ay s an d b ec ome v ery f on d of

Frau v on La Roch e an d in her oldest daugh ter M axi , ,

m ilian e an un c omm on ly b eau tiful girl he felt a growin g

, ,

in terest I n 7 7 4 Maxe as she was c alled by her in timat e

. 1 ,

frien ds was married to a rich widower Peter An ton Bren

, ,

tan o a m erch an t in Fran kfort already t he fath er of fiv e

, ,

children An d n ow the b eautiful youn g wife who had

.
,

Spru n g from on e of the m ost ch eerful b ell etristi c c ircl es in

on e of t he m ost l ov ely sp ots of G erm an y sat by the sid e

'

of an ugly dry wooden hu sb an d in a gloomy merc an tile

’

, , ,

house where on e had to m ake his way amon g oil b arrels

,

an d herrin g c asks U n der such c on dition s it was a con

.

solation f or her wh en G oet h e c ame an d as Merck m alic iously ,

remark ed c omp en sat ed her for the od our of oil an d ch eese

, ,
I 9 O t he l ife of G oe the

G oeth e s in tellectual c on stitution b u t somewhat more sen si

’
,

t iv e an d gen tle an d c on sid erably weaker

,
H is w eakn ess is .

n ot weak n ess in pr op or tion t o t he m or al str en g t h of ot h er

m en b u t solely in prop ortion t o t he trem en d ous p ower of his

,

p assion s ; for there is n othin g more stormy or imp assion ed

th an this man s h eart The v eh emen c e of his em otion s
’
.
,

pain ful as well as j oyful rises high ab ove the c omm on ,

place H is p assion s are n ever far from in san ity Lik e a

.
.

dream er he w an d ers ab ou t in the w orld an d it seems t o him

d ark or rosy acc ordin g to his own frame of min d H e
,
.

h at es ev ery thin g regul ar or m oderat e H e deligh ts in .

freed om from restrain t S torm an d S tress an d in ran tin g , , .

F or this reason he is an en emy of r egul ar c iv ic profession s .

T O him they are despic able occup ation s which can satisfy ,

on l y sm all an d v ain sp irit s Bu t wh oev er is en d owed with .

d ep th of ob servation an d feelin g sees an d feels the dis

cou rag in g d ifferen c e b et ween his own sm all n ess an d the

greatn ess of the un iverse the yawn in g chasm b etween ,

”
will an d can will an d m ay b etween imagin e
” ” ” “ “
, ,

”
an d kn ow b etween d esire an d p ossession
,
“ “
.

We are early filled with an xiety f or the future of this

high strun g m an who is n ow in t ears Of joy n ow in tears O f
-
, ,

p ain What will b e t he issue Of his st ruggle with t he h arsh

.

realities of life H is leisure givin g him opportun ity to

?
,

ob serve an d d issec t his in m ost feelin g s in creases the d an ger ,

which t hreaten s him .

T 0 b e su re he is h appy as yet I n the b eautiful m on th

, .

of May he has c ome t o a str an ge pl ac e With full delight .

he rev el s in bl oomin g n ature in H om er who like a cradl e , , ,

son g lull s his exc ited bl ood t o r est an d in assoc iat ion wit h
, ,

the c ommon p eople an d t he ch ildren Of the p oor who re ,

fresh his heart For with them is truth simplic ity in c or

.
, ,

ru pt n ess As yet his soul is as m erry as a sprin g m orn in g

.
,

an d wh en ev er the d ark cl oud s Of the world woe r oll ov er -

him he h alf smilin gly c on sol es him self with the sweet feel
-

in g th at he can l eav e t h is ear thly prison wh en ev er he will .

Thin gs go on thus from the b egin n in g of May till the middle

O f Ju n e Then at a b all he b ec omes acq u ain ted with Lotte
.
,
 W e r the r 19 I

the d aughter of Steward S an d his wh ole b ein g plun ges .

,

in to an ab sorb in g p assion for her H is h eart exult s It . .

d oes n ot worry him th at L otte is already en gaged ; Alb ert ,

her b etr oth ed is away an d h en c e d oes n ot exist in the

,

c on sciousn ess of the n ew l over A welc ome guest in the .

st eward s fam ily he d oes n ot let a d ay p ass w ith ou t c allin g

’

th ere . Lotte b ec omes to him as it were a sain t H e sees , , .

her refl ec tion in everyb ody who has appr oach ed her He .

would like to kiss a b oy who has ju st seen her At the en d .

Of July Alb er t arr iv es Werth er awakes from his dream life

.
-

an d d ecid es t o l eav e Bu t Alber t is a d ear g ood fell ow

.
,

an d n ot j eal ou s rej oic es on the c on trary th at Werth er is

, , ,

fon d of his fian c ee an d so Werth er wit h a th ousan d sophis

, ,

t ries sil en c es his frien d Wilh elm who urges him t o l eav e ,

t he pl ac e an d r em ain s
,
Bu t his t emp er gr ows w orse his
.
,

n ature wild er m ore distrac ted As b efore he w an ders

, .
,

ab out a great d eal in t he op en air b u t n at ure is n o l on ger ,

a pleasure t o him H eretofore the scen e of a b oun dless life

.
,

she has ch an g ed in t o t he aby ss of an ev er op en gr av e He -

.

rec ogn ises the h op elessn ess of his situation an d yet has n ot
t he st ren gt h t o d o an y t h in g b u t sh ed t ear s ov er t he d ark
future H e b egin s t o discuss suicid e
. I can see n o en d .
“

t o all t his misery b u t t he grav e he writ es t o Wilhelm on

”
,

the 3 o th of Augu st Wilhelm spurs hi m on again t o leav e

. .

F in ally he musters up hi 8 cou rage an d on the 1 1 th of “ '

Sep temb er he flees fr om the v olc an ic fi eld th at is c ov ered

ov er with so m an y ch arm s This is the en d of the first .

p art .

In the b egin n in g of the sec on d p art it is t he 2 o th of

—

Octob er we see Werther in an office H e has b een made .

an attachet o an emb assy H e is tol erably well S ep ara. .

tion fr om L otte an d regular w ork h av e c almed his over

wrough t feelin gs Bu t th ere is n o lack of vexation s to
.

excit e again his sen sitiv e n erves The amb assad or is a .

”
p edan t a pun ctilious fool an d as fussy as an old m aid
, ,

fin ds fault with Werther s free style an d requires him to ’

apply t he file t o his sen ten c es A legal p edan t he has n o . ,

u se f or beau x espri ts an d emph asises the c on trast b etween

-
,
192 t he t il e of G oe the

h im self an d Werther in un amiable ways Furtherm ore .

,

t he prid e an d stup id it y of soc iet y t he p ett y d istin c tion s of ,

r an k the h aughtin ess of the n ob ility Offen d Werther and

, , ,

he b egin s t o regret th at he has allow ed him self t o subm it t o

t he y oke Thus the year c omes t o an en d I n F ebruary
. .

O f t he f oll owin g y ear he l earn s of t he m arriag e of Alb er t and

L otte H e writes Alb ert a c ordial sen sible letter ; he on ly

.
,

wish es to keep the sec on d plac e in L ott e s h eart Again we ’

.

h ave h op es for him .

Then in the middle of March there occurs a vexatious

in cid en t which in sult s his prid e an d brin gs the disc omfort
of his p osition t o a cr isis H e is in vit ed t o din e with C oun t
.

v on C a great frien d Of his

.
,
I n the ev en in g the n ob ility .

arriv es ; Wer th er f orgets th at he is n ot on e of th em an d

remain s in the drawin g room wit h Fr aul ein v on B the -
.
,

m ost c on gen ial of his acquain tan c es un til the c oun t with ,

ap ol ogies c all s his at t en tion t o t he m iserabl e etiquet te

which deman d s his withdrawal The little in ciden t is .

circul at ed with exaggeration s his acquain t an ces ask him ,

ab ou t it Fr a ulein v on B is sc old ed by her aun t for asso

, .

ciat in g wit h VVert hen en ough t o in fl am e Wert h er s b it t er

’
—

w rat h an d driv e him t o t he d et ermin ation t o wit hdraw

from this c ircle H e h an ds in his resign ation an d in the
.

b egin n in g of May acc epts an in vitation t o visit a c ertain

prin c e Bu t graciou s as the prin c e is he has a mediocre
.
,

min d an d in his society Werther is soon dyin g of en n ui .

H e n ow f orm s t he plan Of goin g t o war as G oeth e m akes ,

F ern an d o H erman n an d E duard do in later works The

, , ,

prin c e disc ourages him an d it would have had t o b e m ore,

a p assion w it h m e th an a wh im f or m e n ot t o h av e b een ,

willin g to give ear to his reason s H e remain s till the en d .

of Ju n e Th en aimlessly foll owin g the dictation of his

.
,

h eart he return s to Lotte H e is given a frien dly welc ome

, .

by her an d Alb ert Bu t he fi n ds everythin g everythin g so

.
,

chan ged NO trace of the former world n o tin gling of his

.
,

f ormer feelin gs H is eyes are dry an d his brow c on tracted

.

with care H e sees in n ature a lacquered picture an d in

.

himself a dried u p sprin g E ven cheerful H omer n o lon ger

-
.
1 94 t he l ife of G oe the
O ssian The time of my fadin g is n ear the blast that shall
, ,

sc atter my l eav es To morrow sh all the trav eller c ome ;

.
-

he th at saw m e in my b eauty sh all c om e H is eyes will .

search t he field b u t t hey will n ot fin d m e he is n o lon ger

”
, ,

able t o c on tain him self I n c omplete d esp air he t hrow s

.

himself at Lotte s feet grasp s her han ds presses them to

’
, ,

his eyes an d again st his br ow An d L otte susp ec tin g his .

,

in n er struggl e b ows ov er him in sorrow

,
Then he em .

brac es her an d c overs her lip s with p assion ate kisses She .

pushes him away an d tremblin g b etween love an d an ger

, ,

hurries ou t of the room Werther sh oots himself the n ext

.

nigh t .

We h av e followed the inevit able developmen t with

b ated breath ; an d when the bullet puts an en d to the life
of the w eary w an d er er we t he c ool c orr od ed son s of t he , ,

tw en tieth c en tury are in clin ed t o m in gle ou r t ears with the

,

aged steward s an d kiss t he lip s of the d ep art ed

’
.

I n Werth er fell the n oblest an d purest Of human souls .

With in exhaustible love he embrac ed m an kin d an d sh ared

all th eir j oys an d sorr ows ; it was his great est d eligh t t o h elp
t he children an d the p oor : t o him as t o his S aviour th ey , ,

w ere d earest ; n ot hin g h ar sh or evil en t ered his breast an d ,

he shudd ered as he embrac ed L ott e t h ough b u t in a dream , .

H e surv eys the w orld with p en etrative sp ecul ation an d

glows with most gen uin e love for n ature an d all that is ,

great good an d b eautiful H en c e we love him must love

, , .
,

him d espite the fac t th at he is idle weak an d v acillatin g

, , , ,

Yet we excuse in him ev en th ese f ailin gs ; for we feel th at

his idlen ess d oes n ot sprin g fr om a disin clin ation t o w ork ,

b u t from a distaste f or w ork th at kill s the spirit an d yet

b ears n o fruit ; that his weakn ess is on ly the reverse of his
extrem e sen sitiv en ess ; an d th at his v acill ation c omes from

the pressure of in t en se p assion We are so litt le able to .

withdraw ou r symp athy from him th at we almost fear th at

we ourselv es with ou r m ediocre stren gth w ould soon er
, ,

th an he f all a vic tim t o such a storm of p assion ,

From his character fl ows the pl ot as the brook from its ,

sourc e H e mu st n eed s b e wreck ed on the r eefs of the

.
 We r the r 195

world n o matter wh ere he strikes them Wh eth er his

,
.

f eelin g of h on our is w oun d ed or he is v ex ed by the p ettin ess

,

of a sup erior or m artyred by an en d less h op eless love his

, , ,

d oom is sealed For it m ay b e said that even if he had

.
,

won p ossession of Lott e still he c ould n ot h av e b een sav ed

, .

H is soul w ould h av e g on e to piec es on the thousan d an d on e

oth er rough p lac es of life There is n o room in this world
.

for an id ealistic dreamer who ev erywhere dem an d s per ,

fection an d ab soluten ess an d yet with u n c ann y acuten ess

,

ev erywh er e disc ov er s imp erfec tion s an d limit ation s which ,

he feel s with extr aordin ary keen n ess who furtherm ore , ,

is n ot en gaged in an y produc tiv e ac tivity which migh t act

as a c oun t erp oise t o the disc ord s which torture his soul .

H en ce G oeth e rightly c alls the un toward motives which

lead to Werther s ruin mere in ciden tal sufferin gs th at
’

ov erthrow him af ter he has b een already u n d ermin ed b y

vision ary dream s an d sp eculation s The criticism th at .

G oethe sh ould h ave limited him self t o on e passion for ex—

ample un fortu n at e l ov e as a m otiv e for Werth er s suic id e

’
—
, ,

is wh olly with ou t ju stific ation The p oet was at lib erty to .

decide how man y passion s he would employ as in ciden t al

motives or rather how m an y he w ould elicit f om the
,
r

d ep th s of Wert h er s n at u re by m ean s of ex t ern al ch arm s

’
.

That he did n ot limit himself to on e red oun ds to his glory .

The p erson ality of the h ero c ame ou t all the more clearly
an d m or e fully an d his d ow n fall was the easier t o u n der
,

st an d Likewise it is a mark of the fin eness of Goeth e s ’

.

plastic art that he added to the love motive exactly the -

motive which n ext to love is m ost p owerful in the soul of a

, ,

m an v iz h on our an d self resp ect

, .
,
By this mean s he at the
-
.

same tim e m ad e it p ossible to pu t Werth er in t o an offic e

an d thus differen tiate him fr om a w eaklin g who makes n o ,

att emp t t o esc ap e fr om an un h appy p assion an d en gage

in serious ac tivity An d t h ere r esult ed the furth er adv a
. nt

age th at the n ovel is n ot all on e sin gl e ch ain of l ov e sigh s ,

an d th at a c on sid erable tim e a y ear an d a h alf

— passed
by b efore the n oble n ature of the h ero was un dermin ed .

The self d estruction of a rich an d n oble min d was a

-
I
9 6 t he l ife of G oe the

fr uitful motive b u t en tirely suited to en gross the in terest

,

of the r ead er on ly wh en m ad e the n ucl eu s of an in v olv ed

plot Goeth e n eglec ted this advan tage wh en he reduc ed

.

the pl ot t o the min imum By so d oin g he set him self the .

t ask of draughtin g in st ead of a ser ies of ev en t s a series of

, ,

soul p ortrait s from which t he d est ruc tion

-
of self mu st

follow as a n atural c on sequen c e F or the presen tation Of .

th ese p ortrait s he c ould h av e ch osen n o m or e ar tistic f orm

th an a m on ol ogu e in lett er s — a form which if c arried to , ,

t oo great len gth b ec om es wearisome H owever the

,
.
,

in terest n ev er fl ags for a m om en t ; on the c on tr ary t he ,

su sp en se an d pl easure are h eigh ten ed fr om l ett er t o l et t er .

What a wealth of life Goethe has pu t into this artistic

m ould ! We find ourselves n ow in n ature s broad domain ’

n ow by the kit chen fire in the Wahlh eim in n n ow at ,

the well n ow in the g arden of the p ar son age n ow in the

, ,

n ursery at the stew ard s n ow in t he brillian t drawin g r oom

’
-
,

of the c oun t n ow in the miserabl e vill age t av ern

,
We are .

t aken t hrough all the season s of the y ear an d through all

t he m ood s of n ature : the fl owery splen d our of sprin g the ,

glow an d fruitful abun dan ce of summer the melan ch oly fad ,

in g of aut umn an d t he rough st orm s of win t er ; in t he

,

bright sun shin e in t he light of t he m oon in the d arkn ess of

, ,

n igh t in fog ,
rain an d sn ow An d this all harmon ises
, , .

most effectively with Werth er s c on dition of soul ’

.

An d as we are attrac ted by the variety of situ ation an d

sc en ery so al so by t he div er sit y of fi n ely d elin eated t yp es
,

of m en wh ich G oeth e in spite of the un ev en tful pl ot has

, , ,

succ eed ed in creatin g With Werther the great master

.
,

piece n ext to H amlet the m ost p eculiar figure in the litera

,

ture of the world we h av e already b ec ome acquain t ed

, .

Con trasted with him an d his morbid quest of the highest

an d the fi n al is the b eaut iful figure of L ot t e wh ose h eal th , ,

cheerfuln ess prac tic al sen se an d c on ten tmen t in the little

, ,

duties of the h ome fill u s with a lively satisfac tion An d .

,

b eside these chief ch aracters the prosaic husb an d Alb ert ; , ,

a b elletristic prin c e ; a h augh ty n arr ow min d ed n ob ilit y ; ,

-

p edan tic officials ; good b u t prejudiced p arson s ; n oble ,

 198 t he l ife of G oe the

p eriods rushin g on in splen did c asc ades at the b eginnin g

, ,

of Werther (sec on d letter ) t o the l ast t erse lap id ary sen

t en ces which roll over the grave like t he rumblin g salutes

of c an n on t h is styl e c ap tiv ates an d agitat es ou r h ear t s
, .

If the effec t is still so great to day on e can imagin e what ,

it must have b een at the tim e wh en the work was the re

laxin g of a throbbin g ten sion the m ost p erfect expression ,

of t he w orld woe wh ich f or y ears had r eign ed in Germ an y

—
,

havin g grown up un der the in fluen ce of the melan ch oly

E n glish elegy the tirad es of R ousseau again st the cor
,

ru ption s of c ivilisation an d un der the in fluen c e of an in

,

ac tive life wh ich afford ed ample tim e for d isc ov erin g the
secret s of on e s own h eart an d the h ear t s of oth er s What
’
.

Goethe had suffered th ousan ds of oth ers had suffered

, ,

less in ten sely it m ay b e an d un d er fewer forms Bu t he

, ,
.

alon e had kn ow n how t o giv e divin e expression t o th ese

su ff er in gs .

M oreover the wid er circles who b ecause of regular

, , , ,

wholesome occup ation had n ot b ec ome vic tims of that

gloomy self torturin g p essimism were profoun dly affected
,
-

by the tragic simplicit y an d gran d eur as well as by the all

p ervadin g warmth of t he work The sch olar an d the lady .

i w aitin g t he c obbl er s appren tic e an d t he servan t girl

’
n —
, ,

alike c am e un d er the sp ell of this m ag ic Of the multitude .

of en thu siastic c ritiqu es let u s sel ec t b u t two What th ey .

say is wh at t he wh ol e r eadin g w orld t h ough t in on e form

or an oth er The Su ab ian p oet Schub art writes : l H ere I

“
.

sit wit h m el ted h ear t wit h t hr obb in g br east an d with ey es

, ,

sh edd in g t ear s of v olup t u ou s p ain an d tell you kin d , ,

reader that I h ave just r ead n o devoured my dear

,
— —
,

G oeth e s Di e Leiden des ju ngen Werther Sh all I criticise?

’
.

If I could I should n ot h ave the h eart E ven the goddess

,
.

Critic a herself stan d s b athed in tears in the presen ce of this

m asterpiec e of sen sitive human feelin g Shall I .

selec t a few b eaut iful p assages ? I c ann ot I t would b e .

like lightin g tin der with a burnin g glass an d sayin g : Be -

‘

h old m an this is the fire of the su n ! Buy the b ook an d

, ,
’

read it yourself ! Bu t take your heart with you ! I would

 W e r the r 1 99

rather b e p oor for ever sleep on straw drink water and eat , , ,

roots than n ot b e able to feel with the h eart of a writer of

,

such sen tim en t ill .

Bu t the Thurin gian p oet H ein se wrote : Wh oever has

felt and still feels what Werther felt fin ds wh en he tries to , ,

express it th at his t houghts v an ish like thin mist b efore

,

the blaz in g su n On e s h eart is so full of it an d on e s head ’ ’

.

is h eavy with tears O human life wh at a glow of sorrow .

,

an d joy th ou c an st c on tain ! There ever flow the

purest sprin gs of stron gest feelin g of love an d life in livin g
stream s of h olin ess u n defiled ev en wh en th ey swell t o ,

fl oods of highest passion Let every female reader take it .

up in one of her happy quiet hours when the tide of her ,

soul has ag ain reached the fl ood Receive my .

warm an d c ordial t h an ks th ou g ood gen iu s who h ast made , ,

a gift of Werthers Leiden t o n oble souls

”
.

A very few received the work with divided feelin gs or ,

with c ooln ess or h ostility ; these were chiefly the clergy an d

utilitarian s who feared dan gerous results * .

To fin d Lessin g amon g t he n umb er th ough he did n ot

7 4
,

fail to rec ogn ise the p oetic al merits of the work is t o u s an ,

un pleasan t di sc overy Bu t t o him t he (app aren t ) chief .

m otive a n oble youth takin g his own life b ecause of u n

,

f ortun ate l ov e was in itself odious an d he was in clin ed to

, ,

blame Christian civilisation for havin g produced such in

D O you for on e m om en t b elieve he writes t o
”
div idu als .
,

E sch en burg t hat ev er a R oman or Greek y outh t ook his

“
,

life thus an d for such a reason ? Certain ly n ot he “

,

add s We will n ot say Certain ly n ot with such a d egree

.
“

of assuran c e H aem on s ] suicide was n ot v ery differen t

’ L
.

from Werther s as Lessin g un derstan ds it Bu t this much

’
, .

r felt deeply offe ded by the exp ure f d elic at e

Lot t e an d K est n e n os o

d et ail t he p o ibilit y f mi i t erpr et i g t he

s, ss vel a d by t he ch ar acter
o s n n no ,
n

of A lb er t I t wa t ea y f G et h e t h eal t he w u d
s no H e c ar e
s or o o o n s

t hi g f t he p i i wr t e K e t er t a fr ie d i expl a at i
”
no n or f me o n on o n, o s n o n n n on

f G et h e i di cr eti t h er ef r e he c a t p t h im elf i t he pl ac e f
’
O o s n s on , o nno u s n o

th ose wh eit h er a
o n d are b e c n n or so

TS ph cle A ti g e A t v Sc e e
o o s, n E r aged a d grievi g f
on ,
c his n 1 : n n n or

murdered love he lew him elf C ,

— s s
 200 t he l if e of G oe the

we cangran t him : a p erson ality such as Werther s was ’

imp ossible in an tiquity I t is in d eed a produc t of m od ern

.

Christian civilisation I t required man y c en turies of a

.

previous developm en t which by mean s of fleein g from the

, ,

world turn in g away from material thin gs st rivin g after

, ,

h eaven ly h appin ess p en etratin g self ob servation an d ex

,
-

amin ation pr oduc ed a dep t h an d refi n em en t of soul life of

,
-

which an tiquity had n o c on c eption In German y it was .

pietism which a cen tury b efore Werther had fan n ed that

, ,

Christian m ovemen t toward subj ective study of the in

dividual to a n ew en thusiasm If then any cit y was .
, ,

predestin ed to b e the birthplac e of Werther it was Fran k ,

fort the b irthplace of pietism E ven if this spiritual

, .

developmen t brought alon g with the refin ement of the soul

life an effemin acy a tran sc en din g of the real an d man y a
, ,

form of dan gerous degen eration n everth eless it remain ed ,

the sourc e of great progress in human ity An d Lessin g .

would h ave rec ogn ised this immediat ely if he had rem em
b ered that the same man lin ess which did n ot take ,
”

un happy love tragic ally also had n o symp athy with the
,

lot of a slave or b arb arian while Wert h er pities every worm

,

which he un in ten tion ally crushes b en eath his feet I f the .

eigh teen th c en tury had d esired t o rear a m on um en t t o the

lon g process of civilisation which had furn ished man kin d

with a wh olly n ew d epth of feelin g an d kn owledge of the
soul ,
it c ould n ot h ave foun d a more pregn an t or more
b eautiful one than Werther An d from this stan dp oin t the
.

n ovel is a great hist oric al d ocumen t in a still broad er sen se

th an if it b e c on sidered m erely as the m ost faithful refl ec tion

of an imp or tan t m ood of t he t im e .

The storm 48
un chain ed lashed the sea to fury far an d
wide Floods of tears were sh ed over Werther s fate an d
.
’
,

m en sought t o thin k an d feel as he did S en timen tal .

youths adop ted his c ostum e (blue frock c oat an d yellow ,

waistc oat an d breeches) Youn g wives grew melan ch oly

.

ov er t h eir prosy hu sb an d s an d l on ged for l ov ers l ik e Wer

ther . Werther an d Lotte b ecame a theme of son g VVer .

t her urn s were set up The real sourc es of the w ork were
.
 t he l ife of Goe the

sat isfy these exp ectation s This he did b u t on c e afterward

.
,

an d t h en f or a much m ore restric t ed c ircl e wit h his F au st

, .

This too in its main outlin es as w ell as in its m ost b eauti

, ,

ful an d eff ec tive p art s was an outgrowth of the Werther

,

p eriod .
 AF TE R W E R TH E R

The liter ary lion — New producti a d rum ur of othe — Lavater and on s n o s rs

Ba ed w vi it r i G et h e h m e The t hr ee i E m
— Th eir ’
s o s o s n o s o n s—

j ur y t t e L wer hi e G eth e vi it the J ac bi R ec

o e n h R o — o — n o s s o s on

cl
i ia t i w it
on h t h m O h r ew acqu ta ce Vi it t Ju g
e — t e ai — n n n s s o n

St illi g M erry f ea t— G et h e a d Frit J ac bi i

n — s C l g e— A t
o n z o n o o n

h me g
o a ai Giga tic lit er ary c cep ti
n— — Aid give t
n ot h er on on s n o

writ er K l p t ck vi it Oth er vi it r By hi readi e t

— — ’
s— o s o s s s o s s n ss o

give fi a cial h elp t t h er G et h e b ec me i v lved i debt

n n o o s o o s n o n

D a M a iage pi el A
s —
r a Sibyll a M u ch — The pr i c e
s nn f Weim ar n n s o

a d n uit e i Fr a kf r t G eth e r ec ciliatio with Wiel a d

s n n o -“
o
’
s on n n

D eat h f Fr aul ei o Klette berg n v on n .

U ST as af t er a gen eral c on fession I again felt happy

an d fr ee an d had a n ew l ease of lif e SO G oet h e
”
.

describ es his c on dition after Werther With u n .

b oun ded joy as if he were a un iversity studen t again he

, ,

plun g ed in to the rushin g stream of life which b egan t o

surge ab out him in the summ er of 77 4 M an y w ho w er e 1 .

promin en t in the field of literature or sough t to b ec ome so , ,

n ot a few who en j oyed a c er tain d ist in c tion b ec au se of n obl e

‘

b irth or high official ran k together wit h a large n umb er of ,

the idle an d the curiou s appr oach ed t he f am ou s p oet in ,

ord er t o m ak e his acqu ain tan c e or g ain his in flu en c e In .

an ex trem ely sh ort tim e he had b ec om e a highly praised ,

p opular an d much talked Of p erson age F or what ever

,
- -
.

m ay h ave b een their attit ud e t ow ard him ev eryb ody had ,

t o c on fess eith er priv at ely or publicly th at he was t he

, ,

most imp ort an t ph en omen on in the in tellectual life of Ger

man y even b efore Werther had appeared The rev olution
,
.

ary cr eation Ga tz t he pr of ou n d b old imp assion ed r eviews

, , ,
26 4 t he l ife of Goe the

in t he F ran kfu rter farc es over

Gelehrten A n z eigen , the ,

fl owin g with wit humour an d exub eran ce of spirit the

, , ,

exquisit e soulful lyric s in ten d er an d in h er oic v ein an d

, , ,

t he plan s wh ich he was ev olv in g f or fur t h er w ork s had soon

ar ou sed ev en in d ist an t c ircl es adm ir ation n ot u n m in gl ed
, , ,

in c er tain quart ers with in d ig n ation H is pr oj ec ted com .

p osition s are men tion ed h ere with the rest b ec ause a great ,

d eal m ore of his work was k n own th an was prin t ed Of .

the f arc es C otter H elden u n d Wi elan d a sh arp sat ir e on

, ,

Wielan d s spiritless represen tation of the Greek h eroic

’

world an d his weak m oral c on c ep tion s had n ot app eared ,

un til E aster 7 7 4 n eith er had the Prolog zu B ahrdts n eu es ten

,
1 ,

Offen baru n gen Gottes ; b u t P ater Brey ,

D as 7 ahrmarktsfes t

zu P lu n derswei lern an d D as U n gluck der ? acobi s wh ich was

, ,

later lost en tirely had eith er lon g b een in circul ation or were
,

kn own by rum our The sam e was true of man y un published

.

lyric s an d p articularly of c ertain fragm en ts an d outlin es of

,

dramas Th ere was talk ab out a M ahomet a C asar a

.
, ,

Prometheu s an d a F au st which surp assed ev ery thin g th at

, ,

Goethe had ever achieved M oreover c opies of Werther .

,

had b een sen t r ou n d sin c e E ast er I n t he liv ely lit er ary .

in t erc ourse of t h o se d ay s n ew s p assed r ap idly fr om m ou t h

t o m out h an d m an u scrip t s fr om h an d t o h an d No won d er .

th at t he qu iet Fran kf ort h ou se with its c oat of arm s b ear ,

- -

in g the t hree lyres was a much sough t sp ot ,

-
.

The first prom in en t m an who in the summer Of 7 7 4 ,

1 ,

c ame from a dist an c e to visit him usherin g in week s of ,

exc eed in g joy was L av at er The p ious vision ary pr oph et

, .
,

c ame from his h ome in Zurich to seek t o restore his h ealth

at the min eral sprin gs in E m s H e an d G oeth e had already .

had som e c orresp on den c e Par ts of G oeth e s lit t le trac t

’
.
,

published the year b efore en titled Der Bri ef des P astors zu ,

an den n eu en P astor z u in wh ich tol eran c e

was pr each ed as a p ar t of f aith had m ad e a pr of ou n d im ,

pression on Lav ater B esid es the p oet had sen t him profiles
.
,

f or his w ork on physiogn omy an d fi n ally t he m an u scrip t , , ,

Of Werther .

E ach was g r
ea e to m eet t he ot e ; h r ea ch h op ed to
29 6 t he l ife of Goe the
O pp osite Bu t the two m en were so d eeply in terested in
.

t he n ewn ess of the id eas wh ich t h ey repr esen ted the on e on ,

p edagogy the oth er physiogn omy an d Christian mysticism

, , ,

t h at th ey easily ov erl ook ed m an y thin gs in each ot h er .

An d if B ased ow b ec am e t oo rad ic al L av at er br ough t him

b ack to reason by a c ordial Bisch gu et Be good ,

Goethe c ould n ot lon g en dure b ein g so n ear to these p eculiar

c elebrities an d yet sep arated from them On the sth of . 1

July he foll owed them to E m s an d n ow the three formed ,

the str an gest t riad th at c ould h av e b een br ough t t ogeth er

in G erm an y at th at tim e .

H appy days were sp en t together Lavater was n ot a .

d evotee ; with all his religion he was cheerful witty an d , ,

fon d of life Goethe was bubblin g over with merrimen t

. .

From early morn in g till late at n ight he was employed in

on e c on tin u al r ou n d of d an c es m asquer ad es ser en ad es an d , , ,

excur sion s M ean while he did n ot fail to learn what he

.

c ould fr om his two proph ets an d it actually h app en ed th at ,

durin g a b all on on e occ asion he quickly ran up stairs t o

see B ased ow b ec am e ab sorb ed in t he discu ssion of a phil o
,

sophic al pr obl em an d a h alf h our lat er was b ack whirlin g

,
-

ab ou t w it h his p art n er in t he d an c e .

On t he 8 th Of J uly t he t hr ee st art ed t oget h er on a j ou r

1

n ey t o t he L ower Rh in e Th ey trav elled by b oat first .

,

d own the Lahn While in sight of the Lahn eck c astle.

G oethe improvised the spirit greetin g H och au f dem d l -

,

ten Tu rme s teht Later he sp oke ab out di e K erls in den

.
“

Schlossern Th ey din ed in C oblen tz an d Goeth e pre

.
”
,

serv ed the m em ory Of the occ asion in t he exqu isite l it t l e

pic ture Din er zu K oblen z which in a few clever strokes

, ,

p ortrays his two proph ets b etween whom he sits as a child ,

of t he w orld .

Then th ey c on tin ued their j ourn ey to N euwied On the .

way G oeth e s in exh au stible p oetic vein yielded the in sp irin g

’

lyric du o Des K un stlers Vergatteru n g in which the master

, ,

c on soles the pupil who disc ouraged by the work of a , ,

gen ius lays asid e his bru sh

,
Y ou will b e a m ast er he .
“
,
”

say s ; your stron g feelin g of the superior greatn ess of this

“
 Elf te r We r the r 29 7

r
a tist sh ow s th at y our min d is like his I n the even in g .

t h ey lan ded at N euwied an d p aid a visit at C our t wh er e ,

t h ey were m ost h eartily w elc om ed On the 2 oth of July .

Lavater an d Goethe c on tin ued the j ourn ey At first they .

t ravelled by b oat Goethe in roman tic attire a grey hat

“
.
, ,

”
orn amen ted wit h a h alf wit h ered bun ch of d ear fl ow ers -
,

reads aloud from his Op eretta E lmire declaims an d v ersifies , ,

till they gradu ally draw n ear B on n Th ere they take a .

c arriage for C ologn e where th ey separat e Lav ater leaves

, .

the same day for Muhlh eim G oeth e for Du sseld orf wh ere , ,

he makes the acquaintan c e of two m en wh om he has l on g

av oid ed t he br others Georg an d Fritz J ac ob i
, .

I t was w om an s w ork th at c ompromised the m isu n der

’

st an d in g b etween G oet h e an d t he J ac ob is br ought ab ou t ,

chiefly by Georg s effemin ate fulsome an d self complacen t

’
, ,
-

m an n er On e of the woin en the youn g aun t of the J acobis

.
,

aun t y Dem oiselle J oh an n a F ahlm er had b een livin g ,

in Fran kfort for two year s an d by her ten d er em otion s an d ,

un c omm on ly well train ed in tellect had soon en deared her

-

self t o G oet h e An other was a c apable d augh ter of the

.

N etherlan d s Frit z J ac ob i s wife B et ty clever c ordial

,
’
, , , ,

cheerful realistic remin din g on e of a Rub en s figure The

,
.

t hird was t he t ru e h eart ed h alf sist er of t he J ac ob is L ott

- -
,

ch en who like her sister in law had fr om tim e t o tim e

,
- -

visited in Frankfort All togeth er gradually overc ame .

G oethe s dislike which so far as Fritz J ac ob i was con

’
, ,

c ern ed had very little foun dation With his ten der heart
, .
,

on ly t oo r eady t o m ake rich am en d s f or ev ery wr on g he had

d on e Goeth e n eeded on ly t o m eet Fritz J ac obi with his

, ,

fin e n ature an d d ep th of f eelin g t o t ak e him t o his h eart at

on c e In his en thu siasmhe writes t o Frit z s wife who is
’
.
,

aw ay fr om h om e : Your Frit z B etty my Fritz You

“
.
, ,

triumph B etty an d I had sworn n ev er t o m en tion his

, ,

n am e to his d ear on es u n til I c ould c all him as I th ough t

, ,

I c ould c all him an d n ow do H ow fine th at you ,

were n ot in Dii sseldOrf th at I did the simple b iddin g of my ,

heart Not brought in by a master of c eremonies an d in

.

trodu ced with ap ol ogies I fell righ t d own ou t of the sky ,

26 8 t he l if e of G oe the

b efore Fritz J ac ob i ! An d he an d I an d I an d he ! An d ,

b efore a sisterly l ook c ould prep are the way we were what
we sh ould an d c ould b e
”
.

I n the stren g t h en in g of the b on d of u n ion Sp in oz a was

n o sm all f ac tor G oeth e had rec en tly overc ome the pre
.

j udices earlier implan ted in him again st this philosoph er

an d had ju st r ead his E thi ca wh ere he had fou n d soot hin g ,

f or his p assion s an d acquired a br oad an d lib eral v iew of

t he phy sic al an d m or al w orl d Bu t wh at pleased him .

esp ecially was the in fi n it e u n selfishn ess wh ich sh in es thr ough

Sp in oz a s t eachin gs F or to b e un selfish in everythin g

’
.
,

m ost un selfi sh in love an d frien dship was his own h igh est ,

pleasure his maxim his prac tice Now Fritz J ac ob i was

, , .

likewise an admirer of Spin oz a an d was impressed with the

gran deur an d l ogic of his system which at the same time ,

s eem ed t o him to d em on str at e the lim it ation s of the u n d er

st an d in g The differen c e b etween his an d G oeth e s atti ’

t ud e t ow ard the Du t ch ph il osoph er m ad e it n ec essary f or

t h em t o c om e t o a mu t u al u n d erst an din g an d l en t an en ,

h an c ed charm to their in t erc ourse Furthermore Goethe .

,

had at th at tim e n ot p en etrat ed d eeply en ough in t o the m eta

physical b asis of Spin o ism an d on t he ot her h an d was too z , , ,

much given t o b elieve in thin gs b eyon d t he realm of sen se

n ot t o l en d a willin g ear t o the ph ilosophy of fait h by wh ich

J ac obi sought to tran scen d Spin oz a s p an th eism th at den ies ’

a p erson al ex tramun d an e God an d the freed om of the will .

In Pem pelfort Frit z J ac ob i s c oun try seat n ear Dus

’
-
, ,

seldorf Goethe m et the elder brother Georg ; also the

, ,

p oet H ein se wh ose Laid ion glowin g with sen suality had
, , ,

ch arm ed him ; an d V erthes wh ose emotion al life was half V

,

Wielan dian h alf Klopst ockian Goethe wh ose real heart

, .
,

was as b eautiful as it was rarely disclosed took the c ircle ,

by storm H ein se c alled him the youth of twen ty fiv e

.
“
-

geniu s might an d stren gth from toe to crown his h eart

, , , ,

full of feelin g his min d full of fire with the win gs of an

, ,

eagl e qu i ru i t i mmen su s ore profu n do

,
From Pem pel .

Cf H r ac e Ode 4 o 7 f im m,e q e ru it
s, pr fu
,
d Pi d
2, aru n su s u o n o n s

ore .
-
C .
2 16 t he l if e of G oe the

his human p owers as he says were h ere soun d ed an d all

, , ,

t he g ood n ess an d l ov e in his soul ev oked I n th is st ate of .

ec st asy he seem s t o h av e in dulged in rap tur ou s impr ov isa

t ion s b ef ore the p ain tin g I n sh ort Frit z J ac ob i was m ost

.
,

pr ofoun dly m oved by his word s san k on his b osom an d , ,

w ep t sacred tears The ev en in g was a w orthy en d to the

.

d ay . They were in the p arl our of the Gasth of z u m Geist ,

t he m oon r ose over the S ev en M ou n t ain s an d c ast its silv ery

sh een up on the sof t ly fl ow in g w at er s of the Rh in e G oeth e .

sat on t he table an d r ec it ed his n ew est r om an c es E s war ei n ,

Bu be frech gen u g an d D er K an ig i n Thu le with all t he m ore ,

expr ession as th ey had n ot yet b een sen t ou t in t o the w orld .

At mid n igh t he c alled J ac ob i ou t of b ed Th ey revelled in .

the full exch an ge of th ough t an d as J ac ob i list en ed t o ,

G oeth e s w ords it seem ed to him as if he were rec eivin g a

’

n ew soul I c ould n ot let you go he c on fessed f orty

“
.
,

years later with a ferv our as if he had just p assed through

,

the m em or abl e exp erien c e .

I n E m s G oet h e saw L av ater on ly f or a m om en t b u t ,

p assed c on siderable time with B ased ow I n the middle of .

August he was at h ome again t o the joy of his mother t o , ,

wh o m t he h ou se in his ab sen c e had seem ed as l on esom e as

if c omplet ely d eser ted .

A n ew an d more stirrin g life than ever foll owed H is ,

.

creative p ower an d his d esire to produc e which had arisen ,

t o such ex traordin ary h eigh t kep t him in a restl ess ac tiv it y

, .

On e migh t y subj ec t aft er an oth er he dragged in t o his

p oetic worksh op an d pl ayed with the great blocks of marble
as if th ey w ere p ebbl es C asar M ahomet P rometheu s
.
, , ,

F au st were still in h an d wh en he t ook up a n ew an d gig an tic

,

subj ec t D er ewige fi u de
,
I n a l on g drawn ou t epic a la
f
.
- -
,

H an s S achs as the survivin g fragmen t s sh ow he in t en d ed

, ,

t o f oll ow the wan d erin g J ew thr ough the c en turies tarryin g ,

at imp ort an t p oin t s in t he h ist ory of r eligion an d the

church an d in this way giv e a figurative presen tation of his
,

own attitud e t ow ard Christ ian it y an d t he church in a wit t y

an d grot esqu ely hum or ou s st yl e B eside th ese great w orks .

he had a hun dred sm all on es in h an d H is p oet ic al pro .

 Elfte r W e r the r 211

ject s an d i eas f d
oll ow ed him with ou t c easin g an d he mu st ,

Often h av e spru n g ou t of b ed in the middl e of the n igh t in

ord er to fix som e p oetic in spiration up on the first scrap of

p ap er An d as if he did n ot h ave burd en en ough of his

.

own he l oad ed h im self d own wit h t he w ork of oth ers f or ,

ex ampl e S al z man n s M oralis che A bhan dlu n gen L avater s

’ ’
,
.
,

P hysi ogn omi sche F ragmen te Jun g S tillin g s Leben sgeschi chte
’
-
, ,

an d L en z s writin gs
’
The mos t of the u n dertakin gs b e
. .

g u n at t ha
,
t t im e r em ain ed fr agm en t s N eit h er t im e n or .

st ren gt h was ampl e t o fi n ish t h em .

New guests arrived E arly in Oc t ob er c am e the m ost

.

h on oured lord of the German Parn assus Klop stock The , .

aut h or of the Zl[ essi as an d the Oden fulfilled G oeth e s expec

’
/

t ation s on ly in a m od er at e m easure F or he preserv ed a .

seriou s an d m easur ed d ig n it y an d av oid ed a d iscu ssion of

t he thin gs t h at wer e n ear est t o ou r p oet s h ear t n am ely

’
, ,

p oetry an d literature On the oth er han d he expatiated at

.
,

great len gt h on the subj ec ts of ridin g an d skatin g Goethe .

acc omp an ied him as f ar as Darm st ad t an d on his return

c omp osed in the p ost ch aise the Ode an Schwager K ron os a
-
,

grotesque eff usion of his restl ess lon gin g for ac tive life in ,

which he says he w ould rat h er drive you n g an d in t oxic at ed .

, ,

at t op sp eed t o h ell t h an gr ow grey at a sl ow t r ot Great .

Klop stock was f oll ow ed by his Gottin gen discipl es who ,

had already l ear n ed to admire G oeth e from afar b ec ause of

his f eelin g styl e an d his opp osition t o t he effemin at e m an n er
‘

of Wiel an d an d G eorg J ac ob i First of all B oie an d H ahn .

, .

B oie the editor of the M u sen alman ach after c orresp on din g
, ,

with Goethe for some time sp en t two days (Oc tob er 1 sth ,

an d 1 7 th) in Fran kf or t After the first day he wrote to his

.

family : A whole day sp en t all alon e an d un disturb ed with

Goethe with Goethe wh ose heart I S as great an d n oble as
, ,

his min d ! I c ann ot d escrib e the day ! I made him

read a great deal t o m e c ompleted works an d fragmen ts , ,

an d in ev ery thin g rin gs his origin al t on e his p eculiar f orc e , ,

an d wit h all t he oddities an d err or s ev erythin g b ears the

stamp of g en iu s H is D octor F au s t is alm ost fi n ish ed an d
.

seem s t o m e t he greatest an d m ost p eculiar of all ! Goethe ”

 t he Il il e of G oe the
‘
2 12

x r d a stron ger in fluen c e on Werthes who v isited him

e e te ,

on a j ourn ey t o S wit erl an d an d on t h is occ asion for t he

z ,

first time really b ec ame acquain ted with him as in Pem pel ,

fort he had b een obliged t o keep in the b ackgroun d I n .

B ern e he is still c ompletely c arried away by the impression

he has rec eiv ed This G oeth e he writes from there t o
“ ”
.
,

Frit z J ac ob i of wh om an d of wh om alon e I sh ould like t o

,

sp eak an d st amm er an d sin g an d ch an t dit hyr amb s wit h

y ou fr om t he r isin g t ill t he sett in g of the su n an d fr om the

settin g t ill t he risin g ag ain wh ose gen ius stood b etween ,

Klop st ock an d m e an d c ast as it w ere a rob e of sun shin e , ,

ov er t he Alp s an d sn ow c ov er ed m oun t ain p eak s -

him ,

self ev er b ef ore m e an d b esid e m e an d ab ov e m e t h is —

,

Goethe has so to speak risen ab ove all the ideals which I

, ,

had ev er form ed of t he d irec t n ess of feelin g an d ob serv ation

of a great g en iu s N ever b ef ore c ould I h av e given such
.

a symp at h etic ex egesis of t he feelin g of the disc ipl es on t he

way t o E mm aus which pr omp t ed t hem t o say : Did n ot
‘

ou r h ear t burn w it h in u s wh ile he t alk ed wit h u s by the

,

way Let u s m ake of him ou r Christ an d let m e b e t he

’
?
,

small est of his d isc ipl es H e spok e so much an d so w ell

.

wit h m e ; word s of ev erl ast in g life which as l on g as I , ,

breathe sh all b e my cr eed

,
Also the Swiss p ed agogue .
”

v on S al is the S tr asburg t h eol ogian Bl essig an d m an y oth ers

, ,

c ame to pay their resp ec t s to ou r p oet The n umb er of .

his frien d s in Fr an kf ort was in creased by the arriv al of

H ein rich Leop old Wagn er who settled th ere in the autumn
,

an d was at fir st well r ec eiv ed by G oet h e b ec au se of his m an y

g ood qualities .

Not all the visit s wer e free from a b it t er aft er t ast e As -

.

Goeth e s gen erosity an d good n ature were well k n own he was

’

t hr on ged b y p erson s in n eed an d adv en tur er s who b orr ow ed

,

m on ey from him or ask ed him to go th eir security H e .

unwillin gly an d very seld om refused an d thus he foun d

himself obliged t o in cur d eb t s t o his n ear frien d s ( La R och e ,

J ac ob i M erck ) which burd en ed him for years afterward s

, .

N either were his p aren ts always edified by the c on c ourse of

visitor s much as they were flattered by the fame of th eir
,
2 14 t he l if e of G oe the

of b egin nin g the life of a pater fami li as by the side Of youn g

Fr aulein Miin ch Not a trac e of p assion had she in spired
.

in him ; in all the letters of the year 7 7 4 th ere is sc arc ely 1

an ywh ere an y thin g to remin d u s of t he lovely in terc ourse

with this agreeable par tn er In the autumn the weak .

ch ain of flowers fell withered from his arms Bu t the year .

did n ot c om e t o an en d with out his f ormin g an oth er attach

men t which eleven mon th s later gave the m ost decisive
, ,

direction t o his life .

I t was on the r1 th of Dec emb er th at th ere arriv ed

in Fran kfort on th eir j ourn ey to Paris the two p rin ces of
Weimar K arl August an d K on stan tin with their suite
, , ,

C ount Gortz Captain v on K n eb el an d M aster of the H orse

, ,

Stein K ochb erg K n eb el who t ook a lively in ter est in litera

-
.
,

ture an d had him self m ad e som e literary attemp t s d id n ot ,

fail to seek ou t the auth or Of Werther an d in vite him to pay

his resp ec t s t o the prin c es G oethe was received by them
.

with much ease an d c ordialit y an d as M oser s P atrioti sche ,

’

P han tasi en ch an c ed t o b e lyin g on the table the c on v er sa

t ion turn ed t o the reform prop osals of th is patriotic p oli
t ician I t was n ot d ifficul t f or G oet h e t o win t he fav our
.
,

esp ecially of the clev er ac t iv e Cr own Prin c e K arl August

, .

H e was in vited t o follow t he prin c es t o M ain z wh ere t hey ,

were to take a few d ays of rest an d alth ough his father , ,

with his dem ocratic symp athies had a deep mistrust of any ,

kin d of in terc ou rse with prin c es yet by the in terv en tion of ,

Fr aulein v on Klettenb erg G oethe received p ermission to

acc ep t the in vitation In ciden tally this eviden c es Goeth e s ’
.

ob edien c e t o his fath er an d his rev eren c e f or him in Spite of

his own years an d fam e With K n eb el who had remain ed

.
,

b ehin d a day in Fran kfort in ord er to en j oy the b est of all

“

m en ,
Goethe followed the prin c es on the thirteen th an d
”

was again v ery c ordially r ec eiv ed When the c onversation .

drifted to recen t literat ure an d Goethe s satire on Wielan d

,
’

who was very p opular at the Weimar C ourt was discussed , ,

the prin c es felt obliged t o u se the opp ortu nit y t o prep are
t he way f or a r ec on c iliat ion b etween t he two p oet s an d th ey ,

p e r su ad ed G oet h e t o d ir ec t a c on c il iat ory l et t er t o Wiel an d .

 fitte r We r the r 2 1
5

G oethe was n ot inwillin g to do so F or after all he was .

, ,

f on d of Wiel an d an d had b u t h alf willin gly an d in ord er

, ,

t o g ive ven t t o a momen t ary an ger d ash ed off the satire ,

while Sittin g over a b ottle of Burgun dy an d then at , ,

t he urgen t r eq u est of his frien d s had giv en L en z in wh ose

, ,

han ds it th en was permission to h av e it prin ted Wh en

,
.

he had writ ten t he l etter he excl aimed sorrowfully as

, ,

K n eb el n arrates : Now I am again good frien d s with

ev eryb ody wit h t he J ac ob is with Wiel an d an d I d on t
’
—
, ,

like it at all Such is the n ature of my soul th at just as I

.
,

must h ave somethin g to which I can attribute for a time

t he id eal of exc ellen c e SO al so in t urn som ethin g as the
,

Obj ec t of m y ex tr em e wrath
”
.

Goethe an d the Weimar guests did n ot part with out

h avin g gain ed an en durin g apprec iation of on e an oth er .

Bu t in Spite of the fav ourabl e c ourse of the visit G oeth e s

’

, ,

father retain ed his mistrust an d declared that all frien dli

,

n ess of n obl e l ord s was m er e dissimul ation an d th ey w ere ,

p erhaps plan n in g some evil again st him “ith this con

l .

t in u ed differen c e of op in ion it mu st h av e sadd en ed G oeth e

all t he m or e wh en his goo d an d h elpful m ediat or F r aul ein ,

y on Kl et t en b erg who had SO r ec en t ly m ad e his j our n ey t o

,

M ain z p ossible was c alled away by d eath durin g his ab

,

Sen c e . H er h eaven ly life had c ome to a h eav en ly en d .

G oethe fel t th at in this kin d frien d Fran kfort had suffered

a sev ere l oss M ama he writes in a b itter mood t o
“
.
,

S ophie La Roche th at c alks a fellow s seams an d teaches

,
’

him t o h old his h ead straigh t — For myself I Sh all tarry

—

y e t a l it.t l e

O nly a few weeks an d all sad th ough ts were crowded

,

ou t b y n ew exub eran c e of l ov e an d life .

 XV II

L I LI

Goet h e s in t roduction
’
t o Lili SchOn em an n — Mut u al love— Diff er en c e in
t ei h r in t e llect ual an d so ia c l surr ou n d in g s— Goeth e s disc omfort in ’

t he SchOn eman n Saon — D e l

m i elle D elf by he chemi g bri g o s ,
r s n ,
n s

ab ut a u expect ed bet r th al —G et he awake t t he it u atio

o n n o o s o s n

a d l n g t b e free agai — The Cou t St lberg a d Bar on

on s o n n s o n

H a gwit i Fr a kf r t
u z G et h e acc mp a ie t h em
n n a j ur ey
o — o o n s on o n

t o S it erl a d The b i t er u
w — z St rm a d St r e
n t r av el l ero s o s o -
n -
ss s

Goet h e vi it hi i t er She urge him to di lve hi e g ageme t

s s s S s — s sso s n n
— The j ur ey t hr u h Swit erl a d — Lili ccupie hi t h u h t a d
o n o n o s s o n
g g z

keep him fr m g i g t t aly O the h meward j ur ey Zim

s I — o o n o n o o n

me ma r h w him a ilh uet t e f Frau

nn S o s St ei — F urt h er S o o v on n

i t erc ur e wit h Lili H e r el at iv e a d hi f at h er

n o s pp e t he
— r s n s o os

m arriag e— G t he aft r a evere t rug g le re lve t e d mat t er

oe ,
e s s ,
so s o n s
—H e acc ept a i vit at i t W eimar E mb arra i g i cide t
s — n n on o ss n n n s

c ected wit h hi d ep art ur e

on n s

T was prob ably on New Year s Day 1 7 7 5 th at Goeth e ’

, , ,

at the suggestion of a frien d made a visit t o the h ome ,

of Fr au SchOn em an n n ee D Orv ille Frau SchOn e ’ ’

.
,

man n who had b een a wid ow for twelve years was the
, ,

own er of a l arge b an kin g busin ess on the K or n m arkt ,

an d her family c on sisted of four son s an d on e daught er ,

E liz ab et h ( Lili) at t h at tim e in the middl e of her

,

sev en t een th year At the Schon em an n s G oeth e m et a

’
.

large c omp an y assembled for a private c on cert Very .

soon his atten tion was fix ed up on thegrac eful figure an d

the b eau tiful Soulful f ac e of the daugh ter of the h ou se

,
.

She sat at the gran d p ian o an d played with surp assin g

techn iqu e an d ch arm I stood at the lower en d of the “
.

pian o in order to b e n ear enough to mark her figure an d

216 l
218 ( the l ife of G oe the

her up erior qualities of h eart an d min d it grew t o fairest

s

fl ower Thus she b ec ame the creature of his in fluen ce

. .

Bu t the m ore she b ec am e so the m ore firmly she b ou n d her ,

l over t o her A violen t l ov e fever un kn own sin c e the days

.
,

in W etz l ar c am e up on him an d all his j oys an d sorr ows all

, , ,

his h ab its an d in clin ation s seem ed t o h ave b een submerged

in this on e p assion .

fibag ift aHeé bu Iiebteft , maé ,

morum bu bid) betriibteft ,

QBeg beiu 8 1913 uub beiue Stub ,

QM) mietamit bu uur bagu ?

Steigeuber ift mit beé 8 rubliug§ Qi lute

Stun nicht auf ber {slur
28 0 bu (tugel tu f f
t
,
i t Q ieh unb (Si me , ,
’

9330 bu bift Staturfi ,

‘

Bu t t he h appin ess which he en j oyed was n ot un alloyed .

Such c ompletely h appy h ours as he had sp en t by the side of

L ot te an d Friederike c ame seld om an y m ore Not through .

t he f ault of Lili who was as n obl e t ru e an d pure as eit h er

, , ,

of t h em an d surp assed t h em b ot h in in t ell ec t u al en d ow

m en ts Bu t her surroun din gs were foreign an d at times

.

even odiou s t o the p oet .

H e was accust omed t o m ov e in the circl es of sch olars ,

ar tists cl ergym en an d offic ial s where he fou n d a c on gen ial

, , ,

in t ellect ual atm osph ere an d was c on sc ious of a symp at h etic

,

appreciation of his n atur e An d even in th ose fam ilies .

wh ose h ead s had n ot b een an oin ted with acad emic oil such ,

as the Schon k opfs an d t he Buffs he had felt the r efreshin g ,

Gon e is all t hy f orm er l ov e ,

Gon e wh at sorr ow s so urc e d id pr ve

’
o ,

Gon e r ep ose an d t oil s d elight

’

Oh w at
,
h br ugh t t h ee t thi plight ?
o o s

Not m re ch armi g i t he ver al bl w

o n s n o

N ow up t he lea ;
on

L v e a d ki d e
o n a e wh er e t h u d
n n t go ss r o os ,

Nat ur e i wit h t h ee
s
2 20 t he l ife of fi oetb e

58 m icf) 6 nod) beu bu bei in bid Eitbteru

’

iIu bem ® pieltifcb biiltft

’ ?

Sit in uuertui glicbeu ® enc bt

’

eru

(Siegeuuberftcllft 2
‘

If he v rt heless overc ame his dislike an d submitted

,
ne e ,

t o all t he c on v en t ion alities imp osed by t he f amily an d

soc iet y t his is a pr oud t est im on ial t o y ou n g Lil i s w or t h f or
’

, ,

at ot h er tim es he f oll ow ed t he cu st om s of n o m an
“
f or ,

which reason he was n ickn am ed by his frien ds the B ear t he ,

Huron an d the I n dian She was t o him the rose for wh ose
,
.

sak e he en dured the h eat h To b e sure he saw his l ov ed .

on e on t h ese soc iet y ev en in g s in an oth er an d a br illian t

light an d un c omfort able as th ese situation s were to him

, ,

still he w ould n ot f or a great d eal h av e b een will in g t o

forego the joy of n otin g Lili s social virtues an d rec ogn isin g ’

t h at she was qu alifi ed f or br oad er an d great er circles An d .

how d elic at ely an d d eft ly she c ould in d ic at e t o him in the

mid st of a social thron g t h at her th ought s w ere all with
E v ery l ook th at we in t erch an ged ev ery accom
“
him ! ,

p an yin g smile b esp oke a n oble feelin g of mutual in telligen c e ,

an d I w as ast on ish ed at t he mys t eriou s in n oc en t u n d er ,

st an d in g w hich ar ose b et ween u s in t he m o st hum an an d

m ost n atural way .

”

At the b egin n in g of sprin g Lili wen t to O ffen b ach to

visit her U n cle B ern ard an d the D Orv illes wh ose villas ’

, ,

garden s an d terrac es offered the l overs m ore desirable su r

,

roun din gs than the h ated c ity salon s H ere in rural free .

Wh er efore d rawest me ag ain st my will

I n t o t hy world brig h t so ?

D id my b m t wit h r ap t ure t hrill

o so no

I t he l
n e m e igh t
on so n ?

Th ere I dreamed f m a y a g lde h ur o n o n o

Of j y er e e a d bl e t ;
o s n n s

F elt t hi e imag e with pr ph et ic p wer

n ,
o o ,

D eep wit h i my br ea t n s

Am I t ill t he am e m id c e e
’
s a
g y
s s n s so

Wit h lig h t b ed a l ed eye

-
zz s

I w h m f t t h u d t i vit e t pl ay
,
o o o os n o

Wit h t h o e I d e pi e
s so s s ?
 l ili 221

d om wh ere n ob ody deprived the p oet of Lili s c omp an y

,
’
,

where n o mists ob scured her bright ch arm s his l ov e grew ,

t o ev en great er w armth Yes Au n t he wrot e t o J oh an n a

”
.
, ,

F ahlm er early in April she was as b eau tiful as an an g el

,

an d h eav en s how much her b eau t y is surp assed by

,

her g ood n ess ! H e p asses blissful d ay s by her sid e

” “
It .

was a st ate of which it is writt en I sleep b u t my heart , ,

wat ch es the h ours of light an d the h ours of d arkn ess were

al ik e ; the ligh t of day c ould n ot ou t shin e t he ligh t of l ov e ,

an d the gl ow of p assion ch an ged the n igh t in t o the clear est

d ay H e b egan t o b eliev e t h at this tim e his wan d erin g
.

h eart had foun d a restin g plac e I t l ooks as if the thread s

-
.

by which my fate h an gs an d which I h ave so l on g b een ,

t wistin g an d u n twistin g in regul ar r ot ation w ould fin ally ,

un ite (to H erder M arch 2 5

”
, ,

The E aster fair c am e in the middle of April an d br ought

Dem oiselle Delf fr om H eid elb erg an en ergetic busin ess ,

woman who for years had b een a frien d of the Schon e

,

m an n s an d had kn own an d lov ed Lili from her youth As .

she had l on g seen t hr ough the situ ation an d was c on vin c ed

t h at t he l ov ers wer e suit ed f or on e an ot h er an d t h at it was ,

prop er t o brin g the roman tic l ove makin g t o a practic al —

c on clusion she set t o work n egotiated wit h Goet he s

, ,
’

p aren ts an d Lili s m oth er an d after she had rec eived their

’
,

c on sen t cam e in t o the r oom on e ev en in g t o Goeth e an d

,

Lili an d said : J oin han d s ! I was stan din g in fron t of ” “

Lili G oethe n arrat es an d h eld ou t my h an d ; she n ot

,
”
, ,

in d eed h esit atin gly b u t still sl owly l aid h ers in m in e

, , ,

After a l on g deep breath we fell with great em otion in to

,

each oth er s arm s If my l oved on e had b ef ore

’
.

seem ed t o m e b eau tiful graceful attrac tiv e she n ow ap

, , ,

p ea re d a w o r t hy an d sup er ior b ein g S he was so t o s p eak .

, ,

a d ouble p erson ; her grac e an d l ov elin ess w ere n ow m in e ,

— t h at I f el t
as b efore ; b u t her dign it y of ch aract er her ,

self r elian c e her tru stw orthin ess in ev ery way rem ain ed
-
,

her own I b eh eld this I u n d erst ood it an d rej oic ed in it as

.
,

in a c apit al the in t erest of wh ich I sh ould sh are with her

as l on g as I liv ed Thu s the b on d was sealed
”
. .
222 {the l ife Of Goe the

S olemn ly an d yet roguishly the grey haired p oet add s -

t o his n arr ativ e : I t was a str an ge decree of ov errulin g

Pr oviden c e th at in the c our se of my sin gular life I t oo
, , ,

sh ould exp erien c e t he f eelin g s of on e who is b etroth ed

”
.

Bu t the pleasan t t en d er satisfied f eelin gs wh ich he had in

, ,

min d van ish ed with surprisin g swiftn ess H ardly had the .

rin g b oun d him when he w ould have liked to file it off .

E v en ts t ook the sam e c our se h ere as in the c ase of Fried er

ike . O n ly the greater the d an ger the h arder the struggle .

“
I should b e a fool he had exclaimed a few weeks b efore,
”

t he b etr ot h al in Stella u n d er t he m ask of F er n an d o

, to
, ,

all ow my self t o b e fet tered This c on dition [wedlock ] .

st ifles all my p ow ers ; t h is c on dit io n r ob s my soul of all it s

c ourage : it shuts m e in I mu st get ou t in to the free .

w orld The storm of his d esire for lib erty seiz es his ship
.
”

of lif e an d c asts it aw ay from t he h av en of d om estic h app i

n ess t o which it had j u st c om e n ear an d ou t ag ain in t o

, ,

t he wid e sea (t o H erd er May I must get ou t , ,

in t o the fr ee w orld was his fir st clear th ought after the

”
,

b etrothal .

Th en just in the n ick of time th ere c ame to his h om e

, ,

ab out t he middle of M ay t he fi ery disciples of t he Got tin g er ,

H ain the two c oun t s Christian an d Friedrich S tolb erg on

, , ,

t heir way t o Swit z erlan d Th ey were j oin ed in Fran kfort .

by th eir frien d B aron Kurt v on H au gwitz later Prussian

, ,

min ister all of th em en thu siastic admirers of G oeth e Th ese

,
.

c omp an ion s all overfl owin g with youthful spirits an d

,

id ealism sp en t h appy h our s of ex al ted f eelin g with G oeth e ;

,

an d Frit z S t olb erg at t h at tim e m or e or less rev olu tion ary

, ,

rec ited some fearful stroph es in which he c ooled his hatred

of t yr an t s in t he bl ood of t yran t s Frau Goethe who was .
,

c all Frau Aja after the m oth er in the n ovel Die vier H az
’

m on ski n der was aston ish ed at the terribl e outburst s of

,

an g er ov er the tyr an t s She had sc arc ely ev er h eard of

“
.

t yran t s her own son n arrates j okin gly ; she on ly re

” “
,

memb ered th at she had seen in Gottfried s Chronicles pic ’

t ur es of such in hum an creat ures An d in ord er t o giv e a .

harmless turn to the ragin g hatred of tyran ts she brought ,

 2 24 t he l ife of (Boetb e

h eart S al man n ; h ere in his in n oc en c e he c ordially em

,
z

brac ed Len who in the in terven in g years had plotted

z ,

m an y an in trigue again st him ; h ere he also m et the prin c es

of M ein in g en with wh om he had previously b ec om e ao
,

q u a in t ed o n t h eir v isit in Fr an kf ort ; b esid e t h ese a w id e ,

circle of old acquain t an c es an d frien ds who m ad e it h ard ,

f or him t o l eave t he d ear cit v Aft er a stay of fiv e d avs he .

proc eed ed to E mmen din gen to visit his sister who was ,

lon gin gly aw aitin g him while his c omp an ion s remain ed in ,

S trasburg 5
. S in c e her m arriage in N ovemb er 1 7 7 3
2
, ,

broth er an d sister had n ot seen each oth er F or the first .

tim e he was t o see her in her h om e surr ou n din gs H is .

h eart was h eav y H e kn ew t h at she was n ot h appy an d

.
,

he did n ot k n ow how t o h elp her N eith er she n or her

’

hu sb an d c ould b e justly reproac hed for the un satisfac tory .

c on dition Corn elia had b een accustomed to a varied an d

.

cultured soc iety to a con st an t str eam of r efin ed in t ellec t u al

, ,

en j oym en t s an d t o an u n in t errup t ed r efr e

,
shin g symp a , ,

thetic in t erc ourse w it h her br ot her ; an d n ow she was b ou n d

t o a hu sb an d wh ose exc ell en c e she c ould n ot b u t h on our ,

w h ose z eal f or his pr of ession l eft her much al on e an d wh ose ,

grav e an d severe man n er disc ou raged rat her t h an pro

m ot ed fran kn ess in he A n d b esid es th ere prev ailed in r .
, ,

t he lit tl e ou t of the way pl ac e an atm osph er e of t ediou s

— - -

m on oton y Physic al ailm en ts h elp ed t o m ake ev erythin g

.

seem t o her m ore d reary t h an it r eally was C on sequen tly .

she sp ok e v ery u n f av our ab ly of her broth er s en gag em en t

’
.

She th ough t t h at Lili t oo with the differen c e of n atu res an d

, ,

h ab it s of the two families would fin d n o h appin ess in ,

married life an d th at it was acc ordin gly her broth er s dut y ’

t o preserv e her an d him self fr om such ill f or tu n e H er .

urgen t app eal fell on un willin g ears For alth ough G oeth e .
,

had un d ertak en t he j ourn ey in ord er gr adu ally t o effec t his

release from Lili yet he had b egun to feel at the first step
,

how v ain it is f or l ov e t o flee fr om l ov e On the last d ay .

of his visit in E mm en d in g en on the st h of Ju n e he writ es , ,

t o J oh an n a F ahlm er : I still feel th at I h av e failed in the

“

chief purp ose of my j ourn ey an d wh en I return it will b e

 1 111 22
5

worse with t he b ear than b efore ‘

Thus he goes on
’
.

l osin g himself in the world wen d s his way through the ,

Black Forest t o Schaffh ausen then ce to Zurich where he , ,

again j oin s the S t olb ergs an d H au gwit z H e sp en d s a w eek .

in Zurich en j oy s his in t erc ourse w it h L av at er discu sses

, ,

wit h him t he con tin uat ion of his Physi ogn omische F m g
m eme an d d el ight s in t he w on d erful l an d sc ap e ab out t he
,

c ity H e was greatly rej oic ed ov er his p erson al acquaint

.

an c e w it h Pf en n in g er L av at er s w arm heart ed c oll eague

’
-
, ,

w it h whom he had already had some c orresp on d en c e an d ,

o v er t he arriv al of two yo u n g Fran kfort frien d s Passav an t , ,

a t heol ogian an d K ay ser a mu sic ian

,
The way was pre , .

p ared for a c ordial frien dship wit h t he in tell ectually pro

m in en t Frau B ab e Schulthess b u t his v isit s wit h v ain old ,

B odmer led to n ot hin g b eyon d cool salut ation s .

I n t he assembl ed group of frien d s l ib erty frien d ship l ov e , , ,

p oet ry win e an d n at ure produc ed a wav e of jub ilat ion t he

, , ,

height of which we can measure by t he p ages of Goethe s ’

diary On an excursion of t he whole c omp an y on Lake

.

Zurich he mad e t he en t ry u n d er t he d at e of Ju n e 1 5 th:

S bue QBeiu fauu é uué auf Q rbeu

’

glimmer mie breibuubert [ © ii ueu] merbeu ;

Dbue QBeiu uub obueQ8 ciber
$ 0! ber t
f eufe! unfreEeiberfi ‘

Aft er t his anot her memb er t eased him in t hese insip id lin es :

Q em QBoIf bem tu it! ) t ie! bobreu

’

, ,

{Daburc i f e b
bf g r ar ut g ib
ec oreu ;
9 a fitt er mm but arme(abut , ,

ll ub fl
ebt t rbarm uu g non bem 65 m “
We wer e n ever ,
b u t f or win e ,

Me rry hr hu dred wi e
as t ee n s n

r
N 0 m o e win e w m e m re
,
no o n o ,

D evil t ak e we impl r e !
u s, o

TA m erry j k e o W lf I pl
on ay ed o

A d m t c
n os ummat ely him flayed ;
on s

The wr et ch ed h eep mu t s w e tr eat s no n

C mp a i at t he C u t y feet ’
o ss on o n s
V OL 1 —1
5
2 26 t he l if e of G oe the

There are sev en ot her st an z as on t hese p ag es in which

t he j olly c omp an ion s sp in ou t t heir burl esqu e f an cies t o
giv en rhymes Bu t in t he mid st of t heir exub erant pran ks
.

t he p oet fall s in t o sweet dr eams an d m emories The image .

of fair L ili arises b efor e him :

Qlug meiu Qlug mat unfit bu uieber

’ ’

, , ,

® nlbuet riiume tommt ibr wieber ,

H e tries t o b an ish her s p irit :

28 8g bu St aum in (fiolb bu biff, ,

g m aud) Q ieb unb Bebeu h

u
“

Bu t n ot hin g dream away The b arque

can driv e t he .

lan ds at R icht erswyl an d he goes wit h the wild b an d to

,

E in sied el n
.
5
From the summit on t he sout hern shore of
3

L ake Zurich he c asts his eyes on c e more ov er t he green

l ake t he dark forests t he shimmerin g vill ages an d t he
, , ,

silv ery A lp in e p eak s H is eye is in t oxic at ed b u t from

.
,

his h eart arises t his s1gh :

Qfieuu id) IiebeBili bid) nid) i Iicbte

, , ,

QBeld u ll ouue gii b mir bieier QSIid !

’

ll ub bod) menu id) Bili bid) uid) t Iiebte,

, , ,

fit tir , maél miir meiu G SIud PI

’ ’ ’

I n a pl easan t humour he wrote ab ove t hese v erses in his

diary t he titl e : View of t he Lake from t he M oun t ain
“
.

See t he priv at e archiv es of t he p oet u n d er t he l et t er L

”
.

The frien d s reached t he abb ey of E in sied el n in good

t ime an d t he p oet s eye was esp ec ially c ap tiv at ed by a
’

most artistic ally wrought littl e serrated crown in t he

t reasur e chamb er H e b egg ed p ermission t o p ick up t he
.

Ey mi ye why t b eh ld
e, ne e ,
no o ?

C m e y b ack ye dr eam
o f g ld ?
e ,
s o o

T O t t h
u u dr e
,
am ! t h u goh g ld t h u b e; o o o

H r e i l v e a d lif e f
e s m o n or e

i D ea r e t Lil i if I d i
sd t l v e t h ee ,
no o ,

Oh wh at r ap t ur i a c
,
lik t hi ! e n s en e e s

Y et w t Lil i if I d id
,
s t l v e t h ee
ee ,
no o ,

Wh at wh at wer e m y bli,
ss ?
2 28 t he l ife Of (Beethe

I n t he diary sket ches we can already rec ognise t he outlin es

of M ig n on s d escrip t ion of t he way ov er t he Alp s
’
L ittle .

st rip s of l akes an n ou n c ed t he summ it of t he p ass ; t he

H osp ic e looming up ou t of t he mist assured t hem t hat
, ,

t hey had reached t he g oal E arly t he n ext m orn in g it .

-

was t he 2 d of Jun e G oet he hast en ed a litt l e distan c e

2 —

down t he road t hat led t o I taly in order to sket ch t he ,

lan dsc ap e Passav ant urged him t o follow t he road on to

.

Italy un rollin g b efore him a f ervid p icture of all t he b eau

,

t ies t hat aw ait ed t hem t her e While he was in Zurich .

Goethe had t hought of d oin g so Bu t Lili had drawn him .

b ack more and more p owerfully ev ery day The n ext day .

was her b irt hday ; an d should it see him goin g fart her an d
fart her away from her H e was ov ercome wit h emotion
? .

A little gold en heart t hat he had received from her in on e of

t h eir h app iest hours still hu n g warm wit h l ov e ab out his
n eck . H e grasp s it kisses it an d we can feel his d eep
, ,

emotion in t he t ouchin g st an z as : Token t hou of j oys “

for ev er gon e et c H e arises qu ickly an d hurries b ack t o

, .

t he summit as if he w ere in dan g er of b ein g dragg ed on

,

down by his frien d They retrac e t heir st ep s as far as .

V it z n au .Then t hey g o v ia K ussn acht an d Zu g t o Zurich ,

where Goet he devotes himself again chiefly to Lavat er ,

whose Physiogn omis che F m gmen te offer in exhaustibl e m a

t erial for discu ssion After ab out t en days he starts home
.

full of t he extraordinary impression s he has receiv ed b u t ,

Wit hout an y en t husiasm for Swiss lib erty 5

which in t he ,
4

min ds of German yout hs his own frien ds n ot exc epted , ,

ord in arily form ed t he most b eau tiful p art of t he sen t im en t

conn ect ed wit h a Swiss j ourn ey H e had sought in vain .

for t his l ib erty The ret urn home was v ia B asel S trasburg
.
, ,

an d Darmst adt I n S trasburg he mak es his t hird p ilgrim

.

ag e to t he great c at hedral which mov es him t o a pray er ,

of c on f ession praise an d w orship

,
The sol emn p salm con
, .

t ain s some won d erful st rain s of sublime p ict ures of t he Alp s

an d l ov e of L il i H ow oft en has t he m ist roll ed away
“
.

from my eyes an d y et t hou hast b een steadfast in my heart ,

all p erv adin g l ov e!

-
Thou [the cat hedral] art on e
 Il ili
‘
22
9

an d livin g con c eived an d developed to maturity n ot a con

, ,

glom erat e of p at chwork I n t hy presen c e as in t he presen c e

.
,

of t he f oam in g ru shin g fall s of t he m ight y Rhin e as in t he

, ,

presen c e of the gl eamin g sn ow crown of t he et ern al Alp s as ,

in t he presen c e of t he seren e exp an se of t he l ak e an d t hy ,

cloud en v elop ed rocks an d b arren v all eys grey Gothard as

-
, ,

in t he presen c e of ev ery great t hought of t he cr eation t here ,

is arou sed to ac tion what ev er of cr eativ e p ow er t here is in

t he soul I t w ell s up in p oet ry an d in st raggl in g l in es
.

st ammer s ou t w orship t o t he Cr eat or ev erl ast in g l if e com , ,

prehen siv e in ext in guishabl e appreh en sion of H im who is

, ,

an d was an d ev er shall b e H e is happy t o look d own

”
.

from t he height toward his fath erlan d toward his lov e

“
, .
”

I n S trasburg on his retur n Goet he b ec am e acquain t ed

, ,

wit h t he highly hon oured H an ov erian c ourt physician ,

Zimm erman n aut hor of Von der E in samkei t

,
Zimmer .

m an n show ed him som e silh ou ett es amon g ot h ers that of ,

Charlott e v on St ein t he wife of t he Weimar Gran d M ast er

,

of the H orse Goethe examin ed it wit h in terest an d wrot e

.

t h ese word s b en eat h it : I t w ould b e a gl orious sight t o

“

see how t he world is mirror ed in t his soul She sees t he .

w orld as it is an d y et t hrough t he medium of love In .

”

D armst adt G oet he had t he pl easure of seein g H erd er an d

his w if e H e fin ish ed his j ourn ey in t heir c omp an y ar
.
,

riving in his n ativ e city on t he 2 d of July 2 .

I n v ain did I trav el ab ou t t hree mon t hs in t he op en

“

air,
he excl aim ed a f ew d ays aft er his ret urn H is lon gi n g .

for L ili had n ot b een dimin ished by t he sep arat ion in ,

—

creased rat her H e foun d her more b eautiful more mature

.
, ,

more profoun d All resolution to giv e her up melted away

.

at t he sight of her H e was en rag ed at himself t hat he

.

c ould n ot ov ercome his lov e I am stran d ed again an d .

“

would like to b ox myself on t he ear a thousan d times t hat

I did n ot go to t he dev il whil e I was afloat he wrote t o ,
”

Merck early in August I can n ot b ear it here lon g I must

.
,

g et a w ay ag a in
”
h e wr ot e ab ou t,
t he sam e t im e t o Cou n t ess

August e S tolb erg who alt hough he had n ev er seen her

, , ,

b ecame t hrough her brot hers the con fidant e of his lov e
2 30 t he l ife of t oethe

so rrows Bu t t he p ow er of his lov e was so great t hat

.

in st ead of k eep in g away fr om L il i he sought her ou t as

much as p ossibl e She was in O ffenb ach again as in t he
.
,

spr in g . H e f oll owed her t h it h er an d t ook l odg in gs w it h

his frien d An dre H appy m om e n t s f oll owed b u t al so v ery
.
,

sorr owful on es wh en he cursed him self an d his fat e an d

, ,

b ec ame a burd en t o him self an d Lili Wh at vex at ion ! .

he wrote in the same l ett er t o Augu st e S t olb erg Oh th at “

.
,

I c ould tell you all ; h ere in the r oom of the girl who is
makin g m e un h appy with out b ein g t o blame with the soul ,

of an an g el wh ose seren e d ay s I am cl oudin g

”
,
I! ,
—

Lili s sufferin g was d oubled an d trebled While on the

’
.
,

on e h an d her l ov er off en d ed her by his v ac illatin g b et w een

,

love in differen c e an d defi an c e on the oth er h an d her

, , , ,

relativ es urged her to dissolve the b etroth al After Goeth e s .

’

strikin gly l on g ab sen c e her f amily had l ost all f aith in the
,

seriou sn ess of his in t en tion s Furth erm ore it was very .

,

un c ertain wh at kin d of a future lay b efore t his rovin g

p oetic genius an d there seem ed to b e n othin g in c ommon
,
,

b etween the two families The differen ce in religion (R e .

formed an d Lutheran ) was for Fran kfort a very broad lin e

of sep arat ion B esides t he old Coun cillor was n ot sat isfied
.
,

wit h Lili wh om he c on sid ered a f ashion able soc iet y woman

, .

Fin ally taleb earers had played a busy part an d magn ified
,

t he in c omp at ib ilities as much as p ossibl e Despite all this .

Lili did n ot lose h op e She declared with great d etermin a.

t ion t h at if t he obj ec tion s c ould n ot b e remov ed at h ome

, , ,

she was r eady t o g o wit h her l ov er t o Am eric a G oeth e .

add ed w ith admiration th at she w ould h av e had t he str en gt h

t o overc om e ev ery ob stacl e Bu t was he in an y way in .

clin ed t o profi t by t his str en g th ? Was n ot he h imself the

greatest an d most in surm oun table hin dran c e An d clearly
?

as he r ec ogn ises this just so lit tl e d oes he feel c ap abl e of

,

sev erin g at on c e t he b on d wh ich b in d s him t o her He .

all ow s him self t o drift on an d prol on gs the sit u at ion w it h ou t

s p eakin g a d ec isiv e w ord .

On the oth of S ep t emb er at the weddin g of his frien d

r , ,

Past or E wald in O ffen b ach G oeth e exp erien c ed an ex

, ,
232 t he l ife of G oe the
Adieu Amen . On t he f oll owin g d ay he sp oke b u t
.

sev en w ord s t o L ili They were his farewell The rin g

. .

wit h which he had fettered him self was broken .

F at e mad e it easier th an it otherwise would h ave b een

f or the p oet t o preserv e t he equilibrium of his soul t oward
Lili At the same tim e that he had ren oun c ed her K arl
. ,

August of S axe Wiemar n ow the rulin g duke arrived in

-
, ,

Fran kfort On his j ourn ey t o Paris the prec edin g year he

.

had fallen in l ov e twic e : with Prin c ess Luise of H esse

Darm stad t an d wit h G oet h e
,
H e n ow plan n ed t o tak e
.

b ot h h ome with him H e rec eived G oeth e s promise to

.
’

f oll ow him t o Weimar as soon as he had return ed th ith er

with his youn g wife ; an d G oeth e who looked up on the ,

in v itation c omin g at th is p art icul ar time as an ov errulin g

, ,

of a h igh er p ower was gl ad t o c on sen t ,

A fligh t to Weimar .

might mean m ore t o him th an a mere withdrawal from

Lili s magic circle
’
.

On the th of Oc t ob er K arl Augu st with his y oun g

1 2 ,

wife p assed through Fran kfort on his return H e ren ewed

, .

his in v it ation an d G oeth e was t o h old himself in readin ess

,

t o set ou t f or Weim ar wit h Ch amb erlain v on K alb who ,

w ould follow in a few days with a n ew c arriage G oet h e .

m ade all his preparation s b u t d ay after d ay p assed with out

,

the arriv al of t he Ch amb erlain or an y n ews t o explain his

failure to app ear As Goethe had taken leave of everyb ody
.

an d did n ot c are t o app ear again in public he stayed in the ,

h ouse an d left his acquain tan c es in the b elief th at he had

already d ep ar ted Bu t wh en he had en dured the v olu n tary
.

imprison men t for m ore th an a w eek workin g c on st an t ly ,

at E gmon t t he isolation fr om the w orld b egan to b e burd en

,

some to him an d he wrapp ed h im self in a l arge m an t l e

an d w en t ou t in the ev en in g f or a w alk thr ough the str eet s .

H e c ould n ot refrain fr om p assin g by Lili s h ou se

’
He .

stepp ed to t he win d ow ; the c u rt ain s were d own an d he ,

h eard her at the pian o sin gin g his son g Wherefore drawest ,
“

m e again st my will ? I c ould n ot help thin kin g th at she

san g it with m ore expr ession th an ever ; I c ould h ear it
plain ly w ord for word ; I had pressed my ear as close as the
,
 1 111 23 3

con vex grating would allow After she had fin ished the .

son g I saw by the sh ad ow th at f ell on the curt ain s th at she

,

had gott en up She w alk ed b ack an d f orth b u t I tried in

.
,

vain to c atch the outlin e of her lovely form through the

h eavy curtain s O n ly the firm resolution t o depart n ot
.
,

to burd en her by my presen c e an d r eally to ren ou n c e her , ,

as w ell as the th ought of wh at a st ran ge sen sation my re

app ear an c e w ould b e sure to m ak e c ould d et erm in e m e to ,

leave her presen c e so dear to m e A few more days .

”

p assed ; the en d of the m on th had c ome an d as still th ere ,

was n o n ew s from H err v on K alb G oeth e s fath er was

’
,

triumph an t H e said th at he had always in sisted th at it

.

was n ot well t o eat ch erries with great l ord s an d n ow his*

,

son c ould see how he h im self had b een m ad e a f ool of ; t h at

the in vitation the st ory ab out the c av alier l eft b ehin d with
,

t he n ew c arriage was n oth in g b u t a m erry c ourt j ok e at his

,

exp en se Bu t seein g th at he had t aken l eav e of his frien d s

.
,

an d his tru n k was p acked he might n ow c arry ou t the oft ,

p ostp on ed j ourn ey to I taly After some hesitation Goethe .

acc ep ted his fath er s prop osal an d early in the m orn in g of

’
,

O c t ob er g oth he set off t oward t he sout h On t he .

“

K orn markt (where Lili resided ) we read in his diary the

”
, ,
“

plumb er s b oy was n oisily st raight en in g up his sh op an d

’

greeted the n eighb our s maid ou t in the early m orn in g rain ; ’

th is greetin g was in a man n er proph etic of the c omin g day .

Ah th ought I if on ly
,
No I said th ere on c e was a
, , ,

t ime wh en I Whoever has such memories sh ould envy

”
n ob ody Lili adieu Lili for the sec on d time adieu !
.
, , , ,

H e rolled al on g the B ergstrasse t o H eid elb erg wh ere he ,

willin gly p ermitted Fr aulein Delf to d etain him for a few

d ays as her gu est F or he still b elieved th at the Weim ar
.

riddle would b e solved and his return b e m ade p ossible .

Besid es Fr aulein Delf had in tr oduc ed him in t o a v ery

The r ea a crib ed by t he pr v erb
son which
s ccur i everal o ,
o s n s

l a gu age i t h at the gr at l rd t hr w t he eed ( t em ) i t the

n s, s e o s o s s or s s n o

f ace f t h eir i feri r B h H a db k f P e b p 7 8

s o n o s Th e
o n, n oo o rov r s , :
“
os

t h at eat ch err ie wit h gr eat p er

s h all h ave t h eir y pri t ed son s , s e es S n

ou t wit h t he t e See al
s on B rch ard t Sp i hwd tli he Rede a te
s . so o ,
r c r c ns r rz,

p 69 C
2 —
 t he ILife of ( Boerhe
‘
2
34

pleasan t family (prob ably Privy Coun c illor Wrede s) wh ere ’

t h er e was a d aught er who r esembled Fried erike Fr aulein .

Delf was a z eal ou s m at chm aker an d hardly had she n otic ed

,

a sl igh t at t rac tion b etween t he two y ou n g p eopl e wh en she

immediately expl ain ed t o G oeth e with great emph asis how
promisin g the outlook was for him by such a un ion t o gain
en tr an c e in t o t he serv ic e of t he Pal at in ate Fr aulein Delf
.

had d ev el op ed her pl an s t o him till l ate in t he n igh t Not .

l on g after th ey had sep arat ed the h orn of a p ostilion w aked

him ou t of sleep . A c ourier from Fran kfort stopp ed b ef ore
t he h ou se wit h a let t er fr om Ch amb erl ain v on K alb ex ,

plain in g everythin g an d b eggin g G oeth e t o return an d ac

,

c omp an y him to Weimar Allurin g as the pic ture was

.

t hat It aly had ar oused in his imagin ation a low b u t com ,

man din g voice within ordered him n orthward Fr aulein .

Delf was quit e excit ed ov er this sudd en t urn She st orm ed

.

G oeth e with a hun dred obj ect ion s ev en wh en the p ostilion

,

was alr eady b efore t he d oor prep ared t o t ake him b ack t o
Fran kf ort When she still refused t o let him go he fin ally
.

silen c ed her wit h the p assion at ely u t t er ed w ord s of E gm on t :

Child ! child ! n o m ore ! As if l ash ed by in visibl e spirit s

t he fi ery st eed s of t im e are run n in g aw ay w it h t he light
ch ariot of ou r fate an d th ere is n ot hin g left f or u s b u t t o
muster ou r c ourage hold fast the rein s an d guide the
, ,

wh eels n ow to the right n ow t o the left away from a rock

, ,

here away from the edge of an abyss there Whither is

, .

he g oin g ? Who kn ows H e sc arc ely rememb ers when c e

?

he c am e .

The j ourn ey t o Weim ar was for the purp ose of a v i5 1t

it d evel op ed in t o a r esid en c e f or life .
23 6 t he l ife of Goe the

e xp erien ces of his that although he dramatised th ese yet , ,

he was able t o t ake ov er almost the wh ole of t he sec on d

act t ogether wit h man y oth er sep arate p assages from the
, ,

M emoire an d at the same time to say with prid e : I

’

ch allen ge the critic al knife t o sep arate the merely trans

l ated p assages from the whole with out laceratin g its flesh ,

with out in flic tin g a mortal woun d n ot on ly on the story , ,

b u t also on t he struc ture an d life of the pl ay

”
Im m edi .

at ely aft er it s c ompl etion G oeth e op en ly c on f essed t o his

frien d s the in timate c onn ec tion b etween the chosen material
an d m otiv es in his own life In Augu st he wr ot e t o Frit z .

J ac obi : H is [Beau m archais s] character an d his acts were

“ ’

am algam at ed with p erson al ch arac teristic s an d ac t s of my

an d t o Sch on b or n on t he 1 st of Jun e : My h ero
“
own , , ,

an u n d ec id ed h alf great h alf in sig nifican t ch ar act er the

,
-
,
-
,

p en d an t to Weislin gen in Gotz or rath er Weislin gen him , , ,

self roun ded ou t in to a chief charac ter In addition to

”
, .

this G oeth e assures u s in his old age th at Clav igo as w ell

as W eislin gen had sp ru n g fr om rem orse ov er his relation s
t o Fried erike .

Clav igo in ord er b etter t o pursue his high aim s forsakes

, ,

his sweet h eart M arie who is afflic t ed wit h a pulm on ary

, ,

affec tion leavin g her a prey to disease an d grief Bu t

, .

sor ely as the faithl ess on e has w ou n d ed her she l ov es him ,

still This is an exac t picture of Fried erike after Goethe s ’

.

departure Goethe s lov e for Fried erike like Clav igo s for
.
’
,
’

M arie is dead b u t remorse an d c onsciousn ess of guilt keep

, ,

her image ever aliv e b efore him I c an n ot rid myself of “

.

the mem ory th at I h av e f orsaken Marie d ec eiv ed her

—

c all it what you will ”

Merck n o d oub t often foun d him
.
, ,

in such m omen ts of rem orse an d c omforted him as C arlos ,

d oes Clav igo N ever were M erck s n ature an d his peculiar

.
’

relation to Goethe more t ruthfully portrayed than here in

t h s dr am a
i A m atter of fact man harden ed to Mephis
— .
-
,

t ophelian c old n ess his clear w orldly un d erst an din g lead s

, ,

him t o claim f or ex traordin ary p eople sp ecial m oral dis

p en sat io n s Bu t wh at o
.n t he on e h an d he l oses in ou,
r ,

estim ation by his m erc il ess ethic s t h at disr egard s t he f at e

 t lavigo 23 7

of in f erior b ein gs ,
he regain s on the other han d by his
, ,

warm d evotion to his gift ed frien d in wh ose great d estin y

,

he firmly b eliev es O Clav ig o I h ave cherished thy fate

“
.
,

in my h eart as my own .

As Goeth e saw h im self in the pic ture of the great yet

in sign ific an t str on g yet weak amb itious yet m erc iful
, ,

Clav ig o so likewise in the pic ture of B eaumarch ais “ t he

, ,

b r oth er of Clav ig o s f orsaken sw eeth eart H ow oft en the

’
.

t h ough t mu st h av e c om e t o him of wh at he sh ould b e likely

t o d o if C orn elia w ere t reat ed as he had tr eat ed Fried erike !
On such occ asion s he who on slight prov oc ation w ould
,

g n as h h is t ee t h an d cur se in an u n g odly m a nn er d oub t l ess ,

flew in to as savage a rage in wardly as th at of B eaum arch ais

in the first red ac tion of the play which gave Wielan d such ,

a sh ock I n oth er resp ec t s his im agin ation wh en it fol

.
,

l owed ou t the further fate of Friederike d oub tless p ain ted ,

a d ev el opm en t such as we fin d in C lavigo an d such as the ,

M ernorre aff ord ed u n til n ear the cl ose The blen din g of real
'
’

exp erien c es an d fan cied situ ation s wit h Beau m archais s n ar

’

ration is fur t h er b et ray ed by t he n am e S ophie which is giv en ,

t he sist er of M arie b u t d oes n ot occur in t he M em orre

’
’

, .

C orn elia b ore t his n ame in her c ircle of frien d s an d F ried ,

erik e had a sist er n amed S ophie F or Clav ig o s b el ov ed t he

’
.

p o et r et ain e d t he n am e M a rie f or t he sak e of t he M a d on n a

like ch aracter which he wished to give her as he had to ,

her c oun t erp art in Gotz Marie s true an d un selfish ad

’
.

m ir er Bu en co like C arlos a ch arac ter creat ed by G oet h e

, , , ,

seem s t o h av e b een suggest ed by m em ories of L en z who ,

had pr esum ably occupied a similar p osition wit h r eferen c e

t o Fried erik e .

By thus dramatisin g the M emozre of B eaumarchais

'
’

Goethe dram atised a p ain fully sore episod e of his own soul
life H en ce we fin d in Clovlgo the same glowin g ferv our of
.

f eelin g an d the same imp assion ed flow of lan guage as in

Werther One can feel the b eat of the p oet s pulse feel his
.
’
,

t hr obb in g h eart drivin g his h an d which h asten s fr om sc en e ,

t o sc en e till Clav igo with Beau m archais s d agger in his

’
, ,

h eart falls upon the lifeless b ody of Marie Not un til th en

, .
238 t he l ife of Goe the
d oes he feel relieved an d lay d own his pen satisfied an d lib er
at ed . O n c e m ore he has b een able to c on fess an d in fan cy
aton e for his wron g .

Wh at a differen t play Goeth e had produc ed within a year

aft er Gotz I This m easur ed limit ation in tim e an d pl ac e t his ,

p owerful un ity of action this n oble ton e of lan guage with

, ,

hardly any traces left to remin d u s of S torm an d S tress - -

licen ce ! It was a p erfect c omp anion piece to E mili a -

Galotti which it also resembled in plot from which how

f

, , ,

ev er it differed in th at it was n ot the produc t m erely of

,

th ough t an d ob serv ation b u t of f eelin g an d exp erien c e

,
.

The errors in techn ique are so slight that it is n ot worth

while t o stop to c on sid er th em The fact th at the servan t .
,

c on trary to his m aster s ord ers m erely h app en s t o p ass

’
,

through the street in which M arie dwells would d eserv e ,

seriou s critic ism on ly in c ase it of itself br ough t on the

c atastroph e This is by n o mean s true The catastroph e

. .

is m ost p owerfully m otiv ed in it self With the acuten ess .

an d d et ermin ation of an an gry aven ger B eaum arch ais

w ould h ave foun d an d stabb ed Clav igo in an y even t The .

t rivial m otiv e which G oet h e employ s t o brin g t hin gs t o a

clim ax is merely for t he purp ose of makin g the c at ast roph e
simult an eou s wit h M arie s fun eral t hu s en h an cin g t he
’
,

dramatic b eauty of the last act A folk son g Der H err .

-
,

an d di e M agd am on g th ose he had c oll ec t ed in Alsatia

, ,

suggest ed t o him the effec tiv e sh apin g of t he cl osin g sc en e .

When Clovigo was publish ed it failed to m ake the im

pression which it m erited I t was the universal opinion .

th at it was ov ersh ad ow ed by Werther which app eared at ,

the sam e tim e an d the y oun ger gen er ation missed par
,

ticu larly the rev olu tion ary t en d en cy which had ch arac
terised the sub stan c e an d form of Gotz To the p artisan s .

of t he S t orm an d S tress m ov em en t C lat igo seemed a re

- -

ac tion again st G oeth e s fortn er self

’
While they still took .

deligh t in praisin g Gotz as the great m odel which th ey ,

sough t so f ar as in th em lay t o equ al or surp ass t he p oet

, , ,

had n ow started on an oth er curv e which was app ar en t ly

leadin g him b ack to the old regularity of the drama an d its
 t he ILife of G oe the
‘
240

e xperien c es of the p ast an d th ose loomin g up in the future .

Friederike was still mourn in g in S esen h eim he still saw the ,

sad fac e of his d ear p artn er of t he y ear b ef ore an d how l on g ,

would it b e b efore Lili t oo was forsaken ? Such th oughts , ,

gave him an un c an n y feelin g I am simply unb earable . .

I shall n ot c om e t o an y g ood en d is his cry of ,

”

rage in a let ter of the b egin n in g of M arch of the same year .

H e seek s alleviation from th ese an xieties in writin g I “

.

”
sh ould g o t o ruin if I did n ot writ e dr am as n ow
,
.

Ch an c e m ay at th at time h ave brought t o his n otic e or ,

rec alled t o his min d the story of Swift s bigamous m arriage

,
’

with S tella an d Van essa which gav e him the outlin e of the ,

n ew dr am a in which the h er o st an d s b etw een two l ovin g

,

wiv es an d is exp ected to satisfy the equally justified claims

of b oth I n oth er ways also life brough t t his problem h ome
.

t o him Fritz Jac obi for e

. xample had in curred a multitude
, ,

of obligation s an d d eb ts an d yet his au n t J oh an n a F ahl , ,

m er clun g t o him in r esign ation an d love Bu t the m otiv e

, .

of t he ac tion he t ook fr om his own lif e If as has b een .

,

t h ough t he had draw n his m at erial fr om t he for tu n es of

,

J ac ob i he would n ot h ave b een able t o say at the very

, ,

t im e wh en he was at w ork on the play an d was prom isin g ,

t o sen d it t o Cou n t ess Augu st e S t olb erg t h at his produc ,

t ion s w ere alw ays m er ely the tr easur ed u p j oy s an d sorrows -

of his lif e H e owes n ot a sin gl e ch arac ter t o J ac ob i s

’
.

circle F or whereas J ohan n a F ahlm er m ay h av e c on trib

.

u ted som e c ol our t o C a cilie she c ertain ly did n ot furn ish ,

t he b ody of the ch arac ter The prototyp es of the three .

chief p erson ages are p erfec tly clear : for F ern an d o Goeth e ; ,

f or S tella Lili ; f or C ac ilie Fried erike

, , .

So far as it is at all p ossibl e to sp eak of id en tity of m od el

an d pic tur e th at of Lili an d S tella is the least subj ec t t o
,

d oub t Furtherm ore Goeth e with the sovereign fran k

.
, ,

n ess of the S t orm an d S tr ess p eriod m ad e n o effor t t o con

- -
,

c eal this in an y way S tella is sixteen when she m eets .

F ern an d o ; she has blue eyes an d blon d hair is love itself ,

an d g ood n ess ; in th eir fir st h our s of real frien d sh ip she

”

has t old him of her form er litt le l ov e affairs an d thu s won

 Gtella 24 1

his love more surely th an ever This is true of Lili in every .

feature B esides sc en es from the theatre an d from the

.
,

rural life at the un cle s are un mistakably drawn from the

/
’

c ourt ship in Frankfort an d O ffen b ach Also the fact that .

S tella elop es with F ern an d o in order th at she m ay b elon g

t o him is n ot v ery differen t from Lili s readin ess t o go with
’

G oethe t o Americ a In on ly one p oint has Goethe chan ged

.

Lili s nature in the p oetic p ortrait H e gave the forsaken

’
.

on e the sen tim en t alit y of Lila v on Ziegl er (of p Like . .

this E ly sian sain t S t ell a has her h ermitage her t omb her
, , ,

r ose altar an d in these sacred places delights in the joy

-
,
“

”
of grief Aroun d the idealised figure there h overs a soft
.

h alo an d in its purity an d n obility of soul depth of feeling

, , ,

an d ex alted hum an kin dn ess it is t ruly great

“
On e can .

n ot see her with out lovin g her I t is in com pre .

hen sib le how she can b e so un h appy an d yet so frien dly

,

an d g ood There is n ot an other such h eart in this

.

w orld says the sturdy active lan dlady of the p ost station
,
”
, .

C acilie is as differen t from S tella as Friederike from

Lili She has the same good heartedn ess the same high
.
-
,

sen timen t s an d yet she is in ferior n arr ower m ore m od est

, , , .

Not on ly does she n ot c omplain of her husb an d who has ,

left her in the lurch b u t wh at is m ore she p ard on s him , , , .

H e n eed ed m ore th an my lov e fin ally I c ame to

“

b e n othin g to him b u t an h on est h ousewife most earn estly ,

devoted to him an d en deavourin g to please him an d c are for

him sacrificin g all my d ays to the welfare of my h ome an d
,

child an d obliged to occupy my min d with so m an y trifl

,
es
t hat I was n o l on ger an en tertain in g c omp an ion an d he , ,

wit h the spright lin ess of his min d c ould n ot b u t fin d my ,

societ y dul She is willin g without furt her ado to give

him up in favour of S tella She will b e satisfied with his .

frien dship an d his letters As she is a mature woman and .

has p assed through man y t rials she has n ow b een married

—

t o F ern an d o for seventeen or eight een years — Goeth e was

obliged to blen d with his y out hful prototyp e some features

of rip er age which he m ay h av e b orrow ed from Fried erike s

’
,

mother or J ohanna Fahlmer .

VOL I .
—16
24 2 t he l ife of Goe the

The figure of F ernan do is the axis ab out which the play

revolves That Goeth e sat for it himself is too eviden t to
.

n eed sp ec ial pr oof H e has ev en ret ain ed his own brow n

.

l ocks an d black eyes Bu t the b est sid e of him self his .

,

man ly charac ter he withheld Fern an do is n either a Don

, .

Juan who in reckless c old blood sacrific es on e wife after

,

an oth er t o his sen sual d esir e n or a G oeth e who figh ts b ack , ,

his in sidious b oun dless p assion s b efore th ey acc omplish ir

,

reparable in jury b efore they pu t him un der in dissoluble

,

obligation s F ern an d o is a weakly woman s h ero n othin g ’

.
,

m ore Whereas Goeth e said of Clav igo who so n early

.
,

resembles Fern an do in moral con stitution th at he was ,

h alf great half in significan t F ern an d o himself is wh olly

-
,
-
,

in sign ific an t wh olly d espic able

,
H e has n ot as Clav igo .
, ,

b een a traitor in a sin gle in stan c e ; he is guilty of double

an d threefold treach ery ; n ot m er ely to on e w om an he l ov es ,

b u t t o two wiv es an d n ot alon e t o th ese b u t t o his child

, ,

ren as well ; n or d oes he leav e his wiv es an d ch ildren u n d er

the pr otection of th eir relat iv es as Clav ig o d oes M arie u n ,

d er the c are of her married sister ; he l eaves th em with ou t

an y prot ec tion an d am on g st ran g ers H e ru n s away wit h .

ou t the least assuran c e t h at his fligh t will n ot c ast his wife

an d children in t o m iserv an d w an t Whereas his d esertion .

of C a cilie was b ad en ough his treachery to S tella was m on ,

strou s for she had sacrific ed ev ery thin g for him

,
family , ,

h ome frien ds h appy circumstan ces even her social hon our
, , , .

To b e sure he attemp t s t o throw a pleasin g cl oak ab out his

,

tr each ery to S tella by assertin g th at he has g on e away t o

seek ou t C a cilie his first wife ab out whom his c on scien ce
, ,

has b een troublin g him c on st an tly Bu t we h av e as little .

faith in this reason as did the agen t in the later version of

t he play who is d ev oted t o F ern an d o b ody an d soul
, F or , .
,

if this was the sole reason why did n ot F ern an d o return ,

when he failed to fin d C acilie? Why did he prefer to go to

t h e C or can war as a hirelin g An d why aft er all did he
s i ?
, ,

r ur ga n to S tella at the close of the war If he wen t

e t n a i ?

t o the Cor sic an war b ec au se he wan ted t o rid h im self of

life why did he n ot make a furth er attempt in an oth er war ?
,
24 4 t he l ife of Goe the
S tella On e of two thin gs the p oet ought to h ave d on e :
.

he ough t eith er to h av e m ad e F ern an d o great er or the ,

w omen less great As the ch arac ters n ow stan d the happy

.
,

solut ion of the first v ersion the d oubl e m arriage is an im , ,

p ossibility It is m ost imp ossible for S tella who is the

.
,

str on ger ch ar ac t er an d has b een t he m or e griev ou sly d e

ceiv ed Goethe rec ogn ised this in his old age an d made
.

S tella take p oison an d Fern an do sh oot himself .

This ch an ge h owever remov ed on ly the worst ou t

, ,

growth n ot the evil itself which arises from the ch aracter

, ,

of F ern an d o H e is supp osed to b e a m an b u t is n ot

.
He , .

has the p ower n eit her of virt ue n or of vic e H e has n o .

will he has on ly whims No stron g in stin ct n o great

,
.
,

passion rules him With out will with out rudder he .

, ,

drifts hither an d thither We can en dure such an u n .

man ly m an in a secon dary r ole as a f oil to set off a real

m an b u t as the chief ch ar ac ter he is in tolerable b ec au se
,
2
,

he is h alf t edious an d h alf odiou s

-
If an actor would m ake -
.

t he r ole effec tiv e we h av e n ev er seen on e who succ eed ed

—

in d oin g so he w ould h av e t o c on tribut e m ore to it th an

—

t he p oet d id .

Goeth e made the same blun der in this ch aracter th at

he did in som e oth ers f or wh ich he t ook himself as t he
model : for example E ridon in Die Lan n e des Verli ebten , .

H e took a ph ase of his own ch arac ter m agn ified it s weak .

‘
,

sid e an d in the u n ion of au th or an d m od el forg ot t o add

, , ,

what was n eeded for the sake of c ompleten ess .

Asid e from the un succ essful figure of Fern an do the art ,

of ch arac terisation is admirable The delicate sh adin g in .

the two equally good an d equally un happy wiv es b elon gs

t o the b est t hat ever p oet s h an d creat ed Of the great ’
.

n umb er of b eau ties in t he play we m ay here c all att en tion

t o on e on ly S t ell a s solil oquy in the fifth act an exquisite

’
, ,

m on odrama in which all the chords of a lovin g h eart that

,

has b een u n sp eak ably d ec eiv ed resoun d with m ost n oble

an d m ost t hrillin g t on es N oteworthy also is the con cen .

t ration of the ac tion wh ich surp asses ev en t h at of C lavigo , .

I t all t akes plac e within the sp ac e of on e day .

 E ramatic f r agme nts 24 5

The play which was n ot published till the en d of J an

,

u ary,
177 6 cr,
eat ed a gr eat sen sat ion esp ec ially b ec au se of ,

the en din g F our pirated edition s app eared within a

.

sin gl e week Goethe sen t a c opy to Lili with these touchin g

.

v erses :
3m h olbe n g al auf id m bebedteu G
ee abeu ,

QBat iteté bein ?BiIb mit nut) ;

3 d) fab t um mid) iu Iid) teu QBoIteu mebeu
’

S im G u m at mit t ba
’

erge .

t mpfiube bier miemit afl mat t gem t riebe ’

,

Q iu G et sbat aubt egiebt ,

QInb but net gebeut Eiebe

513m Sl iebefl iebtfi“

Well c ould he d edic ate it t o her ,

for Stella 57 is the
p h
a ot eosis of Lili .

B esid e the two ligh t

p eras E rwin u n d E lmire and o ,

C lau di n e von Vi lla B ella which he later c ompletely rec ast , ,

Goeth e fin ished n o oth er drama in Fran kfort ; he produced ,

h owever a series of precious fragmen ts To these b elon g

, .

F au st an d E gm on t As t h ey will b e c on sid ered farth er on

.
,

w e sh all h ere m erely c ast a glan c e at t h ose wh ich were n ot

destin ed t o reach m aturit y .

The oldest amon g them is C asar which un fortun ately ,

has all exc e

,
pt a few lin es b een lost The subj ec t had occu , .

pied the p oet s min d b ack in S trasburg It seems to have

’
.

b een his purp ose at th at time much as irf Gotz to weave , ,

t oget h er dram atic ally t he m ost promin en t p oin ts in the life

i
of the h er o Later he discarded this idea as t n artistic an d
.
,

limited himself to the m omen t of greatest dramatic in terest ,

Caesar s death Bu t this gave rise to other difficulties

’
. .

From the b egin nin g he had given Caesar his full sympathy ,

l vely val e
In o p eak f wy whit e , on o sn o

Thy f rm wa everywh er e;
o s

I aw it dr ift i g i t he m i t cl ud l igh t ;
s n n s -
o s

Wit hi my h ear t t wa t h er e
n ,
’
s .

K w t h u by t hi wit h wh at r e i t l e might
no o s, s s ss

A y ear i g h eart i fr au g ht
n n s :

W h e l ve hu l v e by flight
n o s ns o

T i all f augh t
’
s or n .
 24 6 t he l if e of G oe the
b ecause he had f oun d in the hero man y trait s of his own
character This of n ec essity lowered the assassin s in his
.

favour an d deb ased them in the play In a lin e of his .

diary written in S trasburg th ey are called g ood for

, ,
-

n othin g f ellow s an d f our y ears lat er he d ecl ar ed t o Bod

”
,

m er that they were villain s Bu t a play in which all the

.

light sh ould fall on Caesar an d all the sh ade on the con

spirat ors was so c on trary t o t he spirit of an age in which

ev en you n g c ou n t s thu n d er ed again st t yran t s th at G oet h e ,

could with p erfect certain ty take it for gran ted that his
, ,

play would fail to win fav our especially in the circles he ,

c ared most ab out H en ce he writes on the st of Jun e

.
,
1 ,

1
77 4 ,
t o Sch on b or n t h at his C as
,
ar
5
w ill n ot pl ease his
8

frien ds Bu t the very thin g he feared his frien ds would f eel

.

he felt himself in m an y an h our As soon as he got rid .

of t he burd en of t he C a esarean gen ius he was u n d er the

spell of Brut u s s pur e u n d au n t ed spirit of lib ert y which

’

, ,

expl ain s his l apid ary p an egyric s on the two in L avat er s

’

P hysi ogn omi sche F ragrnen te This waverin g which must

.
,

of n ec essity h av e led t o a r ep etition of t he Sh ak esp earian

w ork wrecked the play

, .

M ahornet d id n ot progress much farther t han C a ar s .

The b egin n in gs g o b ack t o t he year 7 7 I n t his play 1 2 .

,

again t he chief m om en t s of t he life of a great spirit

,
rise —
,

st ruggl e vic t ory,

an d d eath
, were t o pass b efore u s in
—

dramatic pic tures As a gen eral m otive the p oet had in

.

min d to d epic t all the p ower th at genius is able t o exert

ov er m en t hrough ch arac ter an d in t ell ec t Bu t wh en he .

m et L av ater an d B ased ow in the summ er of 7 7 4 the 1

gen eral m otive was sp ecialised to the th ought th at the

sup erior m an w ould lik e t o spread abroad the d ivin e in

flu en ce which he f eels within him Bu t th en he c omes in to .

c on tac t with the rough w orld an d in ord er t o in fluen ce it , , ,

has t o d esc en d t o it s l ev el ; b u t by so d oin g he c ompr omises

his sup erior qu alities in great measur e an d fi n ally l oses
th em altogeth er The h eaven ly an d the etern al are in
.

corporat ed in the b ody c on trolled by earthly purp oses

, ,

an d c arried aw ay with it t o a tran sitory fat e .

 24 8 t he l ife of G oe the

thus gives the old fable an o rigin al an d highly poet ical

tur n .

Prometheu s riginated in 1 7 7 3 the year in which Goethe

o ,

b egan to study Spin oz a It is a documen t of this study . .

Th at for which Goeth e had b een prepared by the teachings

of an tiquity an d by G ,
i ord an o Bru n o an d which the mystic s ,

of the S torm an d S tress p eriod H am an n an d H erd er had

- -
, ,

developed in to a precious faith was established in his min d ,

as a c ertain ty by Sp in oz a : God an d the w orld are on e ,

an d every in dividual is a p art of the w orld divinity From -

.

this stan dp oin t he c ould n ot admit t h at god s h av e a n ature

differen t from the human are subj ec t to special laws an d , ,

sup erior t o m an N either c ould happin ess c on sist in su b

.

mission to the god s ; it must c on sist solely in b ein g in har

m on y with the divine u niverse in to which state on e must ,

seek t o en ter b y m ean s of creation an d l ov e .

Goethe did n ot c arry the play b eyon d two sh ort acts .

The well k n own p owerful soliloquy which he later in cluded

-
,

amon g his p oems un der the tit le P rometheu s 5

was pr ob ably ,
9

in ten ded t o op en the sec on d act the awaken in g of hum an ,

life an d the presen t sec on d sc en e was t o b e m ov ed forward

, .

Lessin g b ecame ac q uain t ed wit h t he soliloq uy as early as

1
7 8
0, t hr ough F ri t J a c ob i an d w aszpl ease d t o n o t e t he ,

Spin oz ism expressed in it This gav e rise later to a heated .

c on troversy over Lessin g s Spin oz ism which mad e the ’

,

p oem fam ous also from an historic al p oin t of view Why .

the play was n ot c omplet ed is easily un d erstood I t was .

n ot merely b ec ause in G oet h e s p oet ic f orest t he t rees grew

’

so close t o on e an oth er t h at one t ook aw ay ligh t an d air

f rom the oth er : it was h ard for the p oet to fin d a solution

t o satisfy h im self The burd en of th ought was too much
.

in c on flict with the realistic f orm an d for a symb olic solu ,

tion the y oun g p oet was n ot yet prep ared .

The fragmen t with its u n rhymed vers irregu liers an d

,

n oble dic tion is radian t wit h the m ornin g gl ow of the yout h

,

of m an kin d which suffu ses ev en t he Titan ic d efi an c e wit h

,

its soft blen din g t on es

, .

B eside the serious ou r p oet also gave wide ran ge to the

,
 E ramatic f r agme nts 24 9

humorous in his production s durin g the years in Fran kfort .

An d again it was alm ost exclu siv ely the dram atic form
, ,

which he selec ted for th ese merry childr en of his mu se .

We h ave already mad e the p assin g acquain tan c e of som e

of th ese pr oduc tion s The two m ost clever of the p eriod
.

are still t o b e m en tion ed : D er Satyros or The D eified Sylvan ,

Devi l an d H an swu rsts H ochzei t

,
Th ese d eserve a little m ore .

at ten tion t h an the oth ers .

D er Satyros which prob ably origin at ed in 1 7 7 3 has the

, ,

followin g plot : A h ermit weary of the tedious folly of ,

city p eople has moved ou t in to God s free n ature an d a

,
’

satyr c om es t o him with a sor ely w ou n d ed leg Though .

kin dly received the latter has n on e b u t abusive words for

,

the lovin g c ar e b est owed up on him sc old s ab ou t an y thin g ,

an d ev ery thin g an d takes adv an tag e of the m om en tary

,

ab sen c e of his b en efac tor to thr ow the h ermit s crucifix

’

in to the wat er an d st eal from him a v aluable p iec e of lin en .

Then he h obbles b ack in t o the woods an d with lovely soft

sin gin g an d pl ayin g on the flu t e en tic es t o him the m aid en s

Arsin oe an d Psyche While the b eautiful son g d oes n ot

.

make Arsin o e forget the lon g ears an d un kemp t hair of the

s at yr Psych e is c ompl et ely in t oxic at ed an d rav es ov er his
,

divin ely sublime fac e Satyros n ot es her d ev otion t o him

.

an d wit h clever eagern ess seek s t o en j oy the sw eet fruit of

it . While Arsin o e goes to fetch her fath er H ermes to see , ,

the r emarkable m an Satyros m akes a fawn in g d eclaration

,

of his lov e t o Psych e which brin g s the m aid en d issolved in

, ,

bliss in to his arm s to rec eiv e his smackin g kisses Im

, .

mediately afterward Arsin o ereturn s with H ermes Satyros .

replies to the words of welc ome by scoffin g at H ermes s gar ’

men t an d b eard an d b oastin g of his own n akedn ess an d

, ,

un gain lin ess laun ches ou t in to an imp assion ed d escrip tion

,

of the c on dition of prim ev al m an in which state al on e , ,

“
free from the burden of accumulated trifles on e m ay ,
”

feel what it is to live A great crowd of p eople has gathered

.

durin g the speech an d wh en he has en ded with the words

, ,

The tree b ec om es a ten t the grass a c arp et the raw , ,

”
chestn ut a lordly feast the p eople j oin in an d sh out :
,
25 0 t he l ife of G oe the

R aw chestn uts ! Son of J upiter ! R aw ch estn uts ! Ours the

world ! ”
At on c e the n ew food is eaten in the f orest an d
Satyros acc omp an ies the m eal with a serm on c omp osed of ,

an cien t Greek philosophem es c on c ern in g the b egin n in g of ,

the w orld As n ob ody u n d erstan d s him ev eryb ody is the

.
,

more firmly c on vin ced t h at the n ew proph et is a god .

Th ey fall on their kn ees an d worship him Psych e is ab out .

t o expir e f or joy At this m om en t the h ermit c om es ru n

.

n in g up an d attack s the g od c allin g him an ill bred n oxiou s ,

—
,

b east b ec ause he has un gratefully stolen his lin en an d

,

crucifix The p eople en raged at this blasphemy are ab out

.
, ,

to ston e him an d it is on ly wit h great difficulty that H erm es

,

succ eed s in c ommu tin g an imm ediat e ex ecu tion to a l at er

solemn sacrific e Till then the h ermit is to b e locked up in

.

his l odge H erm es s shrewd wife E udora has mean while

’
.
, ,

b ec ome well aware of Satyros s true n ature an d decid es t o ’

,

employ a ru se t o un m ask him an d at the sam e time sav e

t he h ermit She en tic es Satyros in to the t empl e an d just

.
,

as t he h ermit is ab out t o b e sacrific ed she scream s f or h elp .

H ermes breaks op en the d oors of the temple an d E ud ora ,

is seen d efen din g h erself again st the aud aciou s embrac es of

Sat yros . The p eople h orrified cry : A b east a b east !
, ,
“
,
”

while Satyros c old b lood edly an d c on t emptuously says :

-

3 d) tat cud) Gfeln eiueGl uean ,

QBiemein Qintar Supiter nor mir getan ;

QBoll t eurebummeu fifipf belebren
ll ub eureu QBeibern bieW iiiden metren ,

Q ieibr nid) i gebenft ibuen gu nertreiben ; ,

C6 0 mfigt ibr benn im Q red hetleiben .

3 d) gid) meineganb non eud) ab

’

Eafiegu abIeru 6 terblid) en mid) berat fi ‘

Y ou asses ur h w
I did an h on o s o ,

A my f at h er Jup it er l
s g ag ; on o

I wi h ed t s p e y ur t up id eye
o O n o s s,

A d pr t ec t y ur l ad ie fr m t he flie
n o o s o s,

Which y eg l ec t ed t drive away ;

ou n o

S h e c ef r t h i
o n qu al r y w all w m ay
o n s o ou o .

N m re t y
0 o h all I ucc ur l e d ;
o ou s s o n

T bl er m rt al I ll c de c e d
o no o s
’
on s n .
 25 2 t he l ife of G oe the

eit her amon g his mal e frien d s or amon g t he women of ,

Darm st adt had t heir in flu en c e At t he sam e t im e we

,
.

must rememb er t hat t he exaggeration s an d distortion s

of c ar ic at ur e are t he n ec essary acc omp an im en t s of sat ir e ,

an d t hat Satyros was writ t en n ot for publ ic at ion b u t on ly , ,

for t he priv at e amu sem en t of t he p oet an d som e f ew fr ien d s ,

an d t hat ev ery c omp osit ion on c e b orn has it s in d ep en d en t , ,

l ife by virtue of which it tran sc en d s its imm ediat e occ asion .

H en c e it is a mist ake t o raise obj ection s t o t he r eferen c e of

Satyros t o H erd er on t he grou n d of d et ail s which hav e n o
c orresp on den c e in real ity .

D er Satyros al so attack ed t he t hen v ery c ommon

mingl in g of the prophetic wit h the grossly sensual an d
material as well as t he extravagan t deification of n ature
,

an d t he n at ural An d here t he p oet has in dulg ed freely in

.

roguish self criticism H e b estowed up on t he littl e work an

-
.

esp ec ial charm in t he w eal t h of rhyt hmic f orm s I amb ic .

,

t rochaic d act yl ic an ap est ic rhyt hms short an d lon g l in es

, , , ,

light d ogger el an d d ign ifi ed in sp irin g v er se alt ern at e in most

,

spr it ely v ar iat ion t he form alway s c orr esp on d in g t o t he

,

t h ough t .

O f un equal emin en c e b u t st ill more wan t on an d auda

,

ciou s is H an s wu r ts H ochz ei t I t is t he vulgar c om ic c ou n t er

s .
,

p art to Werther as P rometheu s was t he sublime an d serious

, .

Goet he treats t he mat erial wit h all t he san s gen e an d -

st art l in g pl ain n ess of sp eech of t he old er G erm an c ar n iv al

plays an d retain s t heir loose c oupl ets I n Han swurst s

, .
’

world t here is n o d el icacy of feelin g On e b ec omes accus .

t om ed t o ev eryt hin g ev en t he c omm on est an d t he v il est

,

t hin gs . Cousin s Schuft (Scamp ) an d Schurke (Rasc al ) are

in v it ed t o t he wedd in g as w ell as ot her d irt y mal e an d
,

femal e comp an ion s ; for t hey b elon g to t he family The .

right of existen c e is un c on dition ally resp ect ed H an swurst .

,

who is n ot d isturb ed by an y moral or phy sic al r epul siv e

n ess in t he world or in t he w edd in g gu est s has how ev er
, , , ,

on e p ain v iz ,
t hat by t he el ab orat e wedd in g f est iv it ies
.
,

he is d epriv ed of t he p ossession of his U rsel Blon d in e

lon ger t han he lik es For he is a plain matt er of fact
.
,
- -
 E ramatic f ragme nts 253

m an ,
can n ot en dure an y formal ities t hat hin d er t he
an d
full an d immediate d ev el opmen t of all his p owers which is ,

”
t he t ru e aim of l ife I am cu t out of a whol e bl ock he
“
.
,

say s proudly This mak es him in t he p oet s min d a robust ’

.

champ ion of unvarn ished n atural n ess again st c onven tion al

app earan c e (an hon est simpl e Satyros ) an d at t he sam e
,

t ime a p arody on W er t her who stan d s on t he sam e grou n d

, ,

from which he howev er striv es upward t oward high ideals

, , ,

which Wurstel ridicules as t he vap ourin gs of a woman I n .

t he pl ay it self K ilian Bru stfl eck t he gu ard ian an d tutor of

,

H an swurst is c on trasted wit h him H e is t he represen ta

, .

t iv e of t hat cl ass which p ay s att en tion chiefly t o app ear

an ces .H e is u n happy t hat wit h all his m oral an d p ol itic al
sw eat he has b een u n abl e t o c ast t his sp irit of u n cult iv at ed ,

primeval m an ou t of Wurstel H e will all ow him to b e

.

an yt hin g if on ly he w ill app ear t o b e p ol it e

, What t he .

further course of t he wedding was can n ot b e made ou t from

t he few fragm en t s t hat hav e c ome d own t o u s an d G oet he s
’
,

sket ch in D i chtu n g u n d Wahrhei t The u n usually large

.

n umb er of ch arac t ers in t he pl ay would hav e mad e it pos

s ibl e t o t ur n up on t he m ost v aried c on d it ion s id eas an d , ,

m en t he lan t ern of t he m erry sc offer Bu t he soon d is

.

c ard ed t he subj ect as too broad an d t oo vulgar If t he .

play had b een c ompl eted we should p ossess a c omedy l ittle

inferior to t hose of Arist ophanes in wit an d sup erior to ,

t hem in b old l ic en c e .
 TH E W E I M AR C O U R T OF TH E M U SE S

Weim ar in77s 1 m l — l d K
An n a A b l u r i
a a— Wie an — ne e — Co n t Goe t z
M i i t er
n s Fr it ch — The h amb rl
v on s C e ain s— M u s au s— Bert u ch

Kr au —D uch e Lui e— Ch arl tt e

s ss St ei — Fr aul ei
s Goch o v on n n v on

hau e — Bar
s n e W e the —
on C u te
ss v onWe the r rn o n ss v on r rn

C r a S
o on h ot e Fr au Sch ardt K arl Aug u t hi arti tic e e
c —
r r— s : s s s ns ,

p etic t emp eram e t id eal i m l ve f at r e implicit y a d

o n ,
s ,
o o n u , s , n

origi alit y hat r ed f C urt f rmalit ie lib eralit y pr gre ive e

n , o o o s, , o ss n ss

Weim ar t he c e t r e f Germ a cult ur e— The y ut hful C urt— It

-
n o n o o s

sig ific a c e f
n G et h e
n or o .

U E SDAY N ov emb er 7 1 7 7 5 b efore t he break of day

, , , ,

Goet he arrived in Weimar If he had t hought of .

an yt hin g more t han a p assin g v isit his h eart would

p erhap s hav e sun k wit hin him on his arrival in t he dark ,

quiet c ountry t own The six t housan d in hab itan ts of t he

.
60

Thurin gian c ap ital led a miserable sl eepy life There was , .

n o t rad e an d n o in du st ry t o br in g prosp erit y an d l if e .

Ap art from t he cru mb s t hat fell from t he Court tabl e agri

culture was t he only sourc e of l ivin g I n t he morn in g .

t he t ow n h erd sm an c all ed t og et her all t he liv e st ock wit h

his horn an d in t he ev en in g drov e t he b easts b ack t hrough
t he d irt y ill sm ell in g str eet s
,
-
At most hours of t he day .

t he t own seemed d esert ed ; at b est on e saw her e an d t her e

an idl er su n n in g him self in front of his d oor or some on e ,

from Court ridin g or drivin g t hrough t he streets No tide .

of c omm erc e en tered t his h av en The mails w ere few an d .

irregul ar for t he c ity lay off t he great p ost road l eadin g

,
-

from Fran kfort t o L eip sic A wall wit h four gat es en .

closed t he few hun dred littl e houses ab ov e which towered ,

 t he ILife of G oe the
‘
256

man n er Wielan d charact erises her as on e of t he most

amiabl e an d m ost gl oriou s c omb in at ion s of hum an it y wo ,

man lin ess an d prin c elin ess When Goethe en t ered Wei
, .

m ar t his distin guished prin c ess was on ly t hirty six y ears -

of ag e b u t her p ast l if e had b een serious

,
an d r ich in ,

acc ompl ishm en t By b irt h a Brun swick prin c ess n iec e of

.
,

Fred erick t he Great of whom she was a p erfect image her

, ,

yout h sp en t at her fat her s n oisy Court brought n o years

,
’
,

of j oy t o her for t he f am ily d id n ot l ov e her

, She had .

hardly en tered up on her sev en teen t h year when she was

married off as prin c esses usually are
,
”
The husb an d .

chosen for her was t he sickly eight een year old Duke - -

K o ta t o S xe Weim ar After t hey had b een married

n s n in f a — .

two y ears he died .

U n d er t he most t ry in g c ircumst an c es t h is prin c ess ,

sc arc ely m or e t han a ch ild who in t he two short y ears had ,

b ecom e t he m ot her of two son s was obl iged to assume t he ,

regen cy of a c oun try still sufferin g from t he p ain ful con se

q u e n ce s of t he c ar el ess g ov er n m en t dur in g t he m in or it y of
Duke K on st an t in as w ell as from t he effect s of t he S ev en
,

Y ears War Y et guided by her own cl ear u n d erstan d in g

’
.
,

an d soun d f eel in gs f or in t he b eg in n in g s he had n o Cou n c il

,

w ort hy of m en t ion she w ield ed t he s c ept re wit h ast on ishin g

,

assuran c e an d r epr esen t ed t he in t er est s of t he l itt l e stat e in

,

every quart er cl early an d firmly To b e sure she oft en had .

,

hours of sore trial when as we know from her c onfessions

, , ,

she wrestl ed w it h h erself t o fin d t he right p at h an d oft en ,

she who was l at er so seren e an d app arently so sc ep t ic al

, ,

sought st r en gt h for her t ask s in f erv en t pray er I t was in .

her f av our t hat her p ow ers w ere spurred on by a n obl e

amb it ion kin dl ed by t he glory of her Brun swick rel ativ es
, ,

Fred erick s victorious gen erals As she c ould n ot hop e to

’
.

win l aurel s in b attl e she sought t hem w it h all t he great er

z eal on t he fi eld of p eac e ; n ot m er ely in a m at er ial sen se by ,

st r iv in g t o spread abroad ord er an d prosp erit y b u t still ,

more in a sp iritual sen se by op en in g her c ount ry to a ,

higher culture an d refi n emen t I n t his c on n ection we .

ob serv e a r em ark abl e phen om en on Not on ly did t his .

25 8 t he l ife of G oe the

h r which ev eryb ody can att en d t hree t imes a week

t eat e
free of charge U n fortu n at ely Weimar d id n ot en j oy
.
”

t his adv an t ag e l on g ; for w it h t he burn in g of t he p al ac e ,

t he t heat r e t oo which had occup ied a p art of it p assed

, , ,

away For y ears t her eaft er Thalia s d el ight s w ere secured

’
.

t o a sm all c ircl e by t he Duc al Am at eur Theat r e which t he ,

Duchess t ook u n d er her sp ec ial p at ron age an d for which ,

she prep ar ed charm in g st ag es in her f avour it e ret reat s .

Sn eugen gutten unb im reid) en Gaul ,

$ q é fiben t tterburgs in t iefurts t ail , ,

Sm Ieid) teu Belt auf t eppid nn ber JS

S md u
,

ll nb unter bem (Gemblb ber boben S iad) t

’
* .

We hav e already m en tion ed t he n ame of Wielan d ,

t hrough whose app oin t men t t he Duchess l aid t he fou n da

t ion of W eimar s heg emon y in t he most fl our ishin g p er io d
’

of G erm an l it erat ur e She had b ec ome acquain t ed w it h

.

him an d wit h his d id ac t ic n ov el D er golden e Spi egel which

, , ,

d ealt wit h t he education of prin c es an d t he c on st itution of

st at es . Aft er t hat desp it e t he v ery b old op in ion s which he
,

t her ein expr essed c o n c er n in g Court l if e t he dut ies o f a rul er , ,

an d t he rel at ion b etween prin c e an d p eopl e or p erhap s , , ,

b ecause of them Wielan d seemed to her a suit abl e govern or

,

for her son s K arl August an d K on st an tin b u t esp ec ially

, ,

f or t he Crown Prin c e an d she sedul ou sly remov ed ev ery

,

hin dran c e in t he way of his b ein g call ed t o t he p osit ion .

H e c am e t o assum e t he n ew dut ies in S ept emb er 1 7 7 2 , .

To b e sure Wiel an d as an educ at or d id n ot satisfy t he

, , ,

exp ec t at ion s of t he Prin c ess b u t she was all t he mor e ,

pl eased wit h his amiabl e coquettishly grac eful p oetry , ,

alw ay s brillian t w it h cheerful c olour s ; in d eed she d oub t l ess ,

preferred it to t he d eep er an d more serious p oetry of Goet he

an d Schill er . This m ay acc oun t for her p art icularly c ordial
in t ell ec t ual in t erc ourse wit h Wiel an d l ast in g t ill her d eat h , ,

I cr w d ed hut a d i
n o ump t u u h all s n n s o s ,

O h eig h t T d l ’
n f E tt e b g i ief
s ot a e r ur ,
n ur s ,

O c arp et
n pl e did i p avili lig ht
s S n ,
n on s ,

A d u d er t he v aul t f
n n l em igh t o so n n .
 t he We imar t our t of the ab uses 2
59

in 1 cludin g ev en t he reading toget her of t he

8 0 7 , an d in
c omedies of Arist ophan es .

When Wielan d had b een in W eimar for two y ears An n a

Amalia mad e an ot her app oin tmen t likewise v ery character ,

ist ic of her Prin c e K on st an tin wished to d ev ot e him self t o

.

t he mil it ary serv ic e An educat ed offic er was sought t o pre

.

p are him for t his c allin g an d was foun d in Lieutenant Karl

Ludwig v on Kn eb el For t en y ears he had b een wit h t he
.

Prussian Guard in Pot sd am an d had d on e his whol e dut y

as a sold ier Bu t n eit h er t he servic e n or t he usual p assion s
.
,

of an offic er had sat isfi ed his in n er l on gin g s The t all .

Lieut en an t of t he Guard p ossessed a gen tl e meditat ive ,

soul which U z an old f amily frien d in A n sb ach had early

'

, , ,

t ur n ed t o p oet ry an d which had d ev el op ed a t en d en cy

,

t o p essimism by t he r eadin g of Y ou n g s N ight Thou ghts

’
.

When he ret urn ed t o his quarters from t he drill groun ds or

t he wat chhouse he w ould t ran sl at e from H orac e an d Verg il ,

c omp ose G erman an d at t imes also Lat in od es hymn s an d

, , , ,

el eg ies an d wr it e l ett ers t o his l it erary fr ien d s : R am l er

, ,

N icolai an d An n a Luise Karsch in B erlin Gl eim an d J ac ob i

, ,

in H alb erst adt or B oie in G ott in gen

,
F or as he wro t e his .
,

f rien d Gilb ert aft er eight y ears o f serv ic e a l if e wit hout t he ,

muses seemed t o him t he culmin at ion of sadn ess while t o ,

c on secrat e t o t he muses somet hin g of his own ev ery day was

t he great est joy E ight years m ad e t his v ision ary p oet isin g
.
,

offic er t ir ed of t he garr ison dut y in Pot sdam which held ,

in v olun t arily in admirat ion an d f ear of t he great

“
him
kin g . H e r esig n ed an d ret urn ed hom e v ia W eimar where ,

he w ished t o mak e t he acquain tan c e of Wiel an d of whom ,

he had so l on g b een an admirer On t his occ asion he was

.

presen ted t o t he Duchess an d t o Min ister v on Frit sch who ,

w ere soon agreed t hat he was t he m an qual ified for t he

furt her educ ation of Prin ce Kon st an tin I n Octob er .
,

he b ec am e milit ary in st ruct or t o t he Prin c e The soc iety .

of W eimar rec eiv ed in him on e of it s m ost v aluabl e m emb ers .

A profoun d an d good soul fill ed wit h a gen uin e lov e of ,

n at ur e sc ien c e an d p oet ry ; a cl ev er ob serv er of t he w orld

, ,

an d of m en ; d istru stful of him self for wh ich r eason he ,

260 t he l ife of Goe the

c ould advise ot hers b ett er t han himself ; a wise sulker ,

an d y et n ot a sp oil er of ot her s m irt h ; qu iet an d p eac eabl e

’
,

an d al t hough an in t imat e fr ien d of t he b est p eopl e an d t hose

highest in aut hority wholly wit hout v an ity an d amb ition
, .

H ow l ittl e he all ow ed his min d t o b ec ome f ett ered by

hab it an d how op en he rem ain ed to everythin g n ew in as
, ,

far as i t was great was illu strated by his b earin g tow ard
,

Goet he H e whose f avourit e p oet had b een smoot h

.
, ,

p at het ic Ramler an d who had felt b en efited by t he c ool

, ,

ration al istic air of B erl in turn ed w ith en thu siasm to Goethe ,

aft er t he app earan c e of Gotz an d Werther an d mad e u se of ,

t he first opp or tu n it y t o c om e in t o cl oser t ouch w it h him .

A t hird prin c es gov ern or who played a c ertain rol e in

’

t he fir st y ears aft er G oet he s arrival was C ou n t Goert z who

’

lat er dist in guished him self as Prussian Amb assador at im

p ortant p osts H is p osit ion w it h t he prin c es was much
.

old er an d at t he sam e t im e h igh er t han t hat of Wiel an d

, , ,

an d K n eb el E duc at ed at t he U n iv ersit ies of L eyd en an d

.

Strasburg he had b een chosen when b u t tw en t y fiv e years

, ,
-

of ag e by t he Duchess as g ov ern or of her son s

,
As t o his .

t al en t s an d w id e k n owl edge W eimar op in ion was u n an i

m o us b u t as t o his charact er op in ion s differed
,
A n umb er .

of p erson s of imp ort an c e judg ed him v ery u n fav ourably .

An d in d eed if we examin e his c on duct in Weimar we

, , ,

d isc ov er t he p icture of a cl ev er calculatin g diplomat who , ,

kn ew how t o c on c eal his egotistical aim s an d impulses

b en eat h t he airs of a bel espri t who flatt ered all who could ,

b e of u se t o him an d was c ompl aisan t t o ev eryb ody in

,

publ ic whil e in private he intrigu ed again st every one who

,

was n ot in symp at hy w it h his n ature an d in t erest s Duchess .

Amalia an d Wielan d at first very devoted to him later , ,

d esp ised him The form er al so accused him of havin g

.

t horoughly sp oil ed K arl Augu st an d it gr eatly d ispl eased ,

her t hat her d aught er ih law m ad e him her L ord S t eward in

- -
,

which p osit ion he remain ed in Weimar till t he e nd of 1 7 7 7 .

Of entirely diff eren t st amp was Amal ia s chief servant ’

,

t he pr esiden t of t he Privy C oun c il M in ist er v on Fritsch , ,

w it h whom Goethe was t o ent er in to cl osest offic ial rela

26 2 t he l if e of G oe the

in J ena As presid en t of t his Sup erior Court which was

.
,

l at er chan ged t o t he Supreme App ellat e Court he d evel op ed ,

a v aried l it erary act iv it y an d liv ed t o a rip e old age .

Amon g t he youn ger memb ers of t he Court circl e at t he

t im e of G oet h e s arr iv al w er e Chamb erl ain v on K alb (it
’ °

was he who esc ort ed G oet he t o Weim ar ) in t ell ectual an d ,

cl ev er b u t in sin c ere ; H ead Forester v on Wed el usually

, ,

call ed der sch on e W ed el a fran k f ell ow an d a g ood

“ ” “
,

hun t er at t rac t iv e b ec au se of his dry wit t he playmat e of

, ,

K arl August in early yout h an d Chamb erlain v on Secken ,

dorff formerly l ieut en an t colonel in S ardin ia like E insiedel

, ,

a p oet t r an sl at or an d c omp oser b u t sup erior t o him in

, , ,

t al en t . Goet he has p ortrayed him vividly in I lmen au ,

61

w ith his l ong fi n ely sh ap ed l imb s which in his ec static

, ,

l az in ess he stretches ou t in all direction s whil e he wit h ,

great fervour sin gs a mon oton ous song about t he danc e of

t he heav en ly sph er es .

Not b el on gin g t o t he n ob il it y b u t yet cl osely associat ed ,

wit h t he Court w ere Mu sau s and Bertu ch, .

Mu s au s at first p ag es t ut or t hen teacher in t he Gym

’
, ,

n as iu m had orig in ally st ud ied t heol og y b u t had l ost his

, ,

p a r is h by d a n c in g i n publ ic H is dr o ll hum o ur s t an d.s ou t as

p r o m in en tl y in hi s l if e as in his wr it in g s an d on t he a m at eur
st ag e . H e is st ill kn own by his Volksmarchen der D eu tschen .

E v en b ef ore t he publ ic at ion of t hese t al es he had acquired

a l it er ary r eput at ion by his two sat ir ic al n ov el s Gran dison ,

der Z wei te an d Physi ogn omische Rei sen For t he l att er .

work Goet he gav e him t his rap on t he fi ngers : The “

m u ses say on e t hin g Mu s au s says an ot her

”
, .

Bertu ch a n ativ e of W eimar was a rar e c omb ination of

, ,

s chol ar ship p oet ic t al en t an d c omm erc ial ap t n ess

, ,
Origin .

ally a t heol ogian t hen a jurist he rec eived in 1 7 7 5 the

, ,

in fluent ial p osit ion of c ou n c ill or an d priv at e secret ary t o

t he Duk e a p osition which g av e him charg e of t he Duk e s
’

fi n an c es H e est abl ished his right to m emb ership in t he

.

C ourt of t he Muses by mean s of a c oll ection of Wiegenlieder

among which A littl e l amb as whit e as snow is
“ ”

still t o d ay t he d el ight of German children the t ragedy ,

 t he W e imar t our t of the ab use s 26 3

E lfri ede r l D on Q u ixote ( 7 7 5

a t an s at ion of 1

an d m an y ot her wr it in gs H is l at er l it erary eff ort s w ere

.

more of a c ommerc ial n ature amon g t hem t he Bi lderbu ch ,

f u r K i n der wh ich h a
,
s b ec om e so p o pul ar I n t he Bur eau .

of N at ion al I n du st ries his succ ess was brill ian t As l on g .

as he was an offic er at C ourt he was alw ay s busy an d t here ,

was n o on e who did n ot occ asion ally n eed his servic es .

This dev elop ed in him a self sat isfied arrog an c e which grew
—

more an d more v exatious to Goet he who was at first on ,

in t imat e t erm s w it h him .

I n t he sam e group b el on gs t he p ain t er an d l at er d irec tor ,

of t he W eim ar I n st it ut e of Draw in g G eorg Melchior Kraus , ,

a f ell ow c ou n t rym an of G oet he s whose fac ile pl easin g ’

-
, ,

t al en t had b een cul t ivat ed in Paris Goet he characterises .

him as a most agr eeabl e soc ial c omp an ion E v en t em .

-

p ered cheerfuln ess acc omp an ied him everywhere ; obligin g

in g w it hout hum il ity dig n ifi ed w it hout prid e he was ev ery
, ,

where at home ev erywhere a favourite t he busiest an d at

, , ,

”
t he sam e t im e m ost c omfort abl e of all mort al s
,
.

If we ment ion in p assin g Trav el Director v on Klin kow

s t r om ,
M ast er of t he H orse v on St ein Chamb erlain v on ,

Wert hern D uchess Amalia s priv at e secret ary Lu d ecu s

,
’
,

Director of t he O rchest ra Wol ff Chamb er music ian Kran z ,

-
,

we hav e wit h t he exc ep tion of t he Duk e exhaust ed t he

, ,

c ircle of m en wit h whom Goet he came int o immediat e

c ontact in Weimar .

I n p assin g from t he m en to t he wom en we fin d b esid e , ,

Duchess Amalia t he t en d er y ou n g Duchess Luise c on sort

, ,

of K arl August She is almost c ompl et ely crowd ed in to t he

.

b ackgroun d by t he masculin e ac tiv e brillian t p erson al it y , ,

of her m ot her in law — H er quiet n at ure was l ittl e suit ed t o

-
.

t he C ourt of W eimar H er t en d er heart t ook ev eryt hin g

.

v ery hard E v ery littl e offen c e an d ev ery discomfort

.

vexed her an d made her withdraw in t o herself So it came .

ab ou t t hat b ec au se of her n oble qualities she won every

b ody s respect b u t bec ause of her b itter reserve enj oyed
’
, , ,

n ob ody s frien d sh ip E ven Goet h e who after meetin g her

’
.
,

in K arl sruhe dev oted t o her a heart full of j oyous love ,

264 t he l ife of Goe the

gradually b ecame c old b ecause of her in felicitous manner .

This man n er was still more repulsive to her aggressive

husb an d an d their married life soon took on an un refresh
,
”
in g asp ec t She sh on e as an eclip sed star is Kn eb el s
’
.
,

apt charac terisation of her O n ly in critical moments did

.

t his star fl ame for th ; t h en her n at ure ar ose t o h eroic

greatness When the catastrophe of 1 8 0 6 broke over the
.

c oun try she by her firm maj estic bearin g saved Weimar
, , ,

from destruction an d the duc al h ouse from an n ihilation .

Voil au n e femme alaquelle m e me n os deux cen t can on s

n on t pu f aire p eur ! said N ap oleon t o R app at t he time
’
.

N ext t o her an d in man y respec ts resemblin g her was

, ,

Ch arlotte v on S tein wife of the M aster of the H orse As

, .

we shall h ave occ asion t o devote sp ecial atten tion t o this

em in en t w om an suffic e it h ere t o all ow her t o shin e ou t as
,

a meteor as her light on c e b efore quickly fl ashed b efore

,

ou r eyes .

I n c on trast wit h the serious ch arac t ers of t he Duch

ess an d Frau v on S tein is the j oy ou s mischiev ous little “
,

gn ome Luise v on Gochhau sen lady in waitin g t o Duchess

,
”
,

Amalia wit h t he n i ckn ame Thusn elda a small misshapen

, , , ,

sen sible good n at ured m o cker of st r on g in t ell ec t an d fin e

,
-
,

taste as is b est sh own by her let t ers from I taly Plen t y

“
, .

of gen iu s b u t can d o n ot hin g ! she said j okin gly of h erself

”
.
,

To her p oetic in terest an d her admiration for G oethe we owe

t he preservation of the Urfau st an d the b ooklet A n n ette ,

for which she will always b e rememb ered .

An other piquan t member of the society b u t in a differ —

en t sen se was B ar on ess E mil ie v on Werthern B eichlin gen

— —
,

who grew up in Lon d on as t he daughter of the H an overian

,

minister v on Mun chhausen an d in 1 7 7 3 was married to ,

Chamb erlain v on Werthern who was c on siderably her ,

eld er. S en suous fiery very b eautiful she lacked n either

, , ,

admirer s n or the in clin ation t o in dulge t heir h omage .

With the m ost p erseverin g of them Lieuten an t v on ,

E in siedel C ou n cill or of M in es an d broth er of Ch amb erlain

, ,

v on E in sied el she el op ed t o Afric a in

,
8
7 4 a f t er h av in g 1 ,

previously risked the adven ture of a sh am burial .

26 6 t he fi ife ot G oe the

men t al expression ,
in sp ires even u s of t o d ay -
with a lon gin g
Die Kron e
c alled ( An d e en thy ” “
was
’
to see her ,
as she

n am e C or on a grac es t h ee ) t ouch ed the h eart s of m an y

”
, ,

m en an d in G oeth e s she occupied a favoured sp ot for sev

’

er al year s by the sid e of Frau v on S tein E in siedel was for .

years p assion ately in love with her an d prob ably the on ly ,

reason for their n ot b ein g married was his h op eless fin an cial

ruin .

H er est eemed c olleagu es were the wife of Wolff con ,

ductor of the orchestra Frau S tein hardt an d Demoiselle , ,

Neu hau ss who were j oin ed a few years later by Fr aulein

,

v on Rudorff ( die who c ap tured the

“
wise “

sulk er K n eb el ”
.
,

If we return to the higher region s there is on ly on e ,

very promin en t woman still to b e men tion ed little Frau ,

“

Schardt the wife of Frau v on S tein s brother Privy

,
” ’

C oun cillor Schardt B orn C oun tess B ern storff after the
.
,

early d eath of her p aren t s she was br ough t up in the h om e

of her c ousin the Dan ish M in ister of S tat e

,
There she had .

breathed the p oetical air of human ity th at prevailed in the

B ern st orff h ouseh old After her marriage in M ay 7 7 6 .
, ,
1 ,

she w as s o on j oin ed by her f o s t er m ot h er an d t he l att er s

’
-

busin ess agen t the p ortly B ode Lessin g s frien d As a

, ,
’
.

follower of Klopstock she sh owed m ore in clin ation for

H erder s soul felt proph esyin g than for Goethe s idealisin g
’
-
’

realism H erder on his p art cultivated a very warm

.

Plat on ic frien d sh ip with the sen timen tal an d somewh at

c omplacen t little woman Fin ally we m ay men tion further .

Duch ess Luise s M istress of the R ob es the l on g n osed stiff

’
-

, ,

C oun tess Gian ini ; her ladies in waitin g v on Wollwart an d ,

v on W ald n er ; y ou n g Frau v on K alb L ady of the Bed ,

ch amb er to Duchess Amalia ; the wid ow of Legation

Cou n c ill or K ot z ebue moth er of the well kn own au th or ; ,
-

an d her amiable d augh t er Am alie .

At the h ead of t his great v aried circle of m en an d ,

women stood K arl August in to whose h an ds his mother , ,

t he Duch ess Am alia had giv en over the rein s of g overn ,

men t on the third day of S eptemb er 7 7 5 ,

1 .
 26 8 t he l ife of G oe the

fiery forge of human life C on cernin g the Sistine Madon n a

.

he wrot e t o K n eb el in Oc t ob er 1 7 8 2 : My feelin gs in the “

,

p res e n c e o f t he R aph a e l wh i ch ad o r n s t he D r es d en G a lle ry

were n ot un like th ose when one has climbed the wh ole
day up to the summit of St Goth ard p assed through t he .
,

U rn er Loch an d n ow sudd en ly looks ou t up on the bl oomin g

,

green U rseren Tal As oft en as I looked at it an d then

.

t urn ed away it seem ed to m e like a vision b ef ore my soul ;

ev en the m ost b eau tiful Correggios w ere t o m e on ly hum an

pictures an d my memory of them like their b eautiful

, ,

forms sen sibly p alpable Bu t Raphael always remain ed

, .

with m e merely as a breath as on e of those vision s which ,

t he gods sen d t o u s in w om an ly form t o m ake u s h appy or

un happy as the images which c ome to u s in ou r dreams in
, ,

wakin g hours an d in sleep an d which on ce seen gaz e at u s , , ,

”
c on tin ually day an d night an d stir ou r deepest emotion s
, , .

To p oetry he was almost as delicately resp on siv e as he

was t o p ain tin g H e him self p ossessed a th oroughly p oetic
.

t emp eram en t even t h ough in lat er years it was less fre

,

quen tly man ifested On an evenin g in July 1 7 8 0 after a

.
, ,

week s visit from the D uke of Gotha he wrot e from a hu t in

’

the p ark : The d ay was q uit e ext raordin arily b eautiful ,

an d t he first free ev en in g (f or the G ot h as left t his m orn i n g )

was a great joy t o m e I stole ab out through the en tran ces
.

t o t he kalte Kii che [p ar t of the p ark] an d was in such

‘

close c ommun ion with n ature an d so far away from earthly

c ares Man is after all n ot in ten ded for the miserable
.
, ,

humdrum of busin ess life ; for on e s soul n ever exp an ds as ’

wh en on e thus watches t he su n go d own the stars c ome ou t , ,

an d sees an d feels the even in g grow c ooler an d this all so ,

much for its own sake an d so little for the sake of m en an d

, ,

y et t h ey en j oy it an d t h at t oo so k e en ly t h at t h,
ey t h i nk ,

it is for th em I will b athe with the evenin g star an d gain

.

n ew life .

“
I wen t to the river s b ank The water was c old for ’
.
,

n igh t lay already on it s b osom I t seemed as if on e wer e .

goin g down in to the c ool n ight As I took my first step in .

,

it was so pure so like the darkn ess of n igh t up over the

, ,
 t he W e imar t our t of the {lhuses 26
9

hill b eyon d Upper Weimar came the full red m oon It was , .

so c omplet ely quiet On e c ould h ear on ly Wed el s Fren ch

’
.

h orn s from afar an d the quiet distan ce prob ably made me

,

h ear purer ton es th an issued from the in strumen ts .

”

I n such u tt eran c es on e feels as if G oet h e were sp eakin g ,

an d his sp irit c ert ain ly did p erm eat e his pupil Bu t wh at .

an affin it y of sp irits was required t o giv e b ack such a

brilliant reflec tion !
We can rec ogn ise the Duke s p oetic an d at the same ’

t im e idealistic t emp eram en t still m ore clearly in a remark

,

able letter which he directed t o K n eb el in Oc tob er 1 7 7 1 , .

B ecause K n eb el could n o lon ger serve the duchy in any

t an gible way in ret urn for the sal ary which he was rec eivin g
he was thin kin g of seekin g an app oin tm en t elsewh ere This .

o cc asion ed a let t er fr om the Duk e which am on g oth er , ,

t h in gs c on tain ed the f oll owin g :

,
Are th ose pray who , ,

en j oy t hy frien dship thy soc iety so slav ish are th eir n eed s
, , ,

so pred omin an t ly phy sic al th at th ou c an st b e of u se t o

,

t hem on ly by diggin g h oein g clean in g ou t the st able an d

, , ,

s cribblin g d ocum en t s ? I s the rec ep tacle of th eir souls so

sm all t h at t h ou c an st fin d n o sp ac e in th em in t o w hich th ou

can st p our t he b eau t iful g ood an d great t hin gs w hich t hy

, , ,

s oul has t r easured up t o b et t er an d en n oble t heir in n er

,

lives Are we so hun gry that thou must toil for ou r bread
?
,

so t imid an d u n st abl e th at t h ou mu st l ab our for ou r security ?

Are we in c ap able of other j oys th an th ose of the table an d

rest Can we n ot fin d pleasure if th ou freer from the dirt
?
, ,

an d foul od our of the w orld s machin ery d ev ot e thy wh ole

’
,

time t o the cullin g of b ouquet s fr om the fl ower s of life an d

p rese n t in g t h em t o u s w,
h o h a v e n o tim e t o g at h e r t h em ?
Are ou r v alleys so arid th at we h ave n o n eed of a lovely
f ou n tain to gath er their tin y tricklin g rills in to a b eautiful
,

str eam t h at we m ay en j oy th em ? Are we g ood f or n othin g

b u t an vils of time an d fate an d can we en dure n othin g ab out
,

u s b u t bl ocks which resembl e u s an d are of a h ard an d ,

very durable texture? The souls of m en are like

con st an tly cul tivated soil ; is it d egradin g t o b e a c areful

g a rd e n er w
,
h o Sp en d s h is t im e in sea rch in g f or eig n l an d s for
2 70 t he t if e of G oe the

differen t kin d s of seed s selec tin g an d sowin g them I S it

,
?

so sh or t a t ask t o procure an d selec t this seed ? Must he n ot

at the same time ply his trad e as a smit h in ord er th at he
m ay well r oun d ou t his life ? A m an who can write thus
is n ot merely a l over of p oetry he has p oetry in him , .

I t is al so a b eautiful evid en c e of K arl Augu st s p oetic

’

feelin g that he priz ed Goeth e s p oetry ab ove everythin g ’

el se . Bu t much as he admired it his admiration did n ot

, ,

make him un critical H is j udgmen t was always in depen d

.

en t an d n ot in frequen t ly v ery severe for ex ample in the

, , ,

case of E gmon t It is in acc ord an ce with his sterlin g n ature

,

th at in p oetry he att ach ed the gr eatest v alue t o the su b

stan c e an d t h at f or w ork s in which he th ough t he disc overed
,

emp t y p ath os or st rain in g for effec t he sh owed an out sp oken

av ersion Man y of Schiller s p oem s had t o suffer un der his

’
.

stron g disappr ov al .

H is views which embrac e ev en p eculiarities of style an d

,

rhythm d o n ot always c oin cide with ours It is the most

, .

prep ost erous thin g imagin able h owever to say th at he had , ,

n o u n d erst an din g of p oet ry merely b ecau se he th ought ,

lit t le of a w ork of G oeth e or Schiller which t o day is ,

-

c elebrated or b ec ause he esteemed on e highly which to day

,
-

has fallen in valu e .

If after th ese amplification s it sh ould app ear as if Karl

August were a delic ately wrought person ality active on ly ,

in sp iritual th in gs this impression would b e very d ec ep tive

, .

On t he c on trary his n ature was from the very b egin n in g

,

th at of a hot bl ooded sturdy sen suous hu n tsm an an d

-
, ,

soldier . To grow weary from ridin g his hun tin g h orses all
day l on g over h edges an d d itch es through rivers an d up , ,

in t o the moun tain s an d th en c amp at n igh t u n der the op en

,

sky was ju st t o his fan cy

, Th ough his restlessn ess later
.

sub sid ed his r ough n ess an d sturdin ess clu n g t o him so th at

, ,

ev en in his adv an c ed y ears he still retain ed somethin g of his

youthful frolic someness in in timate circles This trait was .

still m ore cl early sh ow n in his f on d n ess f or a j ok e an d in ,

th at he usu ally gave a rud e on e t he preferen c e .

N ever did there dwell so closely together in the breast of

272 t he l ife of G oe the

con ception s the education of m en should b e presen ted in

, ,

t he st yle of legal docum en t s an d modo voti is in credible .

If a m an had n o c on ception of a human treatmen t of such

a subj ec t he c ould n ot h elp formin g it fr om its c ont rary as ,

”
soon as he r ead t h ese d ocum en ts .

With such con viction s it was n atural that all his reforms
,

had a mod ern philan thropic p opular ten d en cy an d t hat he

, , ,

was the first am on g the G erman prin ces to redeem the

promise c on t ain ed in the act of the Germ an C onfed eration
, ,

t o gran t a state c on stit ut ion This volun tary division of

.

his p ower was c ert ain ly n ot an easy step for his autocratic ,

h ead stron g n ature ; b u t to the iron will with which he

execu ted ev ery t hin g t h at he rec og n ised as righ t he m ade

him self b ow H e had a great man y in n er struggles eS

.
,

p eci ally in t he b eg in n in g of h is r eig n wh en y ou t hful u n ,

c ertain ty an d p assion in herited views an d hobbies often

,

c aused him to deviate from his high an d n oble purposes .

Bu t every year the v ic tory b ec am e easier for him an d he ,

worked with in creasin g steadfastn ess an d z eal at the lib ‘

eration an d r ejuv en ation of the S tat e of Weim ar Goethe .

,

who was in advan c e of him in y outh was un able t o keep ,

pac e with his rapid progress in old ag e .

H is progressive n at ure w hich early mad e the duchy a

,

t ower of p olitic al an d r eligious lib eralit y also m ade it self ,

felt in the ec on omic field .H e sought to in troduc e in his

own c oun try all the gr eat n ew in stit ution s an d in v en tion s .

If a thin g failed it rec eived n o further mention an d he ,

imm ediat ely t ook up somethin g n ew H is art of g ov er n .

in g was further aid ed an d fru ctified by his ability to dis

“

tin gu ish in t ellec t s an d ch ar ac t ers an d pu t each in its right

”
place (Goethe to E ckerman n ) .

Aided by this gift by his high min dedn ess an d by other

,
-
,

rich en d owm en ts he succ eeded n ot on ly in drawin g to his

C ourt the leadin g Spirits of the n ation b u t what is far more , , ,

in keepin g t h em th ere p erman en tly .

In this way he m ad e Weim ar a c en t re of cul ture wh ich ,

c ast its illumin atin g an d warmin g rays over the wh ole of

German y overtowered B erlin an d Vien n a in in tellectual
,
 t he W e imar t our t of the ab uses 273

p ower an d in fac t c ould b e c on sidered

, , ,
the ea r l true capital
,

of G erm an y .

D QBeimar bir fie! ein befbnber 8 08

, ,

Bet cbem in Suba

% ieS , mein unb grotfl ‘

Now if we look b ack over the l on g list of p erson alities de

scrib ed who u n ited in th emselv es so much talen t amb ition
, , ,

educ ation char ac ter an d b eau ty an d if we rem emb er t hat

, , ,

h y frequen tly received valuable addition s from Jen a

t e ,

E rfurt Goth a an d the c oun try we can un derstan d how

, , ,

Goethe could with happy heart exchan ge the great im

perial city for the little rural town the highly favoured ,
“

valleys of the M ain and the Rhin e for the unfertile hills
of Thurin gia .

You w ould n ot b elieve how man y good fellows an d

“

goo d heads there are gathered here in such a small

“

sp ac e ju st as in on e family the equ al is n owh ere t o b ef oun d

, , ,

writes G oethe to his far away frien ds An d eleven years -

.

later when the society was still essen tially the same
, ,

Schiller wrote in t he same vein : All are p eople such as on e

n ev er fin ds t oget her in on e plac e The select circle
”
.

p ossessed for G oethe two other sp ecial advan tages : youth

an d w oman s in fluen c e were its prev alen t charac teristic s
’
.

Of the Duch ess Dowager the real patron ess of the C ourt of ,

the Muses we alr eady k n ow th at she was on ly thirt y six

,
-

years of age when Goethe arrived in Weimar K arl 62

.

August an d his wife were n o more than h alf as far advan ced
in years while t he ages of t he oth ers ran ged b etween t hese
,

ex trem es wit h t he exc ep tion of Wielan d

, who with his ,

forty two years felt like a gran dfather in the midst of the
-

youn g soc iety .

The min ds of these youthful p eople had n ot yet grown

rigid un der an y d oc trine or h abit They readily accepted .

the n ew tren d of t h ough t an d feelin g Whereas in the great .

city of Fran kfort G oethe saw ab out him on ly isolated

O t h ee O Weim ar fell t he p ec ial fat e n , ,
S ,

Lik e Bet hl eh em Jud ah t b e m all a d gr eat -

, o s n
VOL — I 1 8
2 74 t he l if e of G oe the
.

disciples of his ideas an d admirers of his p oetry such as he,

wished in little Weimar th ey formed a den se h ost a wor

, ,

shipful c on gr egation an en t hu siast ic p ar t y

, .

Furtherm ore valuable to the p oet as were the m en who

,

erred an d str ove wit h him on the b an k s of the Ilm it was ,

ab ove all the women who m ad e the n ew life really d ear t o

him . A t all tim es in his lif e he pri ed at fir st in stin ct
z -

iv ely th en c on sciously the society of w omen as a n eces

,
—

sit y of life From th em he th ought he rec eived the most

.

refin ed in spiration s an d the m ost n oble purific ation I t .

was on ly in th eir presen c e th at the b est sides of his n at ure

seem ed t o u n f old an d ex er t a b en eficen t in fluen c e .

H en ce on e can estimate what a sign ific an ce it must have

had f or him t o fin d in Weim ar a c ircle of highly talen ted
an d refin ed women such as he had n ever b ef ore kn own
,
.

To them esp ecially are we in deb ted that his t ree of life in
the gr owin g seriou sn ess of years an d bu sin ess did n ot ru n
t oo much t o w oody fibre b u t always pu t ou t n ew leav es
,

an d n ew blossom s .
2 76
t he l if e of G oe the
Elfin : iubite
n s ruit aIIe ru © innc
’
n anie n,
QDurd) alleunire l ern rinnen
t
.

@ a bat iid) niein (S i atteé éllfselt

t in Wenit eniobn uns bargeitellt,
fi b er alle® iite unb alIe(hemalt
m
Set Weni beit in in iid) hereinigt!
“

6 0 feineé Galb gang innerer (hebalt

, ,

BOn iremben 6 d) laden in gang gereinigt!

S
.

fiber ungerbriidt nan ih r Bait

‘
re

Gamad) tig aIIeS t atue umiaist ,

Gatiei in jebes QBeien iid) gra bt ,

ll nb bad) in innig int Gan3en Iebt!

Daé Iai;
Z
‘
mit eine
n Baubrer iein!
QSiemurben mit ibm bieSage3a g tunben !
Q ie6 tanben mieaugenblids neridm i unbe
n!
‘

ll nb wieber Qlugenblideia reid) !

QIn innerem QBertet agen glad) !

QBas mad) t er nid) t ans unfern 6 eelen

QBer id) n1e13t mieer bieQ uit im Gdnnerg?
QBer tann ia [ieblid) iingiten unb quiiIen
Sn iiiisern t ra ne ridnne
n ge lgen bas 65 mg
QBer ans ber © eelen inneriten t iefen
Shit ioId) entgiidenbem ll ngeitiim
(fieiiibleermeden bie abneibn
,

li nt ieibit net bargen iru ib unfein ic l

b ien
ie

D meld n (t end ue meld) eGcenen

,

thief; er nor anieru Qiugen entitebn ?

QBir ma hnten nid) t gu b a n 3a ie
re bn , ,

QBir iabn QBer malt mieer ? 6 aid) an,

ll nb immer abnea n ne rid w ne n!
6 0 mnnberbarlid) mai n in neu , ,

llnb bennad) Bug nor Bug in treu ?

Q ad) mie mas iug id) maien P t r id) aiit,
’

Sk it mabrer, ma dniger ® d) a pi f i
'

er8 r a t
t rid m iit er Wi enid nn iie atm e n i
i i
e treben! ,

Sn i!) ren inneriten ?saiern iit e en !

ll nb jebes in gang t s ie it iarein! ,

Sta nnteniee twas aubers iein !

 arriv al in We imar 27 7

Sit immer ed) iet S

UZenid) ber Jiatur,
S

Stiehirngeipenit nieS taritatur , ,

Stietab les Gerippenan 6 d) ulmaral ,

Stie iiberipanntes Sbeal !

Shad) einmaI 4i mie agen bie© tunben

,
53 t d e
) ) , fl
S ued) meinet Banbrers S tanit b arbei!
ll nb menu mit bad) ten mir b a tten s geinnbe
’
n, ,

ll nb mas er iei nun gang empiunben , ,

QBie murb er in id) neII uns wieber neu !

’

m
t nti liipitepla li
t )d b em iat ten iB Iict
ll nb tam in aubree (heitalt garne t .

Bieianene S teigeiid) nué entfalten ,

ll nb iebeber tauienbiad nn (heitalten

65 0 nngegni nngen ia niillig iein , ,

JJZan maia
S teiieiiir bie mabre baIten
Siabm unirehergen in jeber ein ,

6 d) ien immer nid) t3 banon 3a ieben ,

ll nb menu er immer gla ngenb unb grot

Stings umber QBa rmeunb Q id ue rgoia,

© id) nur um ieine Qlid n gu breb en *

.

Wit h y a abl a t h ig ht
e es s s e s e n ,

M ag ic al y e full f fl a h
e sdivi e o s es n ,

Of p w r d e t ruc t iv e a well a b e ig
o e s s s n n,

M aj e t ic he m v ed a d t all d id eem
s o ,
n o s

I t he r ealm f t he pir it a m
n o arch upr eme S on s .

e a k ed Pr ay wh m ay it b e? ”
A d
n n o on s , , o

We felt at a i gl e gl a c e it wa b e
s n n ,
s

Wit h all e e we fel t it c ur e

ou r s n s s o s

Thr ugh all

o vei wit h mig ht y f c e
ou r ns or .

I all G d w rld w e ev er y et
’
n o s o n

A i gl e
s n f m a h av e m et
son o n ,

Wh ev ery virt u e
o c mbi ed so o n

Wit h every p wer f hum a oul o n so ,

Such g ld of ev ery dr
, r efi ed
o oss n ,

S pur e a d i wardly
o n w h len so o

Wh by he va t e u ppr e ed
o, r s n ss no ss ,

All at ur e f ld
n cl e t hi br ea t
o s so os o s s

I ev ery b ei g a d elv e
n n d eep c n so ,

A d i
n uch t uch wit h all life k eep
n s o .

Magic ian would I h ave him t yl ed ! s

Ho w d ay b ec am e h ur w h e he w a
s igh o s n s n ,

An d h ur l ik e m i ut e we t flit t i g by !
o s n s n n
2 78
“
t he l ife of G oe the

Thus wrote Wielan d wh ose en thusiasm foun d the ,

deepest an d m ost b eautiful words ever uttered of Goethe

as a p oet
. Chamb erlain v on Kalb wrote t o Goeth e s ’

An d mome t h w wit h r apt ur e pr l n ged !

n s, o o o

Lik e d ay wit h r ich r ec ll ec t i

s t hr ged o on s on .

H ow quick r e p e t hi m agic a t !
ou r s on s o s r

Wh mi gl e j y a he wit h fear ?
o n s o s s

Ca grief a d p ai
n l vely imp ar t ?
n n so o

Di lve the ul i weeter t ear ?

sso so n s s

Wh d w i o b m d eep e t c ore
o n n ou r oso
’
s s

Wit h uch imp at ie t d elight

s n

E m ti ar u e w h ich wit h u t hi ligh t

o on s o s , ,
o s ,

W uld l eep i the d ark f evermore?

o s n or

Wh at c a d oh wh at vi ion br igh t
s en es n ,
s s

He c jur ed up b ef r e t her e!
on o us
’
T wa ot we eem ed t ee a d h ear
s n s o s n

We aw Wh p ai t a he o fair
s . o n s s ? s ,

Yet e er a b eautifyi g ligh t ;

’
n n

S w d erfully r eal
o on ew ,
so n ,

Yet l i e f li e wh lly true?

n or n so o

Say I he p ai t ? Wit h p wer gr eat

, n s o ,

D ivi e he d t h hi m e cr eat e
n ,
o s n

I t ru e t e e ; t h ey br eat h e t h ey t r ive
n s s ns , s ,

A e i t h eir i m t fibr e al ive

r n n os .

E ach i l a t it y
s so s o e n en ,

A d n t hi g el e c uld ev er b e ;
no n s o

I ever at ur e v ery child ;

’
s n s

No burl e qu e n o chim er a wild

s , ,

No t up id cr eat ur e d id ac t ic al
s ,

No vai id eal impr ac tic al

n .

g
A ain 0 P ych e h w t he h ur fl
, s ew , o o s ,

Wh e guid ed by my m agic ia wa d !
n n s
’
n

A d wh en at l e g t h we fa c ied we k ew
n n n n

H i p wer all a d had fel t t hem t o

s o s ,
n , o,

H w ch a g ed he wa i a t ur
o n f t he h a d ! s n n o n

E c ap ed a m om e t
s at ed eye n ou r s s,

R et ur ed agai wit h ew urpr i e

n n n s s .

New ch a m he w uld t r u fold

s o o us n ,

Y et f hi f rm
o m a ifold
s o s so n ,

So n at ur al all hi w , so s o n,

We c uld b t each t he t rue e h old

o u on

I each of t h em o
n h eart he w n ur s o

He ught f t hi eemed t di cer

no o s s o s n

E e t h ugh he ev er br ill ia t a d gr eat

’
n o ,
n n ,

Tru e warmt h a d light did r adiate n ,

H e did b t r u d hi ax i t ur
u o n s s n
280 t he l if e of G oe the

gulches c aves an d forests From t he embrace of n ature

, , .

he f an c ied t hat he d eriv ed n ew st ren gt h I n n at ure t here .

were rev eal ed to him t he secret won d ers of his own heart
as well as t hose of n at ur e herself Wit h t his cult of n at ure .

he sat urat ed his whol e en v iron ment in Weimar Drin k in

“
.

t he eart h sap drin k in lif e was K arl August s adv ic e in a

” ’
-
, ,

p oetic ep istl e t o Frau v on S tein N owhere do I feel well .

un til staff in han d I l iv e an d reign b en eat h my trees an d

, ,

in hal e t he in fi n it e eart h sp irit wrote Wielan d who had -

,
”
,

n ev er b ef ore dr eam ed of an eart h sp ir it The gov ern or -

.
“

of E rfurt sp en t a few d ay s w it h u s an d d id n ot d ep art

wit hout an eart hy smell ‘

writ es Goet he d elight ed to ,
’
, ,

B aron v on Fritsch (August Schill er who lov ed , ,

b est t o dwell in t he realm of t hought was quit e v ex ed on , ,

his first v isit in Weimar ov er t he att achm en t t o n at ure

“
, ,

carried to t he p oin t of affect ation .

A result of l iv in g close t o n at ure was c ompl et e ab an don ,

a d esir e t o roun d ou t t heir l iv es in un r est r ain ed freedom .

The y oun g er t he W eim ar society an d t he gr eat er it s p ow er ,

an d r esourc es t he wild er an d more ext rav agan t t his fr ee

,

reign of t he in div iduality n ec essarily b ecame K arl August .

esp ec ially t hir st ed f or such a l if e H is v igorous t emp era .

men t had heret ofore as it w ere b een con fi n ed in a st rait , ,

j acket Govern ors an d privy c oun cillors had lab oured wit h
.

him d ay aft er day an d Shut him off from l if e as if by a

, ,

b arric ade H e had l egally an d actually b een un der tut elage

. .

At t he momen t when he r eached his maj orit y he had b ec om e

a reign in g pr in c e an d a hu sb an d an d in st ead of gain in g his , ,

l ib erty seemed t o b e w eighed dow n by heav ier an d tight er

,

chain s H is whol e b ein g revolted an d even if Goet he had

.
, ,

n ot c om e he w ould hav e u sed his prin c ely sov er eign t y t o

,

sat isfy his r epressed l on g in g f or t he free en j oym en t of l if e .

Con tact wit h Goet he s fiery sp irit on ly hasten ed his n at ural

’

d evelopment .

Life b egan to b e gay excited un restrain ed Drinking , ,

.

b out s cards an d dice b alls in p al ac es an d in village inn s

, , ,

st ag chases moun t ain hun t s sl eighin g an d skatin g m as

, , ,

q u erad es p ic n ic s t
,
h eat r es an d l ov e mak in g furn ished t he
, ,
-
 arr ival t leimar
"

in ( L 28 1

desired e xc itemen t
B esides t here were man y extra
.
,

pleasures an d on e m ay well b eliev e t hat Goet he an d t he

,

Duke occ asion ally stood in t he m arket pl ac e an d v ied w it h -

each ot her in crackin g t he whip or t hat t hey d ist urb ed t he ,

n ight s rest of a y ou n g m arried c oupl e or had t he d oor

’
,

t o Fr aul ein v on Gochhau sen s room secret ly wall ed up an d

’
,

t he l ike .K arl A ugust d oub tl ess n ot in frequen tly w en t far

t her an d b ec am e r ough an d child ish as m ay ev ery d ay b e
, ,

ob serv ed in t he st ud en t l if e of n ormally sen sibl e an d w ell

bred p eopl e If K arl August an d Goet he had led such a

.

wild lif e as K orps Stu den ten n ob ody would hav e said a w ord
-

ab out it As it was it might hav e b een excu sabl e in Goet he ;

.
,

he was a sort of S t orm an d S t r ess f ell ow an d as yet n ot in - -

v est ed wit h an y offic e ; b u t Karl August was a prin c e a ,

sov er eig n an d a m arr ied m an

,
H en c e his lif e must hav e .

c aused man y a scan dalised shake of t he head amon g t he

cit iz en s an d offic ial s of Weimar who w ere n ot att un ed to ,

S torm an d St ress p it ch E in sied el in on e of t he sat ires

- -
.
,

which w ere read in t he VVelt geist erei K arl August s ,

” 63 ’

more in timat e c ircl e takes off t he chorus of grumbl ers w it h

,

exc ell en t hum our :

Stun benf man iid) eu $ uriteniabn

’ ’

fib er in nergii3t (heburt unb t hra n

ll nb Iebt mit iaId) en Iadern (heiellen ,

Q iebem Iieben (S
i att bie8 eit abpreHen;
(Dietun, als miir n ire ieinesgleimen
’

3 6m nid) t eininaI ben gum

,

sidn id) en
rang itre ,

Q iebet l irubert Sieipett in gang nerfennen

S‘
,

Tou t cou rt ibn ” Qi ruberberg tun nennen ,

ilaub n es mobne ba S
(S iltenid nnneritanb
’

, ,

98 0 man all etiqu ette nerbannt ,

®pred) n immer ans boIIern hers

’

t reib n ruit ber h n 6 taatstunit Gc

eil ge b g
’ ’
er

B
© iub o[) ne S Ian u nb QSD Iitif ,

Qierbungn anier beitet il teiiteritnd

l
’
t .

Ju t fa cy pr ay a pri c e
s n , ,
n
’
s son

Wh f rget hi bir th a d t hr ne
o so o s s n o

A d l iv e wit h a d eg e er at e m b
n s n o ,

Wh G d f ev ery mi ut e b
o o o n ro
28 2 t he l ife of Goe the
Goet he had his share in t he pran ks ; yet he secretly
approv ed of m an y of t he obj ec t ion s t o t hem an d it is cer ,

t ain t h at he t ook on ly a h alf —heart ed p art in man y of t he

disord erly amusem en t s H e was obliged t o j oin in t hem
.

for two r eason s A youn g man does n ot impress a v igorous

.

youn g gen eration by mere in t ell ect ual sup eriority : l east
of all a burgher y ou n g n obl em an or prin c es H e mu st .

al so show t hat he is t heir phy sic al p eer in en duran c e an d

agil it y . If Goet he demon strat ed to t he youn g Prin c e of
Weimar t hat he c ould hold his own in drin king as w ell as
an y G erm an n obl eman ; t hat in r idin g he fou n d n o dit ch t oo

broad n o hedge too high n o rocky bridl e p at h too hard n o

, ,
-
,

way t oo l on g ; t hat he was a good hun t er a skilful dan c er ,

an d skat er ; t hat he u n d er st ood ev ery sp ort ; t hat he c oul d

sp en d a whol e w in t er n ight in drin kin g an d d an c in g an d ,

t hen b efor e br eak of day st art on a hun t t hen an d t hen ,

on ly c o uld he b e sure t hat t he Prin c e an d his c aval ier s

would hav e full resp ect for him This resp ect was v ery .

imp ort an t in his op in ion n ot for t he sak e of his own p erson

, ,

b u t for t he high id eal s which he pursu ed w it h t he Duke .

The ot her c on t roll in g mot iv e was his d esire t o b e ev ery

w here presen t t hat he m ight at all t imes b e abl e t o check
,

t he u n t am ed yout h an d prev en t his exub er an t p owers from

goin g to exc esses t hat might l ead to his own an d t he coun
t ry s ru in
’
.

I t is n ot a qu est ion of wh et her or n ot Goet he in his

b earin g was always c on scious of t hese rulin g motiv es .

That t hey w ere often t he secret of his action s c an n ot b e

doubted any more t han t hat he from t he v ery first sought
, , ,

Th ey flatt er him m r the equel no o e— s

Of t h eir d em ea ur a hi equ alno s s

A d
n w
no m r e t heir pr i c e r ever e
no o n ,

T t
ou t t h ey c all him
cou r br ther d ear o

Thi k t h at huma wi d m i f u d
n n s o s o n ,

Wh er e all et iqu ett e fall t t he gr u d ; s o o n

Al way p eak what i i t h eir h eart

s s s n ,

Mak i g a j k e f t he t at e m a
n o o a t; s s n s
’
r

N pl a
0 p licy empl y ;
n or o o

O ur g r eat e t m a
s t er piec e d e
s t r y s o .
284 t he l ife of G oe the
it waste an d t urn et h it up sid e down an d sc attereth abroad
, ,

t he in hab it an t s t hereof The n ew win e m ourn et h

.
,

t he v in e l an gu ishet h all t he m erry heart ed d o sigh

,
The -
.

mirt h of t abrets c easet h t he n oise of t hem t hat rej oic e ,

en d et h t he j
,
oy of t he harp c easet h They shall not drin k .

wine wit h a son g ; stron g drin k shall b e b itter to t hem t hat

drin k it The city of con fusion is broken down : ev ery
.

house is shut up t hat n o m an m ay c ome in

,
In .

t he c it y is l eft d esol at ion an d t he gat e is smitt en w it h ,

d estruction H e add s n o w ord of expl an at ion b u t we

.
”
,

feel b etween t he lin es t hat it is n ot t he p oetic b eauty which

bids him copy t he p assage for t he Duke b u t t he d esire by , ,

m ean s of t he p icture of t he exhaust ed c oun t ry to admon ish ,

t he Duke t o sp ar e his own l an d an d p eopl e .

Ap art from t hese half masked b it s of adv ic e t here are -

n ot a f ew d irec t on es When he was al on e wit h t he Duke

.
,

esp ec ially in t he quiet of t he room an d t he c on v ersat ion ,

t ouched up on t he du ties of t he Duk e as sov ereign an d

husb an d t hen Goet he as we can see from c ertain l ett ers
, ,

an d p assages in his d iary l aid d ow n t he law t o him v ery ,

en erg et ic ally alb eit wit h t he cl ev ern ess o f g en ius an d t he

,

warmt h o f l ov e H e oft en t alked wit h t he D uk e o n su ch

.

subj ec t s t ill aft er m id n ight an d if in st ead of goin g hom e , , ,

he sp en t t he n ight wit h his dear lord t he resp ect able “ ”

,

offic ial s an d c it iz en s m ay w ell hav e t hought t he two w er e

r ev ellin g in champ agn e or holdin g God on ly kn ow s what ,

ot h er org ies That too Goethe was obl iged to su ff er in

.
, ,

sil en c e
.

3 d) bin nid) t bereit ,

$3138 firemben filtengier Ieid) i 3a itiIIen;

C ogar verbitt id) beinen guten QBIIIen;
'

h i 3 i) g
S ier i t a d mei en un b gu Ieiben 8 e1t *
.

see further Goethe far from l osin g sight of t he

how ,

duties of govern men t ev en on t he merry hun ts , ,

I d t c ar o no e

The t r a g r cur i it y t t ill ;

s n e
’
s os o s

I ev e mu t f rb id t h i e w g d W ll
n s o n o n oo i

A t im e i t h i t u ff er a d f rb ar
s s o s n o e .
 Hrrival in We imar 28 5

driv es an d rid es in t he c oun t ry makes t hem t he mean s of

, ,

l ead in g t he Duke from pl easure to w ork With his p eculiar .

v ersatility an d his rare talen t for presen tin g t he useful in

t he g arb of t he b eau t iful he m ay on such occ asion s hav e
in sp ir ed t he Duke wit h an in t er est in t he improv em en t of
t he r oad s t he c ar e of fi eld s an d f or est s an d t he promot ion
, ,

of t rad e an d in du st ry I n t his way we can u n d erst an d his

.

writin g t o J ohann a F ahlm er in F ebruary 7 7 6 : I am , ,

1
“

just b egin n in g t o get acquain t ed w it h t he coun try an d t his ,

of it self afford s m e gr eat pl easur e I t is al so giv in g t he

.

Duke a lov e of work

”
.

Who saw t his b en eficen t l ab our of Goet he s ? The sc at ’

t ered seed was on ly g ermin at in g ; it n eed ed t im e t o grow

an d b ec om e v isibl e M ean whil e t he w orld saw n ot hin g
.

b u t all t he mischief which G oet he had app ar en t ly wrought .

I t saw how t he Duk e was un d erm in in g his healt h by

his irr egul ar lif e an d as was al so whisp ered ab out by
, ,

his immod erat e dr in kin g ; it saw how he risked l if e an d l imb

for n o ot her reason t han to sp en d his rag e on horseb ack ;
how t he bu sin ess of stat e was at a stan d st ill ; how old
an d m erit oriou s offic ial s were set asid e ; how t he in c om e of
t he D uk e in st ead of b ein g empl o y ed in dign ifi ed Court
,

represen tat ion was squan d ered in drin kin g an d gamin g ;

,

an d how t he y oun g Duchess was mourn in g in sol it ud e ov er

her un happy marriag e All t his wit h sen sation al addition s
.

was b orn e from mout h t o m out h an d t old abroad an d t he ,

blame for it all was t hrown on Goet he For he was the .

old er an d mor e sen sibl e an d a b osom frien d an d on ly af

, ,

t er his arriv al had t he craz y d oin gs b egu n Op en ly an d .

secret ly from Weimar an d from abroad c ame warn in gs

, , ,

adm on ition s pleadin gs Fin ally even the sin ger of the
, .

M essi as all owed him self to b e p ersuad ed t o writ e a frien dly “

lett er to Goethe in which he said : Let m e n ot b egin by

”
,
“

say in g t h at I kn ow it on good au t h orit y ; f or with ou t g ood

au th orit y I sh ould c ertain ly rem ain Silen t Do n ot thin k .

,

eit her t h at I in t en d t o preach t o you wit h r egard t o y our

,

c on duct ; n or that I judge you h arshly b ecause you per ,

chan ce hav e other view s t h an min e on c ert ain subj ec ts .

 28 6 t he l ife of Goe the
Y our prin ciples an d min e aside wh at will b e the result , ,

pray if t his c on tin ues If the Duke c on tin ues his over
,
?

in dul gen c e in drin k till it m akes him ill in stead of as he , ,

say s m akin g him phy sic ally str on ger it will ruin his con
, ,

s tit u tion an d brin g him t o an early grav e D oub tless .

youn g men with in herited stron g c on stitution s an d such —

the Duke c ert ain ly is n ot —

have in this way materially
sh or ten ed t h eir liv es The German s have hith erto had
.

reason to c omplain th at th eir prin ces would h ave n othin g

t o d o with t heir sch olar s They n ow gladly make an ex
.

ception of t he Duke of Weim ar Bu t what will n ot oth er

.

prin c es have t o say in justific ation of themselves if you ,

c on tin ue your presen t c on duct If on ly th at sh ould

?

happ en which I feel will happen ! As yet the Duchess

,

would p erhaps b e able to subdue her sorrow for she has a ,

masculin e min d Bu t this sorrow will b ec ome grief an d

.
,

p eradven ture you thin k th at that too can b e suppressed ?

Luise s grief Goethe! Nay d o n ot b oast that you love her
’
, ,

as I do ! I t is f or you t o d ecid e wh eth er or n ot you

will Sh ow this letter to the Duke F or my p art I have n o .

obj ec t ion s ; q uit e t he c on t rary f or he c ert ain ly has n ot yet

,

c ome t o the p oin t when he will n ot listen t o the t rut h

sp o k en by a t ru e frien d
”
.

G oeth e had passed by all oth er epistles with a laugh or a

shrug of the sh ould er s Klop stock s offen ded him an d he ’

,
.

felt it n ec essary to silen c e the true frien d with a curt ,

decisive an swer : Sp are u s such letters 1n the future dear ,

Klop stock ! They do u s n o good an d always make u s

an gry f or a few h ours You feel yourself that I h av e n o
.

an swer t o m ake E ith er I w ould h av e to in t on e a P ater

.
,

p ecc a vi lik e a
, sch oo l b o y o
-
r off er a s oph i
,
stic al excu se or ,

defen d myself as a m an of h on our an d in truth perhaps a , , ,

min glin g of all three w ould b e the result ; b u t t o wh at pur

p ose? Therefore n o further words b etween u s on this
subj ec t B elieve m e th at I Sh ould n ot h ave a m omen t s ’
.

rest if I an swered all such admonition s For a m omen t it .

p ain ed the Duke th at it was a Klop stock H e l oves an d .

h on ours you ; you kn ow an d feel the same is tru e of m e

 t he ILife of G oe the
‘
28 8

91d) id) bin beeft reibens mube!

,

98 a8 ioll all bie Sl ual unb Q uit ?

GBiiiser griebe ,

Stanau ad) femur in meineitruitfi

,
‘

In pite
S of h ostilities an d t he disagreemen ts with
t he
which he was h arassed soon after his arriv al Goethe c ould ,

n ot t hin k of leavin g Weim ar v ery soon ev en if the D uke ,

sh ould n ot wish t o r etain him p erm an en tly H is con .

scien tiou sn ess bravery an d faithful frien d ship c ompelled

, ,

him at least t o await the issue of two imp ortan t m atters

which had b een taken up a few weeks after his c omin g .

The first was the c allin g of H erder to the office of

Sup er in ten den t Gen erel of m atters ecclesiastic al in Weimar .

I must have this arran ged before I leave he wrote to ,

”

H erder on the 2 n d of J an uary Bu t the proj ect had .

sc arc ely b een whisp ered ar ou n d wh en t h ere d evel op ed a

bitter opp osition to it The opp osition origin ated with the
.

Supreme C on sistory wh ose memb ers were un ited again st

,

H erder from a stran ge c ombin ation of worldly an d re

lig iou s motives They were especially fearful with regard
.

t o H erd er s supp osed latit udin arian ism The m ost ab surd
’
.

an d in sip id t hin gs were c ircul at ed ab out him an d as a , ,

result a large part of the c on gregation were horrified at t he

,

t h ought of the n ew Sup erin ten den t G en eral The opp osi .

tion was so violen t th at Goeth e did n ot even c on sider the

privacy of letters secure an d b egged his frien d to n ame ,

some or th od ox t heol ogian who w ould v ouch for him Bu t .

ev en wh en at t he en d of J an u ary t he m at ter was settled in

, ,

fav or of H erder by the firm in terven tion of the Duke the ,

opp osition was able t o pu t a t h ousan d thin gs in the way of

Th u wh H eave app i t ed a t
o o n s
’
o n r ,

E v ery j y a d rr w tille t
o n so o s s ,

A d t he d ubly ach i g h ear t

n o n

D ubly wit h r efr e hm e t fille t

o s n s ,

Oh t h at my u r e t mig h t c ea e !
,
n s s

Wh er ef r e all t hi j y a d p ai ?
o s o n n

C m e w eet p eac e
o ,
s ,

Com e a d i my b,
n m r eig n oso n .
 Elrrival in W e imar 28 9

the fin al c all an d in stallation These petty bickerin gs were .

succ essfully settled by Goeth e b u t it was n o pleasan t task , .

Yet wh at w ould he n ot h ave d on e t o brin g to his side his

great guide an d his clear Darmstadt sain t ? “ ”

H is furth er stay in Weimar had m ean while b een de

term in ed up on in c on n ec tion wit h t he sec on d an d more
imp ortan t affair A severe ministerial crisis had been
.

h overin g over Weimar sin ce Dec emb er The duchy was in .

d an ger of losin g its excellen t prime minister E ven b ef ore .

the acc ession of K arl Augu st v on Frit sch fear in g he did , ,

n ot p ossess t he c on fiden c e of t he D uke had b een con ,

tem platin g retiremen t from his p olit ic al p osition as presi

d ent of the Privy C oun cil (M inistry ) to theneutral on e of
presiden t of the judiciary H is father had p ersuaded him.

n ot t o t ake this st ep An d then K arl August return in g

.
, ,

from his weddin g j ourn ey made him the astonishin g pro ,

p osal t hat he assume the presiden cy of the judiciary in

addition t o his p osition as min ister AS the ministerial .

duties of them selves required all the stren gth which the
diligen t m an c ould muster he c ould hardly c on sid er the ,

proposal an ythin g other than an attemp t t o crowd him ou t

of t he Cou n cil H e imm ediat ely saw the l ogical con se
.

q u en ces a
,
n d on t he, ot h of D e c emb er b egg ed t o b e re ,

liev ed of his min ist erial p osition an d in trusted on ly wit h

the pr esiden cy of the judiciary .

We m ay assume th at K arl August was in clin ed t o grant

the requ est E ver sin c e the d ays of his min ority he had
.

cherished a grievan ce again st Fritsch an d prob ably had , ,

besides the desire common amon g n ew sovereign s to su r

,

roun d hi mself with n ew servan ts We m ay also assume .

,

h owever that Goethe quickly rec ogn ised the great worth of
,

Fritsch an d the far reachin g c on sequen ces which would

-

atten d his r etir em en t an d th at he lab oured wit h K arl Augu st

,

for weeks to rest rain him from an ov erh asty step I n the .

c ourse of these interviews K arl August prob ably secured

Goethe s promise to remain with him perman en tly and
’

en ter t he Privy C oun cil This is the on ly explan ation of the

.

fact th at —the Duke did not return to Fritsch s p etition till ’

VOL I 1 9
29 0 t he l ife of G oe the

t he middle of F ebruary wh en he in vited him to an audien ce

, ,

in which he in an exc eedin gly gr aciou s m an n er b egged

“ ”

him t o retain his old p osition as heret of ore b u t at t he same ,

time disclosed to him his plan of makin g v ariou s ch an ges in

the p erson n el : he in ten d ed t o tr an sfer t o Ch amb erlain v on
K alb the presiden cy of the Chamb er i e the p ortfolio , . .
,

of fi n an c e an d t o app oin t Doc t or G oeth e a m emb er of the

,

C oun cil Again st b oth these steps Fritsch immediately

.

en t ered a v ery fran k an d v ery d etermin ed pr otest esp e ,

cially ag ain st the app oin t m en t of G oeth e as he c on sid ered ,

t he friv ol ou s y ou n g b ell et ristic adv oc at e from Fran kfor t

wh olly in cap able of administerin g such a high an d respon
sibl e offic e in a stat e wit h wh ich he was u n f amiliar He .

b egged the Duke in an y case to c on sider his plan s maturely .

Again the Duke all owed m ore than two m on th s to p ass

b efore he an n oun ced his decision to the minister This .

c
se on d l on g h esita o w s
t i n a so u n n at ur al in t he hot —headed ,

st ubb orn Prin c e esp ecially wh en

,
as in t his c ase it was a
, ,

question of the fulfilmen t of his heart s d esires that we ’

,

must ascrib e it also to G oethe s in terv en tion Goethe m ay

’
.

hav e h oped that in time the differen ces w ould adjust

t h em selv es F rit sch b ec om e b ett er ac q u ain t ed wit h him
, ,

an d the D uke gain m or e rep ose H ow great a p art G oet he

.

had in t he Duke s ev ery act in the c ase we m ay b est see

’

from the fact th at he looked over the first draught of the

decision which was fin ally c ommunicated on the st of 21

April an d soften ed down some of its h arsh features In

, .

it the Duke again b egged Fritsch to retain his p osition

in the C oun cil affirmin g h ow ev er th at he mu st in sist on his
, , ,

former plan s in cludin g the chan ges in the person n el of the

,

Coun cil .

Fritsch was ru flied in the highest degree by the decision

‘
.

From the lon g delay he m ay h ave exp ec ted that the Duke
had approved his obj ec tion s b u t n ow it was ou t of the
,

question ; an d if the Duke would n ot listen to him in such

imp ortan t question s of p erson n el an d organisation how ,

c ould he h ope for an y further success n his offic al activities

i i ?

B esides there was some justific ation for his fears that the
,
29 2 t he l ife of Goe the
imp etu osit y The letter of the 1 o th of May is an imperish
.
-

abl e m on umen t which t he Duke erec t ed t o his own an d

Goethe s hon our an d must have its place in every biography
’

of G oet h e .

“
H err Geheimer Rat : Your letter of the 4 th of April 2

was duly rec eived I n it you t ell m e your op in ion with

.

all t he uprigh tn ess which I sh ould exp ec t of so sterlin g

a m an as you You dem an d your dismissal from the servic e
.
,

b ecau se as you say you can n o lon ger sit in a collegiu m of

, ,

which Doctor Goethe is a memb er As a matter of fact this .

sh ould n ot b e a su ffic ien t reason to brin g you to such a

d ecision If Doctor G oethe were a m an of doub tful char

.

ac t er every on e w ould approve your d ec ision ; b u t G oet h e

,

is uprigh t his h eart is extraordin arily g ood an d ten der

, .

I am n ot the on ly p erson pleased with him ; m en of great

in sigh t c on gratul ate m e on the p ossession of such a m an .

H is men t al c ap acity an d gen iu s are kn own You y ourself .

will u n d erstan d t h at such a m an would n ot en dure the

,

t ediou s an d m ech an ic al l ab our of workin g up from t he

b ottom in a Coun cil of S tate Not to empl oy a m an of .

gen ius in t he place where he can make u se of his extra

ordin ary t alen t s is t o abu se him ; I h op e y ou are as c on vin c ed

of t he t ru thful n ess of t h is st atemen t as I am Touchin g .

t he p oin t t h at by this mean s ma

,
n y m eritoriou s p eople

who had some title t o this p osition w ere set asid e I kn ow ,

of n o on e in my serv ic e who asp ired t o it ; sec on dly I sh all ,

n ev er b est ow a p osition which stan d s in such imm ediat e

relation t o m e p erson ally an d t o the weal an d woe of my

,

subj ec t s on the b asis of sen iority ; I sh all b e guid ed on ly by

,

my c on fiden c e in the m an As for the judgmen t of the .

world which w ould disapprove of my puttin g Doct or

,

Goeth e in my m ost importan t collegiu m with out his h avin g

b een either a magistrate professor c oun cill or on the B oard
, ,

of D om ain s or c ou n cill or on the G overn men t B oard t his

, ,

d oes n ot affect my judgmen t in the least ; the world judges

acc ordin g t o it s prejudic es b u t I as well as every oth er m an
, ,

who wish es t o d o his du t y d o n ot w ork for fame b u t t hat I

, ,

m ay b e able t o j u stify myself b efore God an d my own

 arrival in W e imar 29 3

c onscien ce an d I seek to act with out any thought of the

,

applau se of the w orld I n c on sid eration of all this I con

.

fess myself greatly surprised that you H err Geheimer Rat , ,

decide to leave m e n ow at the very moment when you ,

yourself must an d certain ly do feel how much I n eed you

, ,
.

C on sider how stran ge it must seem to me that in stead of ,

takin g pl easure in givin g a c ap abl e y oun g man like the oft ,

men tioned Goethe the b enefit of the experien ce you have

,

gain ed in twenty two years of faithful servic e you prefer to

-
,

leave my servic e in a way in sultin g alike to Doctor Goethe

an d I c ann ot d en y it t o m e
,
F or it is as if it were a dis
,
.

grace for you to Sit in a collegiu m with on e whom I as you ,

know c onsider my frien d an d who has never given occ asion

, ,

t o b e d esp ised has r at h er m erit ed the l ov e of all uprigh t

,

At the en d the Duk e r em arks : You are y our own

”
men .

lord an d master and may do wh at you like ; I sh ould

c on sider it an injustice to curtail the lib ert ies of anyb ody
whomsoever in such imp ortan t even ts of his life b u t how I ,
”
wish you might c ome to a differen t decision !
Thus Karl August does n ot even n ow sever the b on d
which un ites him to Fritsch H e gives the min ister in .
,

flatterin g form a ch an ce to retrac t Bu t Frit sch remain s

, .

immov able I n an ot her lett er of t he f oll owin g d ay he em

.

p h a sises t he f ac t t h at it w a s far fr om his in t en tion t o off en d

the Duk e b u t asserts th at he c an n ot ch an ge his d ec ision
, .

Acc ordin gly there seemed to b e n o prosp ect of retainin g

,

the min ister The Duke c ould make n o further advan c es

.

without humiliatin g himself and Goethe was n either able ,

n or willin g to ret ire ; n ot merely b ec au se his resign ation

would have don e n o good b u t he was most firmly con ,

v in ced th at it w ould h av e br ough t u n sp eak able h arm t o the

duchy Who el se was able to h arn ess the v olcan ic p owers

.

of the Duke an d m ak e th em a sourc e of bl essin g ? As a last

resort the Duchess Dowager was implored to in tervene
, .

She stood equ ally close to Fritsch an d to G oethe Fritsch .

had b een her c on fid en tial adviser for fourteen years an d

th ey had lab oured togeth er in p erfec t h arm on y On the .

other han d the p en etratin g eye of t he Prin c ess had quickly

,
29 4 t he l ife of G oe the

rec ognised the in c omp arable treasures dep osited in Goethe s ’

soul n o m atter u n d er wh at disgu ise t h ey app eared

,
S in ce .

she as a m oth er an d an ex reg en t c ould h av e on ly the wel

,
-

fare of her son an d of the c oun try in view an d sin ce she ,

s p ok e as the min ist er s frien d her v oic e c ould n ot b u t h av e

’

t he greatest weigh t She wrote My son the Duke has

.
, ,

sh ow n his c on fid en c e in m e by lay in g b ef ore m e t he cor

respon den c e th at has passed b etween him an d you with

regard to the reorgan isation which has b ec ome n ecessary .

I n it I am p ain ed t o see t h at it is your purp ose t o f orsake

my son an d that too in a momen t when you are m ost in
, , ,

disp en sable to him The reason s which you adduce have

.

c au sed m e deep sorrow ; they are un worthy of such a clever

m an as you with your k n owledge of the w orld
,
You are .

prejudiced again st Goeth e wh om you probably kn ow on ly ,

from un t rue rep orts or you j udge him from a false p oin t of
,

view You kn ow how d ear t o my heart is the fame of my

.

son an d how I h av e l ab oured an d still lab our daily th at he

,

m ay b e surrou n d ed by m en of h on our If I though t .

G oethe a crin gin g creature to wh om n o in terest was sacred ,

b u t his ow n an d wh ose every act w as pr om pt ed by am

,

b it ion I Sh o ld b e t he first t o o pp ose him

,
u I shall n ot .

sp eak t o y ou of his t alen t s of his gen iu s I sh all refer on ly , ,

t o his m oral ch arac ter H is religion is th at of a g ood tru e

.
,

Christian an d teaches him to love his n eighb our an d to

,

seek t o make him h appy That is after all the first an d

.
, ,

chief desire of ou r Creator M ake Goethe s acquain tan ce .

’
,

t ry t o l earn to kn ow him You are aware that I first ex .

amin e my p eople th or oughly b ef ore p assin g judgm en t con

cern in g th em that I have had a great deal of practical
,

exp erien c e in such ex amin ation s an d th at I judge imp ar ,

t ially B elieve a frien d who is truly devoted to you b oth

.

from gratitude an d affection E ven if my son the Duke .

, ,

had t aken an overh ast y st ep did you n ot satisfy your wh ole ,

obligation wh en you c all ed his att en tion t o the fac t ? an d

if he p ersists is it y our blun der

,
? I t seem s t o m e the w orld

The origin al l ett er i s in Fren ch .

 t he ILite of Goe the
'
‘
2
9 6

no matter what he d oes Lavater s words had b een ful

.
’

filled : Goethe would b e a splen did m an of authority with

a prin c e That is where he b elon gs H e has the makin g
. .

of a kin g .

Whoever can make others happy is happy himself .

Goethe felt this in his p olitic al activity an d felt it react ,

in g on him for good in still an ot h er way Prac tic al w ork .

formed a wh olesome coun terp oise to his passion s an d '

im aginative life True he had such an an tidote at his dis

.
,

p osal in Fran kfort in his prac tice as an advocate ; b u t that

was so odiou s t o him that he kep t as far away from it as
p ossible E v en if it were on ly for a few years still it is
.
“
,

b etter than an inac tive life at h ome where with the b est ,

of in ten tion s I can acc omplish n ot hin g H ere I h ave a few .

duchies b efore m e (to J ohan n a Fahlm er February 4

”
,
1 ,

E ven the opp osition which he meets is welc ome .

The gushin g sprin g of life en ergy d oes n ot grow stagn an t ; -

it keep s up a refreshin g fl ow As I am n ow in a p osition .

wh ere I h ave to summon all my p owers from d ay to day ,

an d mu st n eed s meet the great an d sm all probl ems of l ov e

an d h ate in famy an d p ower wit h my own h ear t an d brain
, , ,

I am happy (t o B urger February ”

I a
,
m n ot 2 ,
“

wh at you w ould c all ov erwhelmed with affairs of st at e b u t ,

am all the mor e an n oyed by th at which is at the b ottom of

all such affairs v iz the craz y wh ims p assion s an d f ollies
, .
, , ,

weakn esses an d stron g p oin ts of m en This is adv an .

t ag eou s for m e in th at it leav es m e n o time t o t hin k of m y

self an d as Frau Aj
,
a rem emb er s th at I was in t olerable wh en
n othin g an n oyed m e I am n ow safe Sin c e I h , av e an n oy ,

an c es ( t
”
o his m ot h er N ov emb er 6 ,
I t m u st h a v e ,

deep en ed his satisfaction that from the m om erit when

Fritsch decided to remain in office the circle of his admirers
c on tin ually in creased This was a sign al that Goethe s era
.
’

sign ifi ed n ot an imm at ur e rev olu tion ary p olicy b u t an or

, ,

g an ic u n i o n o f th e pr esen t w it h t he v it al elem en t s of t he

past .

By the side of the great p olitical p osition which the Duke

bestowed up on his fav ourite it seems very un imp ortan t to ,
 arr ival in W e imar 29 7

speak of the h ome which his prin cely frien d provided for
him . Bu t later in life when G oeth e wished to b oast of
, ,

what the Duke had given him it was n ot in vain that im , ,

”
mediately after love leisure c on fiden ce he men tion ed
“
, ,

“
fields garden an d house
, ,
A n est to fit his fon dest de .

sires was for y ou n g G oeth e so d ep en d en t up on his ex ter n al ,

surr ou n din g s on e of the m ost v aluable gifts

, B oettiger .
,

quotin g the iron ical b u t quite apt remark of Bertu ch says : ,

Goethe could n ot c apture his world spirit in a narrow -

,

reekin g p ool c ommon ly called a city

, H e lon ged for a .

dwellin g ou t in open n ature H ardly did the Duke learn .

his wish when he b ough t him a c ottage (Garten h aus) on the

further side of the Ilm valley an d furnish ed it at his own
exp en se .Goethe n ever spen t h appier days than in this
plain house an d its large terraced gard en On the 1 7 th of , .

May he writes : I have a dear little garden on the Ilm ou t

“

sid e the gate b eau tiful m ead ow s in a v alley

, There is a .

”
little old h ouse in it which I am havin g repaired for m e
, .

in my garden I have sen t my

“
On the 1 8 th : 0 P M 1 . . .

Philipp [his valet] h ome an d in ten d t o sleep h ere the first

n igh t al on e I t is a gloriou s feelin g t o sit ou t h ere alon e in
.

the field H ow b eautiful t he m orn in g !

. E very thin g is so
still
. I h ear on ly the tickin g of my watch an d the win d , ,

an d the weir from the distan c e

”
.

Sd) gel) meinen alten (hang

’

lIteineliebe QBieielang
S ,

t aud n mid) in bieGanneirnl) ,

Qiab ab im Wonbe net t ageé

’

Goethe had b ec ome a b aron in his own d omain .

The agreeable circum stan c es b oth private an d public , ,

un der which he took up his ab ode in Weimar were full of

h on our an d rich in promise for the future an d in the case , ,

of an y oth er m an w ould h av e b een su fficien t to explain a

,

I go my accu t m ed way s o

By m y m ead w d ear each d ay o ,

Plu g e at m r i t o t he
n o n n su n ,

Lav e ff f at igu e i t he ev e i g m
o n n n oon .
 Goe the
“
29 8 t he l ife of

declaration made by him in the summer of 1 7 7 6 that his ,

p osition was the happiest of which the human imagination

c ould dream Bu t with Goethe this was n ot explan ation
.

en ough. When he uses such a stron g expression we m ay ,

b e sure th at th at elemen t was added wh ich he c alls the

”
crown of life ,
happin ess without p eace v iz love I t
” “
, .
, .

c ame to him through Charlotte v on Stein .

3 0 0 ( the l ife of (Boetbe

to reveal his deepest emotion s O ther n oble an d delic ately .

sen sitiv e w omen such as Lili or m en of keen p erc ep tion s

, , ,

like Merck had in large measure un derstood his eccen tric

,

gen ius b u t Frau v on S tein was the first to c omprehen d him

,

in all his asp ec ts Wh at such a c omprehen sion of his in ner

.

most b eing mean t to him especially during his S torm an d ,

-

S tress years he expressed with deep feelin g in these verses

, ,

written immediately after the first mon ths of his acquain t

an c e with Frau v on S t ein (April 1 7 7 6 ) ,

Rauuteft jebeu 8 1tg in meinem QBefeu

6 p1i bteft mu biereiuftem
,

mefliugt
’

,
e ,

touuteft mid) mit einem S

S BIicfeIefeu ,

® eu fo fcbmer ein fterblicf) Qlug burcbbriugt

’
.

Sropfteft 912af1iguug bem beiteu a 31m ,

Sl icbteteft ben milben irreu S

l auf , ,

11nh iu beiueu (tugelé armeu rubte

Q iegerftfirteQiruit iid) mieber auf * .

We m to b e in the presen ce of Iphigenia maj estic

see , ,

pure an d wise as she casts the torturin g maddenin g furies

, , ,

ou t of the soul of O restes To the p oet the prophetic eye .

of his b el ov ed seem ed s o sup ern at ural t he h arm on y of her ,

soul wit h his so stran g e t h at he t h ough t it c ould n ot b e ,

explain ed oth erwise t han by the mystery of their pre ex -

isten ce in close un ion :

© ag miebaub bag 6 d1icffal 11116 {0 rein geuau

’
,

Q c bu marft iu abgelebteu Beifen

m
,

S eiue© d7mefte1 ober meiue?grau I T

Th u did t k w each ecret f my b ei g

o s no s o n ,

Ti gli g f each erv e d id t rec g i e

n n o n s o n s ,

H ad t t he ub t l e p wer f cl early eefia

s s
g o o s

D ep t h alm t b cur ed fr m m rt al ey e
s os o s o o s .

Th u did t le d re t rai t t my exc e e

o s n s n o ss s ,

Bid my wild a d wayward t riv i g c ea e n s n s ,

A d i t hi e a g elic f
n n d care e n n ,
on ss s

F u d my t r ubl ed b om bl e ed p eace
o n o os ss .

1 Sp eak H w b u d fat e i uch h arm on io u lif e?

‘

. o o n us n s s

Th u ala wa t i me f rm er t at e
o , s, s n so o s

O my i t er
r my l vi g W if e!
s s or o n
3 0 2 ( She l if e of (Boetb e

to w h om he furthermore gladly in trusted the education of

his children f or he him self had n o time t o l ook aft er t h em
,
.

Bu t oth er an d st ric ter n atures am on g th em Ch arl ott e s

’
—

pious mother a woman of Sc ottish descen t did n ot re

,
—

gard the in t imacy so ligh tly as they rec ogn ised more clearly ,

it s d eep sign ific an c e I n it th ey saw n ot on ly a tran s

.

g r essio n of th e l aws of pr o pr iet y an d h igh er m oralit y b u t , ,

b efore they b ecame acquain ted with Goethe s con scien ’

tiou sn ess an d chiv alry t h ey d oub t less feared worse thin gs

,

from a c on tin uation of the in t erc ourse Frau v on S tein was .

h erself filled with c on flictin g emotion s She c ould h ardly .

make h erself b elieve th at she did n ot return Goethe s ’

love The great ch an ge which had taken place in her in

.

formed her of the true c on dition of her heart U n for .

tu n at ely we d o n ot p ossess her letter s t o G oeth e O n ly a .

sin gle on e u n less we are d ec eived by a plau sible supp osition

, ,

seem s t o h av e b een preserv ed in Di e Geschwi ster writt en ,

in the autumn of 7 7 6 This letter reads : The w orld is

1 .
“

again gr owin g dear t o m e I had b ec ome so ali en at ed fr om

—

it an d it is all through you

-
My heart reproaches me ; I .

feel t hat I am preparin g agon y for you as well as for myself .

Six m on t h s ag o I was ready t o die b u t I am so n o lon ger , .

This letter whet her in ven ted or c opied from an origin al

, ,

c orresp on d s at an y rate with the reality M arch 2 5 1 7 7 6

, , .
, ,

after ab out four mon t h s of close acqu ain tan c e G oethe who , ,

was away on a j our n ey wr ote t o Frau v on S tein :

,
B ey on d
N aumburg the su n arose to meet m e ! Dear frien d a sight ,

full of hope fulfilmen t an d prophecy

, the su n
,

sh in in g as gold en as ev er — n ot al on e to th ese eyes b u t to ,

this hear t as well Oh it is the Sprin g which never run s

.
,

dry ! the fire which n ever goes ou t n ot even in etern ity ! ,

B est of women n ot in thee either who often fan ciest that

, ,

the h oly Sp irit of life has f orsaken thee

”
.

Bu t the m ore plain ly Frau v on S tein feels t he love an i

matin g her the more her chaste soul is disturbed
, .

Sb é ll urecbt iff mué id) empfiube

’

, ,

eu muis biemit fo Iie

ll ub ob id) biifa be Gftube ,
 F u
r a von E tein 3 3
0

233i”mein Gi emiffeu mit nid) t fageu;

Beruicbt eé gimme! bu ! QBeuu micbé iefount auflagen
S
’ ’

she on ce wrote up on the b ack of a letter from Goeth e I n .

her p er turb ation she d efen d ed herself bravely again st her

own h eart an d again st the p assion ate adv an c es of her gif ted

lover in spite of the fac t th at she was little b eh olden to her

,

husban d for his c on duct toward her She firmly in sists .

t hat G oethe m oderate t he expression s of his p assion an d

keep m ore aloof from her if n ot for her sake then for the , ,

world s At this rebuff he is c on vulsed with grief H e

’
. .

is c on scious th at he has approach ed her with the purest

in ten tion s an d has asked n ot hin g of her that on e hum an
,

b ein g is n ot justified in askin g of another v iz c on sol , .

,

ation ,pa cificat ion e n l igh t en m en t Shr ill cries,

o f p ain .

esc ap e his bl eedin g breast : E ven th is relation the purest

“
, ,

m ost b eautiful m ost sin cere th at I h ave ever b orn e to any

, ,

woman exc ept my sister this too disturb ed ! If I am n ot , , ,

t o live wit h you your love is of as litt le h elp to m e as t he

,

love of my ab sen t frien d s in which I am so rich an d all ,

-

this for t he sake of t he w orld ! The w orld which it self can ,

b e n ot hin g t o m e is n ot even willin g t hat t h ou Tshal t b e

,

an y thin g t o m e Y ou k n ow n ot what y ou are d oin g

. The .

han d of on e who Shuts him self up in solitude an d d oes n ot ,

hear the v oice of l ove presses heavy where it lies (May 2 4 ,

”
,

On the n ex t day in deep sorr ow he w orked at a , ,

p oem which he was to write for Gluck on the death of the

latter s niece What was She to him who had n ever kn own
’
.
,

her ? The touchin g sorrowful ch ord s at first softly swell , ,

in g th en dyin g away in d esp air as they quiv er through the

, ,

mon odrama Proserpin a the fin al form in to which he

“
, ,
.

c ast the dirge ech o his grief ov er the love b on d with Frau
,
-

I t wr g my b m d p impr i
’ ’
S on ,
o so s ee ess on ?

A d mu t I yet at
n ef t hi d ear t ra gre i ?
s on or s so ns ss on

Thi light my c ci ce d t h refu e m e ;

s on s en o s

Th e d d e t r y it H eav e if e e it c uld accu e m e

n o s o ,
n,
’
r o s

Thi c fu i s f pr
on u f addre repr duc t he D a d Sie
s on o on o ns o ss o es u n

f t he Germ a wh ich t hr w a t r g ligh t G et h e fu t il e att empt

’
o n ,
o s s on on o s

to c t r l i em ti
on h o —
s C o on s .
3 4
0 fi be l ife of G oe the

v on S tein which app aren tly had van ished in t o the realm
,

of the Sh ades Durin g the n ext few m on t h s he p ours

.

forth his sorrow in ever more pleadin g more yearn in g ton es , .

H e c om es t o her b eseechin gly like a pun ish ed child to its ,

mother : Be lovin g to m e as of yore an d I will write more ,

seld om an d c all t o see you m ore seld om An d again he .

exclaim s like a g rievin g p en it en t : F or a t ime you have

“

seem ed t o m e like t he M ad on n a as c en din g t o h eav en an d ,

in v ain d oes on e lef t b ehin d reach ou t his arm s t oward her ,

in v ain d oes his p ar tin g tearful gl an c e wish h ers on c e m ore

,

turn ed d ow n w ard t oward him ; She is ab sorb ed solely in

the gl ory th at surr oun d s her full on ly of l on gin g f or the
,

crown which h overs over her h ead

,
H is lam en tation s .

avail him n oth in g he mu st r epress his overfl owin g feelin gs

, ,

must return from the in tim ate D u to the c ourteous Si g an d ,

mod erate his love t o a placid frien d ship .

Th eir association s n ow b ec ome m ore tran quil H e sub .

mits t o the c on ven tion al forms of society an d this pacifies ,

t he w orld Their own p eac efuln ess an d the composure of

.

ot h er s giv es t h em h owev er n ew securit y an d n ew freed om

, , .

The m ore in n oc en t t heir in t erc ourse b egin s t o seem t o t he

w orld as it d oes t o t hem selves t he m ore eal ously t hey can
, ,
z

cultivat e it Four years p ass by We see Frau v on S tein

. .

firm in her determin ation n ot to all ow her relation to

G oethe t o exceed the b oun ds of frien dship .

E v en a rock can n ot resist t he fl ood ever dashin g again st

it. Daily association with the n oble m an the un limited ,

c on fiden c e which he rep osed in her his un selfish devo ,

tion his th ou san d an d on e atten tion s his t ouchin g lov e

,
- -
,

of the children an d fin ally the brillian cy of his min d

, , ,

c ould n ot b u t gradually make her wh olly an d entirely his ;

an d there was n eed on ly of ex al ted m om en t s to b etray t o
him t h at wh at she felt for him was m ore th an frien d ship .

Such m omen ts came in the year 1 7 8 0 an d he j oyfully con ,

fided his h app in ess t o the trees :

Oag icb é euch geliebte?Baume

’ ’

, ,

S ic id) abubeuoII gepflaugt ,

3 0 6 ( the l ife of (Boetbe

a rm s when they pray an d so do I win d thy fair b an d ab out

,

my arm when I direc t my prayer to thee an d wish to partake

of thy g ood n ess wisd om m od eration an d p atien c e
, ,
I b eg , .

thee on b en ded kn ee fi n ish thy w ork make m e wh olly g ood

, ,
.

Thy love is to m e li ke the m orn in g an d even ing star ;

it sets after the su n an d rises b efore the su n ye a li k e a ,
—
,

p ole star that n ever sets b u t weaves an ever livin g garlan d

-
, ,
-

ab ove ou r head s I pray that in all my path of life the

.

g od s m ay n ev er ob scur e it .

g eit id) 111111 ® ir biu ,

@ d) eiut u1ir beé fd mellueu Bebeué [armeubeéBeui eguug

92m ein Ieich W
ter oe burd) beu id) Seine® citalt
,

Smmerfnrt mieiu QBolfeu erblide

’

® ieIeud) tet mit freuublid) uub treu

m
,

QBie turd) beé S i orblu bemeglid u © trableu

(twige6 te111efd) i1uu1e1u * .

The marriage uls into which Goethe had entered

of so ,

with Frau v on S tein exerted an extraordin ary influen ce

,

ov er him : I c ann ot say an d dare n ot c omprehen d what a

rev olution thy love is eff ectin g in my inm ost b ein g It is .

a c on dition which old as I am I h ave n ever b efore felt

”
, ,
.

All my life I h ave ch erish ed an ideal of how I Sh ould

like to b e l oved and have sought in vain its realisation in
,

elu siv e dream s ; b u t n ow that the w orld is d aily b ec omin g

clearer to m e I fin d it at last in thee in a way that I can ,

”
n ever l ose it .

Whereas she has hitherto b een his p acifying and eu

lightenin g c on fessor she n ow b ec omes to him a deity
, ,

sw eet en in g an d en n oblin g his wh ole existen c e eith er dis ,

c overin g the laten t good ness greatn ess an d b eauty within , ,

him or c ausin g them to well forth in greater abun dan c e

,

c l Sin e ast we m et
Seem t hes i y m ti f i t e e t lif e
no s o on o n ns s

B t a filmy v eil t hrough which t hy f rm I ee

u o s ,

A it h v er ev er i a b a k f cl ud ;
s o s n n o o

I t e d m e ki dly fait hful light

S n s n , ,

A t hr ugh t he fl a h f t he ort h er aurora

s o s o n n

Gli t e t he et er al t ar
s n n s s .
 jr
rau 1
1 011 E tein 3 7
0

an d fruitfuln ess Thou on ly on e to wh om I n eed give

.
,

”
n othin g th at I m ay fin d everyth in g in th ee ( M rch —
a 2 0 2 1 ,

To him She b ec omes acc ordin gly the personifica

tion of the highest thin gs in the n atural an d spiritual
world B eloved muse su n purity truth b eauty p oetry
.
, , , , , ,

blen d in to on e in his min d an d by Singin g of these maj estic ,

con c ep tion s an d t hin gs he can at t he same time in his

p oetry pay h omage to his b eloved At first Sight n othin g .

i s m or e u n like the p er son alit y of Frau v on S tein th an the

religious epic of hu manity Dee Geheimm sse an d its in tro

’

, ,

d uc tion the b eautiful stan z as afterward s placed at the

,

b eginnin g of Goethe s works un der the title Z u eignu ng

’
.

An d yet there is an in tim ate c on n ec tion b etw een t hem ,

as we kn ow from the p oet s own w ord s I h op e th ou ’

.

”
hast n ow the b eginn in g of the p oem he writes to her ,

August 1 1 1 7 8 4 ; thou wilt take from it wh at is mean t

,
“

f or t h ee It was in d ee
. d a pleasure ~to m e to tell thee in
th is way how much I l ove th ee Twelve days later he ”
.

writes : I l ove the p oem so much b ecause in it I can ,

Sp eak u n d er a th ou san d f orm s of th ee an d of my l ove ,

f or thee with out an yb ody b u t th ee p erc eivin g it

,
In .

the fragmen t D i e Geheim n i ss e we ourselves are u n able t o

, ,

d isc over an y referen c e t o Frau v on S t ein un less p erch an c e ,

the cross with r oses as a symb ol of l ove m ay b e c on strued

Ou t of the Z u ei gn u n g h owever there shin es forth
'

as on e .
, ,

with strikin g clearn ess to on e initiated the image of her

glorified p erson ality The M ad on n a who ascen ded to
.

heaven with out takin g pity on the on e left b ehin d with

,

han ds outstretched toward her has graciously turn ed ,

toward him again in her glory an d ou t of t he han d of ,

tru th b estow s up on him p eac e en lighten men t an d the veil , ,

of p oetry There is n ot a line in the dialogue b etween the

.

p oet an d the divine muse which has n ot its p arallel in

G oethe s letters or poems to his loved on e ; in deed man y
’
,

of th em are b etter fitted for a dialogue b etw een the earthly

prototypes than for that b etween the poetic c opies A .

great man y oth er composition s b oth large an d small are , ,

mon umen ts erec ted by Goethe to his love for her When .
3 0 8 ( the l if e of G oe the

we c ome to the c on sideration of I phigen i e an d Tasso it will

meet ou r eyes on ce m ore in p oetic b eau ty .

What we have said in gen eral ab out the Sign ifican ce of

Charlotte v on S tein to Goethe by n o mean s exhausts the
am oun t of b en efi t which he derived fr om th eir in tim ate
association . Through their frequen t at times daily con , ,

v ersat ion s an d through her u n c omm on t alen t s an d educ a

t ion She b ec omes the wise th ought ful c omp an ion of his ,

en tire in tellec t ual life H e read s with her Spin oz a s E thi ca

’
. l ,

an d Bu ffon s Epoqu es de la N atu re dem on strates to her

’
,

c onic section s and micr osc opic preparation s b ec omes ab ,

sorb ed wit h her in the b on y struc t ure of m an an d in t he ,

secrets of pl an t life in the orbits of the stars an d in the

, ,

history of the earth s crust reads with her the literatures

’
,

of an cien t an d m odern tim es an d gran ts her u n in t errup ted ,

acc ess to the p oetic w orksh op of his creatin g geni us She .

is to him the chief an d dearest pub li c t o wh om he first u n ,

veils the n ew b orn children of his muse as She n ot infre

-
,

quen tly is the on ly public he has in min d while en gaged in

p oetic creation Such a c ommunion of spirits it had n ever
.

b efore b een his lot to en j oy H ow glad I am

” “
he ex .
,

claims on on e occasion that th ou art in terested in every

,
“

t hi n g an d t hat I fin d in t hee a dear c omp an ion for all

,

my un dertakings I t gave him a foretaste of the n oblest

.

happin ess of wedded life an d we can un derstan d why in , ,

t his feelin g of happin ess he says it would wreck his life if

,

he were to p art from his b el ov ed ; why he w eep s b itter

tears when he merely thin ks of the p ossib ility of losin g
her ; an d why in order to avert the en vy of the gods he
, ,

will throw the rin g She has given him in to the water The .
“

en vy of t he god s H is premonition was on ly too c orrec t

. .

With the developmen t of things an d of his own personality

t here grew up impl ac able p owers too mighty for him which , ,

were destin ed first to c ast Shadows over the n oble intimacy

an d th en t o bury it .

Bu t b efore p assin g t o these p ain ful fin al stages let u s

con sid er how the l ov er c arries ou t the world role which
” “
,

he has un der taken with so much darin g an d so much joy .

 3 10 (the l ife of G oe the

E sp ecially durin g S even Years War had the imperial

t he
’

city c ome in to touch with the greater p owers of E urope ,

an d y oun g Goethe as a gran d son of t he chief m agistrate

, ,

had f orm ed clearer c on c ep tion s of th eir milit ary an d diplo

matic activities t heir in fluen tial m en an d their several
,

stren g th s th an m an y a m ature m an p ossessed who had ,

acq u ired his in f ormation from n ewsp ap ers an d b ooks As .

time wen t on his p erson al acquain tan c e wit h high offic ials
,

widen ed Amon g them we m ay men tion the great Darm

.

stadt min ister K arl Friedrich v on M oser wh ose H err u u d

, ,

Di eu er had stron gly in fluen c ed G oet he as a b oy ; Military

Coun cill or Merck an d Privy C oun cillor H esse b oth likewise ,

of Darm stad t ; Chan c ellor of the E lec torate of Trev es v on

Laroch e of E hren breitstein ; C oun cillor of Fin an c e of the

E lec t orate of the Palatin ate Fritz J ac ob i of Dusseld orf who ,

was n ot on ly a sen tim en tal p oetisin g phil osopher b u t also ,

a th orough p olitic al ec on om ist wit h ideas of sweep in g re

form ; former Min ister of the E lect orate of M ain z v on
Groschlag of Dieburg ; the B ad en Min ister v on E delsheim
of K arl sruh e on e of t he m ost em in en t stat esm en of Ger
,

man y in t hat p eriod an d his sub alt ern Superior Judge J

, , .

G Schlosser Goethe s brother in law on e of the m ost dis

.
,
’
- -
,

t in gu ished offic ials h avin g to d o with affairs of gen eral

in terest to the margraviate To these m ay b e added the
.

m an y experien ced statesmen whom Goethe m et in Wetz lar .

I t w ould b e wron g t o supp ose that Goethe c on versed

with these men ab out non e b u t belletristic or purely
hum an thin gs ; on the c on trary from manifold in dic a ,

tion s we m ay t ake it for gran t ed th at statecraft was a

theme often an d seriously discussed H is p olitical educ a
.

tion was du e h owev er less t o early in struc tion an d per

, ,

son al in terc ourse t h an t o his study of c ou n t ries an d p eoples .

To this he brough t an in terest as great as his talen t H is .

extraordin ary imagin ation was acc omp an ied by an ex tra

ordin ary p ower of obj ec tive an d pen etrative ob servation .

While other mortals u sually receive on ly a fragm en tary

c on cep tion an d impression of real c on dition s they were ,

reveal ed t o his op en eyes an d impressed up on his op en min d

 fi be { iniste r m 3 I I

in th eir en tiret y . E ven when

by his ,
as a b oy , he was sen t
father to the craftsmen he did n ot merely wat ch them at ,

their w ork b u t l ooked in t o t heir bu sin ess an d soc ial con

,

d ition s an d sough t to form gen eral ideas of t he mu tual in

flu en ces of occup ation an d life This was his meth od .

ev erywh er e an d at all tim es H en ce Fr aulein v on Kletten .

b erg was fully j ustified in sayin g t o his mother : When

your Wolfgan g g oes to M ain z he brin gs b ack m ore kn ow ,

ledge than others returnin g from Paris or L on d on What .

”

pain s he took in Alsatia to b ec ome acquain ted with gen eral

ec on omic c on dition s the min es sm eltin g w orks fac tories
, ,
-
, ,

et c. we h av e already seen
,
E lsewh ere too esp ecially in.
, ,

S axon y we can see that he made good u se of time an d op

,

p o rt u n it y f or t he sam e purp ose .

H is rare k n owledge of the real fac tors of the life of t he

people an d of the state gradually made him less an d less
su sc ep tible t o gen eral d oc trin es an d artificial ideals of
state such as were n urtured in Fran c e an d refl ec ted in
,

H aller s Uson g or Wielan d s D er golden e Spiegel H e

’ ’
.

failed to see how with such ab straction s as a startin g poin t

,
-
,

p articular in stit ution s existin g un der defin ite c on dition s

, ,

could b e improved Such a b ook as M oser s P atrioti sche

.
’

P han tasi en mu st on the oth er h an d h av e app ealed t o him

, ,

v ery str on gly H ere a m an in practical life had started

.

from actual c on dition s and ou t of his mature experien ce

,

had mad e suggestion s f or improvement fi rst of all in his ,

own immediate vicin ity th at of O sn abr uck H e had in

, .

v estigated the qu estion s of how b est t o prom ote agricult ure

an d trad e an d preven t t oo d eep in d eb ted n ess ; how t o fin d

,

the pr oper mean b etween c omplete freed om an d c omplete

b on d age of the in dividual with respect t o the disp osal of
his p erson an d his pr op ert y ; wh at was the m ost feasible
system of p oor l aws ; wh eth er f oreign c omp etition was t o

b e t olerated an d rec iproc al free trad e gran ted ; whether

c olonists sh ould b e in duced to immigrate ; whether the in
terior c ities Sh ould n ot act in dep en d en t ly of seap ort s an d of
E n glan d in their tran sm arin e c ommerc e t he n eighb ourin g ,

estat es of t he realm un ite in c omm on en terprises in stead of

3 12 (the l if e of G oe the

se cretly fightin g each other an d the imperial diets an d ,

dietin es b e dev oted less to p etty formalities an d m ore to

trade an d traffic ; how the c on stitu tion s of c ities migh t be
reformed an d a large n umb er of other subj ec ts n ow limitin g
, ,

himself to min utiae an d n ow risin g to exalted p oin ts of view .

I n these refl ec tion s t o which M oser s d augh ter g ave the

’

in felic it ous title P atri oti sche P hau taseeu Goethe foun d
'

, ,

practical statecraft an d they en kin dled his own patriotic

,

fan tasies F or it was easy for him t o see that M oser s

.
’

sugg estion s an d m et h od c ould also b e m ad e fruit ful f or

oth er G erm an states H e was en thusiastic in the ex

.

pression of his gratitude t o Mé ser s daughter for the pub ’

lication of her f ath er s essays I carry th em ab out with

’ “
.

m e ; when ever an d wherever I op en them I h av e a feelin g

of satisfac tion an d hun dr ed s of wish es h op es an d plan s
, , ,

ev olve th emselv es in my soul c mb r ”

( D e e e 2 8 ,

H e had on ly rec en t ly m et K arl Augu st Crown Prin c e ,

of Weim ar an d presen t ed t o him an eloquen t r ep ort on

,

M oser s b ook The Prin ce must have b een n ot a little

’
.

ast on ished t o see with wh at warm th an d t echn ic al kn ow

ledge the auth or of Werther wh om he m ay have c on sidered ,

an id ealistic dream er s poke of t he m ost real t hin g s of life

, ,

an d how clearly the m ost c omplic ated p olitic al an d ec on omic

c on dition s un ravelled them selves b efore this p oet s eye an d ’
,

with wh at discretion an d certain ty he made the practical ap

plication of the L ower S ax on c on dition s wh ich served M oser ,

as a foun d ation t o th ose in U pp er S ax on y an d by implic a

, , ,

tion t o th ose in Weimar Goethe s explan ation s must have ’

, .

had all t he great er weight wit h t he youn g Prin ce as the ,

latter at th at time had had little exp erien ce in the world

an d in the ac tual foun d ation s of gov ern men t Karl August .

had b een cramm ed full of gen eral theories h istory of juris ,

pruden ce an d p aragraph s of law by his teachers amon g —

them un prac tic al Wielan d who walked ab out in the ,

fl ower garden s of his Golden M irror an d had less in ” —

sigh t in to the realit y of thin g s t h an m an y a burgh er s son

’
.

Min ister v on Frit sch had accordin gly as early as 7 7 3 ex , ,

1 ,

pressed his opinion to the Duch ess that it was n ot advisable

3 14 (the l ife Of ( 5 0t 6

Distric ts ,
orcalled Oberlan d which exten ded in to
the so -
,

Fran c onia These dimin utive division s were in man y ways

.

further split up in admin istration an d territory B its of .

foreign territory were scattered ab out everywhere b etween

”
sec tion s of the fatherlan d an d several in stitution s were
,

held in c ommon with the territory b elon gin g to the E rn esti

bran ch of the Saxon dyn asty for example the U niversity , ,

an d the Sup erior C ourt of J ena .

I t was a h op eless un dertakin g t o govern the sc attered

an d surroun ded memb ers of t his p et ty stat e N evertheless .

G oethe d ev oted him self to it with gen uin e en thusiasm To .

establish c omp arative prosp erity in this c ou n try an d a free

an d w orthy p osition f or it s in h ab itan t s seemed to him

worth the effort Furthermore th ere was the hope th at
.
,

the duchy might p ossibly b ec ome the n ucleu s of a reform

ex ten din g to the greater fath erlan d .

Goethe c ould n ot thin k it p ossible to accomplish his

purp oses otherwise than by mean s of an en lighten ed self ,

restrain ed ab solutism devoted to the welfare of the c oun try .

H en ce the most imp ortan t prelimin ary c on dition of his

in fluen c e an d of the wh ole fut ure of the c oun try was t hat
t he y out hful D uke in spired wit h the b est purp oses b u t at
, ,

t im es overween in g or t oo imp etu ou s t oo rest less or t oo

, , ,

in dulgen t of his h obbies sh ould b e train ed t o rule acc ord

,

in g t o the ab ove stan d ard H ow G oeth e un d ertook this

.

work even b efore he en tered the office has already b een

, ,

in dic ated After he b ecame a servan t of the state b e con

.

tin u ed it with in creased en ergy an d earn estn ess The m ore .

ab solute the Prin c e was the less an y on e ph ase of his con

,

duct c ould b e n eglected Goethe acc ordin gly laid a firm .

han d on him everywhere n o matter whether it was a ques ,

'

tion of his family life or of his fl irtation s of his p assion s for ,

dogs h orses soldiers hun ts or of his official b earin g an d

, , , ,

measures A few diary n otes will brin g this more vividly

.

b efore the min ds of ou r readers than an y amount of prag

matic description :
J a n 1 0 1
.
7 79 E,v en in g a f.t er t he c on c er t a r ad ic al
declaration t o the Duke ab out Crone [C oron a] F eb . . 1
 t he ministe r 3 15

1 779 . C o u n c il T h e D uk. e t a lk e d t o o much D in e d .

with the Duke After dinn er some advice ab out too much
.

t alkin g revealin g secrets c ompr omisin g his dignity sp eak

, , ,

in g wh en excited of t hin gs th at ought n ot t o b e u ttered

, , .

Also ab out the military M akarom s [dallyin g] Aug 2

’

. .
,

1 7 79 . D uk e c am e a t t en o cl ock W e d i s cu ss ed u n
’
.

sp eakable t hin gs Ab out c ourt wife other people , , ,

ab out k n owin g p eople E xplain ed t o him why this an d

.
,

th at was so hard for him why he Sh ould n ot meddle so much ,

”
with details J.an 1 9 1 7 8 2 . D in ed w,
i t h t he D uk
. e .

Sp oke very seriously an d vig orou sly ab out ec on omy an d

again st a n umb er of f alse ideas which he c ann ot get ou t of
”
his h ead . A p assage from on e of the few letters which
have b een preserved of their c orresp on den ce b efore 1 7 8 6 is
also in struc tiv e : Wh atever turn your affair m ay take
“
,

c on duct yourself with moderation an d if it b ec omes ab so , ,

lu tely n ec essary withdraw from it with ou t quarrellin g with

, ,

t h ose wh om you h avedrawn in to it an d c ompromised

( Oc t o b er 2 8 , G o et h e a l so u s ed p o et ry t o i n flu e n c e
t he Duke n ow in a v eiled way n ow op en ly an d direc t ly as
, , ,

in I lmen au ( S ep t emb er 3 7 8 t he s t ra n g ,es t

1 fr a n k es t ,

birthday p oem that ever min ister dedicat ed t o his lord .

I n it he addresses t o the Duke the great prec ept which in ,

his min d is fun d amen tal for a sovereign :

,
Restrain thy
self learn t o f oreg o
”
.
,

On e m ay say that durin g the dec ade from 1 7 7 6 t o 1 7 8 6

G oethe meditated almost day by day how he might guide
the Duke arigh t At times he n oted d own the results of his
.

meditation as p oin ts of view for his own c on duct toward the

Duke I n Dec emb er 1 7 7 8 f or in stan ce : C on versation “
.
, ,

with the Duke ab out order p olice an d laws Diff erent , , .

o pin ion . Min e must n ot b e expressed in w ords It might .

easily b e misun derst ood an d b ec ome d an ger ou s I n July .

,

1
779 :
“
N ew c o n duc t in t h e fu t ur e C a u ti o n w it h t h e .

Duke Not to d ep art from a c ert ain b earin g an d t o deter

.
,

t he Duke from d oin g an ythin g for h imself ; for he is still

very in experien c ed especially wit h stran gers , .

A j ourney to Switz erlan d in the autumn an d winter of

3 16 t he l ife of G oe the
1
7 79 m ark s a gre at st ep f orw ard i n t he d e v el opm e n t of

the Duke Goethe c oun ted on the effec t of isolation with

.

him for m on th s on t he in fluen c e of sublim e n ature an d of

, ,

Lavater wh ose c on tac t after the m an ner of the old prophets

, , ,

was c on secratin g an d purifyin g H is exp ec tat ion s were in .

n o wise disapp oin ted K arl August s in ward fermen tation ’

.

was here c ompleted an d the wild y out h b ec ame a m an ,

.

Toward the en d of the j ourn ey Goeth e expressed the con

v iction th at a n ew ep och was d awn in g in the l ife of the
’

Duke After their return he n otes : E veryb ody is very “

.

well pleased with the Duke Whereas b efore the j ourn ey .

the pr oj ec t had b een l ooked up on by Weimar soc iet y as on e

of G oeth e s craz y n otion s as a S t orm an d S tress fan cy it
’
- -
, ,

was n ow pron oun ced a m aster stroke -

.

K arl August had b ecome clearer h eaded more com -

,

p osed m ore h arm on ious in n ature b u t the pr ocess was n ot

, ,

as yet c omplet e I n the years th at f oll owed G oeth e still

.
,

f oun d man y faults to c orrec t in him an d we still hear him ,

utter man y a sh arp criticism Bu t on the whole he ex .

, ,

p e rie n ced gr ea t jy
o ov er t h e spl en d id d ev el opm e n t of t he

Prin c e .

The D uke far fr om ever b ein g sen sit ive on t he p oin t of

,

G oethe s men t orship rec ogn ised gratefully at all times how
’
,

much he owed t o the p oet s wise an d dev oted guidan ce ’

.

I n F ebru ary 1 7 8 3 wh en a l on g wish ed heir t o his thr on e

, ,
-

was b orn he wrote t o M erck the ch arac teristic w ord s :

“
Now
a solid h ook has b een driv en in on which I can h an g up my ,

pic tures With the help of G oethe an d good fortun e I

.

Sh all so fi n ish p ain tin g th em th at p ost erity Sh all p erch an c e

’
'

E d egle fu pi ttore
‘
say : .

U n fortun at ely Goethe s own official c areer has n ot yet ’

b een satisfactorily in vestigated ; partly b ec ause the docu

m en ts are t oo few an d p artly b ecause they h ave n ot b een
,

ex am in ed critic ally H en ce we are depen den t chiefly upon

.

occ asion al d ata in let ters an d diaries .

There can b e n o greater misc on ception than to thin k

t h at G oeth e was essen tially c our t p oet an d di recteu r des

p lan t it
/
s a
'
n d on ly
,
in c id en t ally an offic ial To b e sure it is .
,
3 18 t he l ife of G oe the
r
e n in g the man ufac ture of cloth devises n ew rules for the ,

fire dep artmen t dic tates f efl ection s on a n ew b an krup t law

,
‘
,

levies recruits c arries on a c orresp on den ce ab out the leather

,

breeches of a Hussar issues orders c on cernin g the p osts on ,

t he Weim ar pr omen ade is bu sy with the c on st ruc tion of ,

roads an d can als reformation of p oorhouses division of , ,

estates irrigation of m ead ow s reop en in g of old min es an d

, ,

quarries app oin tin g of professors in the U n iversity of J en a

, ,

equipp in g of sc ien tific in stitu tion s prev en tion of d am age ,

to farm s by game b al an cin g of fi n an c es an d a th ou san d

, ,

other thin gs H e is n ot satisfied with what he can learn

.

from documen ts b u t if at all p ossible seeks to hear an d see

, , ,

for himself ; n ot merely th at he m ay get clearer ideas of

thin gs b u t as he c orrec tly r em arks on on e occ asion b e
, , ,

c ause they presen t en tirely differen t aspects when looked

at fr om b el ow an d from ab ove .

When ever an immediate p erson al in terferen ce seems to

him to b e n eed ed at a p ar ticular plac e he shun s n either
pain s n or d an ger H e often rides to a fire miles away an d
.

takes p er son al ch arge of the attemp t t o pu t it ou t With .

what c ordial symp athy an d wh at bravery on e example ou t

of m an y m ay Sh ow On the 2 6 th of J u n e 7 8 he rep ort s
.
,
1 0,

t o F rau v on S tein : Yesterday I was in E t tersb erg .

The cry of fire in Gross Bremb ach called m e away an d I was -

soon in the fl ames After such lon g dry weather and with
.
,

an u n favourable win d the fury of the fire was un c on trollable .

In such a c ase on e feel s how Sin gle h an d ed on e is an d yet -

,

how the p eople h ave en ough good practic al sen se to make

some eff or t The m ost vexatious p eople in such circum
.

st an c es are as always t h ose who see on ly wh at is n ot b ein g

, ,

don e an d c on sequen tly c on fuse those who are d oing the

,

m ost n ec essary thin gs I admonished b egged c on soled .

, , ,

p acified an d then turn ed my wh ole care to the church

, ,

which was still in dan ger when I arrived an d where b eside , ,

the buildin g a great store of produc e b el on gin g to the Duke

,

would h ave b een lost N ob ody would dip water .

from the p on d b ec ause the flames from the n earest h ouses

were driven ou t over it in eddies by the win d I stepped .
 t he ministe r 3 19

up an d cried : I t can b e d on e it can b e done children an d , , ,

’

imm ed iately some of t hem were there an d dipp ed ou t

water b u t I soon had to leave my place b ecause at b est
, ,

on e c ould en dure it on ly a few m omen t s My eyebrows are .

sin ged an d the w ater b oilin g in my Sh oes sc alded my toes ;

”
after midn igh t I lay d own on t he b ed for a li ttle rest .

I n the same man n er he len d s p erson al aid in times of

fl ood H ardly has he heard of the p erilous breaking up of
.

the ice in J en a on F ebruary 2 9 1 84

7 wh en he h aste n s , ,

t hither an d ev olves order an d precision ou t of the gen eral

an xiet y an d c on fu sion E veryb ody is run n in g aroun d in
.

c on fusion he writes to his b eloved ; the officers are n ot

,
” “

prepared for emergen cies the sufferers kn ow n ot what to

,

d o an d the others do n othin g

,
I am n ot alto .

gether useless here so I sh all stay H e rem ained in J en a

, .

fiv e days What b e acc omplish ed we can on ly c onj ecture

.

from the w ord s of the Duke who made great d eman ds up on ,

man ly en ergy H e had followed G oethe to J en a an d on

.
,

the 6 th of M arch wrote t o M erck : Goethe c on ducted him “

self v ery n obly durin g the d an ger h ere an d m ade the very ,

b est arran gemen ts N ob ody was lost in the water here

.
”
.

That Goethe on such occ asion s gladly len t en ergetic

assist an c e is n ot surprisin g Work in the open air the .
,

symp at hy which he fel t as m an an d p oet in such tim es of

disaster the immediate visible results were en ou gh in

, ,

them selves to make him en j oy d oin g wh at he did Bu t we .

fin d him takin g the same deligh t in his offic e wh ere even ,

the b eams seemed to weigh him d own in the mid st of ,

d ocumen ts an d a multitude of an n oyan ces great an d small .

When he took hold of the War C ommission for example , ,

he foun d it in a terrible state of n eglec t The officials were .

careless the system demoralised an d the acc oun ts an d

, ,

rescrip ts in c on fusion an d disorder ; b u t he was n ot dis

cou raged I shall make it as n eat as if the pigeon s had
.
“

picked it up An d after two an d a h alf years he n ot on ly

.

had everythin g filed away in m ost p erfec t order b u t the ,

person n el of the departmen t was reorgan ised an d so well

train ed th at everyt hin g wen t on with sm ooth n ess an d
3 20 t he l if e of G oe the

regularit y an d he had furtherm ore in Spite of all the Duke s

, , ,
’

m ilitary dallyin g had the army of Weimar reduced

,
7
by 6

h alf v iz from 6 0 0 to 3 0 m en H e was so pleased with

, .
,
1 .

th ese results th at he n oted in his diary on August 1 5 1 7 8 1 ,

War c ommission Rec ap itulated to my self what I have

.

acc omplish ed in this dep ar tmen t Now I Should n ot b e .

afraid t o u n d ert ake t o in tr oduc e order in t o a far greater ,

in deed in to sev eral an d m ay God gran t m e the opp ortunity

,

an d the c ourage t o do so ! An admirable wish in a m an

”

who so t o sp eak mu st also have felt his c allin g as a p oet

, , ,

an d who already had so much to c arry th at it often seeme d

as th ough his kn ees w ould give way un der him so th at he ,

was obliged t o urge himself on with such words as : Iron “

p atien c e! S ton y en duran ce!

The opp ortun ity v ery soon offered t o un dertake a
greater departmen t Kalb had managed the Chamb er of.

Fin an ce very b adly C on sequen tly the Duke dismissed him

.

from the office in Jun e 1 7 8 2 an d as we have already said , , , ,

in trusted G oeth e with it B oth th ought it would on ly b e.

for the in terim b u t it proved to b e for a lon g p eriod

,
Here .
,

again the great am ou n t of lab our n aturally in v olv ed in the

,

offic e was furt h er in creased by t he c on fused stat e in wh ich

it was t ran sferred t o G oeth e H e felt t oo wh at a h eavy .

, ,

burden he was assumin g an d hen ce as the most con , ,

scien tiou s of the c on sc ien tiou s adm on ish ed him self th at he ,

must n ow b e in earnest in deep earnest With the presi , .

den cy of the Ch amb er he had got in to the heart of the

admin istration ; an d am on g the m an y hard task s which it
brought him the hardest was his struggle with the Duke .

The Duke was n ot a sp en dthrift b u t was a generous prin ce , ,

who liked to give with a full han d an d was fon d of ex ten ding
h ospitali ty b u t was unwillin g carefully to adjust the ex
,

pen ses of hun tin g an d travellin g to the in come of the civil

list As a result he usually Sp en t more than his privy
.

purse received an d the Chamb er had to cover the deficit

,
6 8
.

Goethe pu t a stop to this mismanagemen t When he n oticed .

after six m on th s th at Bertu ch the Duke s privy purse had

’
, ,

already draw n m ore t h an was d u e him f or this p eriod he ,

 22 t he l ife of G oe the

est a blished the d amage from game decreased min in g at

, ,

I lmen au brough t b ack t o life an d the in stitution s of art an d

,

sc ien c e en l arged an d m ore richly equipp ed .

Alth ough Goethe had to give up his ultimate an d most

promisin g purp oses in d omestic p olicy he was able to c arry ,

ou t similar plan s in in tern ation al rel ation s H ere he ex .

ercised c on trol in c omm on wit h t he Duke b u t withou t t he ,

aid or kn owl edg e of t he Privy C ou n c il Of c ourse on ly .

question s of broad p olicy are here mean t for it was n either ,

p ossible n or n ec essary to keep secret from other m emb ers

of the C ou n c il the sec on d ary m atter s which had t o b e

set t led wit h oth er c ou n tries esp ec ially wit h the n eighb ourin g
,

E rn estin ian prin cip alities Goethe often ac ted as n egoti

.

at or in th ese m atter s t oo an d visit ed m ore th an on c e on

,

such mission s the c ourt s of the T hu rin gian prin c es .

That little Weimar had to fac e questions of imp ortan t

in tern ation al p olicy in the d ec ad e from 1 7 7 6 t o 1 7 8 6 was
du e t o the p eculiar asp ec t of c on dition in Germ an y at th at
s
time an d t o G oet he s an d the Duk e s d esire for real ac tivity
’ ’
.

I n the early p ar t of 1 7 7 8 af ter the Wi tt elsb ach lin e in

,
‘

B av aria had b ec ome extin c t Austria on the b asis of , ,

hereditary claims had c omp elled the succ essor to the thron e
, ,

K arl Theodor v on Pfal z Sulz b ach to c ede to her the U pper

-
,

Palatin ate an d Lower B avaria This fac t had created

.

un rest in Prussia an d the smaller Germ an states an d Prussia ,

b egan t o make preparation s to c ompel Austria by force of ,

arm s if n ec essary t o c ede b ack the an n ex ed B avarian

, ,

terr it ories The exp erien c e of the S even Years War had
’
.

taugh t Weim ar th at in c ase of war b etween Au stria an d

Pru ssia She t oo w ould h av e t o suffer p ain fully
, ,
H en ce :
.

t he duchy had r eason to b e somewhat alarm ed Bu t with .

,

all the w orry it aff orded G oethe a c ertain agreeable exc ite
,

men t to see the Weimar b oat at len gth driftin g ou t up on

the high sea . God b e than ked I am in fin e Spirits an d my
,

”
life is free! he exclaimed with regard to this p ossibility ,

in a letter of the 8 th of M arch

1 With thin gs in such a .

st ate it mu st h av e seem ed t o t he Duke d esirable t o h av e an

,
 t he ( ministe r 3 3
2

ea rly defin ite statemen t of Pru ssia s in ten tion s ; how far ’

t he Kin g was in earn est ab out the war what B erlin t h ough t ,

of Weimar s n eu tralit y or an even tu al allian c e wh at de

’
,

man ds would b e made etc Acc ordin gly the Duke set , .

ou t wit h G oeth e on the o th of May proc eeded first t o r ,

Dessau wher e t hey t ook c oun sel with the Prin c e an d

, ,

t h en c e t o B erl in G oet h e h er e saw f or .

t he fir st time a
really great city a city n umb erin g ,
more in h abitan ts
t h an the greatest he had hith erto seen H e was amaz ed . .

Small an d quiet as it seems to u s in the description s an d

pic tures of the time he foun d in it life wealth an d splen , , ,

d our The impression was deep en ed by the prep aration s

.
:

Men h orses c arriages c an n on equipmen ts

“
f or war ; , , , , ,

sw arm s of t h em all H e visited the p orc elain f ac t ory the

”
.
,

op era h ou se the C ath olic H edwigskirche the arsen al

, , ,

t he Tiergarten H e din ed with Prin c e H ein rich in the

.

c ompan y of doz en s of gen erals H e did n ot see the Kin g .

,

who was in S ilesia ; b u t he felt very close t o him wh en he ,

saw the ch arac ter of his surroun din gs : his gold silv er , ,

marble mon keys p arrot s an d torn curtain s H e also

, , , .

heard the great Kin g discussed by his own sc oun drels .

H e saw furt her on a great sc ale t he phen omen a of u n

, , ,

chain ed egotism : b arterin g dec ep tion in trigue hyp ocrisy , , , ,

crin gin g haughtin ess p ettin ess j ealousy all the disgust
, , , ,

in g bubbl es th at a crisis was apt to brin g t o the surfac e

of the old tim e E ur op ean dipl om acy an d the c omm an din g
-
,

p ower an d desp otism of an autocrat This much I can .

“

say , the greater t he world the n astier the f arc e an d I , ,

swear n o ob sc en it y or asin in it y of buffoon ery is as dis

,

gustin g as the ac tion s of the great the middle ran k an d , ,

the small min gled togeth er I have implored the gods to .

preserve my spirit an d straightforward n ess t o the en d ”

(to Frau v on Stein May 1 9 th) After a soj ourn of fiv e

, .

d ays he return s from the corrup tion of the Prussian capital

t o his in n oc en t Weimar The results of the n egotiation s .

an d in quiries in B erlin are n ot kn ow n H owever Weimar .

,

ob serv es n eu tralit y wh en the war br eaks ou t .

I t was t o b e foreseen th at Weim ar eith er directly or ,

3 4
2 t he l ife of G oe the
in direct ly would suffer from the c on sequen c es of the war
, .

This foreseen dan ger was doub tless K arl August s deter ’

min in g m otive for puttin g G oeth e at the h ead of the War

Dep artmen t at the b egin n in g of the n ew year An d their .

fears were well foun ded I n the win ter the Prussian King
.

requested p ermission t o en list soldiers in Weimar E ven .

b efore n eg otiation s were c ompleted Prussian Hussars ,

c ame to b egin the recruitin g The sit uation was extremely .

prec arious Goeth e prep ared a memorial c on tain in g an

.
,

exh au stiv e discu ssion of the c on sequ en c es of t he Pru ssian

d eman d in which he c ame to the c on clusion th at n o matter

, ,

wh at p osition th ey took with resp ect t o it p eril ous results ,

would grow ou t of it Recruitmen ts are in th emselves a

.
,

great evil he said ; Wh atever c on c ession s are made to

,

Pru ssia will hav e t o b e m ad e t o Au stria al so an d t hus t he ,

evil will b e d oubled A refusal m ay prov oke Prussia to

.

violen ce I n sh ort the small st ate in it s weakn ess is in a

.
,

sorry pligh t in t he presen c e of t he gr eat p ower s an d fr om ,

an app eal t o the Germ an Imp erial Diet on e m ay exp ec t

°

n oth in g b u t emp t y H e also raised the

‘

q uestion wh eth er it migh t n ot b e well t o f orm an allian c e

,

wit h the ot h er st at es t h at wer e t hreat en ed wit h Simil ar

m easures an d in un ion fin d stren gth f or resistan ce Such
,
.

a st ep would at all even t s m ake a good impr ession F or .

ot h er h appy circum st an c es migh t also c on sp ire t o dr aw

t he prin c es ou t of t heir isol ation an d in ac tivit y an d un it e

t h em in a p erm an en t c ommon f ed eration With this step .

G oethe set ou t resolutely t o gain the p oin t up on which he

had l on g had his eyes fix ed the p oin t from which he c ould
,

t ran sform t he miserabl e c on stitution of t he E mpire in t o

“ ”

an organ ism c ap able of livin g an d givin g pr omise of,

prosperity to all an d protection for the small again st the

great .

The d an ger of en listmen ts vanish ed with the early en d

of t he war b u t G oeth e an d K arl Augu st pur su ed still
,

further the th ought of un itin g the small an d sec on dary

7 0

st at es of G erman y Bu t it seems th at f or several y ears

.

th ey wer e un able t o c arry t he frien dly prin c es b ey on d t he

3 2 6 t he l ife of G oe the

regen eratin g the wh ole fath erlan d an d in stillin g n ew life

in t o its alm ost ex tin c t public spirit an d greatly d imin ish ed
p ower H is san guin e exp ec tation s were n ot realised
. .

Goet he proved t o b e right in his less h op eful opin ion of

t he federation of G erm an prin c es un der the h eg em on y of
Prussia Bu t wh eth er a f ederation acc ordin g t o his pl an
.

would have accomplish ed m ore or lasted lon ger is d oub t

, ,

ful At an y rate G oethe deserves the credit that he the

.
,

p oet was the on ly m an at the time who seiz ed an au s

,
7 3

p ic io u s m om e n t wit h qu ick en ergy a n d at t emp t ed t o cur e

t he sickly G erm an E mpire .

As Weimar u n til 7 8 5 was the soul of the m ovemen t

,
1 ,

t oward f ederation an d as th ere w ere durin g th is tim e

,

n eg otiation s wit h a l arge n umb er of the est ates of the

E mpire Goethe f oun d ev en the f oreign relation s a n ot

,

in c on siderable burden F or the sake of secrecy he ev en

.

d eprived himself of the luxury of a secretary an d h en c e,

all the d ocum en ts referrin g t o t he fed eration are in G oeth e s

’

or t he Duke s h an dwritin g
’
.

If we glan ce b ack over the whole wide field of Goethe S ’

official act ivit y we can u n d er st an d why H erd er in ,

17 8 2 ,

c alled him the Weimar fact ot um an d K n eb el in 7 8 4

”
, ,
1 ,

t he b ackb on e of thi n gs
“
.
 XX III

E GM ONT

c
Con n e tion b
etween Gotz an d E g mon t— D e on i m
e e ent in latt e c lm r
O rg
i in an d o c mp fc
osit ion — D e e t s in ot — D e on i pl
ee essn ess m c h dl
h
t e o es l m v
ot i e— ch r c r
E gm on t s a a t e an d his ee in t he
’
a a r l dr m
O e
t h r ch r c r
a a te s —h rm
C a pl y
of t he a in S it e of it s e e ts p dfc .

OCK your h earts more c arefully than your doors .

The age of dec ep tion is c omin g an d it has b een ,

given free rein The vile shall rule with cun nin g
.
,

”
an d the n oble sh all f all in t o t heir n ets In th ese dyin g .

words of Gotz was given ou t the program for E gmon t 7 4

.

I n D i chtu n g u u d Wahrhei t G oeth e has t h eref ore c on n ec ted

E gm on t wit h Gotz an d has pl ac ed it immediately aft er
,

Gotz i n his c oll ected works . .

In deed E gmon t an d Gotz are twin brothers B oth are .

n oble m en who p erish in the struggl e with evil g ov er n m en tal

p owers Freedom is the last word of each ih his prison

“ ’

. .

While Gotz strives to gain freedom an d to b etter existin g

c on dition s by in terferen ce on his own authority E gmon t ,

is satisfied with the freed om t o live on as u sual with in

chartered rights or in other words he fights on ly again st
, , ,

the degeneration of c on dition s E gm on t therefore is

.
, ,

much more c on servative than G ot z ju st as Goethe himself ,

had mean while b ec ome much m ore c on serv ative The .

variation s on the theme of lib erty such as E gmon t off ers , ,

c ould hardly have stimulated the p oet to elab orate them

in to an in dep en den t drama Bu t an oth er strong m otive
.

was add ed which G oeth e c alls the d emonic

,
H e attemp ted .

at differen t times to explain wh at he m ean t by the d em on ic ,

3 27
3 28 t he l ife of G oe the

bu t win g t o the in defin iten ess of this n either divin e n or

o

diab olic al factor which c an n ot b e grasped by the reason

,

an d un der st an din g an d which seem ed t o him t o p erv ad e

,

ev en in an im ate thin gs it was imp ossible for him wit h all

, ,

his expl an ation s t o express him self in a cl ear an d c ompre

,

hen sib le man n er This much is c ertain h owever that he

.
, ,

c on sidered it in the c ase of m an a mysterious p ower which

, , ,

fills m an with un limited c on fiden ce in himself an d in ,

this way m ak es him c ap able of great an d succ essful u n d er

t akin gs as it m ay also lead him t o misfor tun e or t o ruin
, .

Of his own relation to the dem onic he says that it was n ot

a p art of his n ature b u t th at he had b een un der its sway
, .

This simply mean s that at certain ep ochs he was c on trolled

by it b u t th at his n ature was c on stituted fortun ately
,

en ough t o pr ot ec t him again st it s d est ruc tiv e t en den cy .

The fortun ate gift of n ature th at protec ted him was p oetry .

Now ju st at the time wh en E gmon t was c omin g in t o

b ein g the dem onic p ower had seiz ed him again an d he had ,

rec ourse t o his approved remedy As he expresses it he .

,

sough t to save him self from the dread p ower by takin g

“

refuge b ehin d a pic ture This picture he foun d in the

.

un f ort un at e h ero of t he Dut ch st ruggle f or lib ert y in ,

n obl e brav e kin d

, , c are free E gmon t I n order t o make
,
-
.

the historic al E gm on t as t ru e a refl ec tion of himself as

p ossible he tran sformed the mature fath er of a family in to
,

an u n m arried y out h an d in t en sifi ed his somn ambulistic

h abit of enj oyin g the pleasures of life for the momen t ,

t otally oblivious of the lurkin g d an gers t o which he even t ,

u ally falls a vic tim .

I n wh at did the d emon ic c on sist which frigh t en ed the ,

p oet at that time? We n eed on ly men tion the year in

which E gmon t origin ated in order to h ave the an swer I t .

was the year 7 7 5 1 Goethe driven by a dem on ic p ower

.
, ,

an d c on trary t o his m ost sett led purp ose had b ec om e ,

en t an gl ed in a n ew p assion at e l ov e affair th at wit h Lili , ,

an d was m or e d eeply in v olv ed th an ev er b ef ore H e soon .

f oresaw the misfortun e which must arise if he c on tin ued

his somn ambulistic w alk al on g this d an ger ous way The .
33 0 t he l ife of G oe the

give in hin g b u t a charac ter sketch of a great

E gmon t n ot

m an in dramatic form so that in this resp ec t also it b ec ame

,

a c omp an ion piec e t o Gotz While E gmon t is superior t o .

C af e in c on c en tration Gotz surp asses E gmon t in dram atic

,

in t erest In Gotz we h av e n o c en tr alised plot b u t alw ays

.
,

some ac tion wh ich ar ou ses in t erest ; E gmon t on the oth er ,

h an d has a c en tralised plot b u t it is in sign ific ant an d the

, , ,

in terest which is ar oused for the time b ein g is du e less to

t he plot t h an t o the ch arac t ers t h emselv es .

The plot m ay b e told in very few word s E gmon t .

,

disregardin g all warnin gs remain s in Brussels is captured , ,

by Alb a an d led to the scaffold It b egin s at the en d of

,
.

the sec on d act is ob scur ed in the third an d closes in t he

, ,

fourth .

Goethe almost wan ton ly neglected every mean s of

ren derin g the plot c omplicated .

I n the sec on d sc en e of the first act he m ak es Margaret

of Parma assemble the c ou n cil of st ate in ord er t o c all

E gm on t an d Oran ge t o acc oun t f or the existin g u n rest .

I shall roll the burden of resp on sib ility close en ough to

t h em ; t hey sh all j oin m e in all earn estn ess in opp osin g
t he evil or d ecl are t h at t h ey t oo are reb els
,
O ther .
”

writ ers such as Shakesp eare or Schiller would h ave m ad e

, ,

much of this motive : a great meetin g of the c oun cil a ,

lively give an d take the hero b ec omin g en tan gled by his

,

t oo great fran kn ess etc Bu t G oeth e suggested it on ly

, .

t o dr op it M argaret of Parma is secretly in love with

.

E gmon t This is a very happy in ven tion Bu t in stead

. .

of d ev e lopin g somethin g ou t of this m otive for the progress

of the pl ay a secret warn in g again st Alb a sa or se cr et
, y , ,

supp ort again st him it t oo is left u n empl oyed

, F or the
, , .

poet it is en ough if it c on tributes to his glorification of the

pic ture of E gm on t As there are plen ty of other mean s
.

for the acc omplishm en t of this en d Sch iller was abl e t o ,

elimin ate t he figure of the r egen t al togeth er in his ad ap ta

tion of E gmon t t o t he st age which is st ill f oll owed in ,

man y th eatres .

Goethe brin gs the c ommon people b efore u s three

 E g mont 33 I

ti m es The first time they prop erly serve to unfold the

.

b ackgroun d of the plot The secon d time we see them

.

wr ought up by a clever agitator the third time they are ,

fired by Klarchen s persuasive eloquen ce t o rescue E gmon t

’
.

I n the l ast two c ases we exp ec t som e turn in the progress

of the ac tion b u t each tim e we are d isapp oin ted
,
The .

c ommon people remain passiye from b egin n in g to en d .

Apart from the exp osition their on ly purpose is to cast high

lights on E gmon t an d Klarchen On e can on ly regret that .

Goethe does n ot at least h ave the p eople stirred from their

in ac tivity by K l archen in the fift h act H ow ou r in terest .

would b e inten sified again an d how much greater Klarchen s

,
’

death would b e in b attle at the head of a b an d of p eople

, ,

t h an by p oison in a quiet attic r oom ! Bu t as in this c ase

K larchen has n o in fluen c e on the d evelopmen t of even ts ,

so ev erywh ere else She is for ex ample of n o weight

.
, ,

in E gm ont s d etermin ation to remain in Brussels

’
The .

p oet purp osely avoided such a c omplic ation in order that

he might m ake demon ic h eedlessn ess the sole motive of
E gm on t s ruin Con sequen t ly he pu t n o passion in to the
’
.

relation on E gm on t s Side We are all the m ore surprised

’
.
,

t h en wh en his sweet h eart en grosses his wh ol e soul in t he

,

prison an d appears t o him in the glory of a goddess of

lib erty .

The p oet again had it in his p ower to give the dull

fifth act a livelier pulse wh en he brought F erdin an d Alb a s ,
’

son , to E gm on t in the prison After the h omage which .

F erdin an d offers to E gmon t we expect him as E gmont , ,

does to interfere for the lib eration of the hero Bu t

, .

n ot hin g of the kin d h app en s Ferdinan d s on ly fun ction ’

.

is t o wreathe a leaf in to E gm on t s crown of glory An d

’
.

y et his ac tiv e in t erv en tion w ould n ot on ly h av e ar ou sed

ou r fl aggin g in terest t o the h igh est p it ch b u t his d eath , ,
“

f or t he failure of the att empt t o lib erate E gm on t was a

p oetic al n ecessity would h ave b een a Splen did tragical
—

at on emen t for the Violen c e of his fat h er .

That Oran ge sh ould exert n o in fluen ce on the c ourse of

ev en ts was d oub tless n ec essary Bu t even if this imp ort ant
.
,
33 2 t he l if e of G oe the
figure were con demn ed t o b e a foil for E gm on t Goethe ,

Sh ould h av e b een the m ore c areful n ot t o d etach t he oth ers

from the mechanism of the plot It was the fate of the .

play that Goethe s thoughts were fixed upon an ythin g b u t

’

a stirrin g ac tion risin g ar tistic ally t o a clim ax I t was his .

on ly c are t o Sh ow the h er o in t he m ost v aried an d brillian t

lights an d then when we h ave grown fon d of him let him

, , ,

b e sudden ly d estr oyed as on e blin ded by t he demon .

H e sough t to attain this en d in t he simplest way n o ,

matter whether this way were suited t o the drama or n ot .

A detailed discussion is deman ded on ly for the mann er in

which E gm on t s character is portrayed Goethe d epicts
’
.

him with such warm dev otion an d such p erfec t art th at

in the first ac t s ou r wh ole in terest is c en tred in the p erson
of the h er o I n t he fir st act he let s u s see E gmon t t hrough
.

t he eyes of the p eopl e ; in the sec on d thr ough the ey es of ,

the Govern men t ; in the t hird thr ough the eyes of l ove , .

We see a brillian t chivalrous figure a renown ed gen eral

, , ,

st adt h older an d prin c e who prid es him self on b ein g a m an

, .

H e walks as if the world b el on ged to him an d yet is frien dly , ,

b en evolen t an d amiable t oward everyb ody I n Spit e of his

, .

s eriou s burden s at h om e an d in t he fi eld he has n ev er b een

seen ot h er t han ch eerful an d op en H is heedlessn ess rises .

t o light heart ed n ess b u t t his ligh t h ear t edn ess app ears as
-
,
-

an amiabl e orn am en t b ec au se it fl ow s fr om his c on scious

,

n ess of p ow er an d inn oc en c e as w ell as from his op t imistic

,

philosophy of life an d the world E veryb ody loves him .

,

takes him as a model in fac t ; youn g an d old m en an d

, ,

women soldiers an d citiz en s The fact that we c at ch n o

, .

”
glimpse of great E gm on t himself on ly keys ou r susp en se
“

higher an d higher The sec on d act b egins b u t still we

.
,

must wait An effective backgroun d must first b e pre

.

p ared for E gm on t s appearan ce A m ob quarrelli n g over

’
.

t he p olitic al affair s of the c oun try b ec omes embr oiled in a

fierce fight E gmon t app ears an d the stormy waves su b
.

Sid e in a few m om en ts H e sep arates the quarrellers with

.

kin gly dignity an d p asses on .

The impressive litt le glimp se of E gm on t in creases ou r

3 34 t he l ife of G oe the

o rders C on sequen tly we kn ow from the first how the

.

meetin g of Alb a an d E gmon t will turn ou t an d are on ly ,

surprised th at Alb a wast es so m an y word s .

The drama migh t en d with E gm on t s arrest at the en d

’

of the f our t h act ; f or the fift h act c on tain s on ly t he af ter

c on vulsion s which in themselves un essen tial c ould easily

, ,

b e supplied by ou r fan cy Klarchen s suicide has already

’
.

b een suggested in the third act in her words : So let me

”
die the w orld has n o j oys after this !
,

The faults of the play are man y an d n ot in significant ;

an d yet ev en if on e feel s th em all it still p ossesses great
, ,

charm This rests main ly up on the characteristic b eauty

.

an d vivid n ess of the figur es An d here again we see it

.

demon strated that poetry as well as the plastic arts can

, ,

after all acc omplish n othin g great er th an the cr eation of

well roun ded real m en an d that all th at we call technique
-
,

is of sec on d ary imp ortan c e .

The charac ters of E gmon t are n ot faultless As Schiller .

p oin ted ou t for example it is a weakn ess in the hero to

, ,

say : To b athe away the th oughtful wrin kles from my

brow there is still left a frien dly remedy ; an d K larchen ”
,

who had st ruck ch armin g n at ural t on es in the first an d

t h ird ac t s sp eak s in the l ast act in as el evat ed a st yle as if
,

she were an Iph igen ia or a L eon ora d E st e E x altation

’
, .

d oes n ot justify the chan ge in style It may alter the .

acc en t b u t n ot the t on e of la
,
n gu age Goethe felt this .

very clearly when he wrote the prison sc en e of F au st an d ,

govern ed his style acc ordin gly N evertheless E gmont an d . ,

K larchen are am on g the m ost b eautiful an d true character s

t h at ou r p oet ev er created .

We have already b ec ome closely acquainted with the

figure of E gm ont Klarchen is his feminin e c ounterpart a
.
,

happy youn g girl who gladly surren ders herself to the joy
of a b eautiful m om en t an d wards off all c are for the fu ture .

Yet she is n ot sup erficial n or pleasure seekin g ; her aim s -

are seriou s an d her em otion s deep an d ten der

, Pov erty .
,

domestic limitation s sewin g an d c ookin g have n ot wearied

, ,

or cru sh ed her ; she is still t he same r omp as when she was a

 E gmont 335

child ,
h g would please her more than to b e a m an
an d n ot in
an d try her st ren g th ou t in the w orld An d so in the .

m om en t of n eed She is braver an d m ore determin ed than

t he m en of Bru ssel s who gath er ar oun d her Like E gmon t .
,

She is wh olly n at ural She c an n ot b e m ov ed first th is way

.

an d t hen th at by argum en t s ; She must f oll ow her own

in stin c t s H er n atural impul ses driv e her in t o the arm s
.

of E gm on t n o l ess th an in t o t he arm s of Death

,
While .

E gmon t is ab ove her b ec ause of the splen dour of his high

p osition an d great in fluen ce she radiates the pleasin g ,

Shimm er of c ordial fresh n ess an d ch armin g n aivet e With .

t h ese qualities She has mad e a warmer plac e for h erself in

t he hear t of the w orld th an has her great lov er .

By the side of Klarchen b elon gs her aged mother ,

drawn wholly from life with her love an d in dulgen ce for ,

Klarchen her vanity flattered by the fac t that E gmon t is

, ,

her daugh ter s lover her h on our which c an n ot b u t b e

’
, ,

offen d ed by the rel ation an d her prac tic al sen se which

, ,

would prefer ten times over t o see Klarchen fin d a com

fortab le h om e as the wife of Bracken b u rg Then Bracken .

burg the soft fl accid youth who eats of the mercies of love
, , , ,

b u t can n eit h er liv e n or d ie p erh ap s t he most difficult —

character an d yet very prob able th an ks to the p oet s art

, ,
’
.

An d furth er his Sp an ish p en d an t Ferdin an d who vac il , ,

lates b etween his dreaded father an d his admired en emy ;

t he lapidary p erson ali t y of Oran ge a statue n ot a pic ture ; , ,

the h alf Sp an ish h alf Du t ch h alf masculin e h alf femin in e

, , , ,

clever an d yet mediocre regen t Margaret ; an d cl osin g the , ,

procession the represen tatives of the Dut ch c ommon p eople

, ,

who wit h their distin c t p eculiarities are sket ched with true
Dutch art Least succ essful of all is the delineation of Alb a
. .

On e can readily see t hat this charac ter spran g from the
fourth act which Goethe hated The h ollow eyed
, .
-
,
”

” ”
mon osyllabic iron Toledan ought to have had the
,
“

pithy style of Oran ge ; b u t Goethe made him loquacious

an d rh et ori c al I t m ay b e th at he was led in to d oin g this
.

by the n eed of broaden in g ou t an d givin g a special lustre to

the f ourth act which acc ordin g t o his pl an was t o f orm t he
, , ,
33 6 t he l ife of G oe the
climax an d by the iambic rhythm which he of ten attempted
,

here as in the fifth act .

With th ese ch aracters Goethe c on struc ted a series of

most exquisite scen es especially the first two Klarchen
,

sc en es
,
the sc en es am on g the p eopl e an d th at b etween
,

E gmon t an d Oran ge . These leave such a profoun d im

pression that they make u s forget all adverse criticisms
of the pl ay .
33 8 t he l ife of G oe the

l v
e e ation of soul as a r esul t of b ec omin g on e wit h t he

divin e spirit p ermeatin g himself an d n ature .

H e en tered up on t he j ourn ey t o the H arz Moun tain s at

the en d of N ov emb er 1 7 7 7 As the Duke r od e ou t t o the
, .

ch ase wit h his c av aliers Goeth e r od e t o t he n or t h ov er t he

,

E ttersb erg I n the mid st of a h ail storm pure p eac e of

.
-

soul c ame ov er him which was tran sformed in to pious

,

ex altation as the c on tin uation of the j ourn ey br ough t him

in to gran der sc en ery H e wen t v ia S on dershau sen N ord

.
,

hausen an d Ilfeld to E lbin gerode where he dev oted a day

,
w
,

an d a h alf t o therem arkab le st alagmites in the B aum an n s

hohle in order that he might accurately ob serve N ature
,

at her n ever en din g w ork

-
H e c on tin ued the j ourn ey to .

Wern igerode where he visited a self torturin g un happy

,
-
,

youn g theologian the son of Superinten d en t Plessin g

,
.

The youn g m an had previously written him two urgen t

letters in the h ope of ob tainin g from the author of Werther
c on solation an d savin g wisdom Goethe had n ot an swered .
,

preferrin g to wait till he c ould p erson ally in fluen ce the

life weary youth who un satisfied with his achievemen ts
-
, , ,

dran k misan t hropy ou t of the fuln ess of love H is efforts .

were in vain Plessin g would n ot resp on d t o an y argu

.

men ts or advic e Goethe departed from him in deep

.

em otion .

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I t he d e er t
n s .
 1111 the h a m auo Gwitserlauo 339

On his further j ourn ey the p oet visited G oslar R ammels ,

b erg an d Claustal where the various smeltin g furn aces

, ,

an d m1u es b ec am e a sp ec ial obj ec t of his atten tion On e .

of his purp oses in takin g this

j ourn ey was to gather in for
mation for on e of his favourite proj ec ts the reopenin g of the ,

Ilmenau min es H e was greatly pleased with the happy

.

prosperity which the minin g town s derive from treasures

st ored away in the hills an d with stran ge sen sation s con ,

trasted t hem with his native cit y whi ch was m oulderin g ,

in the mid st of its privileges Interc ourse with these .

humble people was refreshin g to him H ow this lon esome .

j ourn ey has t aught me to love the class of men that is

called the lower which h owever in the eyes of God is
, , ,

c ertainly the highest ! H ere one fin ds all virtues united :

self rest rain t
-
con ten tmen t straightforwardness fidelity
, , , ,

jyo o v er m o st humbl e p ossession s inn oc en c e p atien c e , ,

patien ce en duran ce in u n I will n ot lose myself in

— —

exclam ation s .

No stormy weat her n o swampy road n o b ad lodgin g s , ,

were able to disturb his lofty frame of min d B eyon d .

Claustal he t urn ed toward the high est peak of the m oun t

ain s t he climb in g of which had pr omised him a m ost
,

b eautiful reward even b efore he left h ome It was the

, .

roth of Dec emb er E verythin g was c overed with deep

.

sn ow N owadays when people attempt to ascen d Monte

.

R osa an d the Grossglockner in the winter the climbin g of ,

the Brocken in Dec emb er is c on sid ered a m er e trifle In .

t h ose d ays fan cy p eopled a sn ow c overed m oun tain with -

h orrible dan gers Day after day Goethe had made in

.

qu1r1es ab out his un dertaking an d everyb ody declared

it to b e imp ossible When he wen t to the forester who
.

lived in the peat house at the foot of the moun tain he too ,

said it was im possibl e to make the asc en t esp ecially on ,

acc oun t of the fog in which on e c ould n ot see three step s

,

in advan c e There I sat Goethe writes to his b eloved

“
. , ,

“
with heavy h eart and half in the n otion of returnin g I .

seem ed to myself lik e the kin g wh om the prophet bids to

*
,

Cf Ki g x i 7 9 C
ii — . 2 n s .
, 1 -
1 . .
34 0 t he l ife Of G oe the

s mite with his b ow an d who smites too few times I was

, .

still an d pray ed the g od s t o t urn the h eart of t h is m an an d

t he weather an d was still Then he said t o m e : Now ‘

, .

y o u can s ee t he Br ock en I st epp ed t o t

. he
’
w in d ow an d it
lay b ef ore m e as distin ct as my fac e in a m irror ; t h en my
h eart rej oiced an d I cried : An d I sh ould n ot get t o the ‘

t op ! H ave you n o serv an t n o on e ? An d he said : ,

I ’

will go with you I cu t a Sign in the win d ow as a witn ess

.
’

of my t ear s of joy an d if it w ere n ot t o y ou I sh ould con

,

Sid er it a sin t o write it I c ould n ot b elieve it till we

.
,

reached the topm ost cliff All the fog lay b elow an d up .
,

t h ere it was gl oriou sly clear What he felt up t here .

am on g the gran it e cliffs of t he summit t he sky wit h the ,

bright su n ab ove him a surgin g sea of fog b en eath him an d

, ,

t hus t o the out er eye c omplet ely sep arated fr om all hu

m an ac tivities we fin d revealed in the hymn like essay on
,
-

gran ite which it is true was n ot written till later b u t is

, , , ,

eviden t ly b ased on the m em ories or m ore pr ob ably on , , ,

”
the Sk et ches of t h ose d ay s I do n ot fear the reproach “
.
,

say s the auth or of Werther th at it must b e a Sp irit of

,

c on tradic tion that has led m e from the ob servation an d de

s crip tio n of t he hum an h eart t he m ost rec en t most com , ,

plex most mobile most chan geable most p erturb able p art
, , ,

of creation t o the c on sid eration of the old est h ard est d eep
, , ,

est firm est son of n ature

, F or it will readily b e gran ted
.
,

t h at all n atural t hin gs have an ex ac t relation t o on e an ot her ,

th at the searchin g min d d oes n ot willin gly allow itself t o

b e excluded from an yt hin g att ain able Let m e who h ave .
,

suff ered an d still suffer m an y thin g s fr om the v ariation s

of hum an em otion s through th eir quick ch an ges in my self

,

an d in others en j oy the sublime p eac e which t hat l on ely

, ,

Sil en t presen c e of great whisp erin g n ature b est ows an d let ,

him who divin es som ethin g of it foll ow m e .

“
With these sen timen ts I approach you ye oldest , ,

worthiest m on umen ts of time Sittin g up on a lofty b ar .

ren summi t an d ov erl ook in g a wid e lan d sc ape I can sa

y ,

t o my self : H ere d ost th ou rest directly up on a groun d

that ex ten d s d own t o the d eep est plac es of the earth ; n o
34 2 t he l ife of G oe the

was up t here t o day an d up on the Teu felsaltar offered u p

-
,

t o my God the sacrific e of m ost h ear tfelt t han ksgivin g .

Three m ore days he travelled in the m oun tain s then ,

”
j oined the brethren who had meanwhile b een on a hunt
“
,

in E isen ach an d th ey wen t h ome togeth er

,
The excur ,

sion had l asted b u t litt l e over two weeks b u t it had left ,

d eep traces b ehin d H e had seemed to himself one b eloved

.

of God an d guided by him on t his j ourn ey on wh ich on on e ,

occ asion g ood f or tu ne al on e had saved hi s life That God .

loved him and guided him he c ould on ly c on clude from the

mission intrusted to him an d he b egan to cherish a rever ,

en c e for the p ot en tial divin it y in him —

the highest an d
most religious of all reveren ces as he later explain ed in ,

t he Wan derjahre an d t o striv e t o preserv e an d u n fold it

—

in p erfect purit y .

“
Lon ely will that m an b e who opens his soul to n one ,

b u t the old est first an d d eep est f eelin gs of truth

, ,
.

G oethe return s t o Weim ar with this determin ation an d ,

the result is as in dic ated H e b ec omes lon ely in the .

midst of the fair gay circle of m en an d women ab out him

, .

H is ey e t urn s in ward We hear of n o more wild carou s

.

in g as in t he first tw o years in Weimar an d even in

, ,

more moderate pleasures he particip ates less freq uen tly ,

an d then in a more subdued at times m erely p erfun c t ory ,

man n er H e often looks on like Faust amid the in sipid

.

mirth of A u erbachs Keller The en tries in his diary clearly .

b etray the ch an ge in his character I n the first week of .

February 1 7 7 8 he n otes : This week much on the ice

, ,
“
,

always in the same alm ost t oo pure frame of min d

, B eau .

tiful rev elation s ab out myself an d ou r bu sin ess Peac e .

”
an d prem onition of wisd om On the 1 2 th of F ebru ary : .

“
Con tin ued complete estrangemen t from m en
,
Ab out .

U n d A t a d es ie l r l blich st en ke
D an s

Wird ihm d es gefurcht et en s Gipfel

Schn eeb eha gn e S
n r ch l
ei t e — H arz rei se .

[ A d
n a al t ar f d eanr e t t h an k givin g o s s

Seem et h t him t he awe m e ummit

’
o so s s

S w b em a t led cre t
no -
n s
 1111 the 1har3 ano Gwitzet lano 343

t he same time he sin gs (A n den M an d) : H appy is he

who Shuts him self off fr om t he world with out h atred
”
.

I n Dec emb er he c on fesses : I am n ot made for this world

in t he foll owin g M arch : At pr esen t I live wit h t he m en
of t his w orld an d eat an d drin k even j ok e wit h t h em b u t , ,

sc arc ely f eel a t rac e of th em f or my in n er life g oes stead ily

,

”
on its own way .

The developmen t for which the j ourn ey to the H arz

M oun tain s prepared the way is c ompleted an d made
perman en t by the Swiss j ourn ey Just as it lasted much .

lon ger so were its effec t s much m ore man ifold It stimu
,
.

lated his h eart an d mind in almost all direction s The .

mere fact that he return ed to his h ome an d to Alsatia after

four sign ifican t years was for him a great inward experi
en c e .
C omp osed an d yet deeply m oved he wrote to his
, ,

m other who had often lon ged for her b eloved son an
, ,

n ou n cin g his appr oachin g visit The Duke d esires to en

.
“

jyo t he b e au t iful a u t um n on t he Rh in e ; I w ould g o wi t h

him an d Ch amb erl ain Wed el We would lodge with you
.

an d stay a few days then go on by wat er th en ,

return an d make ou r h eadq uarters with y ou an d from ,

t here visit t he n eighb ourh ood Whet her taken prosaically

.

or p oetic ally as a m at t er of fac t th is is t he d ot on the i of

,

your p ast life for I return for the first time to my father
,

lan d en tirely well an d happy an d with all p ossible h on our

, .

Bu t in asmuch as I Sh ould also like seein g th at the v in e ,

yards on the mountain s of S amaria have fl ourished so well ,

that the fruit t hereof b e en j oyed my on ly d esire is th at ,

y ou a n d f ath e r m ay r ec eiv e u s wit h o p en an d a pp rec ia

t ive h earts an d t h an k God th at he let s you see your son
again in his t hirtiet h year in t his way I do n ot .

exp ec t the imp ossible I t has n ot b een G od s will that

’
.

fath er sh ould enj oy the fruit n ow rip e for which he so , ,

ard en tly year n ed H is app etite has b een taken away

.
*
,

an d G od s will b e d on e I shall b e satisfied with whatever

’
.

t he hum our of the m omen t pr omp t s him to do Bu t I .

Sh ould like to see you righ t h appy an d giv e you a g ood

G et he f ather had b ec me feebl e mi d ed

’
o s o -
n .
344 t he l ife of G oe the

day s uch as I have n ev er g iv en you b ef ore I h av e every .

th in g th at m an can d esire a life in which I d aily ex erc ise ,

myself an d daily grow an d this time I return to you in

,

h ealth n o lon ger a prey t o p assion an d c on fusion n o

, ,

lon ger followin g blin d in stin c t b u t as on e b eloved of God , ,

who has lived h alf his life an d wh ose p ast su fferin g gives ,

him immun ity from furth er sorrow s an d fills his future

with abun dan t hope If I fin d you an d father h appy I
.

sh all r et urn with h d ily k d il h

jy
o t o t e a t as s an t o s t at
”
await m e .

On t he 8 th of S ep t emb er with the Duke an d Wedel

1 , ,

he arrived in Fran kfort E v ery ot her d escrip tion of the

.

en tran c e of t he gu ests in t o G oet h e s fath er s h ouse mu st

’ ’

keep Silen t b efore the words in which his m other s rej oicin g ’

heart reported it The 1 8 th of S ep temb er she writ es

“ ”
.
,

t o Duch ess Am alia was the great day when old father
“
,

Goethe an d Frau Aja en vied the blissful gods n either their

dwellin g in high Olympus n or their ambrosia an d n ec tar , ,

n eit h er th eir v oc al n or th eir in st rum en tal mu sic b u t w ere ,

so h appy so c omplet ely h appy t h at it is d oub tful if ev er

, ,

m ortal m an has tasted greater or purer j oys than we two

h appy paren t s did on this d ay of jubilat ion an d joy .

H is H igh n ess ou r m ost graciou s an d m ost exc ellen t Duke

, ,

in order c ompletely t o surprise u s dism oun t ed at a dis ,

t an c e from ou r h ou se an d so c ame n oiselessly t o the d oor

, ,

ran g en tered the blue room etc Imagin e n ow Your

, , .
,

H ighn ess how Frau Aja is sittin g at the roun d table how
, ,

the d oor of the r oom op en s how in the same m om en t her ,

darlin g b oy falls up on her n eck how the Duke at some ,

distan ce b eh olds for a momen t the m oth er s joy how finally ’

,

Frau Aja hasten s to the Prin ce as if in toxic ated half ,

weepin g h alf laughin g n ot kn owin g at all what to d o

, , ,

an d how the h an d som e Ch amb erlain v on Wed el al so takes

a d eep int erest in t he w on derful joy Fin ally the sc en e .

with the fath er that c an n ot p ossibly b e describ ed I

— .

was afraid he w ould die on the sp ot ; even to day after H is -

,

H ighn ess has b een gon e fr om u s a c on siderable time he ,

has n ot yet fully rec ov ered an d Frau Aja is n ot a whit ,

34 6 t he l ife of G oe the

her in a m omen t when it well n igh c ost her life She -

.

p assed lightly over that fac t t old m e what trac es still ,

remain ed of that illn ess c on duc ted herself in a most lovely

,

man n er an d with such c ordiality from the very first m o

m en t when I un exp ectedly appeared on the thresh old an d
we ran in t o each other t hat I felt quite r eliev ed,
To her .

credit I must say that she did n ot make the sligh test at
temp t t o awaken an y f orm er f eelin gs wit hin my breast .

She led m e in to ev ery arb our an d th ere I had t o sit

“
,

down an d it was well so We had the most b eautiful full

,
.

m oon ; I in quired ab out everythin g A n eighb our who had .

f ormerly h elped u s in ou r lab ours was c alled in an d he said ,

he had asked ab ou t m e on ly a w eek ag o ; the b arb er had

t o c ome in t oo ; I f oun d old son gs th at I had c omp osed
an d a c oach I had p ain ted ; we rec alled m an y pran ks of
t h ose h appy d ay s an d I f oun d th at th ey all rememb ered
,

me as well as if I had h ardly b een g on e six m on th s The .

old p eople w ere v ery c or d ial ; th ey t h ough t I had gr own

youn ger I stayed over n ight an d departed the n ext

.

morn in g at sun rise leavin g b ehin d m e frien dly faces so

, ,

t h at I can n ow t hin k on c e m ore of t his litt le c orn er of the

w orld wit h satisf ac t ion an d live in p eac e wit h the sp irit s
of th ese r ec on ciled frien d s
”
.

H e r od e on t o S trasburg an d th ere t oo sough t ou t a , ,

f ormer sweetheart Lili She had mean while after man y

, .
,

t ribul at ion s b een m arried t o t he b an ker B ern h ard v on

, ,

Turckheim a fin ely educated m an of stron g charact er an d

, ,

Goethe foun d her playin g with her little seven weeks old - -

daughter She seemed t o him p erfectly happy an d he

.

gladly c onvin ced himself that she had ev erythin g she

n eed ed H e was given a m ost frien dly rec eption an d
.

d eparted with the same feelin g of satisfac tion as from

Sesen heim f k
What great ch an ges had taken
place in Goethe within
a few years m ay b e learn ed fr om a c omp arison of the let t ers
quoted their n oble h arm on ious flow an d profoun d rep ose
, , ,

with the restless vacillatin g letters of 7 7 5 an d 7 7 6 an d

,
1 1 ,

their sudd en t ran sition s fr om t he m ost sublim e t o the

 1ln the h at s auo Gwitset lauo 34 7

co mmon est style Not merely three or four years

. wh ole ,
—a

lifetim e seems to lie b etween th em .

On the 2 6 th of May 775 G oet h e h ad writ t e

,
n t
1 o ,

J ohan n a Fahlm er : The devil take m e Aun t ! it is Friday ,

t he 2 6 t h an d I am still in S trasburg Bu t t o m orrow I .

-

g o t o E mm e n d in g en Th e w orld seems m ad an d qu eer

.

wherever I go ”
On this occ asion also he wen t from
.

”
S trasburg to E mmen din gen wh ere he foun d his Aunt ,
“

t he wife of his br oth er in law Schl osser Cornelia had

- -
, .

died on the 8 th of 111116 1 7 7 7 Mournfully he writes : .

H ere I am n ow at the grave of my Sister ; her h ouseh old

is to m e as a t abl et on c e grac ed by a b el oved figure n ow
,

effac ed From E mmen din gen the j ourn ey is c on tin ued

”
.

t o B asel an d on al on g t he c ourse of the Birs t hrough n ar

,

row win din g gorges in t he Jura M ou n t ain s Just b efore .

reachin g M un ster (Moutier ) they p ass through the most ,

impressiv e p art of the v alley the Mun stertal (Val M out ,

ier) which in spires G oeth e with the wish th at it migh t

,

have b een his lot to dwell in the midst of gran d sc en ery .

E very m orn in g I w ould drin k in from it greatn ess as I ,

d o p atien c e an d t ran q uillit y from my l ovely valley At .

t he en d of t he g orge he t urn s b ack al on e t o st udy m ore

closely its geologic al formation H e rej oices t o see v erified .

his th eory of the gradual gr owth of the earth s cru st with ou t

’

an y rev olution ary c at astroph e On e feels d eeply t hat .

here t here is n o caprice all is the product of Slow work ,

-

in g etern al law From Munster the travellers proceed

”
.
,

v ia B iel to the c an t on of B ern wh ere th ey feel som ethin g ,

of t he blessin gs p ossible un d er a republic an c on stitut ion .

I n the lan d sc ap e every thin g is h app ily laid ou t an d

“

ad orn ed an d l ooks cheerful produc tiv e an d rich

,
The , , .

city is the m ost b eautiful we h ave seen ; it is built on a

plan of civic equality The uniformity an d clean lin ess.

are a gr eat c omf ort esp ecially as on e f eels th at th ere is n o

,

emp t y orn am en t ation or d ead lev el of d esp otism From .

B ern th ey go to Thun for a several days excursion in to the -

’

Ob erlan d On the 9 th of Oc tob er in the aftern oon the

.
, ,

c ompan y arrives at Lauterbrunn en where they admire ,

34 8 t he l if e of G oe the

the fam ous S taubb ach waterfall N owadays this fall is .

n ot so much admired b ec au se its v olum e of w ater is t oo ,

sm all Bu t at th at time the p eculiar phen omen on had a

.

m agic effect on the ob server Goethe b ec omes ab sorb ed m .

it sees water sprites asc en din g an d d esc en din g in the v eil of

,

mist an d hears them Sin gin g of the soul an d water in

,

won d erful strophes which b ec ome to him a symb ol of his

own life *
.

From Lauterbrun n en the c ompan y took a Side trip t o

the m agn ific en t region of the h ead of the valley climb ed ,

t he O b er S t ein b erg an d a p ar t of the T schin gel Glacier

-
.

On the 1 th of Oc t ob er their j ourn ey was c on tin ued t o

1

Grin delwald n ot as is usual n owadays over the Wen gern

, , ,

alp which was c on sidered a very difficult r oute b u t through

, ,

t he v alley v ia Zweil ut schin en After they had seen the .

two glac iers in Grin delwald th ey crossed ov er the Gr osse

Scheideck to Meirin gen There Goethe made a vain search .

f or a relative of Pet er I m b au m garten a y ou n g S wiss wh om ,

he had t aken t o his h ome in Weimar by reason of a

legacy from B aron v on Lin dau Proceedin g v ia Brien z .

an d the Brien er See t h ey arriv ed on t he z

4 t h at I n t er 1

laken or more c orrec tly U n terseen at t hat time on ly a

, , , ,

plain quiet village when ce they return ed to B ern

, , .

The wh ole t our had b een t o G oeth e a source of highest

rap ture H e declares himself in c apable of givin g an
.

ad equ ate c on c ep tion of the gl oriou s b it of the Alp s t h at

he has seen Not even th ought or mem ory can c omp are
.

with the b eauty an d gran d eur of the scenes an d their

lovelin ess in such lights at such times of day an d from , ,

such p oin t s of view Later when he published .

,

the descrip tion of his Alp in e tour of 779 h e d id n ot f eel 1 ,

abl e w or thily to supplemen t t his p art of it fr om m em ory

an d preferred t o leave a gap H e was sorry to b e obliged .

t o c on ten t him self wit h ligh tly skimmin g t he cream of

t he Ob erlan d If I had b een alon e I should have gon e
.
“
,

higher an d deeper b u t with the Duke I had to keep within ,

moderation ”
After a few days rest in B ern the travellers
.
’

Cf Gesan g der Gei ster u ber den Wassern .

-
C .
35 0 t he l ife of G oe the

to wers an d walls rise up from the lake in serried files b e

fore them formin g stupen d ous wild imp en etrable outer
, , ,

c ourts when on ce we see their man ifold forms lyin g clear

,

an d distin c t in full view b efore u s ! I t makes on e feel

like givin g up every preten sion to c omprehen d the in fin ite
when on e s p ercep tion s an d reason in gs do n ot suffice for
’

the fin ite B efore u s we saw a fruitful in habited c ountry ;

.

ev en t he soil up on which we st ood a l oft y b arr en m ou n t ain

, , ,

produces grass an d forage for an imals useful to m an an d ,

the arr ogan t m aster of the world m ay yet appropriate it t o

his servic e ; b u t th ose p eaks are like a row of sacred virgin s
whom the Spirit of H eaven guard s for himself al one in
eter n al purity in the imp en etrable r egion s b efore ou r eyes .

E ven wh en n earer to the valley ou r ey es dwel t

on ly up on t he icy p eak s in fr on t of u s Those farthest to .

the lef t in the Ob erlan d seemed t o m elt in a light fi ery

vap our those n earest still stood ou t clear with their red
,

sid es ; littl e by lit tle t h ose f arth est away b ec ame a wh itish ,

green ish gray I t almost looked alarming As a mighty

. .

b ody dyin g from without toward the heart they all Slowly
paled away t oward M on t Blan c wh ose broad b osom still ,

gleamed red an d even after th at faded away seemed t o

,

retain a reddish hu e just as when on e is un willin g to rec og

,

n ise at on c e the death of a l ov ed on e an d mark the m omen t

”
when the pulse ceases to b eat .

U n f or tun ately on e might alm ost say the symb olic al

, ,

tru th of this won d erfully ton ed pic ture has suffered in on e

poin t The sublime c on ception of the high p eak s as u n
.

approachable h eav en ly virgin s has b een l ost to the d arin g

gen eration of the presen t .

On the 2 7 th of Oc tob er the travellers wen t to Gen eva

where Goethe was much admired as the author of Werther .

H e an d the Duke had a burn in g desire to go to Ch am oun i ,

t o t he f oot of Mon t Blan c an d d esc en d th en c e by a p ass

in to the vall ey of the Rh on e The good Gen evese still
.

lived in dread of high moun tain s I n b eautiful summer .

weather some of th em had occ asion ally it is true ven tured , ,

in t o th at wild ern ess an d brough t b ack t ales of h orror b u t ,

 1111 the h at s ano Switset lano 35 1

h y c ould n ot un derstan d how an y on e should care to go

t e
t h ere in N ovemb er They appealed to the Duke with most
.

earn est protestation s an d made of t he un dert akin g a m att er

of c on scien c e an d of stat e Goethe had already learn ed by
.

exp erien c e in the H arz Moun tain s wh at foun d ation t h ere

was for such anxieties I n ord er to satisfy himself an d the

.

obj ec tor s he prop osed th at t h ey c on sult t he w ell kn ow n -

physicist de Saussure who was quite familiar with the

, ,

Mont Blan c region an d had on c e him self attemp ted to

asc en d the m oun tain For such are the people methin ks
.
,

th at on e mu st ask if on e will get al on g in the w orld

,
.

Sau ssure d eclared they c ould make the trip with out the
sligh test d an ger ; t h ey n eed on ly pay h eed to the weath er

an d the advic e of the c oun trymen .

Highly pleased the Duke an d Goethe set off on the 3 rd

,

of N ov emb er thr ough the valley of t he Arv e toward Mon t

Blan c Wedel who was subj ect to diz ziness remainin g

, , ,

behin d On the followin g day it had already grown dark

.

when the wan derers approached Chamouni The stars .

c ame ou t on e after an other an d ab ove the summits of the ,

mountain s b efore u s to the right we saw a light which we

could n ot explain ; clear without lustre like the Milky, ,

Way b u t den ser almost like the Pleiades only larger it

, , , ,

held ou r atten tion a lon g time un til fin ally as we chan ged , ,

ou r p oin t of view lik e a pyramid p erv ad ed by a my steriou s

,

in n er ligh t b est c omp ared perhap s with the ligh t of a

,

glow worm it towered ab ove the tops of all the mountain s

-
,

an d made u s sure it was the summit of Mon t Blan c

”
The .

inh abitan ts of Ch am ouni were n ot a little surprised t o see

stran gers arrivin g so l ate in the year On the morrow the .

tourists climb ed Mon tan v ert in order to get a full view of

the Mer de Glac e took a few hun dred steps up on its wavy
,

crystal cliffs an d th en descen ded As lon ger excursions

, .

were ou t of the question they left the migh ty mass of Mon t

Blan c after a stay of on ly one day With the aid of a guide .

t hey sough t t o cr oss over the Col de B alme to Martign y .

B attling clouds en han ced the wild charm of the sc en ery .

At the t op of the p ass the win d whistled sh arply it sn owed ,

35 2 t he l ife of G oe the

so mewh at an d the descen t was wearisome b u t in the

, ,

ev en in g t h ey r est ed c omfortably in t he w arm fl at v alley of ,

the Rh on e This was the tour which the delicate Genevese

.

had d escrib ed as a j ourn ey to H ell .

A more ambitious an d critical part of the j ourn ey was

to follow up t he valley of t he Rh on e an d over the Furc a
, ,

to St Gothard E ven Saussure had left the question

. .

op en wh eth er or n ot t h ey c oul d cr oss the Furc a so late in

,

the year Bu t u n dismayed the Duke an d his min ister

.
, ,

marched on up the lon g valley accomp anied on ly by a ,

serv an t Lon g b efore they reach ed the Furc a they c ame

.

t o sn ow an d G oeth e b egan to b e t or tured by evil fore

,

b odin gs On the 1 2 th of N ovemb er at nin e in the morn

.
,

in g t h ey arrived at Ob erwald the high est in habited place

, ,

in the valley on e h our from the Furc a , With great excite .

men t they here made their fin al in quiries The Furc a .

was n o Brocken the way lay for seven hour s t hrough,

unin habited region s an d t hey dared n ot take too great a

,

risk with a sovereign It was a c omf ort for them t o hear .

from the in hab itan ts that th ere were p eople in the village
who often wen t over in the win ter The Duke an d Goethe .

sen t f or two s uch m en who wh en t h ey had ex amin ed t he , ,

t ravellers signi fied t h eir willin gn ess t o m ake t he t rip wit h

,

t h em . B ehin d the village the broad masses of ice of the

Rhon e Glacier soon appeared an d heighten ed the awe
in spirin g ch arac ter of the l an d sc ap e From the foot of the .

glacier the ascen t b egan to b e very steep The sn ow grew .

deep er an d the advan c e more tiresome Light clouds .

p assed ov er the p ale su n an d for a time sifted down large

flakes of sn ow up on the immen se mon oton ous m oun tain
d esert The dep th s from which the wan derers had c ome
.

lay grey an d en dless in the cl ouds b ehin d th em H ere even .

Goethe un mistakably experien ced a Slight tremor ; to a cer

tain ex ten t he was t he son of his time wh en he said th at if ,

a m an on this j ourn ey Sh ould allow his imagin ation t o gain

the m astery over him he would b e sure to die of anx iet y
an d fear ev en if th er e w er e n o d an ger app aren t
,
After a .

stren u ou s w alk of three an d a h alf h ours th ey reach ed the

354 t he l if e of G oe the

Day at the M ilit ary A c ademy l ater kn own as the H oh e

,

K arlsschu le at which the pupil Friedrich Schiller r ec eiv ed

,

thr ee priz es On the Rhin e they v isited t he c our ts

.

with which the Duke was related K arlsruhe Darmstad t

—
, ,

H omburg an d H an au where they were th oroughly chilled

, ,

an d b ored After an exten ded visit with Frau Aja they

.

return ed to Weimar on the 3 th of Jan uary 7 8 0

1 ,
1 .

Goethe an d K arl August c ame home exal ted an d happy ,

G oethe so full of en thusiasm that he wished to see the

m emory of the j ourn ey preserv ed in a m on umen t of st on e .

H is d esire was n ot realised The j ourn ey remain ed n ever

.
,

t heless a p erm an en t m on um en t in the liv es of b oth

, .
 X XV

I NN E R STR U GGL E S

E ff ec t of Swiss j our ey n Goet h e— Gr eater d evotio t official dutie

n o n o s

H i fr ie d M erck a d hi m t h er bjec t t hi c o t i u i g i
s n n s o ffi c e o o s n n n n o

H e r em ai fi m ns Leav e hi Gar t e h au a d m v e i t Weim ar

r — s s n s n o s n o
— I cr ea ed i l at i
n s a d il e c e
so Pr emon iti f early d eat h
n S n — on on s o

Mi er al gic al t ud ie
n o F agm e te ube de G a i t D i c v ery of
s s— r n r u r n -
s o

t he i t erm ax ill ary

n — D i c v ery f t he m et am rph i s o f pl a t o o os s o n s

Inn er l gi g f furt h er cie tific a d lit er ary pr ducti n

on n or s n n o o

H i dr a c e — C
n n ciou e f hi r eal c alli g O the wh eel f
s on s sn ss o s n — u o

I xi on — I t erc ur e wit h Fr au
n o St ei d i t urb ed
s H eal t h u d er v on n s — n

mi ed— Sec d W e thef cr i i Year i g f I t aly Det ermi a

n on r s s— n n or — n

tio tn eek r efug e i

o s flight St eal aw ay fr m K arl b ad
n — s o s

R E AT as the charm of the pic turesq ue Swiss j ourn ey

must have b een f or such a susceptible eye as
Goethe s much as his Scien tific econ omic an d
’

, , ,

artistic ob servation s m ay h ave ab sorb ed his a t ten tion the

"
,

chief value an d chief effect of the j ourn ey were of a m oral

n ature Through the visits with his paren ts an d the
.

frien ds an d loved on es of his youth the first p art of the ,

j ourn ey assumed the asp ec t of a great c on fession which

ab solved him from the tor tures an d oppress ion s still h aun t
in g him from earlier years The gen uin e c ordiality wit h .

which he was everywhere greeted produced 1n him a truly

et hereal satisfac tion which foun d u tteran c e in a rosary

of purest most faithful frien dship I n Switz erlan d the

, .

sublimity of n ature gave his soul n ew win gs Filled with .

the greatn ess of n ature he felt his soul en larg e While

, .

he tarried in the an gelic tran quillit y an d p eaceful atmos

p here of L av at er s c ircl e his wh ol e m ’
or al n at ur e w a s so

stirred th at he h op ed t o pu t asid e m an y evils .

355
35 6 t he l ife of G oe the

I n this way the f our m on th s c on t empl ation world ’

of the
an d of him self was f or him a c on st an t pr oc ess of elev ation

an d purific ation . H is spirit wh ich sin c e the H ar z j ourn ey

,

had b een swayed by a migh t y id ealistic impulse n ow , ,

reached such an exaltation such clearn ess an d seriousn ess , ,

th at his y ou thful life t he y ears b efore 7 7 8

—
seem ed t o 1 -

him p ett y c on fused an d lackin g in purity

, ,
H e n ow c alled .

the au th or of Got z an un tam ed ill br ed b oy an d his disgu st ,

-

at t he wild S t or m an d S tress d oin gs of his fir st years in

- -

Weimar b ec ame so in t en se t h at he even h ated t o see again

the plac es th at had witn essed his u n r estrain ed pr an k s .

With the moral seriousn ess that had c ome over him ,

an d the c on sc iou sn ess of the kin dn ess which he had ex

p e rie n ced fr om a ll m en he appr ec iat,

ed m or e t h an ev er his

high an d sacred duty to dev ote his life to the welfare of

the p eopl e of the litt le c ou n try in which fate had all ot ted
him such a br oad in fluen c e AS he wit h his thirt y years
.
, ,

seem ed t o himself rat h er old an d Sin c e he d id n ot k n ow

,

how much l on ger his thread of life w ould b e spun ou t he ,

determin ed to u se his days with red oubled en ergy .

The d aily t asks t hat are imp osed up on m e an d daily

b ec om e easier an d h arder d em an d my presen ce wheth er I
wake or dream . This dut y b ec omes daily d earer t o m e ,

an d I Sh ould lik e t o equal the great est m en in t he per

form an ce of it an d in n othin g high er
,
This desire to .

rear t o as great a height as p ossib le the pyramid of my

exist en c e up on the firmly est ablish ed f ou n dation s which

have b een given m e outweighs all others an d sc arcely ,

p ermits m e to forget it for on e m omen t I dare n ot delay ; .

I am already well alon g in life an d fate m ay take m e off ,

in the mid st of my years an d t he T ower of B abyl on rem ain

,

un finished I t Shall at least b e said that the plan was

.

”
b old an d if I live God willin g my stren gth shall suffic e
, , ,

( t o L av a t er
,
S ep t e mb er ,

This stric t devotion to service is for a poet for an , ,

ar tistic n ature a h eroic d etermin ation

,
H e allows n othin g .

t o sw erv e him fr om t he p at h he has laid ou t : n eit h er t he

seduc tiv e c alls of p oesy n or t he temp or ary l on gin gs of his
,
35 8 t he l ife of G oe the
h op e for in former d ays an d as it is good en ough for m e to
,

d o at l east the greater p ar t of wh at is in cumb en t up on m e ,

I c ertain ly have reason to b e satisfied with it As for my .

Sit u ation it has in spite of its great burd en s v ery m an y

, , ,

d esirable features the b est proof of which is that I c an n ot

,

thin k of an oth er p ossible p osition t o which I Sh ould like

t o b e tr an sferred at pr esen t To lon g wit h hyp och on driac
.

un easin ess to get ou t of on e s skin an d in to an other seems

’

t o m e n ot v ery pr op er Merck an d sev eral oth ers judge

.

my p osition quite falsely Th ey see on ly what I sacrific e

.

an d n ot wh at I gain ; th ey c an n ot un d erst an d th at I am
d aily growin g richer by daily givin g so much You re .

memb er the last days th at I spen t with you b efore c omin g

here If I had c on tin ued un der such c on dition s I sh ould
.
,

surely h av e c om e t o a b ad en d The disprop ortion of the

.

n arr ow in ert burgh er circle t o the bread th an d vivac ity

,

of my n ature w ould h av e driv en m e m ad I n spite of my .

lively imagin ation an d my spiritual in tuition of thin gs hu

m an I Sh ould h av e r emain ed f or ev er un acquain ted with
,

t he w orld an d in a p erp etual childh ood which usually ,

b ec omes in tolerable to itself an d others b ec ause of its

van it y an d all related faults H ow much more fortun ate .

it was f or m e t o b e pl ac ed in a p osit ion of which I was in n o

sen se mast er where through mistakes of ign oran ce an d
,

ov er h astin ess I had opp ortu n ities en ough t o l earn t o

-

kn ow myself an d others wh ere left to myself an d my

, ,

fate I p assed through so man y trials which m ay n ot b e

, ,

n ec essary f or m an y hun dred s of m en b u t wh ich I greatly ,

n eed ed f or my d ev el opm en t ! E ven n ow how c ould I ,

with my n ature desire a h appier c on dition th an on e which

has in fi n ite p ossib ilities for m e ? F or even if n ew c ap a
b ilities sh ould d aily d ev el op within m e my c on c ep tion s ,

b ec ome clearer an d clearer my stren gth in crease my , ,

kn owledge broad en my judgmen t c orrec t itself an d my

, ,

pluck grow still I sh ould daily fin d occasion to apply all

,

t hese facultie s b oth in great thin gs an d in small You

, .

see how far I am fr om the hyp ochon driac d isc omf ort
’

which makes so man y disc on ten ted with their lot an d ,

 1l1111er s tr uggles 359

h
t at on ly m ost imp ortan t c on sideration s or very strange ,

un expec ted developmen ts could move me to forsake my

p ost ; furtherm ore at a time wh en the trees already plan ted
,

are b egin nin g t o gr ow an d on e m ay h op e aft er t he h arvest to

,

sep arat e the t ares fr om the wh eat it w ould b e an in ju stic e t o ,

myself if I b ecause of any disc omfort should ru n away an d

, ,

rob my self of sh ad e fruit an d h arv est Augu

”
( ,
st 1 1 , ,

We ob serve that Goethe avoids the pivotal p oint of

Merck s criticism the disprop ortion b etween his min d an d
’
,

his offic ial duties The crown in g argument th at the

.
,

Duke s educ ation is fi nished he refutes with the stronger

’
,

argumen t of his own educ ation .

So he p erseveres in his c areer an d with such enthu ,

siasm that f our days later rej oic in g ov er his succ ess in
, , ,

t he War C ommission he expresses the d esire for a much ,

m ore imp ortan t d ep artment This wish is fulfilled as we .

,

kn ow the followin g summer by his app ointment to the

,

presiden cy of the Chamb er of Finan ce In order to lose .

less time in goin g to an d fro an d to devote himself m ore to ,

his offic es he leav es his b el oved Garten haus on the 1 st of

,

J un e an d m oves in to the cit y in t o the hou se on t he Frauen ,

p l an ,
w h er e exc ep t f or a Sh or t
,
in t erval h e r esi d es f or t he ,

remain der of his d ay s This was for him the frien d of .

,

n at ure a great sacrific e h owever much he sought t o make

, ,

light of it Bu t greater sacrifices were yet to c ome H is

. .

c allin g b egan to wear up on him and the fire of his ideals

n o lon ger m ain tain ed his stren gth The delusion that .

these heaven ly j ewels c ould b e set in the crown s of earthly

prin ces had gradually forsaken him N evertheless he con .

tin n es to resist all in clin ation s to relieve himself of his

official burd en or ev en t o ligh t en it E ven th ough he n o .

lon ger sees in such in clin ation s the temp tation s of an evil
spirit still he c on sid ers t hem t he ou tgr owth of u n m an ly
,

weakn ess Fate has laid up on him a definite duty : this

.

duty must b e fulfilled an d in its performan ce he must ,

seek his h appin ess These are the axioms up on which he

.

b ases his action I look n eith er to the right n or to the

.

left and my old motto is always c opied ab ove a n ew office :

,
 t he Ta
te ot G oe the
‘

3 6 0

‘
H i c est au t u u squ aru , qu ad These are his
qu wrimu s .
’

words to K n eb el on the 2 7 th of July 1 7 8 2 Two days , .

later he writes to Lavater : Of myself I have n othin g to

say t o th ee exc ep t th at I am sacrific in g myself t o my c allin g

in which I seek n othin g as if it w ere the g oal of my id eas .

H ow resign ed t his soun d s wh en c ompared with his lan guage

t o Lav ater two y ears b ef or e !
After the assump tion of the presiden cy of the Chamb er ,

Goethe is so burden ed with work th at he gives up almost

all social in t erc ourse exc ep t wit h Fr au v on S t ein I nward .

l on elin ess app aren t Sin ce 1 7 7 8 is followed by outward

, ,

isol ation Yet this is n ot un w elc ome to him an d he

.
,

main tain s his aloofn ess even when away from Weimar
when he atten ds the Diet in E isen ach f or example where , ,

little busin ess is in tersp ersed with much amusemen t .

With his lon elin ess in creases also his silen c e a phen omen on ,

wh olly foreign to his n ature E veryb ody c omplain s of it ;.

ev en the Duke an d little Frit z v on S t ein wh om he t ook ,

in to his h ouse in 7 8 3 The n ews of his solitary quiet life

1 .
,

reaches Fran kfort an d again disturb s his mother H e .

s eek s t o p ac ify her in a l et t er of t he 7 t h of D ec emb er ,

1 8
7 3 ,
t he an n iv er sary of t he d an g er ou s cri s is o f 7 6 8 an d 1 ,

remin ds her of how She would h ave rej oiced at t hat time
if an y on e had pr oph esied t o her his presen t c on dition .

“
That a m an is m ade serious by serious m atters is n atural ,

esp ecially if on e is by n ature m edit ativ e an d desires to

prom ot e the good an d the right in the world ”
H e again .

emph asises the fac t that he is well in ev ery resp ec t an d ,

c on tin ues : Take pleasure I pray you in my presen t life

, , ,

ev en if I sh ould l eav e this w orld b ef ore you My c areer .

has n ot b een a disgrac e t o you I leav e b eh in d good frien ds

,

an d a g ood n am e an d h en c e it can b e y our gr eat est con

,

sol ation th at I do n ot al t og eth er die These stran ge ,

melan ch oly words from the pen of a m an of thirty four -

were a stron ger refutation of his argumen ts than all his

mother s amplific ation s
’
.

Ch a g d in Wilhelm M i t
e n L eh jah e ( ) t
e s ers H err r v 11 ,
1 o, e or no

where i Am ric a
s e
3 6 2 t he l ife of G oe the

moun tain s an d that those geological strata n ot c on taining

,

p etrified organ ic b ein gs are older than all others while ,

the age of t h ose c on tain in g f ossils mu st b e d etermin ed

acc ordin g t o t he n at ural sequen c e of the organ isms Un .

fortun ately n othin g has b een preserv ed of this geology

exc ep t two small prep arat ory studies F ragmeu te uber den ,

Granit .

Of greater significan ce were his researches in the organic

field As in the in organ ic field here also he was guided by
. .
,

the id ea of gradu al tran sform ation or d evelopm en t He .

would admit of a gap n owh ere in n ature B oth in the .

wh ole series of organisms and within the in dividual organ

ism s he searched f or origin al f orms by which the multi ,

p licit y of ph en o m en a c ould b e expl a in ed by a pr oc e ss of

ev olution H is id ea was verifi ed first in the c ase of m an
. .

In his an at omic al studies which he had b een c arry ,

in g on in J en a un d er the direc tion of Loder sin ce the

autumn of 7 8 1 he 1 h ad b een
,
d ist urb ed by t he t h eo ry
th at the litt le b on e f oun d b etween the two h alves of the
upp er jaw in animals was wan tin g in man an d that in this ,

wan t c on sisted the real differen c e b etween the Skelet on of

m an an d t h at of t he ape This t heory was So c on trary t o
.

his c on c ep tion of n ature t h at he c on c en trated his wh ole

att en tion up on it till fin ally in F ebru ary
,
1 84
7 , a f te r , ,

ex amin in g a large n umb er of an imal an d human skulls

he d em on strated t o a c ert ain ty t h at the th eory was b ased
on an err or Sin c e the in term axillary was presen t in m an
, ,

an d was h ard t o disc over on ly b ec au se grow n togeth er

with the adj acen t b on es Realisin g the Sign ific an ce of his

.

disc overy he experien ced a joy that moved his whole

,

b ein g to its dep ths ”

No less was his joy when in 1 7 8 6
.
, ,

at the cl ose of a lon g chain of ob servation s th ere dawn ed

up on him the great idea of the metamorphosis of plan ts ,

th at is t o say the disc overy th at all organ s of pl an ts are

,

merely Specialised leaves If I c ould on ly c ommunicate

.

to some on e the vision an d the joy ! b u t it is imp ossibl e .

I t is n ot a dream n ot a fan tasy ; it is a disc ov ery of the

,

essen tial f orm wit h which n at ure as it were ev er plays , , ,

 111111e1 S tr uggles 6
3 3

an d in her play produces the most man ifold life If I had .

t ime in my sh or t life I b eliev e I c ould ex ten d it t o all the

realms of n ature to her en tire realm
,
.

E qually pure an d in ten se joy is f el t in the f ew sp are

h ours in which the muse gran ts him p oetic achievemen t .

Such m omen t s of artistic an d Scien tific h appin ess g ive

him furt h er a clear id ea of his t rue n atural callin g This .

m orn in g I finished the chap ter in Wilhelm I t gave me a .

h appy hour Really I was b orn to b e a writer

.
“
H ow .
”

much b etter off I sh ould b e if I were away from the strife

of p olitic al elemen t s an d c ould turn my min d t o the ar ts
”
an d scien c es f or which I was b orn ! I had difficulty in “
,

t earin g myself away from Arist ot le an d p assin g t o ques

tion s of lease an d p asturage I am just suited to private
“
.

life an d cann ot un derstan d why fate has b een pleased to

plac e m e in an admin istrative offic e an d a prin c ely family ”
.

These are utteran ces from the year 1 7 8 2 N evertheless he .

still h ard en s his heart again st t h ese clear c alls from within .

I t is on ly after he has fully disch arged his duty as

presiden t of the Chamber that his exaggerated feelin g of
offic ial obligation disapp ears an d he b egin s t o t hin k of
,

himself . I can an d will n o l on ger bury my t alen t Bu t .

”

the mom en t t his t h ought c omes t o him a desir e which he ,

o n c e b ef ore en t ert ain ed mu st again arise within him —

the ,

d esire th at through a lon g ab sen c e from Weim ar he m ay

fin d the way b ack to him self an d b e p artly or wh olly
relieved of the duties of office Bu t he is still b oun d by .

stron g c ord s .

i emifi id) mut efd) o11 fo ferne fe1ue

(S , , ,

Gomeit bieQBeIt 11111 offen Iiegt gegangen , ,

§Be3111i ugeu mid) nid) t iibet ut ii d uge© te1ue

’

Q iemeiu (hefdue f au beiueé angeh angen .

$3113 id) in bi1 uuu e1ft mid) tennen Ie1ue ,

Sheiu §D id)teu $ 1ad) te11 hoffeu uub Qierlaugeu

t
, ,

QIIIeiu uad) bit uub beiuem QBefeu brdugt ,

Sheiu Q ehen nu1 au beiuem Bebeu b ungt!

I S o h uld h ave j our eyed fa e e t hi i deed
n r r s— n ,

f a a e e t he wid e w rld p e l ie
’
As r s r o o n s,
 6
3 4 t he l ife of G oe the
Th ese verses t o Frau v on S tein were c omp osed in
August 1 7 8 4 H owever it was n ot merely love for her
,
.
, ,

as b e h er e say s b u t al so l ov e f or t he Duke an d the c ou n try

, ,

t h at w ould n ot let him g o The Duke had b ec ome m ore .

d eeply in volv ed than seemed advisable t o G oethe in the

p olitics of the fed eration of prin c es which was already ,

Pru ssian in symp athy The same autumn he had un d er

.

t aken in it s b eh alf a j our n ey of sev eral m on th s t o t he

Rhen ish c ourts It c ould n ot b e foreseen whether or n ot
.

K arl August if left to himself might n ot in his fiery z eal

, ,

an d wit h his milit ary in clin ation s drag the c oun try in t o ,

a p olitic ally an d fin an cially d an ger ou s situ ation H en c e .

Goethe c ould n ot leave his p ost till he had the assuran c e

of c er t ain t y c on c ern in g the issu e Thin gs dragged alon g . .

The year 7 8 4 an d the year 7 8 5 c ame t o an en d an d still

1 1 ,

t h ere was n o d efi n it e d ecision U n d er such c on dition s the .

c on tin uation of his official activity must have b ec ome

more an d m ore burden some to him Given from the .
“

wheel of Ixion he writes on the 2 0 th of February 7 8 5

”
, ,
1 .

I am pat chin g at the b eggar s man tle which is ab out to ’

fall from my Sh oulders he writes t o K n eb el on the sth of

,
”

May . F ort u n at ely his l ove f or F rau v on S t ein is still a

life preserver th at h old s his h ead ab ove wat er
-
When .
”

he work s or ch at s with her a few h ours in t he ev en in g the

ir on fetter s ab out his soul are loosen ed Fin ally in August .
, ,

1 8
7 5,
ev en t h is all ev iat in g r em edy is w it hh eld fr om h im ,

when H err v on S tein excluded from the Court table b egin s

, ,

t o liv e at h om e .

I n wh atev er direc tion G oethe n ow l ooked every thin g ,

was c alculated t o make him m ost profoun dly dissatisfi ed .

H is literary w orks resembled a great field of ruin s .

F au st E gmon t E lpen or Tasso Wi lhelm M ei ster Di e Ge

, , , , ,

heimu i sse lay ab out him in fragm en ts ; n ot t o men tion

H ad t he
’
d ecreed
o erru lin g st a s r but so ,

Th at b u d my fat e t t hi e i w dr u wi e
o n o n n on o s s .

Th at I i t hee my elf at l a t m ay read

n s s ,

M y f a c ie l gi g h p e d e ire a d igh
n s, on n s, o s, s s, n s s

D all t t h ee a d t t hy pr e e c e t hr g ;
o o n o s n on

N ugh t b t t hy l ife a life i m e pr l g

o u c n n o on .
 t he Itite of G oe the
‘
3 6 6

U n d er thepressure of this c ompletely un satisfac tory ,

p ain ful harrowin g Situation he exp erien c es a sec on d an d

,

m ore violen t Werth er crisis I fin d th at the auth or [of .

“

Werther] did wron g n ot t o sh oot himself after h avin g fin

ished the n ov el is his b itt er remark in J u n e
”
, 7 8 6 ; a n d i n ,
1

May of the f oll owin g y ear after h avin g b een away fr om ,

Weimar for m an y m on th s he say s I sh ould h ave pre , ,

“

ferred death to a life such as I liv ed durin g th ose few years .

”

The th ought of rescue by fligh t b ec omes a firm deter

min ation No c on sultation s ab out the how whither how
.
, ,

l on g a sudden disapp earan ce seemed t o him the on ly sure

—

way of esc ap e Whith er he sh ould g o th ere c ould b e n o

.
,

d oub t for with the aggrav ation of his c on dition in Weimar

,

his l on gin g f or I t aly had b ec om e in ten sifi ed b eyon d m eas

F or sev eral y ears I h av e n ot d ared l ook at a Latin
“
u re.

au t h or or t ouch an y thin g th at br ough t up a p ic ture of

,

I taly with out sufferin g the m ost terrible p ain

, The .
” “

goal of my m ost ch erish ed lon gin g which filled my whole ,

soul with an guish was I t aly This lon gin g is ech oed in ”
.
,

the p ath etic w ord s of M ig n on H e t oo d ared n ot d el ay .

, ,

much l on ger Wh et h er E urop e would en j oy a f ew m ore

.

yea s of peace seem ed t o him very q uestion able The fam

r .

ou s diam o n d n eckl ac e in t ig u efi which b ec am e k n own in

! <
r

t he au tumn of 7 58 h ad m ad e a t e r ri bl
1 e impr es,
s io n up on

him .I n the b ase imm oralit y which it r ev ealed in c it y ,

c ourt an d state he f oresaw immediately what h orrible

, ,

developmen ts were in store for the future H is eyes were .

so riv eted up on u n c an n y vision s th at f or sev eral d ays it

seem ed t o his frien d s who did n ot k n ow wh at was g oin g ,

on within him th at he was craz y ,

.

U n der such c ircum stan c es it was a h appy turn of for

tu n e th at in the summer of 7 8 6 t he w ay w a s fi n ally 1

prepared for flight The Duke had fi n ally j oin ed the fed .

eration with t he n ec essary r eserv at ion s

,
This d etermin ed .

the c our se of his foreign p olicy Furth erm ore the strain ed .
,

relation s within the Germ an E mpire were relieved by the

F a acc u t
or f t he A fiai e d
n olli e n ee Carlyl e The D iam
o r d u co r, s , on

N echlace .
—~C .
 111111e1 E trugg tes 6
3 7

withdrawal Austrian claims So far as in tern al

of the .

admin istration was c on c ern ed G oeth e had ev eryt h in g so ,

c arefully arran ged that for the presen t he c ould safely trust
his bu sin ess t o oth er h an ds I n deed I might die it “
.
, ,

would n ot creat e an y disturb an c e .

Con sequen tly he c ould ven ture up on his hegira with a

good c on scien ce H e proc eeded first t o K arlsb ad where
.
,

he m et the Duke H erd er an d Fr au v on S tein an d felt his

, , ,

sp irit refresh ed an d uplift ed in t h eir soc iet y The first t o .

leave the circle was Frau v on S tein ; Goethe accomp an ied

her as far as Sch n eeb erg in the E r z geb irge an d th en re ,

t urn ed t o K arlsb ad On t he 2 7 th of August K arl Augu st

.

left the waterin g place ; on the 2 8 th Goethe s birthday was

—
’

c elebrated am on g his frien ds with merry festivities In the .

midst of social distraction s he had worked at the n ew edi

tion of his wri tin gs On the 2 n d of S eptemb er he wrote to
.

t he Duke H erd er an d Fr au v on S t ein tellin g th em of his

, , ,

plan to en ter up on a j ourn ey immediately b u t sayin g n o ,

t hin g of whit h er he was g oin g or how l on g he exp ec ted t o

b e gon e H is last word s at eleven o cl ock in the evenin g
.
,
’
,

were t o F rau V on S tein : A t last at l ast I am ready an d , ,

y et n ot r eady F or in .r eal it y I h ave an ot h er week s w ork

’

h ere b u t I desire to get away an d so I b id th ee on c e m ore

, ,

adieu Farewell sweetheart I am thin e At thr ee

”
.
, , .

o cl ock in the m orn in g he steal s away from Karlsb ad in

’ “

t he diligen c e an d r oll s away t oward the sout h

, .

The fugitive left b ehin d him in Weimar m ost glorious

memories Such pure devotion of streng th an d will could
.

n ot fail of profou n d rec ogn ition ev en if the result s wer e ,

n ot c omm en surat e with his purp oses an d eff ort s When .

Schiller was in Weimar the followin g summer he h eard

“
Goeth e s n ame men tion ed by a very great n umb er of
’

p eople with somethin g akin to adoration .

 XX V I

I TA L Y

G oet he u peak abl y h appy t b e fr ee Mad h a t e t r each I t aly f fear

ns o — s o , or

he m ay b e c all ed b ack — R ut e t ak e F eeli g e t er i g I t aly

o n — n s on n n
—Ch ief i t er e t i n w rk sf a t iqu it y
n C mpl et ely I t alia i ed i
o s o n — o n s n

V er a
on V c e a E r apt ur ed wit h Pall ad i
i
— — nz n D e ir e t h ar e i o— s o s n

h
t e l iv e f m e
s o P a du a —V
n- e i c e —The ea Out bur t f h t il it y n s — s o os

rd h c Pall ad i ag ai G et h e c ar e f
,

t ow a t h e G t i — o a t b t
o n -
o s or n o r u

t he a t iqu e a d it b e t r efl ec t i
n n i t he R e ai a c e F ev er i h
s s on s n n ss n — s

l gi g t b e i R me Three d ay i B l g a Threeh ur i
on n o n o — s n o o n — o s n

Fl r e c e R m e at l a t F ir t impr e i
o n — o New lite St udy f
s — L — s ss on s — o

t he a t iqu en M ich ael A g el

— R aph ael E l em e t n f t he a t iqu e
o— — n s o n

t h at pl ea e G et h e— H i i c g it
s o Ti chb ei a d t h er frie d
s n o n o— s n n o n s

Fr au St ei
v on feeli g c c er i g G et he flight G et he
n s
’
n s on n n o
’
s — o
’
s

diary writt e f he b t t e t f m t h H e c at hi g e
,
n or r, u no s n or on s— r s n r

pr f Pai ful it u at i
oo — n Peac r t r ed
S A b rb ed i
on — t udy f e es o — so n s o

a t iqu a t
n e J ur y t N apl
r — o E j ym e t f l ife a d
ne o at ur es — n o n o n n e
A c s t f V e uviu dur i g rup t i
en s o s s e t um
Pa T ur f Sicily
n e on s — s — o o

Dr am at ic c e e s r et ur v yag e St udy f c mm p e pl e i
n on n o — o o on o n

Napl e I s— R m e agai
n oSupr em e h app i e — A t t ud ie
n— a d n ss r s s, n

di c ver ie a t hi w t al e t St udy f mu ic wit h K ay er

s o s s o s o n n s— o s s

M add al e a Rigg i F au ti a Sad far ewell t R m e Fl r e c e

n —
s n — o o — o n

Parm a M il a — R et ur n—t Weim ar Sig ifi a e f t he I t alia

n o — n c nc o n

j ur ey Cl ear c ci u e f hi true c alli g— C mpl et e ha

o n — on s o sn ss o s n o r

m y f hi at ur e Lit er ary w rk Ser aphic t e d e cy verc me

on o s n — o — n n o o
— P et ry f hum a it y i it t t al it y — The t hir t ee t h Komi he
’

o o n n s o n sc

E legi e M a t er f t yl e The t ypic al — Pl a t ic it y— Tru e a t

— s o s — s r .

N inexpressible
feelin g of delight c oursed through
Goethe s vein s wh en he was rid }Of all fetters an d
’

sp eedin g away t oward the g oal of his l on gin g So .

light hearted an d free so h appy we h ave n ot seen him Sin ce

-
, ,

his j ourn ey al on g the Rh in e in 7 74 H e fl ees fr om t he 1 .

fatherlan d in great haste as th ough he migh t b e stopped ,

on t he way an d c omp ell ed t o return t o W eim ar In order .

t o feel p erfec tly saf e he k eep s his rou te a secret from every

368
3 7 0 t he l ife of Goe the
H ere he f eels the first breat h of I talian atmosphere :
luxurian t vegetation warm air gay life of the people
, ,
.

H ow well he f eel s an d how much at h om e ! E verythin g

is plan t ed so promiscuously t h at it seems as if on e thin g
must smoth er an oth er Vin e trellises mai e buckwheat
.
-
,
z , ,

mulb erry trees fruit trees waln ut trees an d quin ce trees

, , ,
.

The p eople wan derin g ab out r emin d on e of the

dearest pictures : the tied u p braids of the w omen the b are
-
,

ch ests an d ligh t j ackets of the m en the splen did oxen ,

which they drive h ome fr om market the sumpter asses ,

.

An d n ow when in the mild air of ev en in g the few

,

clouds rest on the moun tain s stan din g still rath er than ,

driftin g an d immediately after sun set the shrill soun d of

,

t he l ocu st b egin s t o b e h eard it seems to m e as if I had ,

b een b orn an d reared h ere an d were just return in g from a

wh alin g v oyage t o Green lan d I welc ome everythin g even .
,

t he du st of the fath erlan d which often get s deep on the

‘ ’

road s an d of which I h ave seen n othin g for so lon g

,
If .
”

an y on e who liv es in the sou th w ere to r ead this

”
he con ,

he w ould c on sid er m e v ery childish Ah ! what I

“
t in u es , .

h ere writ e I have lon g kn own sin ce I have b een sufferin g ,

wit h t hee u n d er an evil sky an d n ow I am glad t o f eel t his

,

pleasure by way of exception which we sh ould en j oy as

, ,

on e of the et er n al blessin g s of n ature H e is also h appy

”
.

t h at he has n o servan t or guid e with him By b ein g “

waited on c on tin ually on e b ecomes prematurely old an d

d ecrepit . E v ery b eggar Sh ows m e the way an d ,

I speak with the p eople I meet as if we had kn own each

oth er for a l on g tim e
”
.

Bu t Tren t is n ot his ab idin g plac e H e is still on im -

.

p erial soil an d the p olitic al en viron men t in fluen ces his

m ood After on e day s stay he departs p assin g through
.
’
,

R overed o on his way to Lake Garda wh ose b eauty ch arm s ,

him b u t c an n ot h old him fast H e rows al on g b oth sh ores .

alm ost th eir en tir e len gt h an d l an d s at B ard olin o wh er e he ,

tak es a c arriage f or Veron a H e arriv es at on e o cl ock on

’
.

the 4 t h of S ep t emb er an extremely hot day

1 ,
H e is n ow .

on t he soil of an cien t I taly Yes my b eloved I have

“
.
, ,
 lltaltz 37 I

fin ally arrived here here where I sh ould have b een lon g

,

ag o ; man y of the h ard plac es in my lif e w ould h av e b een

made easier ”
H e n ow b ec omes c alm an d gives himself
.
,

up to the gen tle in fluen ce of his surr oun din gs .

H e is m ost ab sorb ed in the m on um en t s of an tiquity ,

the Aren a an d the sm aller w ork s of art in the Mu seo L api

,

dario esp ecially the reliefs an d architectural fragmen ts

, .

E ven in the in ferior thin g s he rec ogn ises a gl ori ou s ep och .

The graveston e reliefs with their Simple touchin g repre ,

sen t at ion s m ov e him t o tear s The breez e which is .

“

wafted from the tomb s of the an cien ts c omes laden with

”
fragran ce as if it crossed a m oun d of roses
,
H ere are .
“

n o arm oured k n igh t s on th eir kn ees awaitin g a h appy

resurrection : here the artist has simply p ortrayed the

ev ery day life of m en
-
They do n ot f old their h an d s they
.
,

d o n ot l ook up t oward h eav en : t h ey are wh at th ey were ,

they st an d t oget h er t hey t ak e an in terest in each oth er

, ,

th ey l ov e on e an oth er Of m odern w orks it is the pic

”
.

t ures th at at tr ac t him What Veron a has to offer is n o

.

thin g of great imp or tan c e yet he is pleased t o disc over th at

,

even t he st ars of sec on d an d t hird m agn itud e w hich are ,

hardly kn own by n ame at a dist an c e h ere b egin t o glit t er , ,

an d it is t h ey t h at m ak e the artist ic firm am en t of I t aly so

vast an d rich The G othic tomb s of the Scaligers on the
.
,

oth er h an d an d the church es of ev ery st yle (am on g t h em

,

the b eautiful R om an esque San Zen o) leave him c old .

Goethe b ec omes c ompletely I talian ised in Verona In .

R overedo he had b een highly pleased that he n o lon ger foun d

an y on e who un der st ood Germ an so that he was obliged to ,

Sp eak I t alian the b el ov ed lan gu age here he puts on

“
,

I talian dress an d learn s the I talian s p eculiar gestures an d ’

m ovemen ts H e desires that he sh all n owhere b e rec og

.

n ised as a n or t h ern b ear ; he wan ts to associate with I talian s

as an I t alian Prob ably n o traveller from the n orth has

.

ever embrac ed I talian life with greater en thu siasm .

I n this state of d elight everythin g seems t o him b eau

tiful agreeable g ood ; even ob n oxiou s t hin gs his humour
, ,

ren d er s t ol er abl e if n ot agr eeable

,
E v erythin g n orthern .
,
 t he l ife of G oe the
‘

37 2

on h r han d is gloomy an d unrefreshin g to him

t he ot e , .

E specially is he un able t o rid himself of t he idea that at

h ome the sky is always overhun g with cl ouds an d im
prison s m en in the c old an d darkn ess H e recurs t o this .

th ough t c on tin u ally After a rain he sees cl oud s han gin g

.

on t he Alp s Now th at is all driftin g t o the n orth an d

.

will make your days dark an d c old Again : We Cim m er .

” “

ian s in the eter n al mist an d gl oom sc arc ely kn ow wh at day

is like an d it is all the sam e t o u s wh eth er it is day or
,
”
n igh t ; f or wh at h our can we en j oy ou t u n der the op en S y k ?

An d so he c on tin u es in the same t on e as if he had r eally ,

just return ed from Green lan d .

After a soj ourn of fiv e days he leaves Veron a an d moves

on t o Vic en z a I n Vic en z a t h ere is littl e o n othin g b esid e
. r

the st ruc tures of Palladio These alm ost overwhelm him . .

I n t he free n oble applic ation of an tiqu e architec tural ele

,

men ts an d design s such as are seen to b est advan tage in

,

the B asilic a (the old Palaz z o d ella R agion e) an d the T eatro

Olimpico he fin ds somethin g divin e somethin g truly p oeti
, ,

cal . H e rev el s in th em every day an d c an n ot l eave th em .

H e remain s seven full d ays in t he c it y t o which t he t rav eller

usually devotes as man y hou rs Aside from the archit ect .

u re of Pall adio he is so en t ran c ed by t he c it y s l ov ely sit u a

’

t ion amid richly cul tivated hills which wit h their gen t le , ,

lin es lead the eye away to the Alp s that he prop oses t o
, ,

m ake it the h ome of Mign on an d c an n ot suppress the wish ,

som e d ay t o live h ere with Frau v on S t ein

“ ”
Bu t he .
,

add s wit h a Sigh we are for ever b an ish ed from it ; if on e

,

wished to live here on e would have to turn Cath olic im

”
mediately in order to h ave any Share in the lives of m en .

To Sh are in the lives of m en by min glin g with them an d

livin g with them as an equal was the n eed he felt m ost
keen ly Sin ce he had d offed the c oat of a privy c oun cillor .

AS on the road so also in Vic en z a he seeks t o satisfy t his

,

n eed as far as p ossibl e an d we are remin d ed of Wet l ar ,

z

ways when we see him goin g am on g the p eople in the

market place chattin g with th em plyin g th em with ques
-
, ,

tion s amu sin g himself wit h the children etc

, These ex , .
3 74 t he l ife of G oe the
c oun tries E verythin g th at was brought to Venice came
.

by ship an d mostly across the sea for the railroad had n ot ,

y et c om e t o d iv er t c omm erc e t o t he l an d an d t r an sf orm

Ven ice in to a c on tin en tal city There were still to b e foun d
.

within her precin cts a n umerous n ob ility represen tatives ,

of in d ep en d en t stat es amb assad ors , an d agen ts of ev ery ,

n ation . H en ce on the city s water streets the traffic was

’
-

en tir ely differen t from t hat of t o day Whereas n owadays -

.

on ly a few freigh t b oat s an d a few g on d ol as wit h t ourist

p assen gers glide through the c an als then there were swarm s ,

of v essel s l arge as w ell as sm all an d plain an d orn am en tal

, ,

b arques of every description The li fe of the p eople still.

p ossessed a peculiar imp ortan ce an d in depen den ce for ,

justice was still meted ou t in public squares the n otary ,

still drew up public d ocumen t s for ev eryb ody the gon ,

dolier still san g from Tasso an d the an cient rh ap sodist,

still liv ed in the guise of the public story teller There was -
.

a busy n oisy t hr on g from midn igh t t o midn ight an d each

, ,

m an felt an d asserted his own imp ortan c e a d ouble at—

trac tion for ou r p oet accu stomed t o a Sl eepy in lan d city

, ,

wh ere ev eryb ody did ob eisan c e t o the sovereign an d the

official . An d y et the republic was n ot lackin g in prin cely
Spl en d our To b e sure the Doge was n o l on ger the auto
.
,

cratic ruler of the sea b u t he preserved his glorifyin g pomp ;

,

an d wh en on solemn occ asion s he with his atten d an ts , ,

sl owly approach ed t he lan d in gilded b arqu es awaited on ,

the sh ore by the clergy an d m on astic ord ers wit h lighted

c an dles an d when over c arpeted bridges first the savii dis
,

emb arked in l on g violet rob es then the sen ators in l on g ,

red r ob es an d wh en the Doge him self f oll owed in his gold en

,

Phrygian cap l on g gold en r ob e an d ermin e man tl e with

, , ,

three p ages c arryin g his t rain while fift y n obles in d ark ,

red cl oak s brough t up t he rear this was a sigh t by the sid e

,

of which c orresp on din g sc en es in G erm an y were b u t sh abby ,

distorted imitation s With u s j estin gly remarks the

.
” “
,

p oet who had seen such a p agean t the greatest festivities

, ,
“

th at on e can imagin e are c elebrated in sh ort c oats an d with

gun s on ou r sh oulders .
”
 1ltalg 3 75

These brillian t procession s occurred within the con

fin es of a city every f oot of which had b een reclaimed from
the s ea an d ,
f or t h e bu ild in g o f wh ich e v ery t il e e v e ry ,

st on e e
,
v ery timb e r h ad b e en br ough t fr om m il es aw a y ,

an d f or t he preservat ion of which c are an d diligen c e had

to b e e e x rc ise d y e ar in an d y ea r ou t I n sp ite o f t h ese .

difficulties the determin ed Ven etian s had n ot b een satisfied

with Sh elterin g their p erson s an d their wares within b are ,

servic eabl e wall s ; t h ey had creat ed an u n h eard of weal th

-

of Spl en did p al ac es an d church es which ev en t o day are

-
,

the w on der of trav ell er s from the n or th The p oet who ob .

,

serv ed all t his wit h an att en tiv e eye f elt a prof ou n d resp ec t ,

f or the b eav er republic an d as on a f orm er occasion in the ,

c an t on of B ern here also the democratic in stin cts of his

,

n ature w ere stirred I t is a gr eat work of united hum an

“
.

stren g th a gloriou s mon umen t n ot of a ru ler b u t of a

, , ,

p eople An d even if their lagoon s are fillin g up their com

. ,

merc e is on the d eclin e an d th eir might has fallen this , ,

d oes n ot ren der the organ isation an d n ature of the republic

a whit l ess v en erable
”
.

H e t ak es p ain s t o in v estigate t his great life in all its

phases ; roams ab out t hrough the t an gle of street s an d
,

c an als studies the palac es an d churches the pictures an d

, ,

sculp t ur es in sp ec t s the wh arv es an d sea wall s att en d s the

,
-
,

man y th eatres an d ob serves the p eople in all their activ

,

ities in every quart er an d at every h our of the day

, , .

The sea which he h ere b eh olds for the first time makes
, ,

a d eep impression up on him Bu t he is n ot satisfi ed with

.

mere esthetic enj oymen t of the b oun dless exp an se of water

pulsatin g with rhythmical wave b eats he immediately turn s -

his atten tion to the p eculiar qu alities of the str an d fl ora

an d the l ow er f orm s of m arin e an im als ; an d he is glad
t hat so man y thin gs n ow b ec ome t o him a p art of n ature
which h ave hitherto b een on ly museum curios .

I t was a rich fun d of sign ific an t in terestin g and in , ,

struc tive impression s th at G oeth e rec eived fr om the re

markable city Bu t the works of Palladio triumphed

.

over all .
37 6 t he fl
ute of Goe the

Pall adio ! Pall adio !

c omes the ech o over an d over
fr om the p ages of the chap ter on Ven ice in his diary H e .

p asses by a hun dred great an d b eautiful thin gs such as ,

the Titian s 7 6 in SS Giov an n i e Paolo an d the E rari an d

.
,

t he Library of S an sovin o or r efer s t o t h em briefly such

, ,

as the t reasures in the Doge s Palac e ; wh er eas he is always

’

goin g in to ecstasies over Palladio .

Goeth e s dev elopm en t b efor e the I talian j ourn ey had pre

’

p ared the way for the overwhelmin g in fluen ce of Palladio .

I n S trasburg two fl owers spran g up ou t of the soil of G oeth e s

’

c on ception of art The on e his enthusiasm for the Gothic

.
, ,

sh ot up t o a gr eat h eigh t b u t soon with ered away ; the

,

oth er his l ov e f or R aph ael an d the an tiqu e st an din g mod

, ,

estly b eside it grew up Sl owly b u t steadily

, The an tique .

ruin s in N iederbron n an d the plaster casts in M ann heim ’

togeth er with H om er an d Pin dar had su ffic ed to r aise ,

the an tiqu e far ab ov e the G othic in his estimation He .

peopled his room in Fran kfort with statues of the Greek

gods an d supplemen ted his c ollec tion with et chin gs of the
,

most imp ortant w orks of antiquity The more he in .

wardly drift ed away from t he S t orm an d S t ress p eriod - -

,

the m ore al so fr om t he G ot hic whi ch d oub t less b ec ame ,

t o him in time a symb ol of the m ovemen t — heaven storm -

in g c on fusion I phigeu i e supplan t s Gotz

. I n Weim ar we .

n o l on g er h ear G oeth e sp eak of the on c e so pr oudly b oasted

“
German architec ture On the other han d he adds
.
,

further to his c ollection of c asts of an tique sculptures an d ,

m akes drawin gs of an tique orders of c olumn s The teach .

in gs of Win ckelmann an d Oeser are again revived G oeth e s

’
.

wh ole b ein g strives after great n oble b eauty Bu t he Can ,

.

fin d it on ly in trut h an d t ruth manif est s it self t o him on ly

,

in simplicit y as is the c ase in n ature

,
I n this way he .

return s to n oble simplicity an d quiet greatn ess as the

high est qualities of the b eautiful True he saw in the .
,

Gothic pillar an d poin ted arch b oth greatness an d b eauty ,

b u t if we take the church as the c omplete expression of

Gothic art the en semble lacked repose within an d with out
, , , ,

n ot m erely rep ose b u t simplic ity an d tru th as well

,
Pill ar .
 t he ILife of G oe the
‘

37 8

heartily make it his own an d n ot satisfied with read

to , ,

in g he foll ows Palladio s out lin es wit h his p en cil He

’
.
,

eagerly seek s ou t the chief cr eation s of the m ast er in Ven ic e :

the church es S Giorgio an d Il Red en t ore an d the m on

, .
,

ast ery C arit a I n the church es he d oes n ot fail t o rec og

, .

n ise man y u n ev en n esses resultin g from the d esire of the

artist emb arr assed by man y oth er c on sid eration s t o u n ite

, ,

t he fat ad e of the an tique temple with a church cr own ed

by a cup ola crossed by a tran sept an d as in the c ase of S
, , ,
.

Giorgio provided with more than on e n ave N evertheless

,
.

Goethe admires the genius with which the artist made

him self master of the difficulties an d especially in the , ,

c ase of Il Reden tore by the Simple mean s of form an d ,

prop ortion within an d without produc ed a church of in

c omp arable purity chastity an d Simplicity that to the
, , ,

eye resolves all c on flic tin g elem en t s in t o m ost n obl e har

m on y an d organic regularity Bu t his greatest achieve .

men t was in the Carita where th ere were n o limitation s , .

H ere the church was already built an d it was on ly a ques ,

tion of a h ab itation for the m on ks which u n d er an I t alian ,

sk y he c ould v ery w ell d esig n aft er an an tiq u e m od el with ,

ou t b ein g c omp elled t o m ake an y c on c ession s t o clim at e .

U n f ort un at ely on ly t he ten t h p ar t of t he plan was ex e

cu ted an d t his was later surr oun d ed by un sp eak ably pro

saic struc tures Bu t even in these surroun din g s the p oet

.

disc ov ers the spark of divin e gen ius in Palladio s c on ception ’

,

an d m akes three or four p ilgrimages t o the m aster s great

’

work .On e c ould sp en d years in the c ontempl ation of

”
such a creation If it had b een finished there would
“
.

prob ably n ot b e a more p erfect piece of architecture in the

world U n less on e p ossesses the architectural eye of a
.

Goethe on e c ann ot even with the help of the plan s in ,

Palladio s A rchi tettu ra rise to such en thusiasm

’
Bu t it, .

m ay b e p ermissibl e to refer t o the fac t t hat J akob Burck

hardt the greatest c on n oisseur of Ren aissan ce art con
, ,

Sid ers G oeth e s en thu siasm f or the C arit awell f ou n d ed

’
.

If there was an ythin g that c ould c on firm G oethe in his

lon g cherished predilection for the antiq ue it was the study
-
 11111112 3 79

Palladio U n der the weigh t of this artist s word s an d ’

of .

works his radical ren un ciation of the Gothic is made per

man en t When he sees in the Palaz z o F arsetti the c ast of
.

a p art of t he en t abl ature of the t emple of An t on in u s an d

F austin a (in Rome) his lon g restrain ed an ger at the Gothic -

”
breaks ou t H e c omp ares the proj ectin g presen ce
.
“

of this Spl en did architec tur al w ork with t he G ot hic st yle ,

an d exclaims : This is in deed somethin g differen t from

“

the crouchin g sain t s of ou r G othic or n amen t ation piled ,

on e up on an oth er on c orb el s som ethin g differen t from ,

-

ou r t ob acc o pip e c olumn s p oin ted turrets an d fl owery

-
, ,

pin n acles These than k God I am n ow rid of for

.
, ,

ever This is a fierce abjuration of his sometime youth

ful love .

Wh ether Goethe was right in his youth or after he had ,

reached maturity c an n ot b e answered categorically es, ,

p ecial ly as t he fi n al r eason s f or the d ec ision are as subj ec tive

as in on e s an swer t o such a question as

’
Which is the more ,

b eautiful a forest of evergreen trees or a forest of deciduous

,

t rees Bu t t his much m ay b e said th at G oethe c on fin es

”
?
,

himself h ere to extern als which are n ot the essen tials of ,

G othic art an d furt hermore that n o matter if a higher

, , ,

c on structive an d decorative un ity an d a great er rep ose ,

b e c on c eded the Greek st yle as c omp ared with the Gothic ,

the fan cy an d pr ofun dit y of Christian esp ecially of Germ an ic ,

n ation s c an n ot exh au st th emselv es within the limit ation s

,

of c on struc tiv e regu larit y or of t he rep oseful Greek lin e of,

b eauty Goethe himself rec ognised this in the field of

.

poetry In his A n merku ngen eu Rameau s N efie ( 1 8 0 5 ) he

.

says : On e c an n ot refer u s of the n ort h exclusiv ely to

th ose mod els [Gr eeks an d R om an s] If the m on .

strou s had n ot c ome in c on tac t with the in sipid through t he

r oman tic turn of un en lighten ed c en turies where sh ould ,

we fin d a H amlet , a Lear, an A doration o f the Cross , a

Prin cipe Con stan te? duty c ourageously to main It is ou r

tain ou r p osition on the h eigh t of t h ese b arb arian ad

v an tages in asmuch as we shall prob ably n ever attain
,

t o the an tique gr oun d of v ant age H e himself was b ot h .

3 8 0 t he l ife of G oe the

c on sciously an d un c on sciously faithful to this duty in the

greatest achievement of his life .

In later year s un d er the in fluen c e of his youn g frien d

, ,

t he en thu siastic ch ampion of t he G othic Su lpiz Boisseré e , ,

Goethe seekin g to give the despised style its du e historical

,

rec ognition judged it less h arshly ; b u t he n ever again wen t

,

b eyon d ac ool qualified rec ogn ition of its merits

, .

The most imp ortan t result for ou r c on sideration h ere is

the f ac t th at G oeth e while in I t aly turn ed wit h full d eter
, ,

min ation to the an tique an d by the side of it would en du re

,

its imit ation an d furth er developmen t in the Ren aissan c e

on ly wh en acc omplish ed wit h the pr ofoun d u n d erstan din g

of a Palladio .

With his h ostility to the Gothic Goethe c ould n ot do ,

justic e to the I talian buildin gs in that style H e eith er .

ign ored t h em an d this was usu ally the c ase or saw on ly

— —

th eir d efec t s an d c on demn ed th em

,
Thus in the great .

an d w on d erful Pal ac e of the Doges he saw on ly the Sh ort ,

m assive c olumn s of the lower gallery which seemed to ru n ,

in to the groun d an d allowed this fac t to d estroy for him

,

t he effec t of t he wh ole st ruc ture On t he ot her h an d we .

,

will n ot lay it t o t he charge of the G ot hic in gredien t s in St .

M ark s that for this cathedral which so c ompletely capti

’
,

vates ou r fan cy at first sight G oeth e has n othin g b u t Sc orn

, ,

an d says that it s architec ture is w orthy of all the n on sen se

th at m ay ever h ave b een taugh t or prac tised in it This .

h odgep odge of G othic Byz an tin e an d Roman esque ele

, ,

men ts which looks like the dream of a child that builds

,

itself a struct ure ou t of all sort s of precious ston es gay ,

c olours gold statues pillars an d pillarets c ould fin d n o

, , , , ,

mercy b efore the severity of his great spirit .

Bu t all the more ex travagan t is the praise he l avish ed

on the sm all n umb er of an tiqu e sp ecim en s in Ven ic e : t he

c ollection s in the Library in the Palaz z o Farsetti the , ,

m arble lion s in fron t of the Arsen al the bron z e h orses of ,

St M ark s an d a few b as r eliefs in the church of S an ta

’
—
,

Giu stin a with spirits wh ose b eauty transcends all con

“

ception .
3 8 2 t he l ife of G oe the
A few more days are t o b e dev oted t o the city which has ,

much to offer him in the realms of art an d n ature A .

geological excursion on the 2 oth affords him a perfectly “

b eautiful an d happy d ay an d we b egin to thin k he has ,

”

ag ain f oun d the ease an d c omfort with which he en j oy ed his

travel from Veron a to Ven ic e wh en we are sudd en ly ast on ,

ished at hi s rem ark : I t seems th at H eav en h ears my

prayer I have a driver to take me to Rome an d shall leave
.

here the day after to morrow ”

Bu t he d oes n ot wait
-
.

for the day after t o m orr ow The very n ext morn in g he

-
.

is Sittin g in his c arriage an d drivin g up the Sl op e of the

Ap ennin es .

On the 2 3 rd he arrives in Floren c e the b irthplac e of the ,

Ren aissan ce Glorious treasures of an tique an d modern

.

art are h ere pr eserv ed b u t th ey h ave n o p ower over him

, .

H e ru n s thr ough the city in three h ours an d then c on tin ues

his j ourn ey Slowly much too slowly for his imp atien c e
.
—

the j ourn ey drags on thr ough the valleys of the Ap enn in es .

With the miserable in n s miserable c arriages miserable , ,

mon ey an d extortions he has his daily troubles ; b u t even

,

if he were t o b e taken t o R om e on the wh eel of Ixion he

would b e satisfi ed On the even in g of t he 2 st h he c omes t o
.

t he cit y where R aph ael was educ at ed Perugia filled wit h , ,

works of the U mbrian school of p ain tin g H e c on tin ues his .

j ourney on the followin g mornin g with out havin g seen a

sin gle on e of th em U n til I reach Rome I do n ot care to
“
.

op en my ey es or lift up my h eart I have three more days .

t o travel an d it seem s t o m e as if I sh ould n ev er reach my

destin ation As he n ears Rome his imp atien c e reaches a
.
”

feverish height From the earliest grey of morning till

.

n igh tfall he driv es on with ou t st oppin g H e sleep s with his .

”
clothes on so that he m ay b e ready at on ce in the mornin g
“
.

H e p ays n o atten tion t o Raph ael s blissful M adon n a in

’

F olign o (n ow in the Vatic an ) H e seeks ou t on ly wh at he .

can in clud e wit h out len gt h en in g his j ourn ey an d in c ase of , ,

d oub t always gives the preference to the an tique In

, .

Assisi for example he makes a v ery careful study of the

, ,

t emple of Min erva th at has b een c on verted in to a church ,

 11111113 8
3 3

bu t does n ot b estow a single look up on the remarkable ,

an d artistic ally so imp ortan t Fran c isc an C on v en t

, , On the .

ev enin g of the 2 7 th he writes with oppr essed h ear t : R ome!

R ome! Two more nights an d if the an gel of the , ,

L ord d oes n ot destroy u s on the way we sh all b e th ere! ,

”

On the followin g even in g his h eart is ch eered with a Shimm er

of the appr oachin g h appin ess : To m orrow evenin g in -

Rome! After th at there will b e n othin g left for m e to de

Sire exc ep t again t o see th ee an d my little c ircle in good
,

health ”
F ate brin gs him to Rome on the followin g day
.
,

well an d happy In tremen dous excitement he dashes off

.

two sh or t n otes in his diary :

E ven i n g — My sec on d word is to b e addressed to thee ,

n ow th at I h av e ren d ered h earty th an ks t o H eav en for

brin gin g m e hither I can say n othing exc ept that I am

.

here I have sent for Tischb ein

. .

Night Tischb ein c ame to see m e A d elightfully

.
-
.

good fellow At last I am b eginnin g to live and I ad ore my

.

genius More to m orrow

.
”
-
.

Bu t n o m ore was add ed the n ex t day Late in the even .

in g of the 3 oth he wrote : J u st a w ord after a v ery rich d ay .

I saw t his m orn in g the m ost imp ortan t ruin s of an cien t

Rome this even in g St Pet er s an d n ow I am in itiated I
, .
’
, .

h ave moved t o Tischb ein s an d shall n ow have a rest from ’

,

all in n lif e an d travel

-
Farewell . .

These are the first words written after his arrival in

R ome I n their disc on nectedn ess c on den sation
. on e , ,

might almost say in their breathlessn ess they together

,
—
, ,

with the prayer of gratitude which he first of all sen ds up to

H eaven reflec t with un surp assable faithfuln ess the feelings
,

an d impression s with which he is ov erwh elm ed H ow much .

more gen tle more c omp osed is the ton e of the in troduc tion
,

to the chapter on R ome in his I tali en ische Reise c opied from ,

the lett er which he addressed t o the Duke on the six th day !

Goethe was in Rome The dream of his youth was ful .

filled Twice b efore he had had it in his p ower to realise

.

t his dream The first tim e he was drawn b ack by l ove the
.
,

sec on d tim e by c on sid eration f or the Duk e b u t ab ov e all , , ,

 8
3 4 t he l ife of G oe the
by vague in stin c tive feelin g that the fuln ess of time was
a ,

n ot yet c om e E v erythin g at the right time !

“ ”
. he on e
d ay excl aim ed wit h referen c e t o the lin kin g t ogeth er of
ev en t s in his lif e I t w ould b e imp ossible t o f oretell wh at
.

would have b een the results if he had desc en ded in to I taly

from the St G othard in 7 7 5 E ither he would have re
. 1 .

main ed in Rome an d b ec om e a Roman like Win ckelman n ,

an d so m an y oth ers or if an tique an d R en aissan c e art had , ,

n ot t h en had the p ower t o ov erc om e t he G oth ic in him an d ,

the mild I t alian lan d sc ap e had n ot th en b een able t o c oun ter

b alan ce the O ssian ic roman ticism of the Alp s he w ould have ,

return ed home m ore at sea than when he had gon e thith er ,

an d u n der the burd en of the u n adj u st able disagreem en ts

,

with his father the n arrown ess of civic life an d the sorrow
, ,

of his rup ture with Lili he migh t h av e d estr oyed his life , .

I n 7 7 9 the j ourn ey would h av e b een a flyin g visit arousin g

1 ,

more l on gin g t han it satisfied an d it w ould h av e t aken away ,

the b est p art of t he healin g p ower of the I t alian sky for him
in l ater years In 1 7 8 6 his n eed of this h ealin g was surely
.

7
un dimin ished O n l y as the greatn ess an d b eauty of the
.

sou t h pr esen t ed it self t o him in t he full p ower an d spl en d our

of it s n ewn ess were the m an y sig n s of old ag e t h at had

b egun t o b e visible in his wh ole b ein g removed makin g him ,

c ap able of n ew fresh life I c oun t a sec on d b irthday a

, .
“
,

t ru e regen eration fr om the day I en tered R om e (Dec emb er

’
,

2 ,
I have b een restored again to the en j oym en t of
life t o the en j oym en t of history p oetry an d an tiquities
, , ,
”

(J a n u ary 6 I am livin g a n ew youth (February

,
” “

6 ,
1 Such is the refrain which rin gs thr ough his letters
from Rome The process of rejuven ation which had b egun
.
,

when he in haled the n oon d ay air at the southern foot of the

Bren n er was completed in the atmosphere of the artistic
,

world of Rome .

R ome with its sup erabun dan ce of great works an d

,

memories surroun ds him like a heavin g sea

, E v ery day .
“

som e n ew remark able obj ec t ; d aily n ew p ic t ures great an d

, ,

st ran g e an d an en semble of wh ich on e m a l on g t h in k an d

, y
dream b u t which the im agin ation can n ever c omprehen d
, .
3 8 6 t he l ife of G oe the

M ich ael An gel o in R ome (M oses Pi etd) which are cer , ,

t ain ly n ot lackin g in great n ess p ale in t o in sig n ifican ce b e,

sid e the an tiqu e sculp tur es With the stan dard which he
.

rec eiv ed from Mich ael An gelo for the j udgmen t of p ain tin g ,

t he quiet b eau t y of R aph ael who had seem ed t o him as he , ,

stood b efore the St C eci li a in B o lo gn a the p ain ter withou t a

.
,

p eer c ould arouse wit hin him here on ly a subdued p leasure

,
.

The cycl e of p ic tures in t he Villa Farn esin a (A mor an d

Psyche) an d t he Tran sfigu rati on he c all s in a dry good
, ,

n at ur ed way old acqu ain t an c es frien ds t hat he has ”

, , ,

made at a distan c e by corresp on d en c e an d n ow m eets per ,

son ally ; an d he c ompl ain s of t he p ict ures in t he st an z as

an d t he loggias t hat t hey are t oo fad ed whereas t he ,

blacken ed frescos in t he S istin e Chap el far from disturb in g ,

him on ly st imul at e him t o t ak e t hr ee tim es t he p ain s t o

,

st udy t h em .

I n short great n ess is his first r equiremen t in a w ork of

,

art . On e sees what pl easur e he f eels as his soul is broad

en ed by t he gr eat n ess of what he sees aft er he has grow n ,

lan guid un d er t he p etty tasks an d d etails of his official life

in S ax e W eimar -
Now he is c on v in c ed t hat greatn ess is
.

n ot hin g m or e t han t he acm e of t rut h Acc ordin gly t he .

works of t he an c ien t s a e great on ly b ec ause t hey are t rue in

r

c on c ept ion an d execution H e fin ds t his most cl early re

.

v ealed in works of archit ecture Their great n ess is n ev er .

t he expression of an arb itrary fan cy an d n ev er a m isrepre ,

sen t at ion t o c ov er up in n er p ett in ess an d holl ow n ess The .

Roman s n ever built a sp acious p al ac e t o giv e t he f alse ap

ea ran ce of gr eat n ess t o a p ett y prin c e who occ asion ally
p ,

liv ed in it wit h his courtiers b u t b ecause such an ab od e was

,

in k eep in g w it h t he gr eat n ess of t he p osit ion an d busin ess

of a world ru l er They built aqueducts not for amuse
-
.
,

m en t s sake b u t for t he purp ose of furn ishin g t he p eople

’
,

wit h water The same is t rue of t heir temples t heatres

. , ,

rac e c our ses an d b at h s

-
An d as t he sp irit so t he b ody of
, .
,

t heir st ruc tures : walls of solid rock n o imitation st on e of ,

whit ewash plast er of Paris an d w ood ; n o p ast ed on

, ,
—

d ecoration s n o fin ical orn amen t s n o urn s or pupp et s ;

, ,
 M ale 8
3 7

e ev ryt hin g gen uin e solid material wit h natural an d appro

,

p ria t e ad o r n m e n t .

I n r ealit y t he c on t rast is n ot as harsh as we foll ow in g ,

Goet he s in dication s have here represent ed it to b e ; b u t

’
,

he saw it an d f el t it t o b e so ev en b ef or e he reached Rom e ,

.

When he viewed in Sp ol eto t he an tique aqueduct which

sp an s a gorg e w it h it s gr eat arches he said : Now t his is
“

t he t hird w ork of t he an cien t s t hat I have seen .

Now I f eel f or t he first time how just ly I hat ed all c apric ious
st ruct ur es ,such as t he Win t erk ast en on t he Weissen st ein

[ W ilh elm s h o h e C as t l e n ear K a ss e l ] f or e x ampl e a n ot hin g ,

f or n ot hin g s sak e a mon strou s e p ergn e of c on fection ery

’
, ,

an d a t housan d ot her t hin gs in t he sam e c at egory They .

are all st ill b or n ; for t hat which has n o t ru e in ward exist

-

en c e has n o lif e an d c an n ot b e great or b ec om e great

”
.

E v en if t he Roman struc tures in Veron a Assisi an d , ,

Sp ol eto had awaken ed such profoun d joy in his soul his ,

d elight must hav e b een much great er when he saw t he

maj estic works of t he an cients in Rome from t he Pan t heon ,

an d t he C ol osseum t o t he t omb of C ecil ia M et ella on t he

Appian Way an d t he mil es of aqueduct s in t he Camp agn a
, .

H ere on e must b ec ome solid is a pregn an t expression of ,

”

his from t he b egin n in g of his soj ourn in Rom e .

I t was a gl orious t hin g f or Goet he t o r ev el in t his gr eat

world An d to heighten his enj oym en t t he circumstan c es
.

of his l if e in R ome l eft n ot hin g t o b e d esired H e had t aken .

lodgin gs wit h the p aint er Tischb ein an origin al nature of , ,

cheerful in st in cts an d lived very happ ily wit h him an d his

,

y ou n g h ou se m a t es t he p ain,t er s Sch ut z an d Bury H e .

still pr eserv ed his in c ogn it o t hrow in g it off on ly to a sm all

,

circl e of German artists an d amat eurs of art at t he same ,

t ime pl edgin g each of t hem n ot t o b et ray his pr esen c e n or ,

men tion his ran k or n ame To t his circle b elon ged in .

,

addit ion to t he ab ov e m en tion ed : Privy C ou n c ill or R eiften

-

st ein f or t he l ast tw en ty f our y ears a r esid en t of R om e an d

,
-
,

exc ep t ion ally w ell in form ed on m atters of in t erest in t he

The fir t w a t he Amphit h eat re i Ver a t he ec d the temple

s s n on , s on

o f Mi erv a i A i i
n n ss s
3 8 8 t he l if e of G oe the

city ; t he studious archaeologist Hirt ; t he writer K arl Phil , ,

ipp M orit z a m an of gl oomy medit at ion an d fin e tast e ;

,

t he sculp t or Tripp el who mod ell ed t he Ap oll on ian bust of

, ,

Goethe ; t he youn g Swiss p ain ter H ein rich M eyer a , ,

t horough in v estigat or of all quest ion s of art ; ch armin g ,

t en d er wise Angelika K auffmann highly esteemed by

, ,

Goet he as by everyb ody on account of her n obl e woman

, ,

hood an d lovely art ; an d her husban d the I talian p ain ter , ,

Zu cchi I n his assoc iat ion s wit h t hese exc ell en t p eopl e
.

Goet he felt at home an d j oin ed t hem in work an d recrea

,

t ion . I n his t urn he aroused in his frien ds a f eel in g of

pl easure an d admiration alt hough t hey were surprised ,

t hat t he m an of such l iv ely emot ion s p ossessed so much

gravity an d rep ose H e himself c on fesses t hat if he had
.
”
,

all ow ed t hem t o hav e t heir way t hey w ould hav e c omm it ,

ted a hu n dred foll ies w it h him an d in t he end w ould hav e

crown ed him on t he Cap it ol To make his happ in ess com .

p let e H eav en pu t on it s m ost frien dly sm il e A su n n y .

,

sprin gl ike win t er such as Rom e had n ot exp erien c ed fr om

,

t im e immemorial f avour ed a most profit abl e l if e in t he

,

op en an d d ay aft er d ay b at hed t he E t ern al Cit y w it h it s

, ,

cup olas an d p alac es it s ruin s an d its cypresses in a flood

, ,

of cheerful l ight an d soft haz e .

The j oyful Roman symphony was sudd enly in terrup ted

by a shrill discord an t n ote The first n ews had arrived
, .

from Weimar H ow had Frau v on S tein received his flight

.

an d the veil of secrecy in which he had chosen to en v elop

his mov ement s ? Two d ays b efore his d ep art ure Goet he had
written to his b eloved t hat at t he en d of Sep temb er she
would b e in p ossession of a letter t hat would give her his
address S eptemb er p assed an d likewise Oct ob er I n deed
.
, .

t he middl e of N ovemb er was approachin g an d still She did ,

n ot k n ow whit her her fugit iv e frien d had t urn ed To b e .

sure she had r ec eiv ed two l ett ers from him after l on g in
,

t erv als of waitin g ; b u t t hey w ere short an d c on trary t o his , ,

promise main tain ed a stubb orn Silen c e as to his plac e of

,

ab od e By so doin g he for a lon g time volun tarily deprived

.
39 0 t he l ife of G oe the
3 51 1t mid)
i111 Gumbeu
e1i1111e ,

Diein Iiebeuofluerkbmuubeu
‘
.

S ! QBie biu id) 111111 alIeiu !

(t wig meeb id) eiufam fein
’

98 118 1ii i1 feineEiebegab ,

$ 1
1 11 id ) m ie ir18 tiefe
91d) 16 {int ©1 i11u 1 11ugé leibeu
’

m
,

Gu abgefdueb uer gre1i beu

’

.
,

Gcbutgeift buII mit uuu nod) ein

’

Geiueé QiiibeesIetteu Gd uiu

’

98 11 e1 111i1 fein $ 8173 ue1fd) Iofie11

'

59 116 e1 fouit in gang e1 gofieu ,

QBiee1 iid) 11011 meine1 haul)

6 111111111 uub faIt but meggemaubt * .

App aren tly Goethe had mean while taken n o acc ount of
what a d eep an d pain ful impression the very secrecy of his
j ourn ey might make upon her H e himself felt so firmly .

b oun d t o her t arried with her in th ought so c on stan tly an d

, ,

s ough t soz eal ou sly by m ean s of the d iary which he wrot e

,

f or her t o h av e her sh are all the g ood an d b eautiful thin gs

,

which he en j oyed that fear of a misin terpretation n ever

,

No w my t h ught ye t ake t flight

,
o s, o

A my frie d e c aped fr m igh t !

s n s o s

Byg e h ur ye c all t
on mi d o s o n ,

H ur i l ve weet dream e hri ed

’
o s n o s s ns n .

O p r l
, ooely l ely m e!
, on , on

E ver h all I ls ely b e on .

Wh at hi l ve t m e c e g ave s o o on

I c ceal a i t he gr ave
on s n .

A h ! t i m em y
’
rr w re
s
’
r
’
s so o so

Over weet e t j y s f y re s o s o o .

Gu ardian pirit veil fr m iew s ,

o V

H w he b ad e m e l a t ad ieu ;
o s

H w hi h ear t w a t ig h t ly ealed
o s s s

Which er t w hile t d all r vealed

s s oo e
'

H w my t uch f l ve he pur ed
o o o o s n ,

C ld a d p eechl e fr m m e t ur ed
o n s ss o n .
 1ltal12 39 I

c
on e en t e er d his min d An d how often he in tersp ersed his
.

acc ou n ts of the d ay with express w ord s of m ost c ordial ,

t en d er f eelin g f or the far away mist ress of his h ear t !

-
AS
usual my l ove wh en the Av e M aria della S era is prayed I
, ,

t urn my t h ough t s t o th ee H owever I must n ot express

.
,

”
myself thus for they are with thee all the day (Padua
, ,

S ep temb er 2 7 th) After a day h appily an d well spent an

.
“

in expressibly sweet feelin g always c omes over m e when I

”
sit d own t o write t o th ee (V en ic e S ep t emb e r 2 9 )
t h, .

“
S ittin g again in a c av e which a year ago suffered from an
earthquake I turn my prayer to th ee my d ear guardian ,

Sp irit. I n ow feel for the first time how sp oiled I am To .

live with thee ten years an d b e loved by thee an d n ow ou t ,

in a stran ge world ! I foresaw it an d on ly extreme neces ,

sity c ould c omp el m e t o take the step Let u s have n o .

oth er th ough t th an of en din g ou r d ay s tog eth er (T e r n i ,

Octob er 2 7 th) .

H ow man y p ain ful d ays G oeth e migh t h ave sp ared him

self an d Frau v on S tein if he had on ly seen to it th at th ese

d ocumen ts of his c on tin ued l ove reached their d estin ation

at the sam e tim e as his first lett er s fr om R om e ! By some
remarkable oversigh t which can b e explain ed on ly by his
,

dream life in I taly the first part of his diary the part up
-
,
-

t o an d in cludin g Ven ic e did n ot reach her till Christmas ;

—

the sec on d p art arriv ed at New Year s 1 7 8 7 The first ’

, .

letters fr om R ome in which he b etrayed his secret had

arriv ed in Weimar in t he middle of N ovemb er Bu t th ere .

was n on e am on g th em for Frau v on S tein a n ew an d b itter ,

off en c e to his b el oved an d a n ew c orr ob oration of her su s

p ici on . To b e sur e G oe th e a s w
,
e k n o w h a d d
,
ed ic at e d t o ,

her the v ery first h appy effusion s after his arriv al b u t ,

what did she kn ow ab out it ? They were recorded in his

diary which still lay in Rome
, .

Acc ordin gly Frau v on S tein did what an y other woman

,

w ould h ave d on e in her place : as soon as she learn ed his

address she wrote him a few lin es which to judge from his ,

an swer were equivalen t t o dismissin g him from her fav our

, .

H e rec eived the n ote on the 9 th of D ec emb er .

39 2 t he l ife of G oe the

It c ame like a clap of t hun der ou t of a clear Sky For .

d ays he is r obb ed of all en j oymen t an d wan ders ab out the ,

ruin s of R ome like a spiritless b ody I n the first flush of .

feelin g he c an n ot un derstan d the b eh aviour of his b eloved

an d thin ks he has c au se t o fin d faul t with her
“
An d so .

th at was all th at th ou h ad st t o say t o a b elov ed frien d who

has so l on g b een y earn in g for a g ood w ord from th ee an d who ,

has n ot sp en t a d ay in d eed n ot an h our sin c e he lef t th ee

,

without thin kin g of thee I c an n ot tell thee how

thy sh ort n ot e has ren t my h ear t asu n d er F arewell my .
,

on ly l ov e an d d o n ot h ard en thy h ear t again st m e !

”
,
In a
f ew d ays the mist r oll s away from his eyes ; he rec ogn ises
his f aul t On the 3 th he writ es : O my most b el oved “
. 1 , ,

if I c ould on ly pu t up on t his sh eet ev ery g ood true an d , ,

sw eet w ord of l ov e an d frien d ship c ould t ell th ee an d assure,

t h ee th at I am n ear v ery n ear t hee an d t h at I en j oy my

, ,

life on ly for thy sake ! Thy sh ort n ote has p ain ed m e b u t ,

most of all b ec ause I have caused th ee pain Th ou wilt .

keep silen t t oward m e Th ou wilt take b ack the token s of

?

t hy l ov e ? Th ou can st n ot d o that without sufferin g much ,

an d I am t o bl am e f or it Bu t perh ap s t h ere is a l ett er from

.

t h ee on t he w ay w hich will cheer m e an d c omfort m e ; pe

,
r

h ap s my diary has arrived in a fav ourable momen t an d

rej oic ed thee .
”

As a mat ter of fac t a sec on d letter fr om Frau v on S t ein

did arrive soon b u t b ein g an an swer t o his two hasty
, , ,

ramblin g letters of N ovemb er it was n o more edifyin g

*
,

than the first on e N everth eless he th an ks her for it H e

.

is willin g t o forget the p ain ful c on t en ts of the l etter My .

l ove : I b eg thee on b en ded kn ee I impl ore thee make it , ,

easier f or m e t o return t o th ee th at I n eed n ot remain in ,

b anishmen t in the wide wide world Pard on m e graciously

,
.

the wr on gs I h av e d on e th ee an d lift m e up ,
Write m e .

l on g letters an d tell m e often how thou liv est that th ou art ,

well an d th at th ou lovest m e
,
Do n ot c on sid er
.

m e p arted from th ee ; n othin g in the world can replac e wh at

I sh ould lose in thee an d in my relation s th ere .

I t t k a l ett r ix t ee d ay t g fr m Weim ar t R m e
oo e s n s o o o o o .
394 t he l ife of G oe the

c on dition s in which he has elsewhere sh own a keen interest

, ,

f or fear th at the Pap al S t ate which he c on sid ered a m od el,

of ab omin abl e admin istration migh t h in d er t he pl ay of his ,

im agin ation H e was lik ewise littl e edified by the th eatre

.

in R om e which drew all it s supp ort from the f orm al dram a

, ,

an d by the church c erem on ies which he plac ed in the sam e ,

c ategory as the theatre I n b oth he saw n othin g b u t a

.

soull ess displ ay t h at c ould aff ord n o pleasure t o on e in his

frame of min d which un c ompromisin gly v alued thin gs ao

,

c ordin g to their in trin sic worth The Pop e he says .

“
, ,

is surely the b est ac t or N either d oes the life of the

“ ”
.

c ommon p eople h ave the same charm for him in R ome as in

the oth er I talian c ities H e tak es part in the c arn ival
.

without fin din g an y real pleasure in it b ec ause as he says , , ,

the in credibl e n oise th at the p eople m ake lacks in ward

cheerfuln ess H is h appin ess is in art an d that too b e
.
, , ,
—

it on c e m ore emph asised alm ost exclu sively an tique art

-
.

H is in n er life at th at p eriod is m ost cl ev erly symb olised in

Tischb ein s excellent p ortrait of him reclinin g in the mid st
’

of fragm en t s of an tique art .

After G oet he had en j oyed the works of the an cien t s

est h etic ally he set t o w ork t o gain an h ist oric al un d erst an din g

of t hem . H e trac ed an tique art b ack t o E g yp t an d sough t

to gain a clear id ea of the charac t er an d th en of the ep och s
of the in dividual styl es an d to d etermin e th em m ore d efi
,

n it ely t h an had hith er t o b een d on e I t was of esp ec ially .

great value to him to c omp are the represen tation of the

sam e subj ec ts by differ en t ar tists an d ep och s The facul ty .

of disc ov erin g r elation ship s n o m atter how rem ote in time

,

or sp ac e an d of trac in g the gen esis of thin gs is ex t raordi

, ,

n arily h elpful t o him h ere as in t he n atural sc ien c es an d he

, ,

wish es he on ly had the time to work over all the material

an d his id eas c on c ern in g it Win ckelmann ! Alas how “
—
.
,

much he has d on e an d how much he has left to b e desired ! ”

I n the middle of F ebruary he mak es a c atal ogue of the

thin gs he has n ot yet seen an d is aston ish ed at th eir n umb er .

The m ass of wh at seem s t o him imp ort an t b ec omes in spite ,

of all his in du stry great er in st ead of small er

,
I n scription s .
,
 1ltal12 395

c oin s c arved ston es to which he at first paid n o attention

, , ,

o p en t o him n ew fi eld s of st udy wit h a sup erabun d an c e of

m aterial Rome is c on stan tly strikin g n ew roots down in to

.

his in n er life an d on ly on the 2 n d of F ebruary wh en

,
2 ,

Vesuvius has a violen t erup tion an d f ear of the summ er ,

heat in Sicily b egin s to agitate him does he decide at least , ,

f or a t im e t o turn his b ack up on the b elov ed cit y

,
.

Goethe did n ot travel alon e H e took Tischb ein along .

,

as he wished t o apply him self diligen t ly t o drawin g an d did ,

n ot wish t o b e d eprived of his frien d s eye an d h an d After

’
.

three b eautiful d ays of travel v ia Velletri the Pon tin e ,

Swamps Terracin a an d Capua they reached N aples Al

, , , .

t h ough G oeth e had sin c e childh ood b een prep ared f or the
ch arm of the Gulf of N aples n evertheless when the won , ,

d erfu l p an orama un roll ed b ef ore his eyes he was com ,

p le t ely en ra p t ur ed Y o u m. ay s
“
ay n arr at e p a in t wh at , ,

y o u w ill ,
h e r e t h er e is m ore t h an all o f it p u t t og et h e r .

I pardon ed all who had lost their min ds in N aples an d ,

th ough t with em otion of my father who had preserv ed an ,

”
in delible impression of these obj ec ts H e c alls N aples a .

paradise in which he lives in a sort of in toxic ated self

forgetfuln ess . I hardly rec ogn ise myself Yest erday I .

said t o myself : E it h er t h ou hast b een craz y hithert o or

t h ou art n ow Rome on its small river in the desert
.

C ampagn a n ow seems to him like an old p oorly l ocated con ,

ven t when c omp ared with the op en situation of N aples in a

,

lan d of plen ty an d b eside the broad sea strewn with haze

,

en v el op ed islan d s Whereas in Rome he desired to study

.
,

here he wished on ly to live On e can ob serve too how his . , ,

pleasure in the en j oymen t of life grows in the fascinating ,

sen suou s N eap olitan world Leisurely an d j oyfully he

.

str oll s ab out in N aples an d al on g the laughin g b ord ers of the

gulf in c omp an y with Tischb ein an d oth er n ew frien ds

80
,

such as the l an d sc ap e p ain ters K n iep an d Philipp an d

, , ,

Georg H ackert H e d oes n ot Shut himself off from a wider

.

c ircle of acquain tan ces as in R ome ; he seeks it rather an d

, ,

sp en d s m an y h appy h our s with the u n c on v en tion al Prin z ess

chen an d with Sir William H amilt on an d his c oquettish b elle

, .
39 6 t he l if e of G oe the

H owever he c arries on serious work at the same time

, .

I n R ome he was un d er the sway of art : here n ature c om es

in t o the f oregroun d I t is h ere that he giv es u tteran c e to the
.

b eautiful sayin g that n ature is the on ly b ook which has some

,

great truth to offer on every p age Min eralogy geology .

, ,

z ool ogy an d b ot an y en gag e his att en tion in ev ery n ook an d

,

c orn er of the region so remarkable an d rich in its n atural

history an d it doub tless h app en ed that while his frien d s
,

were amusin g themselves wit h their ladies in frolic some

games on the sh ore he stepp ed aside to hammer at rocks
,

an d in v estigate th eir c omp osition or to c ollec t plan t s an d

marin e animals Vesuvius at that time in violen t erup tion
.
, ,

claimed the lion s Sh are of his scien tific in terest Three

’
.

differen t times he asc en ded t o the summit an d ev en in the ,

presen ce of eviden t dan ger ven tured b oldly on that he migh t

take accurate ob servation s of the v olc an ic phen omen a .

I n the Portici Mu seum where the articles exc avated in

,

H erculan eum were kep t as well as in Pomp eii an d Paestum

, ,

he f orm ed valu able impression s of art an d an tiquities In .

Paestum b e for the first time st ood in the presen c e of gen uin e
Greek an tiq uity at least in the temple of Poseid on which
, ,

i s old er t han t he Part h en on an d un d oub t edly owes it s ,

origin t o the pur e Greek art of L ow er I t aly At first the .

sev ere D oric style wit h the cl osely cr owd ed pill ars in the
,

Sh ap e of a tru n c ated c on e seem ed t o him accu st omed t o

, ,

the n eater form s of later p eriods wearisome in deed terrible , ,

.

Bu t in less th an an h our he felt on frien dly term s with the

style an d praised his gen iu s for h avin g let him b eh old wit h

his own eyes th ese well preserved ruin s -

E vid en tly it was .

the glorious temple of Poseid on which arou sed in him this

sen tim en t Its pill ars h av e t o b e sure the full f orc e of
.
, ,

t he Doric styl e b u t wit h t h is forc e is c omb in ed a n ob ility of

,

proportion which len d s them a stamp of solem n b eauty The .

exc essive bulgin g an d t ap erin g of the pillars of the n eigh

b ou rin g templ es on the oth er h an d gives th em a m assive
, ,

c on ic al form which at a sh ort distan ce is felt as wearisome

, ,
.

F or fiv e week s G oeth e had allowed him self t o b e held by

t he ch arm s of seduc tiv e Par then op e I t was n ow time to .
39 8 t he l if e of G oe the

r g c fat e b ec ause of her un happy love for O dysseus was

t a i ,

again t ak en up an d m ore c arefully worked ov er in d eed ,

some p assag es wer e fi n ish ed H e d esired th at the atm o .

sph ere of n ature in the p oem sh ould b e a m em en to of his

life on the islan d of S icily U n fortun ately the drama n ev er .

,

progressed in written form b eyon d the b egin n in g made in

Palerm o Not on ly the p oet b u t the scien tist as well was
.
,

ar ou sed in him by t his f airy gard en The man if old plan t .

forms remin d ed him of his th eory of the Urpfl an ze wh ich he ,

had w orked at c on tin u ou sly in I taly Might n ot this orig .

in al typ e from wh ich all the d ifferen t sp ecies of plan ts h ave

,

spru n g b e disc ov er ed am on g the mul titudin ou s v ariet ies ?

,

That there must b e such a plan t he had n o d oub t H ow .

el se c ould we rec ogn ise he reason s t h at th is or t h at obj ec t

, ,

is a pl an t ? H is sup ersen sible Urpfl an z e h ow ev er c ould n ot , ,

b e disc ov ered in an y sen sible f orm ; b u t his in v estigation s

str en g th en ed him in his c on vic tion of the c orrec tn ess an d

fertility of the idea The min eralogist in him vied with the
.

b otan ist in makin g the m ost of his soj ourn in Palermo H e .

prosecuted his studies diligen tly in the gravel of brooks in ,

t he st on e q uarries an d in t he work sh op s of st on e p olish ers

, ,

addin g great ly t o his st ore of kn ow led ge an d t o his collec

tion s of Sp ecim en s H is artistic sen se on t he oth er h an d
.
, ,

foun d little to occupy it Of an tiqu e art there was little .

in the region an d s till less was acc essible t o t ourists

, He .

c ared n othin g wh atever for Arabian N orman art p eculiar -

,

an d tasteful as it app ear s in the Cap ella Palatin a an d in

the M on r eal e C ath edral H e d eclar ed th at the p eopl e of
.

modern Palerm o had n o taste wh atever an d in the irra ,

tion al design an d orn am en tation of the Villa Palagon ia

he saw the gen eral lack of taste m ost strikin gly exemplifi ed .

The sc arcity of objets d art did n ot detrac t from his en joy ’

men t of Palerm o N ature offered en ou gh to satisfy the

.

p oet pain ter an d in vestigator ; in addition he foun d m ost

, ,

agreeabl e en t ert ain m en t in the p eople fr om the vic er oy ,

d own to the adven turer Cagliostro s p oor b u t pious family ’

F i t er e t i g d et ail c
or n s n c er i g t hi m t fa t a tic ab de f a
s on n n s os n s o o

m t whim ic al pri ce f H xxiv 7 6 6 ff C

os s n o -
.
 1Ital1z 399

whom he visited at first from curiosity b u t later ou t of a ,

gen uin e in terest which promp ted him t o len d them assist
,

an c e .
Wh en he took leave of the city an d its won derful
gard en he declared that prob ably in all his life he had n ot
b een as seren ely h appy for sixteen days c on secutively as he
had b een th ere .

H e left t he city on the 1 8 th of April in c omp an y with his

frien d K n iep The trav ellers first wen t to S egesta to see a
.

temple an d an an cien t t heatr e an d th en r od e three d ay s

,

thr ough sp ar sely in h ab ited r egion s the geol ogic al an d agri

,

cultural c on dition s of which occupied Goethe s atten tion ’

an d arriv ed in Girgen ti on the southern c oast The .

b eautiful situation an d the ru in s of the an cien t Greek city

occ asion ed a stay of sev eral d ay s To Goethe s min d the
.
’

so c alled t emple of C on c ord ia with its pleasin g lin es was

—
, ,

related to the temples of Paestum as the figure of a god to

th at of a gian t .Bu t wh en he return ed to Pmstu m after his
Sicilian j ourn ey he rec ogn ised that the temple of Poseid on
ran ked far ab ove all th ose of S icily .

The travellers had origin ally in ten ded t o g o from Gir

gen ti t o Syracuse Bu t as G oeth e wish ed t o b ec ome ao
q u ain t ed w it h S i c i ly as t he gr an ary o f R om e a n d ha d f ou n d ,

ou t t h at the r eal grain field s ex t en d ed ov er t he in t erior of

-

t he isl an d he gave up Syr acu se an d trav ersed the islan d in

,

the direc tion of Catan ia H is d esire was m ore th an sat

.

isfied F or f our d ay s the wh eat held s an d b arley fields

.
— -

str et ch ed on in u n if orm fru it ful n ess an d the dreamy com ,

p osition of his N au sihaa was the on ly thin g that was able

to mak e the p oet obliviou s t o the disc omf or t s of the t ediou s
ride the b ad roads an d the still worse quarters On the
, ,
.

2 n d of May t h ey arriv ed in C atan ia L on g b ef ore th ey

.

reached their destin ation the sn ow c apped p eak of Mt -

.

ZEt n a had b eck on ed t o th em through the cl oud s an d in

sp ired G oeth e wit h a y earn in g d esire t o asc en d it Bu t .
,

heedin g the earn est warn in gs of the n ativ es th at the season

was n ot fav ourable th ey c on t en ted them selv es for the time
,

b ein g with ascen din g as far as M on te R osso a sec on dary ,

crater of f Etn a where they en c oun tered such a viol en t

,
4 0 0 t he l ife of G oe the
st orm th at K niep rem ain ed b elow the summit an d Goethe
was in d an ger of b ein g bl own d own the m oun tain side -
.

Further climbin g was n ot to b e thought of From Catan ia .

they f ollowed the c oast n ort hward They were en thusiastic

.

ov er T aormin a b u t w er e h orrifi ed at the sight of M essin a

, ,

which had b een so terribly devastated by an earthquake

four years b ef ore B ec ause of the d eserted appearan ce of
.

the c ity with its p opul ation for the m ost p art still livin g in
,

wooden b ooth s outside the gates they decided to en ter as

,

soon as p ossibl e up on the retur n j ourn ey t o N aples .

On the en tire S icilian j ourn ey G oethe had op en ed up his

soul alm ost exclu sively t o the in flu en c es of N ature She .

had ar oused him t o m an if old ob serv ation s sc arc ely in ,

dicated h ere which gave him a clear pic ture of the isl an d
,

for his p erm an en t p ossession To b e sure it was on ly a

.
,

pic ture of the S icily of that day H e ob stin ately refused to

.

supplemen t it on the hist oric al sid e much as he m ay h ave ,

b een temp ted to do so by the varied an d peculiarly fan tastic

history of the islan d H ow differen tly the p oet of the Brau t
.

von M essi n a an d the B urgschaft w ould h av e ac ted ! H ere ,

again we ob serv e on e of G oet h e s n ot ewort hy p eculiari

’
,

t ies .I n R ome he felt t he n eed of en liven in g the ruin s by

mean s of history ; here he felt t he n eed of h oldin g the gh osts
of the p ast at a distan c e from the b loomin g fi eld s When .
,

in a b eautiful v alley n ear Palerm o the guid e was ab out ,

t o tell him of the b att l es th at had th ere b een fough t b e

tween the R om an s an d the Carth aginian s he was vex ed , ,

an d in terrup ted him sayin g : It is b ad en ough th at from

,

t ime t o time the grain has b een trampled d own if n ot ,

always by eleph an ts at an y rat e by h orses an d m en ; on e

,

Sh ould at least refrain fr om frigh ten in g the im agin ation ou t

of it s p eac eful dream by such ech oes of p ast turm oil

”
.

G oeth e was a master of the art of enj oyin g or m ore cor , ,

rectly of the art of admittin g h arm on ies in to his own soul

, ,

th at he m igh t giv e th em b ack to the w orld in a more enjoy

able form .

The h omeward voyage proved to b e more disagreeable

th an the ou tward p assage had b een The win d was b ad .
,
4 0 2 t he l ife of G oe the

on a n ew in t e est f or rchatterin g b argain in g

him . The , ,

pleasure l ovin g ragged app aren tly idle b u t really busy

-
, , ,

p eople who day—in an d day ou t 1011 ab out in thron gs in the

,
-

n arr ow str eet s he studied in the man y v aried ph ases of th ei

,
r
life with as much c are as he b est owed up on the in vestigation
of pl an t s an d r ock s The vivid d escrip tion s the fin e ob
.
,

serv ation s which resulted fr om th ese studies are well k n own .

H e judges of the life of the c ity as a wh ole m or e as a p oet

an d a p ain ter th an as an ec on omist an d a stat esm an wh en ,

he says : I t is a gl oriou s sigh t b u t on e must n ot apply to

“
,

it the p olic e stan dard s of n orth ern m orality Just as he .

n ow d ev otes him self t o the multitud e m ore th an durin g his

previous soj ourn so d oes he also to in dividuals H e en ters

, .

up on an exten sive r oun d of social fun ction s in cludin g rec ep ,

tion s in the r oy al p alac e an d it is th ese pleasures which ,

make him l oth to part fr om the city Bu t time presses . .

H e plan s t o b e on the ot h er Side of the Alp s at the en d of

August an d mean while t o spen d an other mon th in Rome an d
, ,

see Fl oren c e Parma an d M ilan on the h omeward way

, ,
On .

the 3 rd of Ju n e aft er a touchin g farewell fr om his good frien d

,

K n iep he leav es N aples ; on the 6 th he is again in R om e

, .

H is fix ed purp ose t o en t er up on the ret urn j ourn ey in

J uly melted away the m omen t he again en t ered the world
m etropolis In July he p ostp on ed his dep arture t o the en d
.

of Augu st an d in Augu st t o the f oll owin g E aster

,
Life in .

Rome assumed for him a sweeter aspect than ever b efore .

H ow sh all I leave the on ly pl ac e in all the w orld wh ich can

b ec ome a p aradise for m e ? I fin d here the fulfilmen t “

of all my d esir es an d dream s E very day my h ealth of .

b ody an d soul seem s t o improve an d soon I shall h ave ,

n oth in g t o d esire b u t the c on tin uation of my c on dition

”
.

Thus he writes in July t o his frien d the c omp oser K ayser , .

The fulfilmen t of all his d esires an d dreams mean t m ore

n ow th an the mere seein g of the w ork s of art an d the pl ac es

which sin ce his early y outh had had such an attraction for
him ; it m ean t the livin g as an artist an d a p oet in the m id st
of th is m agn ific en t en vir on m en t H e had br oad en ed his .

program to in clude these factors H is in ten tion was to .

 1Ital12 4 6 3

make u se of the ten mon th s of his sec on d soj ourn in R ome

t o train his lit t le talen t let for drawin g an d to c omplete

the literary w ork s alr eady b egu n an d th ose pr oj ec ted ,

n am ely : E gmon t Tasso an d F au st

, ,
.

H is artistic educ ation which had occupied his t h ought

,

durin g the whole of his previous life he n ow took up with ,

ex traord in ary seriou sn ess an d t h orough n ess an d man y of ,

his c on fession s Sh ow clearly that it was n ot his sole aim t o

at tain t o a h igh er d egree of skill as a dilettan te an d thus to ,

a greater enj oym en t of p ain tin g b u t that his desire t o b e a ,

creative artist c ombin ed with his un usual talen t for seein g

,

ev erythin g real as a p ic ture an d the en c ouragin g praise of

,

his frien d s in R om e in duc ed him t o attemp t t o make of

,

himself a p ain ter as well as a p oet .

So he b egan with the study of architec ture an d perspec

tive an d the c omp osition an d c ol ourin g of lan d sc ap e t hen
, ,

drew lan dsc apes from n ature p assin g fi n ally to the human ,

figure which he sought to master in all its parts by mean s

,

of drawin g suppl em en ted t o som e ex t en t by m od ellin g

,
He .

c arried on these studies with en thusiastic z eal havin g ,

Hein rich M eyer as his m ost valued guid e As a dilettan t e .

he made exc ellen t progress From t he lab oured drawin g of

.

characteristic outlin es he rose t o careful execution of d e

t ail s an d plastic c omp osition Bu t the f erv en t prayer which
.

he had raised t o H eav en in his early years ,

S but biei11111e Odopfuugé fmft

,

© 111d) meinen Gum

(b u eine éBiIbuu uoIIe1 Ga t
t g i
Qlué meiueu fiiugem quiilIe!
was v e en n ow un an swered H e was c onfron ted with the
.

con vic tion th at the m ost p erf ec t appr ec iation of art is n ot

equivalen t to creative gen iu s This h owever had its good

.
, ,

Sid e . After years of t orturin g d oub t he had arrived at the

p eac eful assur an c e t h at h e w a s n ot b or n a p ain ter .

O w uld creative f a c t hrill

o n y

My e t hr u g h a d t hr ug h !
s n ses o n o

I pire my h a d t p ai t wit h kill

ns n o n s

Life pict ur e full a d t rue !

’
s n
4 4
0 t he l ife of Goe the

H is diligent measurin g drawin g an d m odellin g had the

, ,

furth er advan tage that he learn ed b etter than ev er b efore

t o see w orks of art I n deed it seemed t o him as if he were
.

on ly n ow b eg in n in g t h oroughly t o see an d en j oy the highest

in art such as an tiqu e sculp ture

,
If his en thusiasm for.

t he an tique was at all c ap able of furth er d ev el opm en t it ,

grew durin g his sec on d soj ourn in R ome esp ecially after he ,

had seen drawin gs of t he Parthen on sculp tures If on e “

.

were t o see the m asterpiec es of the an cien t artists he re ,

marks in a letter written at this time on e would have ,

“

n ot hin g t o d esire b u t righ t ly t o k n ow th em an d d ep art in ,

p eace .
”
These great w orks of art are at the same time the
“

highest works of n ature produced by m an in acc ord an ce with

,

t ru e an d n atural law s ; ev ery thin g c apriciou s an d imagin ary

falls to the groun d ; here is n ecessity here is God , .
”

Aside from an tique art it is at first especially the pic ,

t ures of M ich ael A n gel o in the S istin e Ch ap el wh ich in spire

him t o n ew admir ation an d d eep study ; an d he still ran ks
t he Tit an ic Fl oren tin e ab ov e R aph ael Not un til the en d .

of his soj ourn is a ch an g e n otic eable Raphael b egin s to .

gain on M ichael An gelo an d we b egin t o have a presen ti

,

men t th at the time is app oachin g when G oeth e will pu t r ,

n ot on ly t he d arin g gr an d eur of M ich ael A n gel o b u t as in , ,

f ormer days the quiet greatn ess of Raphael on an equality

,

with the an tique .

AS if t o fill up a g ap an d c omplete the circle of the art s

ab ou t ou r p oet in R om e music b egan to en gage his at t en
,

tion m ore promin en t ly th an hith er to H is old b oyh ood .

acqu ain t an c e K ay ser who had b een several year s c omp os

, ,

in g the mu sic t o his op er et ta Scherz Li st u n d Rache fi n ish ed , ,

it in the autum n of 1 7 8 7 an d Goeth e n ow had sev eral n ew

,

t ask s f or him H e was t o h elp rec ast the old er op erettas

.
,

C lau di n e von Vi lla B ella an d E rwin u nd E lmire, an d com

p ose the music t o E gmon t an d to a gen uin e opera buffa , ,

which G oethe had plan n ed t o b ase on the fam ou s diam on d

n ecklac e in trigue
”
.

K ayser arrived in R om e at the en d of Octob er an d b e

c ame the f ourth memb er of the h ouseh old of artist s on the
4 0 0 t he l ife of G oe the

p c
as e t . Bu t his b etter judgmen t c on quered the in creased
temp tation an d preven t ed his c arryin g the N au sikaa
tr agedy fr om the realm of fan cy in t o th at of r eality O n ly .

in the m om en t of p artin g did his lip s an d h er s discl ose th eir

secret s an d the w ord s wh ich f ell wer e so t en d er an d sin c ere
,

t h at G oeth e aft er f ort y y ears had in terv en ed was still u n

, ,

willin g to desecrate them by repeatin g them to others .

While the graceful M addalena had touched the fin er

ch ords of his emotion al n ature Faustin a wit h whom he , ,

assoc iated durin g his last m on th s in R om e app ealed t o his ,

c oarser in stin cts H er p oetic glorification is to b e foun d in

.

the Komi sche E legieen .

82

The c ombin ed effec t of clim ate p oetry music art an , , , ,

tiq u ities freed om sociab ilit y an d l ove raised Goeth e to a

, , ,

culmin ation of happin ess from which he hen cefort h pro 83

p osed to measure the fortunes of his life .

At this heigh t hi s soj ourn in R ome en ded .

E aster ( 1 7 8 8 ) was approachin g the time for his dep arture ,

from the dear city I n ev ery great sep aration th ere lies a
.

germ of madn ess On e must take care not to brood over it

.

an d ch erish it I n t h ese f ew w ord s G oet h e has well

”
.

charact erised his all ab sorbin g mood durin g these days -

.

H is d ep arture from R om e was in augurat ed with sol emnit y .

Durin g his last n igh ts in the city the full m oon sh one ou t of
a clear sky H e felt drawn on c e m ore t o approach the
.

great mon umen ts of an tiquity which had by moon light so

often filled him with ex al ted em otion H e wen ded his way .

t o the C apitol the F orum an d the C ol osseum an d the

, , ,

sorr owful l am en t ation s of Ovid who was b an ished from ,

Rome on a moon light n ight were a true expression of his ,

feelin gs :
Cu m su b it illin s t istissim a n octis im ag o r ,

Q ua m ihi su pre m u m t empu s in u rb e fu it ,

Cu m repet o n oct em q u a t ot m ihi

,
cara reliq u i ,

Lab it u r ex ocu lis n u n c q u o qu e gu tt a m eis *

.

When b efore m e ar ises t h at sadd est of sc en es t he even in g , ,

Which of my life w as t he l ast spen t in t he c it y of Rom e ,

Wh en I rec all t h at n ig ht an d t he m an y dear t hin gs l eft b ehin d me ,

E ve t h ugh year
n o s in t e rve n e, st i ll c me t he t ear
o s to my eye s .
 lltaltz 4 7
0

On the 2 3 rd April the p oet drov e ou t through the

of

sam e Port o del Pop olo thr ough which eigh teen m on th s ,

b efore he had so j oyfully en tered H e was n ot the sole

,
.

m ourn er ; the wh ole circle of frien ds in R ome t o wh om 84

,

he had gradually b ec ome a frien d brot her lead er pr oph et , , , ,

demigod min gled their sorrow with his Nothin g c ould b e

,
.

m ore touchin g or more gl orifyin g for the d epartin g on e

t h an the lamen t ation s which f ollowed him on his way .

Youn g Bury his h ouse c ompan ion was dissolved in tears

,
-
,

M eyer wrote d olefully : The b est f ortun e of my life is l ost

“
.

Verschaffelt his t each er in p er sp ectiv e : E v ery d ay I feel

“
,

the l oss of your presen c e here The day of your

.

departure was to m e un b earable I was n ot good for an y ,

t hin g ; Moritz lon gs t o see the eye which has so often

” “
,

perc eived an d harmonised all the b eauties that I see ab out

m e h ere an d n oble A n g elika : Your departure from u s
c omplet ely ab sorb ed my h eart an d soul The 2 3 rd .

of l ast m on th the f atal d ay t hrew m e in t o a st ate of sad

, ,

n ess from which I can n ot rec over C oun cillor .

R eiffen st ein an d Abb at e Spin a b oth l ove you b u t how can ,

t hey help it ? A few d ays ago I wen t wit h Zu cchi

t o y our h ou se I felt as if I were in a h oly place ”
. .

On the r eturn j ourn ey G oet he m ad e his first l on g st ay

in Floren c e wh ere he had made b u t a flyin g visit on his
,

j ourn ey southward H e th oroughly enj oyed the rich art

.

tr easur es of the Tu sc an c apit al an d again it was an an tique

,

stat u e t he Medic ean Ven u s which triumphed Vic t oriou sly

, ,

over all oth ers H e sp en t a great p art of his time in the

.

pleasure garden s an d orn amen tal parks of the city workin g ,

at Tasso which was esp ec ially n ear t o his h eart at this tim e
,

b ecause in it he c ould give p oetic expression to his own

sorr ow whil e d epic tin g t h at of a p assion at e soul irresistibly
“

drawn t o an irrevoc able b anishmen t From Floren ce he .

”

went to Parm a where he enj oyed the Correggios an d

, ,

th en c e t o Mil an The Cath edral of Mil an aroused his old

.

an tip athy for G othic art wher eas L eon ard o da Vin ci s Last
’
,

Su pper gave him the high est pleasure The Sigh t of the .

Alps remin ded him that he would n ow soon leave I taly

4 0 3 t he l ife of Goe the

b ehin d If he was t o draw n o further en j oymen t from the

.

chiselled produc ts of ston e he would at least seek c omfort in

the raw m aterial So he b ough t h im self a h ammer with which
.

t o break the rock s an d drive away the b itt er n ess of death .

From Milan he prob ably wen t by way of Lago M aggiore ,

wh ose sh ore he made the h ome of Mign on an d over the Splu ,

g en P ass t o L ak e C on st an c e I n C on st an c e he was aw ait ed

.

by his Zurich frien d B arb ara Schulthess who clun g to him

, ,

with sen timen tal devotion H e sp en t several days with her .

an d th en c on tin u ed his j ourn ey v ia Augsburg an d N u rem

b erg Late in the evenin g of the 1 8 th of Jun e G oethe
.
, ,

acc omp an ied by K ayser wh om he had br ough t al on g fr om

,

R ome return ed on ce m ore t o the quiet lit tle c oun try town
,

on the Ilm af ter an ab sen c e of alm ost two y ear s

, .

No on e e en t v
G oeth e s life was a greater determinin g
in
’

fac tor th an his I talian j ourn ey I t made him a n ew m an .

,

riddin g him of all n ervousn ess an d disease M elan ch oly .

exp ec t ation of an early d eath which seem ed preferable t o ,

a c on tin u at ion of the life he had b een l eadin g gav e way t o ,

an admirabl e ch eerful n ess an d en j oym en t of life The .

d eeply serious Silen t m an wh ose grave th ough ts n ever left

,

him even in society had b ec ome as merry as a child

, ,
It .

is r efreshin g t o h ear him l augh in t he p opular th eatres of

V en ic e an d N aples refreshin g t o see with wh at d eligh t he
,

eat s his fig s on L ag o di G ard a or his grap es in the m ark et ,

plac e of Vic en z a All his sen ses have b een aroused to n ew

.

life With the same d egree of sen suous pleasure with

.

which he eat s the fruit s of the southlan d he listen s to ,

t he soft m el odies of the n igh t gaz es on the splen d our of t he ,

clear Sky b asks in the soft win ds feasts his eyes on the
, ,

en dless weal th of f orm an d c ol our which n atur e an d art

have lavished up on the I talian lan d scap e an d revels in the ,

ch arm s of the h appin ess of love H e again manifests a .

fon dn ess for all th at is n atural an d human Aristocratic .

soc iet y he av oid s an d the c omm on p eopl e wit h wh om he

, ,

had c om e in t o t ouch in W eim ar on ly as a ruler an d a b en e

fac tor he seeks ou t an d approach es on term s of equality
, .
 4 10 t he l ife of G oe the

Wh at he gain ed as a m an he gain ed as a poet With his .

en j oymen t of life he rec ov ered al so his p ower of p oetic

creation Scarc ely was he relieved of the pressure of busi
.

n ess an d v ex ation wh en the f ou n tain s of his p oetic n ature

burst forth pure an d abun dan t I n the midst of the en .

grossin g claims of art n ature an d life he c ompleted I phi , ,

g en i e an d E gmon t en tir ely r ec ast E rw

,
i n an d Clau di n e m ad e ,

c onsiderable progress with Tasso in its n ew form an d wh at , ,

is the m ost c on vin c in g evid en c e of the you thful fresh n ess of

his p oetic talen t n ot on ly t ook up F au st again which he
, ,

had n ot touched for twelve years b u t even b oasted he would ,

finish the gigan tic work in Rome At the same time his .

min d was occupied with the d evelopmen t of former great

plan s such as Der ewige ? u de an d the outlin in g of n ew
, ,

great on es such as I phigeni e in Delphi an d Nau sihaa or

, ,

sm aller on es such as the op era buff a wh ich he later rec ast

, ,

as D er Gross C ophta -
.

As his poetic fertilit y remin ds u s of his youth so also ,

d oes his p oetic man n er H e had b een in a fair way to b e .

c ome seraphic Through the asceticism an d martyrdom of

.

his last y ears in Weimar he had b ec ome m ore an d m ore

highly spiritualised Poems such as I phigen i e Tas o di e
.
,
s ,

Geheimn i sse or the proj ec ted n ovel fiber das Weltall give
, , ,

an appr oximate id ea of the tren d of his p oetry an d b u t , ,

for I taly this tren d w ould h ave b een followed with in creas
,

in g on e sid edn ess

-
Wi lhelm M eister sh oul n ot b e cited to
.

prove the c on trary ; for in the first place its b egin nin gs go , ,
"

back to Fran kfort an d sec on dly we do n ot kn ow wh at it

, , ,

was like in the earlier redaction Furthermore even in the .

,

later redaction the asc eticism from which Wilh elm suffers
,

for years is ch arac teristic of the first Weim ar p eriod There .

are prob ably man y who regret th at G oeth e did n ot k eep t o

t hose ethereal spiritual an d sup ersen su ous p ath s b u t the
, , ,

m aj ority will agree with u s in c on siderin g it a distin c t gain

t h at the p oet u n der I t alian in fluen c es was again m ade c ap a
b le of run n in g the gamut of the wh ol e hum an microc osm ,

from the m ost exalted heigh ts to the l owest dep th s an d of ,

sh owin g b ot h t he sp iritu al an d the sen su ou s in all p ossible

 “tale 4 11

p h a ses as
,
w ell as c omb in ed in b ea u t iful h ar m on y O n l y .

by thus represen tin g man kin d in its totality did he accom

p lish h is h igh c allin g of c ompr eh en d in g m an in e v ery fibr e
of his b ein g an d brin gin g him un d er the en n oblin g d isc iplin e

of p oetry esp ecially of his own p oetry

, .

Goethe has himself depicted in a very suggestive man n er

his ren un ciation of the d elic ate pall or of his Weimar Spirit
u ality an d his return t o the gl owin g richly c ol oured r eal ism ,

of his y out h u n d er the in flu en c es of sun n y I t aly In the .

thir teen th Komische E legi e Am or appr oach es him sayin g : ,

Jtuu
S bu 11111 Iafiige1 bieuft, 11111 fiub biefd m ue u (he f
t a lteu,

$18 11 bie$ a1beu, be1 (hlaug beine1 Gefiubuugeu biu ?

Oeufft bu uuu wiebe1 3u biIbeu o ?s1euub ? Oie65 d) uIe , ®1ied) en
Slieb nod) ofieu bat t o1 fd fl , offe u bieSaf uenid) i gu .

£8 111 but QIutifebod) neu, ba ieue(S i ludlid uu Iebten !

fiebe gliidlid) unb 10 IebebieQiorgeit 111 bi1 l
,

R eturnin g t o the warm realistic richly c oloured man , ,

n er of his y outh G oeth e at the sam e tim e r ose t o a greater

height H is style b ecame surer gran der an d clearer ; in

.
, ,

d eed he n ow f or t he first time b ec ame a mast er of wh at an

essay of his I t alian p eriod c alls st yl e This was du e
”
.

partly t o his ob servation an d study of the an tique an d ,

p artly to his own diligent eff orts to b ec ome an artist The .

first gen eral upliftin g in fluen ce he felt was the an tique :

The revolution which I foresaw an d which is n ow takin g ,

place within m e is the same th at has b een experien c ed by

,

ev ery art ist who aft er a l on g fait hful en deav our t o b e true ,

t o n ature has seen the relic s of the great spirit of an tiquity ;

his soul has welled up an d he has f el t him self in wardly
t ran sfigu red an d this has giv en him a c on sc iousn ess of
,

freer life high er existen ce ease an d grace

,
”
The study of
, , .

c h u m re idly h a t erved m e whit her a e go e t he fair figure

Sin e t o o s s ,
r n s,

W hit her t he c ol ur t he light filli g thy c a va f y re

o s, ,
n n s o o ?

Thi k t t h ou ag ai t cr eat e 0 f ie d ? The ch o l f t he Grecian

n
’
s n o , r n s o o s

Still r em ai p e it do r p a i g f year c a t cl e
ns O n, s o s ss n o s nno os

New wa i s, t h t he an t iqu e whil e t h e o h appy were livin g

n s oo ,
os s

H appy live t h ou an d o i t h ee byg

,
e ag e
s h all live
n on s s .
4 12 t he l ife of Goe the

works of art an d his own artistic eff orts brin g him furth er
, , , ,

t o the c on dition s up on which t he great effec ts of t he high est

creation s of art rest The artists of an tiquity an d the few
.
,

of lat er times who deserv e t o b e plac ed in the sam e class

with them stripp ed their subj ects of everythin g acciden tal

,

an d c apric iou s an d p or trayed t h eir essen c e so far as it is

, ,

p ossible for u s to represen t the essen c e of thin gs in visible ,

an d tan gible f orm s That is t o say they sough t ou t an d

.
,

p ortrayed the typical an d in this way rose from n aturalism

,

an d m an n erism to st yle From n ow on this is Goethe s ’

.

own high est aim The mere imitation of n ature even of

.
,

“
b eautiful n ature ( Batteu x s favourite recipe) he c asts ’
,

asid e an d h old s t o the t yp ic al

,
which in every case is ,

b eautiful an d at the same time great b ecause it is true , .

iad m
S bmuug be1 91111111 2

@ e1 iebbueu
3 d) giug aud) mot) ! auf biefee Opur ;
Oembbueu
lli ot t id)
E uad) unb uad) beu Oiuu ,

SUM ) 311 ue1guiigeu ;

QIIIeiu in bulb id) miiubig bin
(536 fi b 5 1 ied u11
bie C *
’
u é .

Ob servation of the m ost brillian t revelation s of art an d ,

practice in art fin ally developed to full m astery his in n ate

,

p ower of plastic word pain tin g As the plasticity of the

-
.

figures an d lan dscap es of his early wri tin gs surpasses all

previous achievemen ts in German literature he n ow m oun ts ,

on e step high er in this art All th at is n ecessary to con.

vin ce one of the truthfuln ess of this statemen t is to com

p are the figures an d lan d scapes in Werther with those in
H erman n u n d D orothea or t he d escription s in the Briefe au s
,

G Nat ur r pr duc
o, e e o e

H e b eau t y r

I y u t h t w a v rily my
’
n o e; s e us

A d du t y n

F ait hfully d e I reach d a t age on , e s

Th at ati fied m ; s s e

B t c arc ly am I c m
u s f age e o e o ,

The Gr cia g uid m e e ns e .

N OTE S

415
 t he ILife of Goe the
‘

4 13

an d m t amiable m a ( N e e Rei h 8 7 8 ii 6 5 7 G et he m t h er
os n u s c ,
1 ,
0
°
o
’
s o ,

A pril c r W lf cc rd c h l ud
“
7 79 D
1 1 ,
t 1 i a : a e wit h i
o a o o n o n s

abl e h abit w uld g a h hi t eet h a d cur e i

,
o a m t g dl e n f a his s n s n os o ss s on

Wh at a v lc a ic fi e f wr at h wa m ulderi g i G eth e b m ev e
o n r o s s o n n o
’
s oso ,
n

i hin ld age m ay b e ee fr m t he f ll wi g t e tim

s o ,
y f t he y u ger s n o o o n s on o o n

A ft er Schill er deat h I had a ce e wit h G et h e which I h all

“ ’
V oss : s s n o s

n ev er f r g et o H e had l ear ed t hr ugh R iem er t h at my f at h er n o

w a g i g t H eid elb erg

s o n H e b eg a t
o p eak wit h uch vi le ce t h at I n o s s o n

wa p eechl e fr m frigh t The l f Sch ill er he aid am g th r ‘ ’

s S ss o . o ss o ,
s on o e

t hi g a d t h i wit h a v ic e f t hu d er I had t e dur e; f it wa

‘
n s, n s o o n ,
o n or s

br ught up m e by fat e; b t the re po ibilit y f t he r em v al t

o on u s ns or o o

H eid elb erg c a t b e l aid t t he ch ar g e f f at e; it i t he w rk f m a

nno o o s o o n

( B i efer H ei i h V
non hr g Ab V ii
nr c H e b eg a t os s , s v on r . oss , .
,
“
n o

t rm a d cur e ab ut L u t h er accur ed im agi i g f t he d ev il i

’
s o n s o ( H e s s n n o nr .

V oss to Solger ,
F eb 24 ,
1 80 4 , A rch f Li teratu rg xi The
n umber f uch evid e ce might ea ily b e i cr ea ed Th at uch cc a
o s n s s n s s o

i
s ou al ut bur t f wr at h br ug ht r elief fr m di tr e t h at wa t ill
o s s o o o s ss s s

deep er eat ed i h w by hi w rd t K ebel i D e 7 7 4 ( C7 p

s s s o n s o s o n n c 1
°

4 Fi ally [ the way fr m E rfurt t G t h a] I ag ai w rked t

“
n on o o o n o ou

my f av urit e c e e i Wi lhelm M ei te I my f a cy I we t ver all t he

o s n n s r n n n o

d et ail a d at l a t I b ega t weep bit t erly t h at it wa well I arriv ed

s, n s n o so s

i G tha
n o t im e (B Ju e 5
on 7 8 ) Th i
”
m r i g w h
r il e dr iv i g n ,
1 0
“
s o n n n

o ver fr m Ce t h alf a l eep a d h alf awake I had the g d f rt u e t

o n o, s n ,
oo o n o

i v e t a d efi it e pl t f
n n I phi ge i a f D lph
n Th ere i t b e a fift h
o or n e u e os s o

a t a d a r ec g it i
c n c e e uch a very few a b e f u d t equal I
o n on s n ,
s s c n o n o

my elf wept v er it like a child ( O t 8 7 8 6 Tb i 3 4 )

s o
”
c 1 ,
1 0

5 Th i a l expl ai t hesr em a rk ablsoe jud g m e t f h im expr

ns e e d i n o ss n

1 8
7 7 by hi cl v er erv a t a sd ecr t ary
e P h i li pp S isd e l H i n j ur ey n s e ,
e :
“
s o n

t oR me w ill i all pr b abilit y m ark a

o n w ep ch i hi life o I t eem ne o n s s s

t m e a if he w er e
o s e f th e p e pl e w h m f at e d id on t wi h t bri g up
o os o o no s o n

i a h th u e
n o Perh ap it w a
o s ec e ary f
. hi ch ar ac t er a d hi t al e t
s s n ss or s n s n s

t m at ur e l wly i rder t h at he might b e made h appy ( B e d F D H ”

o SO s o n o r

N F ii 4 4 9 ) v I t wa wit h t hi i mi d t h at H erd er w a d t h e c all ed

s s n n no n n

him a b ig child The f ll wi g ch ar act eri tic c fe i i ly e f

“
o o n s on ss on s on on o

ma y Thu with my t h u a d t h ught I am agai r educ ed t a child

n : s o s n o s n o ,

u acqu ai t ed wit h the pre e t i the d ark a t my elf (B O t

n n s n ,
n s o s
”
r c . 10 ,

1
780)
6 Goet h e
him elf ft e made e f t he w rd V at erla d duri g s o n us o o n n

t he fir t h alf f hi lif e Cf t he l et t er
s o f J uly 6 77 6
s ; D e 7 8 ( B v s o 1 ,
1 c 1 1 r

A pril du f h rl d “
2 46 , 7 8 ; O t 8 7 8 4 C f10, t he t 1f t h e2 a t e a c 2 ,
1 s o n

p 3 7 O t he t h er h a d he u e t he w rd V at er t adt i t he l ett er
0 . n o n s s o
“
s n s

o f A g 8 a d Sept
u 1
79 ( x n et W e b e rv e t h at
10 t h e
,
ch a1 g e 2 c o s n

o f w rd occur aft er t he I t alia j ur ey

o s s I t i evid e t t h at wh il e he n o n s n

wa i I t aly t he wh l e f Germ a y b ec am e hi
s n V at erl a do by the ide
o n s
“
n ,
S

o f which Fr a kf r t c uld l g er b e a yt hi g m r e t h a hi Vat er

n o o no on n n o n s
“

St adt

7 W S t ri ck er G e the
. d F a k f t a M p , f ay
o A b ut un r n ur . 1 1 ,
s s: o

Chri t ia i h ab it a t i h u T umb r J “
s 3 ne h
n e e f new s n 000 o s s n o s

hardly m r e t h a a t e t h f t he Chri t ia p pul at i

o n B u ch i g ( N e e
n o s n o on s n u
 motes 4 19

E rdbeschrei bu ng 6 A u , .
fl giv e s, f or the year 1 8
77 , C hri tia s ns an d
6 600 J ew s

8 bilit y the d ct r ari t ocr atic mercha t a d c apit ali t

The no ,
o o s, s n s, n s s

o ccupied t he fir t t wo b e ch e i t he c u cil ( 8 eat ) i e privil eged

s n s n o n 2 s s ,
n n

guild the t hird b e ch ( 4 ) Cf A A v Le e D e wei tbe iihmten

s n 1 rsn r, r r

f rei en R eichs Wahl u nd H an delss tadt C hron i ka i 2 57 .

9 h a v e m e It i ed ly L ei p i c a n a u ivone r it y a t w onh i ch G et h e s s n s o
’
s

f at h er t udied alt h ug h t h er e i d cume t ary e id e ce t h at he w a fir t

s ,
o s o n v n s s

m at ricul at ed a a t ude t at t he U iver it y f Gie e f a year B t it

s s n n s o ss n or u

s eem t h at t hi y ear wa l
s t by ill e
s m e th er c au e A pp ar e t ly
s os n ss or so o s n

he ev er m e ti
n ed hi h av i g at t e d ed t he U iv er it y of Gie e
n on s n t h er n n s ss n ,
o

wi e hi s w uld ot h av e m e t io ed Leip ic
s son o n ly i D W ( xxvi n n s on n . .
,

B t hi frie d al
u s c mplet ely ig or e Gie e e g J C Sch eid er in
n s so o n ss n , n ,

c g rat ul ati g him

on bt ai i g the d ct r degr ee ( Be d F D H N F
n on o n n o o
’
s r ,

x 7 ) Likewi e Se k e b e g i hi epi t le f c grat ul ati att ach ed

2 s nc n r ,
n s s o on on

t t he di er t at i
o f t he eld er G et h e p eak
ss on o ly ca u ally f Lip iae et o ,
S s on s o s

alibi al t h ugh t he r ec eivi g f t he d egr ee i Gie e a d hi ow fi e

”
,
o n o n ss n n s n v

year f t udy at t h at u iver it y ( K iegk Se ke be g p 5 ) w uld have

s o s n s r ,
nc n r ,
1 o

b ee cc a i e ugh f him t m ake p ecial me ti f Gie e Th at

n o s on no or o S n on o ss n

C u cill r G et h e t udied i
o n o o Leip ic f f ur year ha b ee d efi it ely
s n s or o s s n n

e t abli h ed by t he public ati n f Sch eid er c grat ul atio W h eth er ’

s s o o n s on ns

on hi j ur ey i add it i
s o n t I t aly a d Fr a c e he al
s, n vi it ed H ll a d
on o n n ,
so s o n ,

a i u u ally t at ed i v ery d ub t ful

s s s s H e had, s m e i t e ti f d i g o o so n n on o o n s ,

b t a hi
u s ly me ti It aly a d Fr a ce t hi i t e ti d e t
s son on n on s n n s n n on o s no

s eem t h ave b ee c arried t O hi r et ur fr m Fra c e hi t hir t f

o n ou n s n o n s s or

k wl ed g e pr mp t ed him t
no t p i
o Str a burg a d h ear me l ect ure
o s o n s n so s

at t he u iv er it y n H e m at r ic l at ed
s . t he st h f J a 7 4 a uF it on 2 o n 1 1 ,
s ro z

heim ha h w (St a b P t J u e 3 8 9 5 ) Thi fact h elp t ex

s S o n r ss os ,
n 2 ,
1 s s o

pl ai why he ch e St r a burg a t he ec d u iver it y f W lfg a g

n os s s s on n s or o n .

A cc rdi g t
10 H eyd e o ( M i t
nte i l g e d e
o V e ei n f G e nek nd un n s r s s u

A lte t m k i F a kf t a M i 8 6 ) G et h e fat h er w uld h av e b een

’
r u s . n r n ur 1 o s o

exclud ed fr m t he c unc il by t he f ac t t h at hi
o o t ep br t h er H erm J ac ob s s -
o ,

G et h e had b ee a m emb er f t h at b ody i c e t he 8 t h of May 7 4 7

o ,
n o Fo s n ,
1 r

t he imp er ial r e lut i f N so 7 5 fix e d a

on a qu
o a li fic a t
ovi f a 22, 1 2 ,
s on o

c a did at e f electi
n t h at n eit h er hi f at h er
or on : o br t h er eph ew s ,
s n, o ,
n ,

f ath er i —law -
i law
n ,
e wife br t h er
son - n - o ,
i t er
con soc r, hu b a d ’
s o ,
n r s s
’
s s n

b e alr eady i t he c u cil n B t t h er e i a qu e tio n wh et h er t he aut h r u s s on , o

itie d ids t p t a lib er al i t erpr et at i

no u t hi t ipul at i n a d u d er on on s s on n n

c ert ai circum t a ce admit a t ep br th er F m a y arbit r ary i t er

n s n s s -
o or n n

p e
r t at i of t he l
on sa w w er e cu t m a ry i t he fr e e imp e r ia l c i t y Ts o b e n o

s ure thi d e t ettle the que ti a t wheth er

,
s o s no s ot t he m ay s on s o or n son

h ave imput ed a f al e m tive t o hi fat h er We m ay a ume h wever s o s ss ,

o ,

t h at G et h e did ot m ak e hi
o t at em e t arb it r a i ly b t b a ed t h em n
n s s n s r ,
u s o

wh at he w a t ld i t he f amily circl e s o I na y c a e t h ey a e i t ructiv e n n s r ns

i t h at t h ey t hr w li ght up
n t he p i io w hich t he f amily h eld f Cou
o on o n n o n

c ill G et h e a d hi m arriage
or o n s .

1 1 Th ere had alway bee a g d m a y thin g i fav ur f the s n oo n s n o o

credibilit y f Bet ti a t rie t ld i t he w rd f G eth e m t h er b t

o n
’
s s o s o n o s o o
’
s o ,
u

t he e t abli hm e t of t he f ac t t h at G et h e i t e ded t o i ert t h em i D W

s s n o n n ns n .
 4 20 t he l ife of Goe the
to i llu tr ate hi m ther ch ar act eri tic ha t amp ed t h em a alt get h er
s s o
’
s s s s s s o

t ru t w r t hy C 1 W xxix
“
s o 3 2 1

B wer H i t y f th P pe t he w rk f a E g li h J e uit wh
’
1 2 o s s or o e o s, o o n n s s o

had b ee c ver t ed t the ev a gelic al fait h w a t r a l at ed i t Germa

n on o n ,
s ns n o n

a d publi h ed i
n el ev e s quar t v lume f which f ur had app ear ed i
n n o o s, o o n

1
75 6 t he fif,
t h i 7 6 E v e if t h e nf a t h 1e r m a d 2e t h e m t udy t hr un g h s o

on ly t he fir t f ur v lume everth ele t hat wa m aki g

s o o s, light
n ss s n no s

d ema d up t he pright ly wife a d childre

n on s n n

3 W1 h a t w a t h e c o l ur f G e t h e s e y e I t h e a b v e
o qu t at i
o o
’
s s? n o o on

Bett i a wh k ew him v ery w ell m ak e hi m t h er p eak f hi bl ack

n ,
o n ,
s s o S o s

ey e ; Wiel a d ( M e k
s
77 6n i al g iv e h i
r u r, 1m bl a ck e y e ; li k e
,
w i e so s s s

Sup eri t e d e t f Mi e Tr ebr a ( Gj ix

n n n o Gl eim ( F alk G ethe a
n s ,
o us

n ahe em pe b li he U mga g
r rs n A fl p c n La d lt ( Gj x iii n 2 u n o ,

a d ma y
n t h er n A d t hi ha b ec m e alm t t he u iv er al pi i
o s n s s o os n s o n on

B t a a m at t er f f ac t t h ey wer e br w
u s o a i h w t ly by me o n ,
s s S o n , no on so

g d b erver b t ab ve all by the il p ai ti g H wev er hi pupil

oo o s s, u o o n n s o ,
s s

wer e f uch ex t r a rdi ary i e ( t he phy ici t

o s o Mn h w ch ar ac t eri ed
S z s s v on unc o s

t h em a alm t wit h ut p ar all el G fl

“
s os ] V ie h ff o eth e L e b 4 A —c‘ o ,
o s en , . u

i a d uch b eami g pl e d ur t h at t he
n s arr w br w
n s iri w a l t n o n o o n s s os

S ig ht f a d t he impr e i
o ,
n w a l eft up t he b erv er t h at hi ey e wer e
ss on s on O s s s

bl ack I uch c a e we a e accu t med t p eak f bl ack eye eve

n s s s r s o o S o s, n

t h ugh a bl ack iri d e

o t ex i t I h av e f ll wed t hi well f u d ed
s o s no s o o s -
o n

u age s

I a pict ur e acc mp a yi g t he ch apt er G d Pr vid e c e ’

4 1 n o n n on o s o n

i t he O bi P i t
n rG et h e c uld ee a m a wh i addr e ed by a a gel
s c us o o s n o s ss n n

on t he l eft wh il e t he r igh t t he d evil eek t t hr w a

,
on e ar u d hi s s o o n oo s o n s

ne ck A litt l f art h er t t h ide t a d a m ag icia i t he c e t r e f a

e o e s s n s n n n o

c ircl e A t h ar t i t pr b ably had F au t i mi d y u g G et h e m ay al

S e s o s n n ,
o n o so

h ave t h ug ht f t he p pul ar m agici a

o o o n

5 G1 t t fr i e d C h i
o l w e r e publ i h
’
s e d by H u t e
ron c esr i F r a kf rt i a s n n n o n

fi ft h ed it i r evi ed d w t the year 7 5 The t hree f li v lume

on , s o n o 1 0 o o o s

w er e illu t r at ed wit h a l arge umb er f et chi g

s G et h e wh wa l at er n o n s o ,
o s

a c ll ab r at r L av at er P hy i g mi he F agme te m ay h av e r ead i
’
o o o on s s o no sc r n , n

t he i tr duc ti G t t fried w rk E v eryb dy d e ir e t k

“
w h w
’
n o t on o o s o : o s s o no o

t he figur e a d f ac e f t he ch ar act er f wh m he r ead m ay h av e app ear ed

n o o o s ,

e p ecially a t h
s e exp er ie c ed i
s phy i g my affirm t h at at ure ha
os n n s o no n s

mad e m a ife t the i ward i cli ati

n s f t he h ear t t vir t u e
n n vice by n on s o o or

mea f c ert ai li eame t a d expre i

ns o n n f t he c ou t e a c e
n s n ss on s o n n n

6 1 We w p e a exc ell e t m no g r a
oss ssph t h e r yna l li eu t e a t n on o on o n n

by D Marti Schub art (F a t i de Thea C mte de Th a Mu ich

r n r n o s s, o or nc, n ,

which give ew ev id e c e f t he t r e g t h f G et h e mem ry a d

’
s n n o s n o o s o n

o f t he cl ear e f t he impr e i n wh ich he f rmed ev e wh e a b y

ss o ss on s o ,
n n o .

Schub art ha t ly m t c ar efully i ve tig at ed the p er al rel ati

s no on os n s son on s

f t he r y al lieut e a t— e p ecially dur i g t he Sev e Year W a b t he

— ’
o o n n s n n s r u

ha d i c v er ed i
s s o uth er Fr a c e the very pict ure p ai t ed f him A
n so n n s n or

s mall umb er f t h em a e t ill i Gra e t he m t f t hem i the Ca t le

n o r s n ss , os o n s

o f M ua o ear Gr a e i t he p
n n e i f t he gr a d eph ew f t he r y al
ss ,
n oss ss on o n -
n o o

l ieut e a t C u t Sart ux wh er e H err

n n ,
o n L ep er o wi g t a p eculiar
,
v on o ,
o n o

d im e f vi i
n ss o had ught f t hem i vai i 8 7 4 Schub art pur
s on , so or n n n 1
4 2 2 ( the l ife of (Boethe
in cluded ly i t he Weimar editio
on n n ( v ol xxxvii we wi ll print t h em
h ere The origi al a e i t he G u n s r n Sch Archiv :

E rhab n er Grosspapa! u J ahr er ch ei t E in n e es s n ,

Drum mu ich m ei e Pfiicht ss d Schuld igk eit e t ri ch t e n un n n,

D ie E hrfurcht h ei t mich hier a rei em H er e dich t ess us n z n n

So s chlecht e ab er i t o g t i t e gemei t s s ,
s u s s n

G t t d e die Zeit er eut e e e auch I h Gluck

o ,
r n ,
rn u r

U d kr o e Sie d ie J ahr m it t et em W hle g eh ;

n n s s o r n

I h W hl ei m u e l a g
r o fe t wie Ced er teh e
s n ss n so s n s n,

Ih T r begleit e t et ei gu tige Ge chick ;

un s s n ns s s

I h H au
r ei wie b i h er d e Seg e
s s Samm elpl at
,
s ,
s ns z

U d l a e Sie
n ch p at M o i e R uder f uhre
ss no s n n ns n,

Ge u dh eit m u e Sie b i a I h E d e ier e

s n ss s n r n z n ,

D e n die e i t gewi d e alle g o t e Sch at

n s s ss r r r ss z .

II

E rhab n e Grossm am a! D es J ahre er ter Tag s s

r c
E we kt in mei er Bru t ei a tli he E m pfin de n s n z r c s n

U d h ei t mich eb e f all Si e j et o a ubi d e

n ss n s z nz n n

Mit V er e d ie viell eich t kei K e er l e e m ag ;

s n, n nn s n

I d e e h or e Sie d ie chl ech t e Z eil e a

n ss n n s n n n ,

I d em ie wie mei W u ch a
n s ,
wahrer Lieb e flie n ns ,
us ssen .

D e Sege m u e ich h eut f b er Sie ergie e

r n ss s i ss n ,

Der H o h t e chut e Sie wie e bi h er get a

c s s z , r s n,

E w lle I h e
r ot et w a Sie ich W u ch e
n n s g eb e s, s s ns n ,
n ,

U d l a e Sie
n ch ft ei eue J ahr erleb e
ss no o n n s n .

D ie i d d ie E r t li g e die Sie a he t empf a g e

s s n s n ,
n u n n,

Die F ed er wird hi f r t mehr F ertigkeit erl a ge n o n n

23 The Fr an kfort c it y libr ary purch a ed t he b k f ex erci e fr m s oo o s s o

an u k n w ma i Ja
no n 846 n S o aft erward Wei m a
n n 1 publi h ed o n s nn s

p ar t o
s f it I t c t ai a c ll ec t ion f c rr e
nsc t ed c op i e fr o m J a 757 on o o s o n 1 ,

to J a n 759 1 O t h e t p c v e r i w
n r it t e a pp a roe t ly i Go et h e w s n ,
n n o s o n

ha d Lab e j e i le
n ,
or s By t ur i g v er t he leav e
uv n s f t he b k e g et n n o s o oo on s

a cl ear i d ea f h w t h r ughly all i t ruc ti

o o o o i Lut h er a Fr a kf r t wa ns on n n n o s

p ermeat ed wit h t he Bible a d r eligi Am g the Bibl e v er e ch e

n on on s s os n

f G et h e pr actic e i p e m a hi p i t he f ll wi g t i clud ed i
’
or o s n n ns s o o n ,
no n n

W ei ma s public ati
nn s
’
Wh e I w a a child I p ake a a ch ild I fel t
on : n s ,
s s ,

a a child I t h u g h t a a ch ild
s ,
o w t h at I am b ec m e a m a I h av e p t
s : no o n, u

away ch ildi h t h i g Fs w we ee i a mirr r d arkly ; b t t h en

n s or n o s n o ,
u

f ace t f ac e o w I k w i p ar t ; b t t h e I h all k w ev e a al
: no no n I u n s no n s so

h ave b ee k w n O e v er ed i G et h e will b e r emi d ed f m a y

no n n s n o n o n

t hi g f G et h e t at em e t t K e t er t h at he alway expre e
’
n e g
s, o o s s n o s n s ss s

him elf figur atively et ( ; ab ve p 5 8 ) V eit V ale ti i t he

s ,
c c
c
o ,
1 n n n

3 8 t h v o lum e f t he W eim ar o e d it i ( p if ) h a e t a bl i h ed m r e on 200 s s s o

accur at ely t he rd er f t he p iec e w hich w er e b u d t g et h er wr

o o gly s, o n o on .

2 4 M ax H errm a (j a h m a h t f e t e
nn P l d e w e i le rp 3 )
6 r s s u un rs rrt ,
 motes 4 23

c id er t h e e ver e t he pr pert y f me e el e b ec au e G et h e p t
on s s s s s o o so on s ,
s o u

t h em i qu t ati m ark I c id er t h em a qu t atio from him elf

n o on s on s o n s ,

t wh ich t he e ified p t crip t E hat d e A u t r we chreibt S “

o v rs eos s ,
s r o ,
nn r s , o

etw a Gewi e s d a ih t r eib t ss s ,et f rm a fi e r gui h m argi al t e

s n , c o s n ,
o s ,
n no ,

wh er ea c id er ed a a addit i
s, on s t a qu ot at i fr m ome e el e it
s n on o on o s on s ,

s urely i a H errma ay s, s mewh at mea i gle nn s s, so n n ss

5 2 L eip ic w a maller th a Fr a kf rt
s t l arger by 3
s s i n n o ,
-
no 000 n

h abit a t a L epe n s, te t H
s x xi
o 3 ay H e d ub tl e
’
r s no b a ed hi o 0 s s . o ss s s

st at em e t t he G thai he H fkale de
n on w ih ch — p erh ap
o ly by a
sc o n r, s on n

o ver ight i pr f readi g give the p pul ati up t t he e d f the

s n oo -
n — s o on o n o

s ev e t ie a n sb t f s 7 8 t he c rr e c t ed umb er uf ( 7 5
or 1 8 2 o n o 1 ,

et c L e ha di B e h ei b g de Stadt L eip ig ( Leip ig

on r , sc r un r z z ,

a r eliabl e aut h rit y e t im at e t he p pul at i o f , 7 6 3s at 5 ; a cc rd s o on or 1 2 o

i g t
n t he figur e wh ich R eich ard edit r
o s f t he G thai he K ale de ,
o o o sc n r,

receiv ed t hi i app ar e t ly till t high D irect r f t he Archive

,
s s n s oo o o s

W tm a us ki dly i f rm m e t h at t h ere a e r eal ce u rep rt f

nn n n o s r no ns s o s o

t h at tim e The fi g ur e a e all arriv ed at i dir ec t ly by m ea s r f c alcul a n ,

ns o

ti on s b a ed t he s umber f birt h d eat h a d t h er well k w

on n o s, s, n o -
no n

f act r o s

6 2 Th e e w rd a e t ak e fr m a r eview in t he F a kf te Gel
s o s r n o r n ur r

A nz F eb 77 M erck cl aim ed t he r eview a hi ow ( M e kb i efe

21 ,
1 2 s s n rc r ,

iii ,
b t t h er e a b e u d ubt t h at t h e e w rd were i ert ed by
c n no o s o s ns

G et h e who ev e i clud ed t he w h l e r ev iew am g hi w rk

o , n n o on s o s .

7 2T h e ly exc ep t i w aon D m e i c F et i f w h m G e
on t h e wa s o n o , o o o s

v ery f d b ec au e f hi r eali t ic p rt r ay al f biblic al c e e H i ad

on s o s s o o s n s s

m i at i r f t h i r el at iv ely u imp r t a t ar t i t br u g h t up
on or s him t he n o n s o on

ridicul e f H erder i St r a bur g

o n s

8 2 W h at i b eaut y ? I t i t lig ht
“
s i it d ark e Twilig ht s no ,
n or s n ss

B r i 9 B e a
1 u t y a
0pp ear t
“
a a dr e am I t i a br ill i a t w i m s o us s s n ,
s

mi g h ad w pict ur e wh e ut li e defi iti a c at ch B i 3 8

n s o -
,
os o n s no n on c n r 2 .

“
The a cie t n aid G et h e ab ut a y ear aft er hi Leip ic
n s,
”
s o j ur i hi o s s so o n, n s

Tage heite ( E pheme ide p

s n hu ed t much t he ugly a t he
r s, s nn no so s

fal e s Thi t m e i a t h er pr f t h at t he excelle c e f t he a cie t

“
s o s no oo n o n n s

i t be
s o ught el ewh ere t h a i t h eir p r tr ay al f beaut y F furt h er
so s n n o o or

m at e ial o hi critical t a d ard a pp ed t La k

r n s ee B
s ni 99 s, s o os o o oon , s r , .
,
1 ,

205

29 pr b ably a m ere accid e t t h at G et h e did t me tio Die

I t is o n o no n n

H am b gi he D amat gi e am
ur sc g t he w rk th at i flu e ced him i hi
r ur on o s n n n s

Leip ic p eri d
s F i t w diff er e t pr elimi ary ut li e f
o or nt h at p ar t of
o n n o n s or

D W ( W xxvi 3 5 6 xxvii 3 8 7 ) it i m e ti ed A ,
t h er circum t a c e .
,
s n on no s n

w uld eem t p i t t hi h avi g t udied it i Leip ic

o s o o n H e r ead a t a la
o s n s n s r ns

ti f Ari t t l e P eti wit h ut g ai i g a y u d er t a di g f t he m ea

’
on o s o s o cs , o n n n n s n n o n

i g f t he w rk h wev er ( B
n o xiio ,
The r eadi g a h ardly h av e
o r .
,
n c n

b ee pr mpt ed by a yt hi g el e t h a by Die H amb gi he D amat gie

n o n n s n ur sc r ur .

3 Th0 at D i e L a e d e V e li ebt e h ad r ig i a t ed i Fr a
un kf r t a d s r n o n n n o n

w a c all ed A mi e i t he fir t v er i
s ha b ee qu e t i
n n ed by F R et t ek e s s on s n s on o n

V
( j h ii
sc ri 8 4 fi b t w it
. h u
, t 1 u ffi c ie t g r u d a it ee mu t m e o s n o n s, s s s o .

W h e i the let t er f M ay 5 7 6 7 G et h e p eak f A mi e a d f D ie

n n o 1 ,
1 ,
o S s o n n o

La e de Ve li ebte
un wit h out p i t i g
s r t a y c n, ec t i n b et wee t h em o n n ou n on n o n ,
4 24 ( the l if e of G oe the
t hi i ch ar act eri tic of t he ecrecy aff ect ed by all y u g aut h r e pe i
s s s s o n o s, s c

ally by y u g G et h e o B t b t h i t h i l et t er a d i t he
n o u e f O t
,
o th n s n n on o c 1 2 ,

he ff er t he La
o et
s r epl ace A mi e Thi w uld cer t ai ly lead e t
un o n s o n on o

c clud e r at h er t h at it wa a impr v ed ver i

on f it t h a t h at it w a
s n o s on o n s

so met hi g e t ir ely diff er e t Furt h er evid e ce i t he imil arit y f the

n n n n s s o

n am e f t he h er i e a d t he f ac t t h at G et h e t at e v ery d efi it ely t h at
s o o n s, n o s s n

D i e L a e de Ve li ebte i it fir t v er i
un s r rigi at ed i t he pri g f 7 6 5
n n s s s on o n n s n o 1

( H xxv ii i 7 3) Th i m a k e it r2at h er c e r t a i t h at st h e pl a y r ig i s a t e d i n o n n

Fr a kf rt b t I t hi k it al e t abli h e t he ide tit y wit h A mi e The

n o ,
u n so s s s n n

fir t p erf rma ce f t he pl ay t k place t he ducal amat eur t ag e i

s o n o oo on s n

E t t e b g M ay
r ur 7 79 ,
A i a ll h i 20 w ,
dr
1 am a w h i ch h e h eslp ne d t s o n s o

s t age G et h e pl ay ed t he p ar t i
,
o w hich he had c pied h im elf ( E id n ) o s r on

The fir t public perf rm a c e wa i W eim ar i M arch

s o n 8 5 ; t he fir t s n ,
n ,
1 0 s

pri t ed editi i 8 6 O ly e m a u cript the e pr ep ar ed f t he

n on n 1 0 n on n s ,
on or

p erf rma ce f 8 5 i till i exi t e ce I t i i t he G u S h Arch It

o n o 1 0 ,
s s n s n s n c

differ fr m t he fir t pri t ed t ext ly i u e e tial mat t er

s o s n on n n ss n s

3 W it1h p e t i i t e c e a ry
no t m a koe a h a rp e
s r d i t i nc t i b e
ss o s s n on

t wee rigi fir t a d l a t writt e v er i t h a i t he c a e f G et h e

n o n, s ,
n s n s on s n n s o o

H e w a abl e t c arry a t hi g ab u t i hi mi d f
s o year wit h ut writi g
n o n s n or s o n

it d w o a d ag ai n ,
t h er e w a a l
n ,
g t r et ch bet w ee the fir t a d l a t
n, s on s n s n s

writ t e v er i n f hi w rk T b e ur e t he t w
s on s o s lde t m a u crip t f
o s o s ,
o o s n s s o

D i e M i t h ldi ge g b ack t t he y ear 7 6 9 a d

sc u n o me f t he allu i o 1 ,
n so o s on s

w uld
o t h av e b ee p
no ibl e b ef r e t h at y ear n B tt co ss clude fr m thi o u o on o s,

a W ei e f el ( G ethe i m St
s ss n m s d D a g pp
o 7 a d 4 4 8 )ru d e t h
un a t r n ,
10 n o s,

t he pl ay d id t rig i at e t ill t h e no t h at i t
o ay t h at it d id rigi at e in
n n ,
s o s , o n

F r a kf rt i ab lut ely u ju t ifi abl e i

n o ,
s so iew f t he r ep eat ed a d d efi it e
n s ,
n V o n n

t e t ims y f G t h w w rd ( W xx ii 3 6 xxvi 3 5 6 ; xxvii

on o oe
’
e s o n o s v 1 1 ,
2 1
°

.
,

8
3 7 395 ,; xxxv 4 ; L t t r t R chl it J uly 7 8
e 7 Dei M o i t h ld
o i g z ,
2 ,
1 0 : e sc u en ,

w hich I w r t e i L ip ic alm t f rt y y earo n e s w hich h av e r ec e t lyos o s n

f u d a t ew rt hy c rr b r ati i A ette The m a u cript f t he year

o n no o o o o on n nn n s so

1 6
7 9 a e t h i g
r b t l a
no t e r r e d ac t i n T h eu ld er m a u cr i p t i w h i ch t h
on s e o n s ,
n

fir t a t i l acki g pr b ably we it h rt er v er i t t he mer ely a id e

s c s n ,
o o s s s o s on o cc n

t al c ircum t a c e t h at smeb dy a ked G et h e f a c py f t he pl ay whil e

n so o s o or o o

he w a bu y r ec a t i g t he exp it i
s s a d t he p oet b ei g di at i fi ed w it h
s n os on ,
n ,
n ss s

t he ld v er i
o a d t h av i g fi i h ed wit h t he ew
s on n no e a d b ei g at t he
n n s n on n n

s am e t im e u d e ir u f putt i g i t n s t r a ge h a d
o s o met hi g t h at he n n o s n n s so n

him elf had rej ect ed imply t t t he fir t a t Th at t he piece which

s ,
s cu ou s c

he br ugh t wit h him fr m Leip ic alr eady had a exp it i

o o t he p et s n os on o

t ell expr e ly wh e he ay t h at he r ewr t e t he exp

s us ss n it is i F ra k
s o os on n n

f rt Furt h erm re it i t ea y t ee h w y u g G et h e h uld h ave

o o s no s o s o o n o s o

hit up t he id ea f ru hi g r ig h t i t t he middl e f t h i g a d m aki g

on o s n n o o n s n n

t he it u at i
s difficult f r ead er a d h ear er t u d er t a d a w uld b e
on so or n o n s n ,
s o

t he c a e if t he fir t a t wer e l eft
s t Of t he m a u crip t
s c f t he year ou n s s o

1
7 6 9 t he h r t e ed
,
ei
s w ed by a priv at e i dividu al i D r e d e t he
o n on s o n n n s n ,

c mpl et e e at e time i t he p e i f Friederike Bri i i t he

o on ,
on n o ss s s on o on ,
s n

libr ary f t he U iv er it y f Leip ic Be id e t h e e t h er e a e tw t h er

o n s o s s s r o o

ma u cript rigi ally agr eei g i all p articul ar pr b ably writ t e i t he

n s s, o n n n s, o n n

year 7 8 3 i t he G u S h Arch O e f t h em G et h e revi ed f t he

1 ,
n c n o o s or

pri t ed t ex t f 7 8 7 a d er a ed fr m it m r e t h a fr m t he t h er t h e
n o 1 ,
n s o o n o o os
 4 2 6 t he l if e of G oe the
are, as I t hi k c ti u ati n f a epi t l ary
,
on nvel b egu i Leip ic on s o n s o no n n s .

G et h e ay t h at he b a ed hi c mp it i writ t e f Geller t Pr ak ’
o s s s s o os on s n or s

t ik m u leide ch aft lich e Gege t a de which mu t m ea l ve

on
“
ns ns n ,
”
s n o

aff air N w t he t w l et t er u qu e t i ably d eal wit h hi a d H r

’
s . o o s n s on s n o n s

L eip ic liai s a d mu t acc rdi gly h av e

son s , n me c ec ti wit h the
s ,
o n ,
so on n on

c mp iti h a ded i t Gellert Aft er the fir t l ab ur f a att empt

o os on s n n o . s o s o n

t writ e t he c
o t i u at i i St r a burg hi i t er e t i t he c mpl et i
on n on n f t he s s n s n o on o

no v el mu t f ece it y h ave fl agged p ar t ly b ec au e f hi ch a ge f t a t e

s o n ss ,
s o s n o s ,

a d p ar t ly b ec au e f t he pr i gi g up f hi
n s o ew l v e p a i s f Frieder
n n o s n o ss on or

i ke Nev er t h el e he pr e erv ed a c er t ai f d e f ss t he fr agm e t a d

s n on n ss or n n

g av e it t L a v a t
o e r t r ea d i July 7 7 4 ( G jo xx 6 8 ) L a v a nt er c all t h e ,
1 2 s

c mp iti a Auf at ; A ia ea Wetty The d e ig ati A uf at

o os on n s z
”
r nn n s n on s z

s upp rt the iew t h at the epi t l ary vel had bee b egu a a m
o s V s o no n n s co

p ti f Gellert Pr aktikum Lav at er i c alli g it a Auf at

o s1 on or
’
s n n n
“
s z

ha c er t ai ly pr e erv ed t he t it l e a it app ear ed i G et h e c py b k ’

s n s s n o s o -
oo .

35 R e i ch W xxv i i 99 ; ,t e u e r xxv ii 3 8 ; ch o . xxv

,
ii
2
9 (9 , .
,
2 s n, .
,
22

a d n 3 ; h e it
2 e r fruch
0 t b a r fr o hl i ch xxv ii , 3 4 ; h e rrl i ch fruch t b a r
, , .
, 0 , ,

xxvii 3 3 ; h errlich xxvii 3 4 ; xxviii 3 7 9 8 4 ; p aradie i ch xxvii

0 ,
2 0, ,
s s ,

3 72 ; xxv iii 4 5 ; e u e. P
,
a r ad ie xxv ii n 3 s s, .
,
2 0 .

3 6 G e e ll ch af t dse ch o e s W i e ch af t e K r s h e d ff e ni a n ss n s n oc n or r, n n

ar ticl e ( P j a h b
r . lxv i 5 5 4 fi a r d lxv ii 3 6 f f .w it
, h t h e p ir i t f n ,
1 s o

w hich I am v ery much i ymp at hy ha que ti ed Sal m a ’

n s a d ,
s s on z nn s n

G et h e m emb er hip i t he ciet y i d eed t he very exi t e ce f t he

’
o s s n so ,
n s n o

so ciet y mai t ai i g t h at it wa id e tic al wit h t he S ciét é d e Phil ph ie

,
n n n s n o oso

et d e Bell e Let t r e s- f u ded i 7 6 7 Thi a erti i v ery difficult t

s, o n n 1 s ss on s o

s upp r t The S ciét é ch a ged it ame t A c ad émie i 7 6 8 at t he ame

o o n s n o n 1 ,
s

t im e a um i g a ch ar ac t r t
ss n c rre p d t t he ch a g e f am by e o o s on o n o n e,

dividi g it elf i t f ur cl a
n s It
n otra ac t i o w er c duct d i sses s ns on s e on e n

F r e ch ( F r it
n L b Bl ig
z ,
p 8 f ) C eque t ly t he G ll ch aft
e en ess s, on s n ese s

de r sch e Wi e ch aft a eit h er i ame

on n ss n s i ch ar ac t er b e
en c n n n n n or n con

s id e ed id e tic al wit h t h at A c ad é mie

r n Such p e pl e a Le a d Ju g o s nz n n

Stilli g wh at t h at t im e wer e agl w wit h Germ a p at ri t i m c uld

n , o t o n o s ,
o no

h ave j i ed uch a ciet y much l e delivered addre e at it meeti g

o n s so ,
ss ss s s n s

A cc rd i gly t he Germ a
o n ciet y f u d ed by Le i 7 7 5 w a t a n so o n nz n 1 s no ,
s

K he d o ff e ay a c t i u ati
oc n r r s f t he Fr e ch rga i at i
s, on nb t t he on o n o n s on , u

l at t er c ti u ed t exi t a i h w by a l ett er fr m Le t H aff er

on n o s ,
s s s o n o nz o n

( F r oit h ei m
z Z S t a b , g S t mu d Dr a gp ess i d e p
ur s 5 )4 T h e h i ur un r n r o ,
s

t i al
or c urce so t he t h er h a d e t abl i h t he ep ar at e ex i t e c e f a
s , on o n ,
s s s s n o

Ge ell ch aft d e ch o e Wi e ch aft e

s s r s f which A c t u ary Sal m a
n n ss n s n ,
o z nn ,

G et h e Le
o ,
a d J u g Stilli g w er e m emb er
nz , n Wh at K he d o ff e ha
n -
n s oc n r r s

t o s ay p ecific ally agai t G et h e memb er hip i l acki g i c vi ci g

s ns o
’
s s s n n on n n

p wer Th at G et h e o Ju g r et ur k ew t hi g f t he l at t er
o o n n
’
s n n no n o
’
s

m arriage f t he c
,
n or o gr at ul ati f t he ciet y i ea ily expl ai ed f
on on s o so s s n ,
or

dur i g t he tim e b etwee Ju g dep arture a d hi r et ur G et h e had b ee

n n n
’
s n s n o n

i Se e h eim The e t e c e r ef erri g t t he Sh ak e p ear e d ay i G et h e

’
n s n . s n n n o s n o s

l ett er f Sept o 77 t R e d e21e ,

e e m1 t m e 1t ,
p e a ko i f av our f r r, s s o o s n o o

G et h e m emb er hip r at h er t h a agai t it

o
’
s s K he d o ff e
,
b je n ns oc n r r s
’
o c

ti F it heim iew a e i my pi i ea ily m et The t h eat r e

’
on s t o ro z s V r ,
n O n on ,
s .

had ft e b ee t he ubj ec t f di cu i
o n n i t he
s ciet y a d G eth e carry o s s s on n so ,
n o ,
 Mote o 4 27

in g ugge tio received fr m H erder wa d ubtl e oft e the chief

ou t s s ns o s o ss n

c t ribut r O t f t h e e di cu i
on o u a d om e addit i
o f hi
s w s ss on s n s on s o s o n

Le nzt h e di till ed hi ar t icl e wh ich wa pr b ably

n s s ev er r ead t ev e , s o n ,
no n

af t er G et h e dep art ure H e ce G et h e mu t h ave b ee t a lit t le

’
o s n o s n no

a t i h ed t h at L e
s on s al t h ugh hi m at erial w a e e tially thi g
nz , o s s ss n no n

b t a r epr ducti f G et h e a d H erd er id ea wa ev er t h el e vai ’ ’

u o on o o s n s s, s n ss n

a d di h
n e t e s ugh t leave t he impre i wit h the public by mea
on s no o ss on ,
ns

of a pr ef at ry r em ark t h at he w a o t i d eb t ed t G et h e a d H erd er
,
s no n o o n ,

b t t h at o t he c
u t r ary t h ey wer e i d eb t ed t
,
n on him f t h eir id ea
,
n o or s on

t he t h eat r e Thu i t erpret ed t he p a age i D W which Fr it h eim

s n ,
ss s n . o z

wi h e ts s e a ev id e c e ag ai
o us t G et h e a e ea ily u d er t
s n d Th ere i ns o r s n s oo s

ab lut ely c tr adicti i th em f G et h e i t he fir t p a age ay

so no on on n ,
or o n s ss s s

ot hi g wh at ev er f a r eadi g f L e e ay
’
n n o n o nz s ss

37 I e e r ea f o
s c i d er i g
no t he t ry f
son t he d a c i g m art er on s n s o o n n s
’
s

d aught er a pur e i v e ti s f t he p et f ar t i t ic purp o e

n n Such a
on o o or s s s

t hi g would h av e b ee wh lly for eig t hi purp e i w rit i g hi au t

n n o n o s os n n s o

biogr aphy Th er e i i ge er al t much ar ti tic purp e di c v ered

. s n n oo s os s o

i DWn I h av e p i t ed t f ex ampl e i t he i t r ducti

o n t ou t he ,
or ,
n n o on o

ch ap t er o Fried erike the variou t age f the prep ar ati f t he I dyll

n s s s o on or .

B t I do
u t b eliev e t h at it i arr a ged wit h c alcul ati g a t
no I c id er s n n r on s

it r at h er t he product f t he lem feeli g f l v e which c ame ver theo so n n o o ,

o

p o et w h e h i m em ry n t uch ed up s t h e Fr i ed e
o r ik e e p i d e a
o d f h i on so ,
n o s

he it at i
s t b egi imm ediat ely t he d e cr ip t i
on o n f t he p ai ful y et b eauti s on o n ,

ful r elati K a te on r ep rt of t he dict ati f t h at ecti h uld b e

r u r s
’
o on o s on s o

r emember ed in thi c ecti s on n on

38 The l ett er t F ried erike i pre erv ed ly i the r ugh dr aught

o s s on n o .

I t hi t he b eg i
n s i g fr m D ear ew fri e d t nn n wh h ld y
,
o d ear n n o o o ou s o ,

is en cl ed i p are t h e e
os n t h at w e m ay a um e t h at t h c py w hi ch h
n s s , so ss e o e
F ried erik e b eg a w it h D ar d ear frie d N ev ert h el e
“
s e t t
n o n I d id e ,
n ss

n ot wi h t uppre t he fir t b egi i g a it give

s o s ss a g od id ea f s nn n ,
s s us o o

G et h e m a er a d f t he it u ati
’
o s nn n o s on

39 G et h e d ed i c at ed a gr eat m a y
o g t Fried erike H e ay i n son s o s s n

D W ( xxviii t h ey w uld h av e m ad e a eat litt l e v lum e O ly

“
.
,
o n o n

a f ew f t h em a e f u d am
o g hi w rk B t me f t h em w ere p e
r o n on s o s u so o r

erv ed am g Friederike p aper which H ei rich Kru e f u d at S phie ’

s on s s n s o n o

B ir on si
’
8 3 5 am n 1 g t h em t he g qu t ed pp 7 8 S phie a
,
on — s on o on 1 2 1 2 o s

e t ed th at all t he el ev e
s r g i he p e i were by G et he B t n son s n r oss ss on o u

t he p i i o ha gr adu ally b ec m e g e er al t h at
n on s e m re f t h em wer e o n on or o o

writ t e by Le wh aft er G et h e d ep art ur e ug ht t wi Fried er ike

’ ’
n nz , o o s so o n s

f av ur Io l xii f t he G] n vo I h av e a crib ed fi e
o g t Le s v son s o nz .

A gr eat m a y bj ec ti h ave b ee r ai ed t t hi view t he eff rt b ei g

n o on s n s o s ,
o n

mad e t ret ai at lea t tw f t h em a G eth e [C] the excelle t

o n s o o s o
’
s
c
n

ar ticl e The Aut h e t icit y f G et h e Se e h eim S g by J G ebel

“ ’
,
n o o s s n on s, . o ,

in M odern Phi lology i , 59 fi 1 — C

40 my ch r c r In f M erck I h av e i t he m ai f ll wed
a a t e is ation o n n o o

Goet h e d e crip ti of him

’
s Thi ha ft e b ee c dem ed by Merck
s on s s o n n on n
’
s

f llower a p arti a a d u ju t B t the d eep er e d elve i t t he

o s s s n n n s . u on s n o

exi ti gs ourc e t he m r e
n e r ec g i e h w apt t he pi c t ur e i which
s s o on o n s s o s

Goet h e ha dr awn of him F o c ert ai ly

s t hi g c uld h av e b ee f ar t h er r n no n o n
 4 28 t he l ife of Goe the
fr m hi o s in t en t ion t an t o d o h
f rmer frie d wh clu g an in j u t ic e t
s o his o n o n

t him
o l y ally I c rr b r ati f G et he ch ar act eri ati I m ay
so o n o o o on o o
’
s s on

h er e refer t a r emark by V ar h age which ha r eceived b t lit t le at te

o n n s u n

ti on H e ay i hi D e kw di g k i te
s d ed i
s n 477 f F r m wh at we
s n ur e n ,
2n ,
v o

k w fr m th er urc e we h ave r ea t d ubt t h at t he d e cripti

no o o so s no s on o o s on

which G et h e ha giv e f him i i all it feat ur e a d c l ur t h r u g hly

o s n o s n s s n o o s o o

c rrect
o Furt h erm r e hi per al app ear a ce ha bee d e o s son n s n

s crib ed t by p er w h k ew him ex act ly a t h ey a e i t h at

o us son s o n s r n

ch ar act eri ati s on .

4 The ly tr ace which D G ecke keep er f t he t ate archive

1 on r o ,
o s s,

ha b ee able t fi d f G et h e ac tivit y at t he I mp erial Ch amb er i

’
s n o n o o s n

Wet lar i t he e t ry f hi ame i hi w h a dwriti g i the rigi al

z s n o s n n s o n n n n o n

rec rd f the pr actiti er ( Ve ha dl de Gie e e P hi l l ge e

o o 885
on s r n r ss n r o o n v rs 1 ,

P 284 )
Goet h e s m ot h er g av e a som ewh at diff er en t acc oun t of t he
’
42 In 1 80 2
o rigi n of t he pl ay The differ en c es whi ch are of n o gr eat imp or t an c e
.
, ,

m ay b e xplai ed i a variet y f w ay The imp rt a t t hi g i t h at we

e n n o s o n n s

hear al fr m hi m t h er lip t h at he did t h ave t he lea t t h ug ht f ’

so o s o s s no s o o

t he t h eat r e b t w h d
i e ly t dr m
,
a a
u t i e t h e b gr phy
i s a f Got
on — Fr m o s o o z o

t he w rd f hi l et t er t Sal m a
o s o f N
s 8 77 i w h i ch
o t h e p et z nn o ov 2 ,
1 1 ,
n o

S p eak f hi w rk G t a a wh lly u exp ected p a i

s o s o on o zt he s
“
o n ss on ,
”
con

elu i ha b ee dr aw t h at G et h e c
s on s n t r ary t hi a ert i
n i DW o -
on o s ss on n .

had t y etno ccupied hi mi d wit h G t while i Str a burg Thi i t

o s n o z n s s s no

a ec e ary c
n clu i
ss I St r a burg he had a c er t ai pr edil ec t i
on s on n f s n on or

t he dr am at i at i f t he m at er ial b t t he u d er t aki g d id
s on o t b ec m e ,
u n n no o

a pa i a d t h at a
ss on , u exp ect ed e wit h him t ill t he idea f t he
n n n on , o

W ei li g e dr am a fla h ed t hr u g h hi mi d a d at t h am e t im e
s n n -
s o s n ,
n ,
e s ,

t he p ibilit y f m aki g t he dr am a a m ea
o ss o f lib r at i g h im lf fr m
n ns o e n se o

hi h ear t p a g
s acc u t
-
f F r i d rik
n s on F i ally t h x t r al r a
o n o e e e n ,
e e e n e s on s

w hi ch J h S N ll e ( G ethe G t a f d e B h e Leip ic
o n o n o 8 9 3 ) ha s o z u r u n ,
s ,
1 s

br ught f rward i f av ur f the F r a kf r t rigi f the dr am a d t eem

o o n o o n o o n o o no s

t m e a tr
o g e ugh b a i
s on wh ich t accu e G et h e f a err r
no s s on o s o o n o

I t i h ard t id elf f t he t h ugh t t h at A d elh eid i dr aw

’
43 e s o r on s s o o s n

fr m a livi g m d el I b eliev e we m ay t hi k f t he u c mm ly b eaut i

o n o n o n o on

ful H e riet t e nW ald er l at er Fr au v on Ob erkirch a t he m d el wh

n ,
v on ,
s o ,
o

in 77 1 77 w a —
0 1b et w ee ix t1ee a d e v
s e t ee y ea r ld a nd msa y n n s n n s o ,
n

in me w ay h av e m et t he p et i St r a burg A d elh eid ame

so o n s
’
s n , v on

Walld rf al r emi d o ,
e f he so n s on o r

44 Th at the p et had M arti Lut h er i mi d i t hi ch ar act er o n n n n s

ha alw ay b ee
s upp ed I t ha
s n w b ec m e a c ert ai t y i c e t he
s os s no o n s n

public ati f a album l eaf which M erck wr t e ( A p 6 7 7 3 ) the

on o n on o r 2 ,
1

w rd f t he br t h er Wh at i t burd e me i t hi w rld a d I
“
o s o o : s no n so n s o ? n con

id er t h i g m r e burd e me t h a t t b e p ermit t ed t b e a m a ”
s no n o n so n no o o n ,

wit h t he add ed r em ark M a ti Lut h er i t he dr am a Got :

“
Be r n n ,
z von r

li chi n gen ( Cf B er d F D H N F xi , , 4 28)

Th at t he p etic epi t l
45 rck fr m which t he c cludi g o s e t o Me ,
o on n

ver e a e h er e qu t ed r efer t G t mu t t b e d ubt ed b ec au e f the

s s r o , s o o z s no o s o

i t r duc t ry li e which a e
n o o h ard t i t erpr et The ec d p ar t f the
n s, r so o n s on o

p em l eav e
o furt h er d ubt wh at ever Wh e G et h e i t he b egi i g
s no o n o n nn n
43 0 t he l if e of G oe the
M is er abl f ddl e ! Pai t t hi g b t G a di
e fid d le a f y ur prudi h
-
n no n u r n son s or o s

pupp t le t t hey h uld cr ack t piec e i t he heat f p a i ; b t

e s, s S o o s n o ss on u

sh all e t writ e at all f m e imply bec au e f l a e f li h ?

on no or n ,
S s oo s r oo s
”

( Gj X iV .
,
22 )
v ery fi e d e cript i
48 A f t he eff ect f We the w a giv e b y
n s on o s o r r s n

A g Wilh Schl eg el i a l ett er pri t ed i t he C hef d e Theat e ’

d
’

u n n n s- c u vre es r s

Et a ge Germ a ec t i
r n iii 3 7 3 t 3 7 8 ( Pari
rs , 8 77 E
n sr i ch Schm i d t on ,
o s, 1 22
°

ha r e cu ed it fr m t hi h idi g pl ac e a d r epri t ed it i t he F e t h
s s o s n -
n n n s sc r z .

N eu philologen tage ,
1 892
49 fir t v er i f We the t he ly m a u cript t h at ha b ee
Of t he s s on o r r on n s s n

pr e erved i tw h eet f G et h e r ugh dr aught ; t h ey wer e at e time

s s o S s o o
’
s o on

i t he p
n e i f Fr au
os s s s o n o St ei ( f d et ail ee A Sch oll B iefe d
v on n or s s ,
r un

A f u p 4 3 ff
s f t he ec
1 d ly t he pri t er c py i the G u S h
o s on on n
’
s o n c .

A rch The fir t ed it i wa pri t ed i t w diff er e t f rm ; t he ec d i

. s on s n n o n o s s on ,
n

1 7 5
7 w it h,
l igh t ch a sg e i t hr e e d iff er e
n t f rm
s, n Th e r e w er e fur t h e r n o s .

m r e ev e pir at ed editi
o s n The ec d v er i on s f which t he ec
. s d on s on , o s on

p art e p ecially w a r ec a t app ear ed i 7 8 7 The v ariati

s s s ,
fr m t he n 1 . on s o

fir t v er i a e chiefly i erti
s s on r t he m t ex t e iv e
ns f w h ich i t he
on s , os ns o s

t ry f t he p ea a t erv a t i l v e wh t f j eal u y kill hi riv al

’
s o o s n s s n n o ,
o ou o o s s s .

I t wa i t e d ed t r ai e W er t h er uicid e t a high er m r al l ev el I t ’
s n n o s s s o o

s eem t me a u
s o ec e ary i t r duc t i
n nn f a tr
ss g c tr a t i t t he
n o on o s on on s n o

p emo

5 Th
0 a
. t A a S ibyll a M u
nn ch w a t h e t it ul a ry w i f e f G et h e i t he
n s o o n

S pri g f 7 7 4 i k w
n o 1 ly by a r al t r adit i which D t e h eard
s no n on n o on ,
un z r

fr m a m t r eliable urce i Fr a kf rt a d which he c mmu ic at ed

o
“
os
”
so n n o ,
n o n

t t he w rld f
o t he fir t t im e i hi F a e bi lde
o or s a G ethe j g e d ei t
n s r u n rn us o s u n z

in 85
1 ( f al 2 cB latte f li t
,
so , U t h 8 64 p 3 4 9 )
r er n er 1 ,

5 I t
1 i
. t i c s i t e
no t w it h n t h i f a
on s s c t t h a t h i n f a t h er w r t t s s o e o

L av at er th 8 th f J u
on e t h at W lfg a g w a t
2 o ne r t ur h m A ft er o n s o e n o e

W lfg a g had b ee
o n t h w ay f i w e k w it h ut g t t i g a y f art h er
n on e or s x e s o e n n

t h a Swit erl a d hi f at h er m ay
n z n l ger h av e b elieved t h at he had a y
s no on n

i t e ti
n n f g i g t
on o I t aly a d he m ay h av e c
o n o ,
id er ed a y fur t h er
n on s n

so oj ur i Swit erla d f wh e r ck a d mi t y l ake he c ar ed ot hi g

n n z n ,
or os o s n s s n n

wh at ev er a wa t e f t im e a d m ey
,
s o n on

5 Frit St lb erg wr t e fr m St r a bur g t Kl p t ck I t [t he

2 z o o o s o o s o :

R hi e] i a gl ri u riv er
n s o Yet t he v ery h ear t wit hi m e g av e m e p ai
o s n n

wh e I aw t he c qu er ed h r e which
n s on w b el g t Fr a ce B t
S o no on s o n . u

t h ey will t k eep t he b aut iful c u t ry much l

no e ger ; I h pe we h all o n on o s

so me d ay r eali e tr e gth s ( H
ou r se m e A F n i e d L e p
”
St lbe g r s, us r r o . v o r s

j ug e dja hn e p 4 8 )
r n, A d t h i i t er K a t h a r
ni a W o h et h er Gs e
s st h e n :
“
o

will g a y furt h er wit h

o n I d t k w; t he
u s, e h a d he ha a gr eat
o no no on on n s

mi d t g t I t aly ; t he t h er h a d hi h eart i dr awi g him b ack t

n o o o on o n ,
s s n o

Fr a kf rt (J a e F i ed L e p G af e St lbe g i 3 7 )
n o
”
n ss n , r r o r u o r , .
,

53 Th a t t h e fr i e d ( w it h t h e e xc e p
n t i s f L a v a t er w h h a d a l on o ,
o so

b ee wit h t he p art y t he l ake) g

n t get h er a f a a E i
on ied el i o on o s r s ns n s

pr ved by a lett er from Frit St lb erg (J a e ibid i

o z o n ss n , .
,

5 4 Fr i t S t lb e rg w zr it e o t h e t h f Ju e t h i
s on i t e r K at h a r i 2oa o n o s s s n :

The e at i s ns f fr eed m i a fr ee l a d I f eel wit h all it f rc e

on o o n A w eek n s o

lat er he writ e t he T him wh ha a f eeli g f lib ert y Swit erl a d

“
s o r: o o s n or z n
 moteo 43 1

is as s a cr ed a it i t him wh ha a feeli g f at ur e J an e i 4 5 7
s s o o s n or n ss n ,
°

Oct b er he writ e t Ger t e b erg A ll t he lit t l e d em ocr atic c a t

“
I n o s o s n : n on s

a e a fr ee a eagl e a d feel t
r s s t he full t he h appi e
s n f t h eir lib er t y o n ss o .

Thi lib ert y fill t h e e la d wh ere eit h er c r

s s s wi e gr w wit h
n s, n o n n or n o s,

abu d an c e Far th er o I t he Alpi e hu t we e j yed t he ble i g

“
n n: n n s n o ss n

o f a imple fr ee p e ple
s ,
We a e eye wit e e f t he bl e i g f
o r -
n ss s o ss n o

lib ert y f the j y the pirit t he bli which it al e an give a d which

,
o o ,
s ,
ss , on c ,
n

t h er c a t u d er t a d ( N d d Sud N Thu ”
o at i n on s nn o n 894) s n or un ,
ov ,
1 s

wr t e t he y u g C u t
o O ly t w l et t er by G et h e fr m Swit erl a d
o n o n n o s o o z n

h av e b ee pre erv ed I the t w t h ere i t a w rd ab ut Swi lib ert y

n s n o s no o o ss ,

al t h ugh i t he e fr m A l t d orf he m e ti T ell h ti g f t he apple ’

o n on o n on s s s oo n o

O t he c
n t r ary we r ead i t he fir t p ar t f B i efe a
on ,
de Schwei w hich
n s o r us r z,

G et h e publ i h ed i 8 8 a b el gi g t We the Did y ay t hat t he “

o s n 1 0 s on n o r r ou s

Swi wer e fr ee? Th e well t d citi e

ss i t heir wall ed cit ie
os fr ee -
o- o z ns n s, ?

Th o e p o r devil fr ee t h eir cliff a d r ck ?

s o s on They ce id s n o s on r

t h em elv e of a t yr a t a d f
s s a m m e t c uld im agi e t h em elv e fr ee
n n or o n o n s s .

The t he dear
n by a tr a ge r ege er at i creat ed t f the c arri n
su n , s n n on , ou o o

o f t he ppr e o r a warm f p ett y t yr a t N w t hey g on t ell i g t he

sso s o n s o o n

o ld t al e O e gr w t ir ed f h ear i g t h at t h ey l o g ag o g ai ed t h eir
n o s o n n n

fr eed m a d h ave r emai ed fr ee N w t h ey it b ehi d t heir wall l av e

o n n o s n s, s s

f t h eir cu t om a d l aw ld wive a d phil i ti i m a d

’
o s s ti n s, o t s no on s , n s n s ,
n ou

t h er e t he r ck
on it i d ubtl e w rt h w hile t peak of l ibert y
o s s o ss o o S ,

w he duri g h alf t he year t h ey a e h eld i c apt iv it y by t he

n n w l ik e a r n sn o

marm t ! o

B t d o t h e e l et t er b el
u g t t he year 7 7 5 ? M t f t hem c ertai ly
s s on o 1 os o n

d o . The p oet h im elf i D W ( W xxix 3 )

6 a
s cr ib e d tnh e m — at l ea t i .
, 1 s s n

t h eir m t iv e — t o t h i y ear ; fur t h erm r e he ch ar ac t er i ed t h em a b e

s o s o , s s

l gi g t t he fir t Swi j ur ey by g ivi g t hem a plac e i hi w rk

on n o s ss o n ,
n n s o s

b f r e t he l ett er f t he ec d j ur ey ; a d i t he t hird pl ac t h i
e o s o s on o n n ,
n e, e c r

cu m t a e t hat fr m t h at j ur ey
s nc t m re t ha tw
o lett er have b ee o n no o n o s n

pr e erved peak t r gly i favour f it Thi i a evide c e a i t he

s S s s on n o s s n n ,
s n

c a e f t he Wet l ar lett er t h at t he p et aft er hi r et ur a ked t hat hi

s o z s, o , s n ,
s s

l ett er b e give back t him f a l it er ary purp e I all pr bab ilit y

s n o , or os . n o

it w a e p ec ially t he l ett er t J h a
s s a F ahlm e ( f t he t im e up ts hi o o nn r or o s

e t r a c e i t o Sw t erl a d
n n i n — t hr ee w eek — t h er e a e f ur l et t er
z n t he s r o s o r,

f
or t he n ex t ix week t a i gl e
s e) M erck a d C r el ia
s no B t t he s n on , ,
n o n . u

wh l e t r en d a d feel i g f t he l ett er w uld al

o n in d ic at e t h at m t f
n o s o so os o

t h em b el g to t hat year Furt h er pr f i fur i hed by a erie f

on . oo s n s s s o

i d iv idu al ch ar act er i t ic
n The d e ir e t fl y i N 4 ( cf We the i
s s: s o
”
n o . r r,

Scrat ch a litt l e h eet full i N 6 ; t err r at the t h ugh t f

”
A g u 8 th) 1 s ,
n o o o o

r et ur i g N 8 which i entir ely t f plac e i 7 7 9 ; the c mplai t

n n , In o .
, s ou o n 1 o n

agai t t he m
ns t er f c ivil l ife a d fal e r el at i
on s s o i N ; t he gam e n s on s n o . 1 2

o f m arr iage i t he am e l et t er ; t he c ld e
n t ward I t al ia a t t he ex
s o n ss o n r ,

ampl e of t he G t h ic churc he t he agr eem e t w it h e t h et ic c a

,

o i t he
s, n s n on s , n

F al et e ay of 7 7 5 ( f Wal el A f A xx iii F rd d ’
con ss 1 d t h lt c e i a z , nz . sc . .
, .
,
n n s

( Fr it St lb erg I pr e um e) b at h i g i t he p e i N
z o , s 3 B t t t h i n n O n n o . 1 u o s

mai b dy G eth e add ed fr m t he Swi j ur ey f 7 7 9 the wh l e e d

n o o o ss o n o 1 o n

i g fr om t he l a t p ar agr aph i N
n , s 3 t N 5 i clud i g t h e t udy f n o 1 o o 1 , n n s o

t he n u d e i Ge ev a t get h er wit h t he cr it ic i m
n n , f t he ar i t ocr at ic
o cie s o s so
 43 2 t he l ife of G oe the
t ies , uch a ly t he Geheim e at f l at er year had frequ e t cca i
s s on r o s n o s on s

t o b ec me acquai t ed wit h G et he ha t ld hi purp e i gr upi g

o n . o s o us s os n o n

t h e e l et t er t g et h er I t wa t h w Wer t h er d evel pm e t up t ’
s s o . s o S o s o n o

t he t im e w h e t he vel b egi n Thi t h ught pr b ably ever ccurr ed

no ns . s o o n o

t t he p et t ill dur i g t he t im e w h e t he b
o o n k wa b ei g r ead by every n oo s n

b dy a d mi u der t a d i g wer e pr i gi g up lik e w eed

o ,
n s n s n n st f t he s n n s ou o

gr u d— t hat i t ay i t he year 7 7 5 Thi pla l ik e ma y t her

o n s o s ,
n 1 . s n, n o s,

wa ec e ar ily i t errup t ed by hi r em val t

s n ss n Weim ar B t it r et ur ed s o o u n

t he p et mi d agai f ec e it y w he he u d ert k t he rec

’
t o o s n n, o n ss ,
n n oo on

s t ruc t i f We the i
on o 8
7 3 H e d r ub t l e r t k
n up h
1 i Fr a kf r t p a p er o ss oo s n o s

ag ai a dn uppleme t ed t hem wit h me f t he Swi l et ter f 7 7 9

n s n so o ss s o 1

Aft er he had pr vi i ally fi i h ed t he w rk he pr b ably e t it t

o s on n s Bab e o o s n o

Schult h e i Z ur ich t w h m he e t alm t all hi

ss n , o ew cr eat i
o I s n os s n on s . n

t hi way am
s g hi Swi frie d t h at i t ay t he Schult he a d
on s ss n s, s o s , ss n

L av at er c ircl e t he a ger m ay h av e b ee c alled f r t h at c er t ai p a age

,
n n o n ss s,

w h ich G et h e t ell ab ut i D W a d which he a er t

o s o hi dered him
n .
,
n ,
ss s, n

i t he c
n t i u at i onf t h e e l et t er
n B t m r e p werful t h a t h i r ea
on o s s . u o o n s s on

m ay h av e b ee t he c id er at i n t h at t he ar t i t ic impr e i
on s f We the
on s ss o n o r r

w uld b e m arr ed if he h uld pl ac e t h e e l et t er at t he b eg i

o s o i g At a y s s nn n n

r at e wh e he made t he fi al r evi i f t he ew editi i t he ummer

n n s on or n on n s

o f 7 8 6 he l aid t he Swi
1 let ter a ide U t il h rtly b ef re t hi t ime he
ss s s n s o o s

s eem h wever t ill t h ave had i mi d t ad d t he lett er I h uld

s, o , s o n n o s s o

l ik e at l ea t t a cribe t t he year 7 8 5
s o s t he pr i g f o 7 8 6 t h e t e t h 1 ,
or s n o 1 ,
n

let ter which c rr e p d ex act ly t hi feel i g at th at t ime a d fi d it

, o s on s o s n s n n s s

pe d a t i the lett er fr m R me f Ju e 8 7 8 7 (B viii 3 8 if

n n n o o o n , 1 r , .
,
2 1 , 2

a d l ik ewi e t he h r t
n i th
s I h h ab e d ie R Om i he Ge ch ich t e et
s o n n c sc s , c .

A ft r t h W rt h er l et t er fr m Sw it rl a d had b ee l eft
e e e s t f t he
o vel ze n n ou o no

t h ey c uld c l br at e t h ir r e urr c t i
o ee ly i c ect i w it h t he d e
e s e on on n on n on

s cr ipt i f t h j uron y f 7 7 9 F m re t ha
o e o ne Or ea I d 1 t or o n on e so n o no

believe i t h id t it y f t he l i d haftli h M a he (w h i ch he i
n e en o e en s c c e rc n
”
n

t e d ed t
n i ve t i 79o 6 a n a i t r
n duc t i n 1 a fr a m e f s t h e l et t er
n n f o on , or , or s o

t r av el f 779 ao d r ea lly
1 b e g a , t w r itn e ) w it h t he W e r t h er l e t t e r n f o s O

t r av el B t if e w er e t
u ,acc ep t uch a id e t it y eve t he a free
on o s n n ,
n n

i ve ti
n n f t he l ett er c uld
on o t b e t h ught f s Their hi t r ic al v alue
o no o o s o

w uld r em ai t he am e
o n s

55 That G et he i at t he b tt m f t he figur e f Beaum arch ai i

o s o o o o s s

s ufficie tly evid e t fr m t he w rd f t he p et qu t ed

n n o p age 3 6 o s o o o on 2 .

G et h e d ubl e i Cla ig a d B eaum arch ai f rm a v ery accurat e

’
o s o s n v o n s o

p ar all el t Wei l i ge a d Got o s n n n z

5 6 N m .a u cr i p t o f C la ig ha b ee pr e erv ed
n s o I 77 4 v t h er e o s n s . n 1

app ear ed t w ed it i i ix d iff er e t f rm a d furt h erm r e t w p ir at ed

o on s n S n o s, n , o , o

ed it i I
on s 775 a d.
77n 6 t h1er e app e a r e d nfi e m r
1 e p ir a t ed e d i t i v o on s .

C la i g v ery
v o b ec ame a p pular r ep ert ir e play It wa p erf rmed
so on o o . s o

for t he fir t t im e i H amburg
s t he t
n f A ugu t 77 4 i mm e d i
on a t ely 2 1s o s ,
1 ,

aft er it app ear a c e ( Te t he M e k

s n Ju e at t he e d
u sc r f Sep r u r, n ,
n o

t emb er t he b eg i or i g f Oc t b er i A u g bur g wh er e Beaum arch ai

nn n o o , n s ,
s

h app e ed t b e pr e e t at t he p erf rma c e H i p i i

n o s n f it wa o n s O n on o s:

L Allem a d av ait g a te l a e d te de m m ém ir e e la urch argea t

’ ’
n n c o on o n s n

d
’
un c mb at et d e t err eme t addit i q i m t r aie t plu d e vide
o
’
un n n , on s u on n s
4 34 t he t ire of Goe the

( H eit muller A d m G etheha e p ,

us M m e d e St ael wh wa in
e o us , , o s

Weim ar i 8 3 wr t e i n 8
1 0 Weim ar
,
é t ait p i t
o n e p et it e
1 1 0 : , cc n
’
o n un

vill e mai ,
gra d chat eau ( D e l A llemag e d ed i 3 3 ) F a
s un n
’
n ,
2n 1 or

det ail ed de cr ipt i of Weimar f ll wi g chiefl y t he l ett er f Se k e

s on , o o n s o c n

d r ff ee Die m a
o , s Weima A lb m z nn s
’
r- u .

6 F ielit
1 .
( a d b e f r e h im
z B lum e i n t h e ,
C h i k od e W i e e , , n ron s n r

G ethe e ei
o v r i a pr g r am ( Pl e
ns, 8 9 3 ) w ell w r t h t he r ead i g
n o ss, 1 o n ,

d eclare the r efere c e f t he ver e t Se ke d ff t b e i c rrect a d

s n o s s o c n or o n o ,
n

s ay t h ey r ef er t
s K eb el h avi g pr ev i u ly d ecl ar ed t h at t he l at t er i
o n ,
n o s s

no t m ea t i t he pr ec ed i g t a
n n a Let m e ay i r eply t h at if a au t h r
n s nz s n n o

giv e uch defi it e a d d et ailed t at eme t a t t he p er

s s n n he ha d e s n s s o son s s

p i t
c ed i a p e m a n G e t h e d oe i t h i c a e w
s e h av oe t c rr e c t o s n s s ,
o o ou r

fr agme tary k wl edge c ll ec t ed fr m let ter a d ther d cume t t

n no o o s n o o n s o

agr ee wit h t h em a d t t he t h er way r u d

,
n Th at E ck erma
no o o n nn

s h uld h ave mi h eard G et h e I c ider i cr ed ibl e The ame Se k e

o s o on s n n c n

d r ff wa fa i d eed fr m hi t h ug ht a d wh e e p er pr u c e
o s r n o s o s, n n on so n on o n s

t he am e Wed el t h er i t l ik ely t m i t ak e it f
” “
n a no Se k e d ff s no o s or c n or

Furt herm r e I c ider it ext remely impr b abl e t hat G et he

o ,
on s o o so con

fu ed t he ame a t me ti Se k e d ff f t he fir t t a a a d K eb el
s n s s o n on c n or or s s nz n n

for t he ec d ; eve F ielit d e t re rt t t hi upp it i

s on n z B t why o s no so o s s os on u

s h uld K eb el t u it f t he fir t t a a? Die m ark ige Ge talt a

o n no s or s s nz s us

al t em H eld e t am m e K eb el wa a very l arge t at ely m a

ns n A s , s n us

al t em H eld e t amm e It i ns bj ec t ed that hi fat h er had ju t b ee s o s s n

e nno bled B t hi a c e t r H a K ebel had i 5 7 pr eferr ed

u s n s o ,
ns n , ,
n 1 2 ,

t o b e bur ed at t he n t ak e i A t werp r at h er t h a sr e u c e hi n n n no n s

fait h ( A K b l N a hl i ii ) us ne e s E au g t b eg ier ig am gel ieb t e

c , ,
v
“
r s n

R hr o K b l w a p a i at ely f d f m k i g
ne e s G t m t ig t r ck e
ss on on o s o n u u o n

w i e ss e F r eud rd L ach e im g a e Z irk el l au t

un mach e n Th i i nz n zu n s s

p i t ed t a b i g m t t f k pi g w ith K b el charact r H e i
o n ou s e n os ou o ee n ne
’
s e . s

mad t t
e ou hav b ee a hyp h d ia pe vi h t B t a all
o e n oc ro n r c, e s ,
e c u re

hyp h oc d ia al w ay
ron rt f hum ur ? A e t h er e
cs t m a y wh
s ou c
o o r no n o o

a i
c s on ally i ciet y h w t he b e t f hum ur F ielit ha t admit
n so s o s o o ? z s o

t hi f K eb el i hi
s o ld age b t ay t h at hi t emp er am e t ch a g ed a
n n s o ,
u s s s n n s

he gr ew ld I it Ot he wh l e cr edibl e t h at
s , one w h wa t f hum o r , on o s ou o ou

all t he t im e ev e e wh, wa
or m re t h a er i u c uld h ave
n on o s no o n s o s, o

mai tai ed hi place i t hat gay circle f 7 7 6 A d why h all we ay

n n s n o 1 ? n s s

t h at t he ec d t a a d e t fit Se k e d ff The i du t ri u m an
s on s nz o s no c n or ? n s o s

i hi m me t f r e t i much m r e l ik ely t t r et ch t hi l eg
“
n s o n s o s s ek o o s ou s s

t at i ch f aul t h a i t he h ab it u al idl er Se k e d ff m ay h av e u g a
”
S s n s c n or s n

s on g f the da ce f t he ph er e ju t a well a K eb el Th i wa a very

o n o s s s s s n s s

p pular ubj ect The p et w h i t he pr i g f 7 7 9 had pri t ed i

o s o o, n S n o 1 ,
n n

t he m tt t t he ec d p art f hi V lk li ed t he ver e O ! heb mich “

o o o s on o s o s er s s,

m it a ft em E t u k e H i auf b i i
s n n z St e e e ie ! c n La d rt mich
n s ns rn nr v r ss o

i h imml i ch e TO e E t chweb e d em E d e e d
n s n n n let
n s d iv i e n r nv r ru ss s us n

t he i ger fl ch h ch
“
s n f 77 6 w h o m it G e1i t e g i , i d i e Ho o e w i g t d s s u s n s n un

v on d em T a d e h imm elh h e nz Spha e r m it gr er I o n r n oss n

bru t i gt I 7 7 6 Se ke d ff wa till v ery c ge ial t t he D uk e

ns s n n 1 c n or s s on n o ,

a d al t h ugh t he l at t er aft er w ard had m a y c m pl ai t t

n o make agai t s n o n s o ns

him t he it u at i
, wa s t b ad ev e i
on 8
7 3 t h a t
s no t he m e t i so f h i ,
n n 1 ,
n on o s
 “
t ote s 435

na me i a p et ic p ict ure f a it uat i of t he year 7 7 6 c uld have p t

n o o S on 1 o u

t he D uk e t f rt a F ielit w uld have b el ieve Jul iu G eb el

ou o so s, s z o us . s o ,

i hi exc ell e t ed it i f G eth P em [ el ec t ed ] ( New Y rk

’
n s n on o o es o s s o ,

al h ld fa t t t he p et w t e tim y de p it e t he obj ecti f

’
so o s s o o s o n s on , s on s o

Blum e a d F ielit n z

6 Wit h r eg ard t the age f the m emb er f t he Court f t he

2 . o s o s o o

M u e it m ay b e add ed t h at at t he t im e f G et h e arr iv al Fr au
’
s s o o s v on

St ei w a 3 3 K eb el a d Se k e d ff 3
n s ,
Be t h 8 E i ied el
n 5 n c n or 1 , r uc 2 ,
ns 2 ,

Lu i e s GO hha e
v on 3 C u t e W e
c t h e 3 B a
usr e W e
n 2 t he 8 , o n ss r rn 2 , on ss r rn 1 ,

Wed el wh e b irt hyear f

,
me u acc u t able rea ca t b e e t ab
os or so n o n son nno s

l i hed pr b ably al
s , o ly 8
o C r a S h t e wh e so he c am e t Weim a
n 1 o on c ro r, n s o r

t o st ay wa 5 Fr a u Sch ard t 3 Fr it ch
s w h
2 ccup
,
ied a v on 2 , s , o o n

i l at ed p it i
so 4 4 G rt os3 8 on , , o z,

63 Cf Le Gedi hte 9 9 ( Wei h ld ) a d hi l et t er fr m W eim ar

nz , c , 1 n o n s o :

Aft er we m eet up at t he D uk e w h p e d m t f hi ev e i g
’
n o on s s, o S n s os o s n n s,

a d t he
n e he c u t t he m
on s t pl ea a t w it h a el ec t c mp a y f g
o n s d os s n , s o n o oo

p e pl e f hi C urt wh all w ar a we ( W iel a d G et h e a d Le ) d

o o s o , o e ,
s n ,
o ,
n nz o,

a p ec ial t yl e f dr e a d a e c all ed by him die Welt g ei t e G et h e

‘
s s o ss , n r s r o

i s ou rcapt ai (i bid 3 4 ) The t ext f t he at ir e h ere give i t h at f

n 0 o s n s o

D u t e ( G ethe E i t i tt i Wei ma
n z r o wh b a ed it
s n r a c ar eful py n r, o s on co

by Burkh ard t .

64 Le al had a w a nz ly v ery r ece t ly d i c ver ed hi pecial

so , s s on n s o , s S

pl a wit h r egard t mat ter ec mic al a d p l itic al i Weimar H e

ns o s on o n o n

w i h ed t i t it ut e t h er e a fair f
s o ns Fr e ch w are i rder t at tract or n s n o o

t h it h F r e ch m erch a t a d m a ufac t ur er t w h m he w uld i t ur

er n n s n n s, o o o n n

d i p e f t he pr duct f t he duchy H e b eg G et he t pr e e t t he
s os o o s o s o o s n

pr j t t t h D uk Cf E rich Schmid t t h r u g h g i g di cu i f
o ec o e e
’
s o o o n s ss o n o

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68 The r e ult w hich G et h e acc mpl i h ed i t he r ef rm at i

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D uk e fi a c ial m a ag em e t a ly b e p ar t ially ver ifi ed at pre e t

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