Goethe, with Special Consideration of His Philosophy
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Please do not assume that a book's appearance in 'The Builder' library means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. The Webmaster Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026194799 ^itr^ l6 f/ii i^ "ii o o A A-% COPYRIGHT BY THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY 1915 PREFACE. GOETHE, the man, the poet, and the author, has been de- scribed over and over. His works have been translated, interpreted, discussed, and it seems almost redundant to return to him again. And yet we venture to offer a book on Goethe. Certain very important phases in Goethe's life appear to have been neglected. Most of his greatest works have been translated into English, a few of them, for instance "Faust," in many different versions, but there are some of his most characteristic poems of which no one has ever ventured to offer a translation, and it is precisely these poems that contain the most thoughtful verses ever written by this great poet, prominent in the literature not only of the German fatherland but of the whole world. We offer this presentation of Goethe with the special purpose in view of bringing out those features of his life which characterize him as a thinker or, perhaps better, as a philosopher. Though Goethe can not be called a philosopher proper, though he had a positive aversion to philosophy as a specialized study, he may fairly well be called a philosopher in the broad sense of the term. He was a thinking man who had a definite world-conception which dominated not only his particular life but also his poetry. Some of the philosophical poems of Goethe are rather difficult to understand and have therefore not become as well known as those other poems of his which were written in a lighter vein. Neverthe- less they are by no means unintelligible to the general reader and possess the advantage of becoming more interesting as soon as their real significance has been grasped. P. C. CONTENTS. PAGE List of Illustrations vii The Life of Goethe 1 His Relation to Women 66 Goethe's Personality 143 The Religion of Goethe 177 Goethe's Philosophy 222 Literature and Criticism 261 The Significance of "Faust" 282 Miscellaneous Epigrams and Poems 327 Index 347 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Goethe in his Last Year, 1832. By C. A. Schwerdgeburth. (Frontispiece.) Horoscope of Goethe. Cast by A. J. Pearce 2 Goethe's Grandfather, Schultheiss Textor. After a painting by A. Scheppen 3 Goethe's Grandmother, Frau Anna Margaretha Textor. Artist unknown . 4 The Goethe Homestead in Artern on the Unstrut 5 The Textor Homestead 6 The Goethe House at Frankfort as it Looked in Goethe's Childhood. Drawn by E. Biichner 7 Frangois de Theas, Count of Thorane 8 The Rahmhof. Where the French Theater at Frankfort was established. 9 Johann Adam Horn. After a drawing by Goethe 10 Burning his Youthful Productions 12 Friederike Elisabeth Oeser. Etched by Banse in 1777 from a painting by her father, Prof. Adam Friedrich Oeser 13 Discussing Religious Questions with the Dresden Shoemaker 14 Bird's Eye View of Strassburg. From an old hymn-book 16 Jacob Michael Reinhold Lenz. After a drawing by Pfenninger in Lavater's Collection 17 Johann Heinrich Jung- Stilling. By H. Lips, 1801 18 Goethe's Residence when a Student. On the Old Fish Market in Strass- burg 19 Maria Caroline Flachsland. Afterwards Frau Herder 20 Johann Heinrich Merck 21 View of Wetzlar from the South 22 Carl Wilhelm Jerusalem as a Child. Drawing formerly in the possession of Georg Kestner of Dresden, grandson of Frau Charlotte Kestner. Now in the Goethe Museum of Weimar 23 Johann Christian Kestner. After a lithograph of J. Giere from a painting in the possession of Georg Kestner 24 Werther's.Lotta. By Kaulbach 25 Christoph Friedrich Nicolai. Haid's engraving after Chodowiecki 26 Joys of Young Werther. Chodowiecki's vignette on the title page of Nico- lai's satire 27 Johann Bernhard Basedow 29 Karl Ludwig von Knebel. Drawn by Schmeller, 1824 30 Christian, Count Stolberg. After a painting by Grdger 31 Friedrich Leopold, Count Stolberg. After a painting by Rincklacke 31 Vlll GOETHE. PAGI Christoph Martin Wieland •'2 Karl August, Duke of Saxe Weimar. Drawing from life by Lips, 1780 ... 34 Goethe's Little Country House. After a drawing by O. Wagner, 1827 35 Goethe's Coat of Arms 36 View of St. Peters. Sketched by Goethe 39 Goethe in Rome. Drawing by Tischbein, 1787 40 Goethe in the Campagna at Rome. Painting by Tischbein 41 Maddalena Riggi. Painting by Angelica Kauiimann 42 Christian August Vulpius 43 August von Goethe. Crayon drawing by Schmeller r 44 Old Theater in Weimar 45 Schiller and Goethe Ridiculed 46 Franz Schubert 47 Karl Loewe 48 The Goethe Table in Schiller's Garden. Where the friends often conversed together SO Goethe Contemplating Schiller's Skull. Sculpture by Eberlein 51 Goethe in 1800. Crayon by F. Bury 52 Christiana Vulpius and August von Goethe. Watercolor by Heinrich Meyer 53 Bettina von Arnim. At an advanced age 54 Johann Peter Eckermann. Original in the Goethe Museum at Weimar... 58 Goethe Dictating to Eckermann. After an oil painting by J. J. Schmeller in 1831 59 Goethe's Son August. Medallion by Thorwaldsen 62 "More Light." Painting by F. Fleischer in the Goethe Museum at Weimar 63 Goethe's Grandchildren. Drawing by Arendswald, 1836 64 Goethe in his Thirtieth Year. Painted by G. O. May, 1779 67 Goethe's Mother, Frau Aja. After a picture in the possession of Solomon Hirzel 68 Goethe's Father. After a copper engraving in Lavater's Physiognomische Fragmente, 1777 69 The Goethe Family of Frankfort. Painted by J. C. Seekatz in 1762 70 The Room of Frau Rath Goethe. Drawing by E. Biichner 71 Gretchen. By Kaulbach 75 The Poet's Sister. Drawn by Goethe about 1770. From the portfolio Juve- nilia 77 Cornelia, Goethe's Sister ! . 78 Johann Georg Schlosser. Medallion by Becker 80 Charitas Meixner. After an oil painting 81 Betty Jacobi, nee von Clermont 82 Johanna Fahlmer in Old Age 82 Kitty Schonkopf 83 Kaulbach's Brion Family 85 Friederike's Home, the Parsonage at Sesenheim. After an oil painting in the possession of A. Storber, now in the Preie Deutsche Hochstift at Frankfort on the Main 86 Falk's Friederike Portrait. Found among Lenz's papers 87 Friederike's Autograph 88 The Parsonage at Sesenheim. Drawing by Goethe 89 . ILLUSTRATIONS. ix PAGE Goethe Parting from Friederike. By Eugen Klimsch 90 Sesenheim gj Susanna von Klettenberg in her Forty-fourth Year. In the Goethe Mu- seum at Weimar 97 Charlotte Sophie Henriette Buff. Redrawn from a pastel 99 The Deutsche Haus, Showing the Windows of Charlotte's Room 100 Charlotte Buff's Room in the Deutsche Haus at Wetzlar 100 Frau Sophie von La Roche 101 Frau IMaximiliana Brentano. Daughter of Sophie von La Roche and mother of Bettina von Arnim 102 Anna Elisabeth Schonemann : Goethe's Lili 103 Lili's Menagerie. By Kaulbach 104 Barbara Schulthess. Painting by Tischbein, 1781 106 Mignon in "Wilhelm Meister." By Kaulbach 107 Corona Schroter. By Anton Graff 109 Iphigenia and Orestes. By Georg Melchior Kraus 110 "The Fisher Maiden" Played in Tiefurt Park. By Georg Melchior Kraus 111 Corona Schroter. By Georg Melchior Kraus 112 Friedrich Hildebrand von Einsiedel. Drawing by Schmeller 113 Cupid Feeding a Nightingale 114 Amalia, Duchess Dowager of Saxe-Weimar.