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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Autobiography, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
+#36 in our series by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
+
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+Title: Autobiography
+
+Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
+        Translated by John Oxenford
+
+Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5733]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on August 18, 2002]
+[Last Updated: February 4, 2010]
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+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUTOBIOGRAPHY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORKS OF JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
+
+TRANSLATORS
+
+THOMAS CARLYLE
+HENRY W. LONGFELLOW
+SIR WALTER SCOTT
+BAYARD TAYLOR
+
+EDWARD CHAWNER
+CHAS. J. SPRAGUE
+LEOPOLD NOA
+HENRY DALE
+
+JOHN OXENFORD
+THEODORE MARTIN
+W. E. AYTOUN
+E. A. BOWRING
+
+A. J. W. MORRISON
+G. H. LEWES
+J. S. DWIGHT
+ANNA SWANWICK
+
+THE GOTTINGEN EDITION OF JOHANN WOLFGANG VON
+GOETHE'S WORKS IS LIMITED TO ONE THOUSAND COPIES,
+OF WHICH THIS IS NUMBER 976
+
+[Illustration: PICTURE OF GOETHE]
+
+GOTTINGEN EDITION
+
+AUTOBIOGRAPHY
+
+TRUTH AND FICTION RELATING TO MY LIFE
+
+JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
+
+TRANSLATED BY
+JOHN OXENFORD
+
+VOLUME I.
+
+PHILADELPHIA AND CHICAGO
+J. H. MOORE AND COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+BY THOMAS CARLYLE.
+
+It would appear that for inquirers into Foreign Literature, for all men
+anxious to see and understand the European world as it lies around them,
+a great problem is presented in this Goethe; a singular, highly
+significant phenomenon, and now also means more or less complete for
+ascertaining its significance. A man of wonderful, nay, unexampled
+reputation and intellectual influence among forty millions of
+reflective, serious and cultivated men, invites us to study him; and to
+determine for ourselves, whether and how far such influence has been
+salutary, such reputation merited. That this call will one day be
+answered, that Goethe will be seen and judged of in his real character
+among us, appears certain enough. His name, long familiar everywhere,
+has now awakened the attention of critics in all European countries to
+his works: he is studied wherever true study exists: eagerly studied
+even in France; nay, some considerable knowledge of his nature and
+spiritual importance seems already to prevail there. [Footnote: Witness
+/Le Tasse, Drame par Duval,/ and the Criticisms on it. See also the
+Essays in the /Globe,/ Nos. 55, 64 (1826).]
+
+For ourselves, meanwhile, in giving all due weight to so curious an
+exhibition of opinion, it is doubtless our part, at the same time, to
+beware that we do not give it too much. This universal sentiment of
+admiration is wonderful, is interesting enough; but it must not lead us
+astray. We English stand as yet without the sphere of it; neither will
+we plunge blindly in, but enter considerately, or, if we see good, keep
+aloof from it altogether. Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of
+merit, but only a probability of such; it is an accident, not a
+property, of a man; like light, it can give little or nothing, but at
+most may show what is given; often it is but a false glare, dazzling the
+eyes of the vulgar, lending by casual extrinsic splendour the brightness
+and manifold glance of the diamond to pebbles of no value. A man is in
+all cases simply the man, of the same intrinsic worth and weakness,
+whether his worth and weakness lie hidden in the depths of his own
+consciousness, or be betrumpeted and beshouted from end to end of the
+habitable globe. These are plain truths, which no one should lose sight
+of; though, whether in love or in anger, for praise or for condemnation,
+most of us are too apt to forget them. But least of all can it become
+the critic to 'follow a multitude to do evil' even when that evil is
+excess of admiration; on the contrary, it will behoove him to lift up
+his voice, how feeble soever, how unheeded soever, against the common
+delusion; from which, if he can save, or help to save any mortal, his
+endeavours will have been repaid.
+
+With these things in some measure before us, we must remind our readers
+of another influence at work in this affair, and one acting, as we
+think, in the contrary direction. That pitiful enough desire for
+'originality' which lurks and acts in all minds, will rather, we
+imagine, lead the critic of Foreign Literature to adopt the negative
+than the affirmative with regard to Goethe. If a writer indeed feel that
+he is writing for England alone, invisibly and inaudibly to the rest of
+the Earth, the temptations may be pretty equally balanced; if he write
+for some small conclave, which he mistakenly thinks the representative
+of England, they may sway this way or that, as it chances. But writing
+in such isolated spirit is no longer possible. Traffic, with its swift
+ships, is uniting all nations into one; Europe at large is becoming more
+and more one public; and in this public, the voices for Goethe, compared
+with those against him, are in the proportion, as we reckon them, both
+as to the number and value, of perhaps a hundred to one. We take in, not
+Germany alone, but France and Italy; not the Schlegels and Schellings,
+but the Manzonis and De Staels. The bias of originality, therefore, may
+lie to the side of censure; and whoever among us shall step forward,
+with such knowledge as our common critics have of Goethe, to enlighten
+the European public, by contradiction in this matter, displays a
+heroism, which, in estimating his other merits, ought nowise to be
+forgotten.
+
+Our own view of the case coincides, we confess, in some degree with that
+of the majority. We reckon that Goethe's fame has, to a considerable
+extent, been deserved; that his influence has been of high benefit to
+his own country; nay more, that it promises to be of benefit to us, and
+to all other nations. The essential grounds of this opinion, which to
+explain minutely were a long, indeed boundless task, we may state
+without many words. We find, then, in Goethe, an Artist, in the high and
+ancient meaning of that term; in the meaning which it may have borne
+long ago among the masters of Italian painting, and the fathers of
+Poetry in England; we say that we trace in the creations of this man,
+belonging in every sense to our own time, some touches of that old,
+divine spirit, which had long passed away from among us, nay which, as
+has often been laboriously demonstrated, was not to return to this world
+any more.
+
+Or perhaps we come nearer our meaning, if we say that in Goethe we
+discover by far the most striking instance, in our time, of a writer who
+is, in strict speech, what Philosophy can call a Man. He is neither
+noble nor plebeian, neither liberal nor servile, nor infidel nor
+devotee; but the best excellence of all these, joined in pure union; 'a
+clear and universal Man.' Goethe's poetry is no separate faculty, no
+mental handicraft; but the voice of the whole harmonious manhood: nay it
+is the very harmony, the living and life-giving harmony of that rich
+manhood which forms his poetry. All good men may be called poets in act,
+or in word; all good poets are so in both. But Goethe besides appears to
+us as a person of that deep endowment, and gifted vision, of that
+experience also and sympathy in the ways of all men, which qualify him
+to stand forth, not only as the literary ornament, but in many respects
+too as the Teacher and exemplar of his age. For, to say nothing of his
+natural gifts, he has cultivated himself and his art, he has studied how
+to live and to write, with a fidelity, an unwearied earnestness, of
+which there is no other living instance; of which, among British poets
+especially, Wordsworth alone offers any resemblance. And this in our
+view is the result. To our minds, in these soft, melodious imaginations
+of his, there is embodied the Wisdom which is proper to this time; the
+beautiful, the religious Wisdom, which may still, with something of its
+old impressiveness, speak to the whole soul; still, in these hard,
+unbelieving utilitarian days, reveal to us glimpses of the Unseen but
+not unreal World, that so the Actual and the Ideal may again meet
+together, and clear Knowledge be again wedded to Religion, in the life
+and business of men.
+
+Such is our conviction or persuasion with regard to the poetry of
+Goethe. Could we demonstrate this opinion to be true, could we even
+exhibit it with that degree of clearness and consistency which it has
+attained in our own thoughts, Goethe were, on our part, sufficiently
+recommended to the best attention of all thinking men. But, unhappily,
+it is not a subject susceptible of demonstration: the merits and
+characteristics of a Poet are not to be set forth by logic; but to be
+gathered by personal, and as in this case it must be, by deep and
+careful inspection of his works. Nay Goethe's world is everyway so
+different from ours; it costs us such effort, we have so much to
+remember, and so much to forget, before we can transfer ourselves in any
+measure into his peculiar point of vision, that a right study of him,
+for an Englishman, even of ingenuous, open, inquisitive mind, becomes
+unusually difficult; for a fixed, decided, contemptuous Englishman, next
+to impossible. To a reader of the first class, helps may be given,
+explanations will remove many a difficulty; beauties that lay hidden may
+be made apparent; and directions, adapted to his actual position, will
+at length guide him into the proper tract for such an inquiry. All this,
+however, must be a work of progression and detail. To do our part in it,
+from time to time, must rank among the best duties of an English Foreign
+Review. Meanwhile, our present endeavour limits itself within far
+narrower bounds. We cannot aim to make Goethe known, but only to prove
+that he is worthy of being known; at most, to point out, as it were afar
+off, the path by which some knowledge of him may be obtained. A slight
+glance at his general literary character and procedure, and one or two
+of his chief productions which throw light on these, must for the
+present suffice. A French diplomatic personage, contemplating Goethe's
+physiognomy, is said to have observed: /Voila un homme qui a eu
+beaucoup de chagrins./ A truer version of the matter, Goethe himself
+seems to think, would have been: Here is a man who has struggled
+toughly; who has /es sich recht sauer werden lassen./ Goethe's
+life, whether as a writer and thinker, or as a living active man, has
+indeed been a life of effort, of earnest toilsome endeavour after all
+excellence. Accordingly, his intellectual progress, his spiritual and
+moral history, as it may be gathered from his successive Works,
+furnishes, with us, no small portion of the pleasure and profit we
+derive from perusing them. Participating deeply in all the influences of
+his age, he has from the first, at every new epoch, stood forth to
+elucidate the new circumstances of the time; to offer the instruction,
+the solace, which that time required. His literary life divides itself
+into two portions widely different in character: the products of the
+first, once so new and original, have long either directly or through
+the thousand thousand imitations of them, been familiar to us; with the
+products of the second, equally original, and in our day far more
+precious, we are yet little acquainted. These two classes of works stand
+curiously related with each other; at first view, in strong
+contradiction, yet, in truth, connected together by the strictest
+sequence. For Goethe has not only suffered and mourned in bitter agony
+under the spiritual perplexities of his time; but he has also mastered
+these, he is above them, and has shown others how to rise above them. At
+one time, we found him in darkness, and now he is in light; he was once
+an Unbeliever, and now he is a Believer; and he believes, moreover, not
+by denying his unbelief, but by following it out; not by stopping short,
+still less turning back, in his inquiries, but by resolutely prosecuting
+them. This, it appears to us, is a case of singular interest, and rarely
+exemplified, if at all elsewhere, in these our days. How has this man,
+to whom the world once offered nothing but blackness, denial and
+despair, attained to that better vision which now shows it to him, not
+tolerable only, but full of solemnity and loveliness? How has the belief
+of a Saint been united in this high and true mind with the clearness of
+a Sceptic; the devout spirit of a Fenelon made to blend in soft harmony
+with the gaiety, the sarcasm, the shrewdness of a Voltaire?
+
+Goethe's two earliest works are /Götz von Berlichingen/ and the
+/Sorrows of Werter/. The boundless influence and popularity they
+gained, both at home and abroad, is well known. It was they that
+established almost at once his literary fame in his own country; and
+even determined his subsequent private history, for they brought him
+into contact with the Duke of Weimar; in connection with whom, the Poet,
+engaged in manifold duties, political as well as literary, has lived for
+fifty-four years. Their effects over Europe at large were not less
+striking than in Germany.
+
+'It would be difficult,' observes a writer on this subject, 'to name two
+books which have exercised a deeper influence on the subsequent
+literature of Europe, than these two performances of a young author; his
+first-fruits, the produce of his twenty-fourth year. /Werter/
+appeared to seize the hearts of men in all quarters of the world, and to
+utter for them the word which they had long been waiting to hear. As
+usually happens, too, this same word, once uttered, was soon abundantly
+repeated; spoken in all dialects, and chaunted through all notes of the
+gamut, till the sound of it had grown a weariness rather than a
+pleasure. Sceptical sentimentality, view-hunting, love, friendship,
+suicide, and desperation, became the staple of literary ware; and though
+the epidemic, after a long course of years, subsided in Germany, it
+reappeared with various modifications in other countries, and everywhere
+abundant traces of its good and bad effects are still to be discerned.
+The fortune of /Berlichingen with the Iron Hand,/ though less
+sudden, was by no means less exalted. In his own county, /Götz,/
+though he now stands solitary and childless, became the parent of an
+innumerable progeny of chivalry plays, feudal delineations, and poetico-
+antiquarian performances; which, though long ago deceased, made noise
+enough in their day and generation: and with ourselves, his influence
+has been perhaps still more remarkable. Sir Walter Scott's first
+literary enterprise was a translation of /Götz von Berlichingen/;
+and, if genius could be communicated like instruction, we might call
+this work of Goethe's the prime cause of /Marmion/ and the /Lady
+of the Lake/, with all that has followed from the same creative hand.
+Truly, a grain of seed that has lighted on the right soil! For if not
+firmer and fairer, it has grown to be taller and broader than any other
+tree; and all the nations of the earth are still yearly gathering of its
+fruit.
+
+'But overlooking these spiritual genealogies, which bring little
+certainty and little profit, it may be sufficient to observe of
+/Berlichingen/ and /Werter/, that they stand prominent among
+the causes, or, at the very least, among the signals of a great change
+in modern literature. The former directed men's attention with a new
+force to the picturesque effects of the Past; and the latter, for the
+first time, attempted the more accurate delineation of a class of
+feelings deeply important to modern minds, but for which our elder
+poetry offered no exponent, and perhaps could offer none, because they
+are feelings that arise from Passion incapable of being converted into
+Action, and belong chiefly to an age as indolent, cultivated and
+unbelieving as our own. This, notwithstanding the dash of falsehood
+which may exist in /Werter/ itself, and the boundless delirium of
+extravagance which it called forth in others, is a high praise which
+cannot justly be denied it.'
+
+To the same dark wayward mood, which, in /Werter/, pours itself
+forth in bitter wailings over human life; and, in /Berlichingen/,
+appears as a fond and sad looking back into the Past, belong various
+other productions of Goethe's; for example, the /Mitschuldigen/,
+and the first idea of Faust, which, however, was not realized in actual
+composition till a calmer period of his history. Of this early harsh and
+crude, yet fervid and genial period, /Werter/ may stand here as the
+representative; and, viewed in its external and internal relation, will
+help to illustrate both the writer and the public he was writing for.
+
+At the present day, it would be difficult for us, satisfied, nay sated
+to nausea, as we have been with the doctrines of Sentimentality, to
+estimate the boundless interest which /Werter/ must have excited
+when first given to the world. It was then new in all senses; it was
+wonderful, yet wished for, both in its own country and in every other.
+The Literature of Germany had as yet but partially awakened from its
+long torpor: deep learning, deep reflection, have at no time been
+wanting there; but the creative spirit had for above a century been
+almost extinct. Of late, however, the Ramlers, Rabeners, Gellerts, had
+attained to no inconsiderable polish of style; Klopstock's
+/Messias/ had called forth the admiration, and perhaps still more
+the pride, of the country, as a piece of art; a high enthusiasm was
+abroad; Lessing had roused the minds of men to a deeper and truer
+interest in Literature, had even decidedly begun to introduce a
+heartier, warmer and more expressive style. The Germans were on the
+alert; in expectation, or at least in full readiness for some far bolder
+impulse; waiting for the Poet that might speak to them from the heart to
+the heart. It was in Goethe that such a Poet was to be given them.
+
+Nay, the Literature of other countries, placid, self-satisfied as they
+might seem, was in an equally expectant condition. Everywhere, as in
+Germany, there was polish and languor, external glitter and internal
+vacuity; it was not fire, but a picture of fire, at which no soul could
+be warmed. Literature had sunk from its former vocation: it no longer
+held the mirror up to Nature; no longer reflected, in many-coloured
+expressive symbols, the actual passions, the hopes, sorrows, joys of
+living men; but dwelt in a remote conventional world in /Castles of
+Otranto/, in /Epigoniads/ and /Leonidases/, among clear,
+metallic heroes, and white, high, stainless beauties, in whom the
+drapery and elocution were nowise the least important qualities. Men
+thought it right that the heart should swell into magnanimity with
+Caractacus and Cato, and melt into sorrow with many an Eliza and
+Adelaide; but the heart was in no haste either to swell or to melt. Some
+pulses of heroical sentiment, a few /un/natural tears might, with
+conscientious readers, be actually squeezed forth on such occasions: but
+they came only from the surface of the mind; nay, had the conscientious
+man considered the matter, he would have found that they ought not to
+have come at all. Our only English poet of the period was Goldsmith; a
+pure, clear, genuine spirit, had he been of depth or strength
+sufficient; his /Vicar of Wakefield/ remains the best of all modern
+Idyls; but it is and was nothing more. And consider our leading writers;
+consider the poetry of Gray, and the prose of Johnson. The first a
+laborious mosaic, through the hard stiff lineaments of which little life
+or true grace could be expected to look: real feeling, and all freedom
+of expressing it, are sacrificed to pomp, to cold splendour; for vigour
+we have a certain mouthing vehemence, too elegant indeed to be tumid,
+yet essentially foreign to the heart, and seen to extend no deeper than
+the mere voice and gestures. Were it not for his /Letters/, which
+are full of warm exuberant power, we might almost doubt whether Gray was
+a man of genius; nay, was a living man at all, and not rather some
+thousand-times more cunningly devised poetical turning-loom, than that
+of Swift's Philosophers in Laputa. Johnson's prose is true, indeed, and
+sound, and full of practical sense: few men have seen more clearly into
+the motives, the interests, the whole walk and conversation of the
+living busy world as it lay before him; but farther than this busy, and
+to most of us, rather prosaic world, he seldom looked: his instruction
+is for men of business, and in regard to matters of business alone.
+Prudence is the highest Virtue he can inculcate; and for that finer
+portion of our nature, that portion of it which belongs essentially to
+Literature strictly so called, where our highest feelings, our best joys
+and keenest sorrows, our Doubt, our Love, our Religion reside, he has no
+word to utter; no remedy, no counsel to give us in our straits; or at
+most, if, like poor Boswell, the patient is importunate, will answer:
+"My dear Sir, endeavour to clear your mind of Cant."
+
+The turn which Philosophical speculation had taken in the preceding age
+corresponded with this tendency, and enhanced its narcotic influences;
+or was, indeed, properly speaking, the loot they had sprung from. Locke,
+himself a clear, humble-minded, patient, reverent, nay religious man,
+had paved the way for banishing religion from the world. Mind, by being
+modelled in men's imaginations into a Shape, a Visibility; and reasoned
+of as if it had been some composite, divisible and reunitable substance,
+some finer chemical salt, or curious piece of logical joinery,--began to
+lose its immaterial, mysterious, divine though invisible character: it
+was tacitly figured as something that might, were our organs fine
+enough, be /seen/. Yet who had ever seen it? Who could ever see it?
+Thus by degrees it passed into a Doubt, a Relation, some faint
+Possibility; and at last into a highly-probable Nonentity. Following
+Locke's footsteps, the French had discovered that 'as the stomach
+secretes Chyle, so does the brain secrete Thought.' And what then was
+Religion, what was Poetry, what was all high and heroic feeling? Chiefly
+a delusion; often a false and pernicious one. Poetry, indeed, was still
+to be preserved; because Poetry was a useful thing: men needed
+amusement, and loved to amuse themselves with Poetry: the playhouse was
+a pretty lounge of an evening; then there were so many precepts,
+satirical, didactic, so much more impressive for the rhyme; to say
+nothing of your occasional verses, birthday odes, epithalamiums,
+epicediums, by which 'the dream of existence may be so highly sweetened
+and embellished.' Nay, does not Poetry, acting on the imaginations of
+men, excite them to daring purposes; sometimes, as in the case of
+Tyrtaeus, to fight better; in which wise may it not rank as a useful
+stimulant to man, along with Opium and Scotch Whisky, the manufacture of
+which is allowed by law? In Heaven's name, then, let Poetry be
+preserved.
+
+With Religion, however, it fared somewhat worse. In the eyes of Voltaire
+and his disciples, Religion was a superfluity, indeed a nuisance. Here,
+it is true, his followers have since found that he went too far; that
+Religion, being a great sanction to civil morality, is of use for
+keeping society in order, at least the lower classes, who have not the
+feeling of Honour in due force; and therefore, as a considerable help to
+the Constable and Hangman, /ought/ decidedly to be kept up. But
+such toleration is the fruit only of later days. In those times, there
+was no question but how to get rid of it, root and branch, the sooner
+the better. A gleam of zeal, nay we will call it, however basely
+alloyed, a glow of real enthusiasm and love of truth, may have animated
+the minds of these men, as they looked abroad on the pestilent jungle of
+Superstition, and hoped to clear the earth of it forever. This little
+glow, so alloyed, so contaminated with pride and other poor or bad
+admixtures, was the last which thinking men were to experience in Europe
+for a time. So it is always in regard to Religious Belief, how degraded
+and defaced soever: the delight of the Destroyer and Denier is no pure
+delight, and must soon pass away. With bold, with skilful hand, Voltaire
+set his torch to the jungle: it blazed aloft to heaven; and the flame
+exhilarated and comforted the incendiaries; but, unhappily, such comfort
+could not continue. Ere long this flame, with its cheerful light and
+heat, was gone: the jungle, it is true, had been consumed; but, with its
+entanglements, its shelter and its spots of verdure also; and the black,
+chill, ashy swamp, left in its stead, seemed for a time a greater evil
+than the other.
+
+In such a state of painful obstruction, extending itself everywhere over
+Europe, and already master of Germany, lay the general mind, when Goethe
+first appeared in Literature. Whatever belonged to the finer nature of
+man had withered under the Harmattan breath of Doubt, or passed away in
+the conflagration of open Infidelity; and now, where the Tree of Life
+once bloomed and brought fruit of goodliest savour there was only
+barrenness and desolation. To such as could find sufficient interest in
+the day-labour and day-wages of earthly existence; in the resources of
+the five bodily Senses, and of Vanity, the only mental sense which yet
+flourished, which flourished indeed with gigantic vigour, matters were
+still not so bad. Such men helped themselves forward, as they will
+generally do; and found the world, if not an altogether proper sphere
+(for every man, disguise it as he may, has a /soul/ in him), at
+least a tolerable enough place; where, by one item or another, some
+comfort, or show of comfort, might from time to time be got up, and
+these few years, especially since they were so few, be spent without
+much murdering. But to men afflicted with the 'malady of Thought,' some
+devoutness of temper was an inevitable heritage; to such the noisy forum
+of the world could appear but an empty, altogether insufficient concern;
+and the whole scene of life had become hopeless enough. Unhappily, such
+feelings are yet by no means so infrequent with ourselves, that we need
+stop here to depict them. That state of Unbelief from which the Germans
+do seem to be in some measure delivered, still presses with incubus
+force on the greater part of Europe; and nation after nation, each in
+its own way, feels that the first of all moral problems is how to cast
+it off, or how to rise above it. Governments naturally attempt the first
+expedient; Philosophers, in general, the second.
+
+The Poet, says Schiller, is a citizen not only of his country, but of
+his time. Whatever occupies and interests men in general, will interest
+him still more. That nameless Unrest, the blind struggle of a soul in
+bondage, that high, sad, longing Discontent, which was agitating every
+bosom, had driven Goethe almost to despair. All felt it; he alone could
+give it voice. And here lies the secret of his popularity; in his deep,
+susceptive heart, he felt a thousand times more keenly what every one
+was feeling; with the creative gift which belonged to him as a poet, he
+bodied it forth into visible shape, gave it a local habitation and a
+name; and so made himself the spokesman of his generation. /Werter/
+is but the cry of that dim, rooted pain, under which all thoughtful men
+of a certain age were languishing: it paints the misery, it passionately
+utters the complaint; and heart and voice, all over Europe, loudly and
+at once respond to it. True, it prescribes no remedy; for that was a far
+different, far harder enterprise, to which other years and a higher
+culture were required; but even this utterance of the pain, even this
+little, for the present, is ardently grasped at, and with eager sympathy
+appropriated in every bosom. If Byron's life-weariness, his moody
+melancholy, and mad stormful indignation, borne on the tones of a wild
+and quite artless melody, could pierce so deep into many a British
+heart, now that the whole matter is no longer new,--is indeed old and
+trite,--we may judge with what vehement acceptance this /Werter/
+must have been welcomed, coming as it did like a voice from unknown
+regions; the first thrilling peal of that impassioned dirge, which, in
+country after country, men's ears have listened to, till they were deaf
+to all else. For /Werter/ infusing itself into the core and whole
+spirit of Literature, gave birth to a race of Sentimentalists, who have
+raged and wailed in every part of the world, till better light dawned on
+them, or at worst, exhausted Nature laid herself to sleep, and it was
+discovered that lamenting was an unproductive labour. These funereal
+choristers, in Germany a loud, haggard, tumultuous, as well as tearful
+class, were named the /Kraftmänner/ or Power-men; but have all long
+since, like sick children, cried themselves to rest. Byron was our
+English Sentimentalist and Power-man; the strongest of his kind in
+Europe; the wildest, the gloomiest, and it may be hoped the last. For
+what good is it to 'whine, put finger i' the eye, and sob,' in such a
+case? Still more, to snarl and snap in malignant wise, 'like dog
+distract, or monkey sick?' Why should we quarrel with our existence,
+here as it lies before us, our field and inheritance, to make or mar,
+for better or for worse; in which, too, so many noblest men have, even
+from the beginning, warring with the very evils we war with, both made
+and been what will be venerated to all time?
+
+A wide and everyway most important interval divides /Werter/, with
+its sceptical philosophy and 'hypochondriacal crotchets,' from Goethe's
+next Novel, /Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship/, published some
+twenty years afterwards. This work belongs, in all senses, to the second
+and sounder period of Goethe's life, and may indeed serve as the
+fullest, if perhaps not the purest, impress of it; being written with
+due forethought, at various times, during a period of no less than ten
+years. Considered as a piece of Art, there were much to be said on
+/Meister/; all which, however, lies beyond our present purpose. We
+are here looking at the work chiefly as a document for the writer's
+history; and in this point of view, it certainly seems, as contrasted
+with its more popular precursor, to deserve our best attention: for the
+problem which had been stated in /Werter/, with despair of its
+solution, is here solved. The lofty enthusiasm, which, wandering wildly
+over the universe, found no resting-place, has here reached its
+appointed home; and lives in harmony with what long appeared to threaten
+it with annihilation. Anarchy has now become Peace; the once gloomy and
+perturbed spirit is now serene, cheerfully vigorous, and rich in good
+fruits. Neither, which is most important of all, has this Peace been
+attained by a surrender to Necessity, or any compact with Delusion; a
+seeming blessing, such as years and dispiritment will of themselves
+bring to most men, and which is indeed no blessing, since even continued
+battle is better than destruction or captivity; and peace of this sort
+is like that of Galgacus's Romans, who 'called it peace when they had
+made a desert.' Here the ardent high-aspiring youth has grown into the
+calmest man, yet with increase and not loss of ardour, and with
+aspirations higher as well as clearer. For he has conquered his
+unbelief; the Ideal has been built on the Actual; no longer floats
+vaguely in darkness and regions of dreams, but rests in light, on the
+firm ground of human interest and business, as in its true scene, on its
+true basis.
+
+It is wonderful to see with, what softness the scepticism of Jarno, the
+commercial spirit of Werner, the reposing polished manhood of Lothario
+and the Uncle, the unearthly enthusiasm of the Harper, the gay animal
+vivacity of Philina, the mystic, ethereal, almost spiritual nature of
+Mignon, are blended together in this work; how justice is done to each,
+how each lives freely in his proper element, in his proper form; and
+how, as Wilhelm himself, the mild-hearted, all-hoping, all-believing
+Wilhelm, struggles forward towards his world of Art through these
+curiously complected influences, all this unites itself into a
+multifarious, yet so harmonious Whole; as into a clear poetic mirror,
+where man's life and business in this age, his passions and purposes,
+the highest equally with the lowest, are imaged back to us in beautiful
+significance. Poetry and Prose are no longer at variance; for the poet's
+eyes are opened; he sees the changes of many-colored existence, and sees
+the loveliness and deep purport which lies hidden under the very meanest
+of them; hidden to the vulgar sight, but clear to the poet's; because
+the 'open secret' is no longer a secret to him, and he knows that the
+Universe is /full/ of goodness; that whatever has being has beauty.
+
+Apart from its literary merits or demerits, such is the temper of mind
+we trace in Goethe's /Meister/, and, more or less expressly
+exhibited, in all his later works. We reckon it a rare phenomenon, this
+temper; and worthy, in our times, if it do exist, of best study from all
+inquiring men. How has such a temper been attained in this so lofty and
+impetuous mind, once too, dark, desolate and full of doubt, more than
+any other? How may we, each of us in his several sphere, attain it, or
+strengthen it, for ourselves? These are questions, this last is a
+question, in which no one is unconcerned.
+
+To answer these questions, to begin the answer of them, would lead us
+very far beyond our present limits. It is not, as we believe, without
+long, sedulous study, without learning much and unlearning much, that,
+for any man, the answer of such questions is even to be hoped.
+Meanwhile, as regards Goethe, there is one feature of the business,
+which, to us, throws considerable light on his moral persuasions, and
+will not, in investigating the secret of them, be overlooked. We allude
+to the spirit in which he cultivates his Art; the noble, disinterested,
+almost religious love with which he looks on Art in general, and strives
+towards it as towards the sure, highest, nay only good.
+
+For a man of Goethe's talent to write many such pieces of rhetoric,
+setting forth the dignity of poets, and their innate independence on
+external circumstances, could be no very hard task; accordingly, we find
+such sentiments again and again expressed, sometimes with still more
+gracefulness, still clearer emphasis, in his various writings. But to
+adopt these sentiments into his sober practical persuasion; in any
+measure to feel and believe that such was still, and must always be, the
+high vocation of the poet; on this ground of universal humanity, of
+ancient and now almost forgotten nobleness, to take his stand, even in
+these trivial, jeering, withered, unbelieving days; and through all
+their complex, dispiriting, mean, yet tumultuous influences, to 'make
+his light shine before them,' that it might beautify even our 'rag-
+gathering age' with some beams of that mild, divine splendour, which had
+long left us, the very possibility of which was denied; heartily and in
+earnest to meditate all this, was no common proceeding; to bring it into
+practice, especially in such a life as his has been, was among the
+highest and hardest enterprises which any man whatever could engage in.
+We reckon this a greater novelty, than all the novelties which as a mere
+writer he ever put forth, whether for praise or censure. We have taken
+it upon us to say that if such is, in any sense, the state of the case
+with regard to Goethe, he deserves not mere approval as a pleasing poet
+and sweet singer; but deep, grateful study, observance, imitation, as a
+Moralist and Philosopher. If there be any /probability/ that such
+is the state of the case, we cannot but reckon it a matter well worthy
+of being inquired into. And it is for this only that we are here
+pleading and arguing. Meister is the mature product of the first genius
+of our times; and must, one would think, be different, in various
+respects, from the immature products of geniuses who are far from the
+first, and whose works spring from the brain in as many weeks as
+Goethe's cost him years.
+
+It may deserve to be mentioned here that Meister, at its first
+appearance in Germany, was received very much as it has been in England.
+Goethe's known character, indeed, precluded indifference there; but
+otherwise it was much the same. The whole guild of criticism was thrown
+into perplexity, into sorrow; everywhere was dissatisfaction open or
+concealed. Official duty impelling them to speak, some said one thing,
+some another; all felt in secret that they knew not what to say. Till
+the appearance of Schlegel's /Character/, no word, that we have
+seen, of the smallest chance to be decisive, or indeed to last beyond
+the day, had been uttered regarding it. Some regretted that the fire of
+/Werter/ was so wonderfully abated; whisperings there might be
+about 'lowness,' 'heaviness;' some spake forth boldly in behalf of
+suffering 'virtue.' Novalis was not among the speakers, but he censured
+the work in secret, and this for a reason which to us will seem the
+strangest; for its being, as we should say, a Benthamite work! Many are
+the bitter aphorisms we find, among his Fragments, directed against
+/Meister/ for its prosaic, mechanical, economical, coldhearted,
+altogether Utilitarian character. We English again call Goethe a mystic;
+so difficult is it to please all parties! But the good, deep, noble
+Novalis made the fairest amends; for notwithstanding all this, Tieck
+tells us, if we remember rightly, he continually returned to
+/Meister/, and could not but peruse and reperuse it.
+
+Goethe's /Wanderjahre/ was published in his seventy-second year;
+/Werter/ in his twenty-fifth; thus in passing between these two
+works, and over /Meister's Lehrjahre/ which stands nearly midway,
+we have glanced over a space of almost fifty years, including within
+them, of course, whatever was most important in his public or private
+history. By means of these quotations, so diverse in their tone, we
+meant to make it visible that a great change had taken place in the
+moral disposition of the man; a change from inward imprisonment, doubt
+and discontent, into freedom, belief and clear activity; such a change
+as, in our opinion, must take place, more or less consciously, in every
+character that, especially in these times, attains to spiritual manhood,
+and in characters possessing any thoughtfulness and sensibility, will
+seldom take place without a too painful consciousness, without bitter
+conflicts, in which the character itself is too often maimed and
+impoverished, and which end too often not in victory, but in defeat, or
+fatal compromise with the enemy. Too often, we may well say; for though
+many gird on the harness, few bear it warrior-like; still fewer put it
+off with triumph. Among our own poets, Byron was almost the only man we
+saw faithfully and manfully struggling, to the end, in this cause; and
+he died while the victory was still doubtful, or at best, only beginning
+to be gained. We have already stated our opinion, that Goethe's success
+in this matter has been more complete than that of any other man in his
+age; nay, that, in the strictest sense, he may almost be called the only
+one that has so succeeded. On this ground, were it on no other, we have
+ventured to say that his spiritual history and procedure must deserve
+attention; that his opinions, his creations, his mode of thought, his
+whole picture of the world as it dwells within him, must to his
+contemporaries be an inquiry of no common interest; of an interest
+altogether peculiar, and not in this degree exampled in existing
+literature. These things can be but imperfectly stated here, and must be
+left, not in a state of demonstration, but at the utmost, of loose
+fluctuating probability; nevertheless, if inquired into, they will be
+found to have a precise enough meaning, and, as we believe, a highly
+important one.
+
+For the rest, what sort of mind it is that has passed through this
+change, that has gained this victory; how rich and high a mind; how
+learned by study in all that is wisest, by experience in all that is
+most complex, the brightest as well as the blackest, in man's existence;
+gifted with what insight, with what grace and power of utterance, we
+shall not for the present attempt discussing. All these the reader will
+learn, who studies his writings with such attention as they merit; and
+by no other means. Of Goethe's dramatic, lyrical, didactic poems, in
+their thousandfold expressiveness, for they are full of expressiveness,
+we can here say nothing. But in every department of Literature, of Art
+ancient and modern, in many provinces of Science, we shall often meet
+him; and hope to have other occasions of estimating what, in these
+respects, we and all men owe him.
+
+Two circumstances, meanwhile, we have remarked, which to us throw light
+on the nature of his original faculty for Poetry, and go far to convince
+us of the Mastery he has attained in that art: these we may here state
+briefly, for the judgment of such as already know his writings, or the
+help of such as are beginning to know them. The first is his singularly
+emblematic intellect; his perpetual never-failing tendency to transform
+into /shape/, into /life/, the opinion, the feeling that may dwell
+in him; which, in its widest sense, we reckon to be essentially the grand
+problem of the Poet. We do not mean mere metaphor and rhetorical trope:
+these are but the exterior concern, often but the scaffolding of the
+edifice, which is to be built up (within our thoughts) by means of them.
+In allusions, in similitudes, though no one known to us is happier, many
+are more copious than Goethe. But we find this faculty of his in the
+very essence of his intellect; and trace it alike in the quiet cunning
+epigram, the allegory, the quaint device, reminding us of some Quarles
+or Bunyan; and in the /Fausts/, the /Tassos/, the
+/Mignons/, which in their pure and genuine personality, may almost
+remind us of the /Ariels/ and /Hamlets/ of Shakespeare.
+Everything has form, everything has visual existence; the poet's
+imagination /bodies forth/ the forms of things unseen, his pen
+turns them to /shape/. This, as a natural endowment, exists in
+Goethe, we conceive, to a very high degree.
+
+The other characteristic of his mind, which proves to us his acquired
+mastery in art, as this shows us the extent of his original capacity for
+it, is his wonderful variety, nay universality; his entire freedom from
+the Mannerism. We read Goethe for years, before we come to see wherein
+the distinguishing peculiarity of his understanding, of his disposition,
+even of his way of writing, consists. It seems quite a simple style that
+of his; remarkable chiefly for its calmness, its perspicuity, in short
+its commonness; and yet it is the most uncommon of all styles: we feel
+as if every one might imitate it, and yet it is inimitable. As hard is
+it to discover in his writings,--though there also, as in every man's
+writings, the character of the writer must lie recorded,--what sort of
+spiritual construction he has, what are his temper, his affections, his
+individual specialties. For all lives freely within him: Philina and
+Clanchen, Mephistopheles and Mignon, are alike indifferent, or alike
+dear to him; he is of no sect or caste: he seems not this man or that
+man, but a man. We reckon this to be the characteristic of a Master in
+Art of any sort; and true especially of all great Poets. How true is it
+of Shakespeare and Homer! Who knows, or can figure what the Man
+Shakespeare was, by the first, by the twentieth perusal of his works? He
+is a Voice coming to us from the Land of Melody: his old brick dwelling-
+place, in the mere earthly burgh of Stratford-on-Avon, offers us the
+most inexplicable enigma. And what is Homer in the /Ilias/? He is
+THE WITNESS; he has seen, and he reveals it; we hear and believe, but do
+not behold him. Now compare, with these two Poets, any other two; not of
+equal genius, for there are none such, but of equal sincerity, who wrote
+as earnestly and from the heart, like them. Take, for instance, Jean
+Paul and Lord Byron. The good Eichter begins to show himself, in his
+broad, massive, kindly, quaint significance, before we have read many
+pages of even his slightest work; and to the last he paints himself much
+better than his subject. Byron may also be said to have painted nothing
+else than himself, be his subject what it might. Yet as a test for the
+culture of a Poet, in his poetical capacity, for his pretensions to
+mastery and completeness in his art, we cannot but reckon this among the
+surest. Tried by this, there is no writer that approaches within many
+degrees of Goethe.
+
+
+
+JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
+
+Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfort on August 28, 1749. His
+parents were citizens of that imperial town, and Wolfgang was their only
+son. His father was born on July 31, 1710. He married, on August 20,
+1748, at the age of thirty-eight, Catherine Elizabeth Textor. In
+December, 1750, was born a daughter, Cornelia, who remained until her
+death, at the age of twenty-seven, her brother's most intimate friend.
+She was married in 1773 to John George Schlosser. Goethe's education was
+irregular. French culture gave at this time the prevailing tone to
+Europe. Goethe could not have escaped its influence, and he was destined
+to fall under it in a special manner. In the Seven Years' War, which was
+now raging, France took the side of the empire against Frederick the
+Great. Frankfort was full of French soldiers, and a certain Comte
+Thorane, who was quartered in Goethe's house, had an important influence
+on the boy.
+
+Goethe, if we may believe his autobiography, experienced his first love
+about the age of fifteen in the person of Gretchen, whom some have
+supposed to be the daughter of an innkeeper at Offenbach. He worshipped
+her as Dante worshipped Beatrice.
+
+In the autumn of 1765 Goethe traveled to Leipsic. On the 19th of October
+he was admitted as a student. He was sent to Leipsic to study law, in
+order that he might return to Frankfort fitted for the regular course of
+municipal distinction. He intended to devote himself not to law, but to
+belles lettres. He attended Gellert's lectures on literature, and even
+joined his private class. His real university education was derived from
+intercourse with his friends. First among these was J. G. Schlosser, who
+afterwards married his sister. He had a great influence upon him,
+chiefly in introducing him to a wider circle of German, French, English
+and Italian poetry.
+
+But the person who had the strongest effect on Goethe's mental
+development was Adam Frederick Oeser, at this time director of the
+academy of arts in Leipsic.
+
+Goethe, from his earliest years, was never without a passion, and at
+Leipsic his passion was Kitty Schönkopf, the Aennchen of the
+autobiography, the daughter of the host at whose house he dined. She
+often teased him with her inconstant ways, and to this experience is due
+his first drama, "Die Laune des Verliebten," "Lovers' Quarrels," as it
+may be styled. A deeper chord is struck in "Die Mitschuldigen" (The
+Fellow Sinners), which forms a dismal and forbidding picture both of the
+time and of the experiences of the youth who wrote it. He had an
+opportunity of establishing his principles of taste during a short visit
+at Dresden, in which he devoted himself to the pictures and the
+antiques. The end of Goethe's stay at Leipsic was saddened by illness.
+One morning at the beginning of the summer he was awakened by a violent
+hemorrhage. For several days he hung between life and death, and after
+that his recovery was slow. He left Leipsic far from well on August 28,
+1768.
+
+Goethe made an enforced stay of a year and a half. It was perhaps the
+least happy part of his life. His cure proceeded slowly, and he had
+several relapses. His family relations were not pleasant. His father
+showed but little sympathy with his aspirations for universal culture,
+and could imagine no career for him but that of a successful jurist. His
+sister had grown somewhat harsh and cold during his absence. Goethe's
+mother was always the same to him--a bright, genial, sympathetic friend.
+Goethe, during his illness, received great attention from Fräulein von
+Klettenberg, a friend of his mother's, a pietist of the Moravian school.
+She initiated him into the mystical writings of those abstracted saints,
+and she engaged him in the study of alchemy, which served at once to
+prepare him for the conception of Faust and for the scientific
+researches of his later days.
+
+He arrived at Strasburg April 2,1770. Goethe stayed in Strasburg till
+August 28, 1771, his twenty-second birthday, and these sixteen months
+are perhaps the most important of his life. During them he came into
+active contact with most of those impulses of which his after life was a
+development. If we would understand his mental growth, we must ask who
+were his friends. He took his meals at the house of the Fräulein Lauth
+in the Kramergasse. The table was mainly filled with medical students.
+At the head of it sat Salzmann, a grave man of fifty years of age. His
+experience and his refined taste were very attractive to Goethe, who
+made him his intimate friend. The table of the Fräulein Lauth received
+some new guests. Among these was Jung-Stilling, the self-educated
+charcoal-burner, who in his memoir has left a graphic account of
+Goethe's striking appearance, in his broad brow, his flashing eye, his
+mastery of the company, and his generosity. Another was Lerse, a frank,
+open character, who became Goethe's favorite, and whose name is
+immortalized in Götz von Berlichingen.
+
+Goethe's stay at Strasburg is generally connected still more closely
+with another circumstance--his passion for Frederike Brion of Sesenheim.
+The village lies about twenty miles from Strasburg, and her father was
+pastor there. Goethe was introduced by his friend Weyland, as a poor
+theological student. The father was a simple, worthy man, the eldest of
+the three daughters was married, the two younger remained--Maria Salome,
+and Frederike, to whom the poet principally devoted himself. She was
+tall and slight, with fair hair and blue eyes, and just sixteen years of
+age. Goethe gave himself up to the passion of the moment. During the
+winter of 1770, Goethe often rode over to Sesenheim. Neither storm, nor
+cold, nor darkness kept him back. As his time for leaving Strasburg came
+nearer he felt that his love was merely a dream and could have no
+serious termination. Frederike felt the same on her side. On August 6th
+Goethe took his degree as a doctor of law. Shortly afterwards he bade
+adieu to Sesenheim. Frederike lived till 1813 and died single.
+
+Goethe's return to Frankfort is marked by a number of songs, of which
+the "Wanderer's Sturmlied" is the most remarkable. He had outgrown many
+of the friends of his youth. Those with whom he felt most sympathy were
+the two Schlossers and his sister Cornelia. He found in her one who
+sympathized with all his aspirations. The work into which he threw all
+his genius was the dramatization of the history of the imperial knight
+of the Middle Ages, Gottfried or Götz von Berlichingen. The immediate
+cause of this enterprise was his enthusiasm for Shakespeare. After
+reading him he felt, he said, like a blind man who suddenly receives his
+sight. The study of a dry and dull biography of Götz, published in 1731,
+supplied the subject for his awakened powers. From this miserable sketch
+he conceived within his mind a complete picture of Germany in the
+sixteenth century. The chief characters of his play are creatures of his
+imagination, representing the principal types which made up the history
+of the time. Every personage is made to live; they speak in short, sharp
+sentences like the powerful lines of a great master's drawing. The first
+sketch of Götz was finished in six weeks, in the autumn of 1771. It ran
+like wild-fire through the whole of Germany.
+
+Goethe left Frankfort in the spring of 1772 for Wetzlar, a quiet country
+town on the Lahn, one of the seats of government of the Holy Roman
+Empire. The emperors lived at Vienna; they were crowned at Frankfort;
+they held their parliaments at Ratisbon, and at Wetzlar their courts of
+justice. It was the custom for young lawyers to attend the sittings of
+these courts for a certain time before they could be admitted to
+practice on their own account. The company of these students, of the
+embassies from the component parts of the empire, and of various
+imperial officials, made the society a pleasant and lively one. Goethe
+soon found friends. His favorite house was occupied by one of the
+officials of the order, by name Buff, an honest man with a large family
+of children. The second daughter, Lotte, blue-eyed, fair and just twenty
+years of age, was first met by Goethe, shortly after his arrival, at a
+ball at Wolpertshausen. She strongly attracted him; he became a constant
+visitor at the house. He found that Lotte was a second mother to her
+brothers and sisters. Lotte, was really, though not formally, engaged to
+Kestner, a man of two-and-thirty, secretary to the Hanoverian legation.
+The discovery of this relation made no difference to Goethe; he remained
+the devoted friend to both. But the position was too critical to last.
+On September 10 they met in the German house for the last time. Goethe
+and Schlosser went together to Wetzlar in November. Here he heard of the
+death of Jerusalem, a young man attached to the Brunswick legation. He
+had been with Goethe at the University of Leipsic. Of a moody
+temperament, disheartened by failure in his profession, and soured by a
+hopeless passion for the wife of another, he had borrowed a pair of
+pistols under pretense of a journey, and had shot himself on the night
+of October 29.
+
+Goethe immediately afterwards began his Werther. Goethe tells us that it
+was written in four weeks. In October it spread over the whole of
+Germany. It was enthusiastically beloved or sternly condemned. It was
+printed, imitated, translated into every language of Europe. Götz and
+Werther formed the solid foundation of Goethe's fame. It is difficult to
+imagine that the same man can have produced both works, so different are
+they in matter and style. Götz was the first manly appeal to the
+chivalry of German spirit, which, caught up by other voices, sounded
+throughout the Fatherland like the call of a warder's trumpet, till it
+produced a national courage, founded on the recollection of an
+illustrious past, which overthrew the might of the conqueror at the
+moment when he seemed about to dominate the world. Werther, as soft and
+melodious as Plato, was the first revelation to the world of that
+marvelous style which, in the hands of a master, compels a language
+which is as rich as Greek to be also as musical.
+
+The spring of 1773, which witnessed the publication of Götz, saw him
+actively employed as an advocate. In November, Goethe's sister Cornelia
+was married to Schlosser and left Strasburg. Goethe felt the loss
+deeply. She lived but a short time. Her married life was tortured with
+suffering, and she died in 1777.
+
+The summer of 1774 was spent in a journey to the Rhine. Goethe returned
+to Frankfort at the beginning of August. On December 11, Goethe was
+surprised by the visit of a stranger. It was Karl Ludwig von Knebel, who
+was traveling with the two princes of Saxe-Weimar, the reigning duke,
+Karl August, then just seventeen, and his younger brother, Constantine.
+This meeting decided the future course of Goethe's life.
+
+He now came under the influence of Lili Schönemann, the daughter of a
+rich banker. This passion seemed to be of a more lasting nature than the
+others.
+
+Neither family approved of the engagement between the youthful couple.
+Goethe tore himself away, and went for a tour in Switzerland.
+
+He returned to Frankfort on July 20. August was spent delightfully with
+Lili at Offenbach; his letters speak of nothing but her. He wrote some
+scenes in Faust--the walk in the garden, the first conversation with
+Mephistopheles, the interview with the scholar, the scene in Auerbach's
+cellar. Egmont was also begun under the stimulus of the American
+Rebellion. A way of escaping from his embarrassments was unexpectedly
+opened to him. The duke of Weimar passed through Frankfort both before
+and after his marriage, which took place on October 3. He invited Goethe
+to stay at Weimar. It was not for his happiness or for Lili's that they
+should have married. She afterwards thanked him deeply for the firmness
+with which he overcame a temptation to which she would have yielded.
+
+At this time the smaller German courts were beginning to take an
+interest in German literature. Before the Seven Years' War the whole of
+German culture had been French. Even now German writers found but scant
+acceptance at Berlin or Vienna. The princes of the smaller states
+surrounded themselves with literature and art. The duke of Brunswick had
+made Lessing his librarian. The duke of Würtemberg paid special
+attention to education; he promoted the views of Schubart, and founded
+the school in which Schiller was educated. Hanover offered a home to
+Zimmermann, and encouraged the development of Schlegel. Darmstadt was
+especially fortunate. Caroline, the wife of the landgrave, had
+surrounded herself with a literary circle, of which Merck was the moving
+spirit. She had collected and privately printed the odes of Klopstock,
+and her death in 1774 seemed to leave Darmstadt a desert. Her daughter,
+Louisa, seemed to have inherited something of her mother's qualities.
+She married, on October 3,1775, the young duke of Weimar, who was just
+of age. She was of the house of Brunswick, and after two years of
+marriage had been left a widow at nineteen, with two sons. She committed
+their education to Count Görz, a prominent character in the history of
+the time. She afterwards summoned Wieland to instruct the elder, and
+Knebel to instruct the younger.
+
+Upon this society Goethe rose like a star. From the moment of his
+arrival he became the inseparable companion of the grand-duke. The first
+months at Weimar were spent in a wild round of pleasure. Goethe was
+treated as a guest. In the autumn, journeys, rides, shooting parties; in
+the winter, balls, masquerades, skating parties by torch-light, dancing
+at peasants' feasts, filled up their time. Evil reports flew about
+Germany. We may believe that no decencies were disregarded except the
+artificial restrictions of courtly etiquette. In the spring he had to
+decide whether he would go or stay. In April the duke gave him the
+little garden by the side of the Ilm. In June he invested him with the
+title, so important to Germans, of /Geheimlegationsrath/, with a
+seat and voice in the privy council and an income.
+
+Goethe's life was at no time complete without the influence of a noble-
+hearted woman. This he found in Charlotte von Stein, a lady of the
+court, wife of the master of the horse.
+
+The close of 1779 was occupied by a winter journey to Switzerland. Two
+days were spent at Frankfort with Goethe's parents. Sesenheim was
+visited, and left with satisfaction and contentment. At Strasburg they
+found as to Lessing. The repertoire of the Weimar theater was stocked
+with pieces of solid merit, which long held their place. In August,
+1792, he accompanied the duke to the campaign in the Ardennes. In 1793
+he went with his master to the siege of Mainz. Goethe took the old
+German epic of Reynard the Fox, with which he had long been familiar,
+and which, under the guise of animals, represents the conflicting
+passions of men, and rewrote it.
+
+Thus far he had produced but little since his return from Italy. His
+friendship with Schiller was now to begin, an alliance which, in the
+closeness of its intimacy and its deep effect on the character of both
+friends, has scarcely a parallel in literary history. If Schiller was
+not at this time at the height of his reputation, he had written many of
+the works which have made his name famous. He was ten years younger than
+Goethe. The Räuber plays the same part in his literary history as Götz
+plays in that of Goethe. This had been followed by Fiesco and Kabale und
+Liebe. In 1787 he settled at Weimar. The first effect of Schiller's
+influence on Goethe was the completion of Wilhelm Meister's
+Apprenticeship. It stands in the first rank of Goethe's writings. A more
+solid result of the friendship between the poets was the production of
+Hermann und Dorothea.
+
+The latter half of 1798 was occupied with a tour in Switzerland. Before
+its commencement he visited his mother at Frankfort for the last time,
+and presented to her his wife and his son. In the beginning of 1805
+Goethe was convinced that either he or Schiller would die in that year.
+In January they were both seized with illness. Schiller was the first to
+recover, and, visiting Goethe in his sick room, fell on his neck and
+kissed him with intense emotion. On April 29 they saw each other for the
+last time. Schiller was on his way to the theater, whither Goethe was
+too ill to accompany him. They parted at the door of Schiller's house.
+Schiller died on the evening of the 9th of May. No one dared to tell
+Goethe the sad news, but he saw on the faces of those who surrounded him
+that Schiller must be very ill. On the morrow of Schiller's death, when
+his wife entered his room, he said, "Is it not true that Schiller was
+very ill yesterday?" She began to sob. He then cried, "He is dead!"
+"Thou hast spoken it thyself," she answered. Goethe turned aside and
+covered his weeping eyes with his hands. Since that time Schiller and
+Goethe have been inseparable in the minds of their countrymen.
+
+On October 14, 1806, the battle of Jena was fought. The court had fled
+from Weimar. On the 15th Napoleon and Goethe met. It was at the congress
+of Erfurt, where the sovereigns and princes of Europe were assembled.
+Goethe's presence was commanded by the duke. He was invited to an
+audience on October 2. The emperor sat at a large round table eating his
+breakfast. He beckoned Goethe to approach him. He asked how old he was,
+expressed his wonder at the freshness of his appearance, said that he
+had read Werther through seven times, and made some acute remarks on the
+management of the plot. Then, after an interruption, he said that
+tragedy ought to be the school of kings and peoples; that there was no
+subject worthier of treatment than the death of Caesar, which Voltaire
+had treated insufficiently. A great poet would have given prominence to
+Caesar's plans for the regeneration of the world, and shown what a loss
+mankind had suffered by his murder.
+
+The idea of writing Faust seems to have come to Goethe in his earliest
+manhood. He was brooding over it at the same time with Götz von
+Berlichingen. Faust justly stands at the head of all Goethe's works.
+Founded on a well-known popular tale, indebted for its interest and
+pathos to incidents of universal experience, it deals with the deepest
+problems which can engage the mind of man.
+
+In 1809 he finished The Elective Affinities.
+
+It was natural at the beginning of a new course of life that Goethe
+should write an account of his past existence. The study of his
+collected poems made it apparent to him how necessary it was to furnish
+a key by which they might be understood. These various causes led to the
+composition of /Dichtung und Wahrheit/ (Poetry and Truth), an
+autobiographical history of the poet's life from his birth till his
+settlement at Weimar. This work is the cause of much embarrassment to
+the poet's biographers. Where it ought to be the most trustworthy source
+of information, it is most misleading.
+
+Once more in his old age Goethe came under the sovereignty of a woman.
+She was Marianne von Willemer, the newly married wife of a Frankfort
+banker. Goethe made her acquaintance in a journey which he took in the
+Rhine country. The correspondence between Goethe and Marianne was
+published in 1877. It extends almost to the day of his death, and
+includes letters from Eckermann giving an account of his last moments.
+
+The last twelve years of Goethe's life, when he had passed his
+seventieth birthday, were occupied by his criticisms on the literature
+of foreign countries, by the Wanderjahre, and the second part of Faust.
+He was the literary dictator of Germany and of Europe. The Wanderjahre
+contains some of Goethe's most beautiful conceptions, The Flight Into
+Egypt, The Description of the Pedagogic Province, The Parable of the
+Three Reverences.
+
+The second part of Faust has been a battlefield of controversy since its
+publication, and demands fuller attention. Its fate may be compared with
+that of the latest works of Beethoven. For a long time it was regarded
+as impossible to understand, and as not worth understanding, the
+production of a great artist whose faculties had been impaired by age.
+By degrees it has, by careful labor, become intelligible to us, and the
+conviction is growing that it is the deepest and most important work of
+the author's life.
+
+He had much to darken his latter days. His wife had died in 1816. He
+felt her loss bitterly. The Duchess Amalia had died eight years before.
+He had now to undergo bitterer experiences when he was less able to bear
+them. Frau von Stein, with whom he had renewed his friendship, if not
+his love, died in January, 1827; and in June, 1828, he lost the
+companion of his youth, the Grand Duke Karl August, who died suddenly,
+away from Weimar.
+
+We must pass to the closing scenes. On Thursday, March 15, 1832, he
+spent his last cheerful and happy day. He awoke the next morning with a
+chill. From this he gradually recovered, and on Monday was so much
+better that he designed to begin his regular work on the next day. But
+in the middle of the night he woke with a deathly coldness, which
+extended from his hands over his body, and which took many hours to
+subdue. It then appeared that the lungs were attacked, and that there
+was no hope of his recovery. Goethe did not anticipate death. He sat
+fully clothed in his arm chair, made attempts to reach his study, spoke
+confidently of his recovery, and of the walks he would take in the fine
+April days. His daughter-in-law Ottilie tended him faithfully. On the
+morning of the 22d his strength gradually left him. He sat slumbering in
+his arm chair, holding Ottilie's hand. Her name was constantly on his
+lips. His mind occasionally wandered, at one time to his beloved
+Schiller, at another to a fair female head with black curls, some
+passion of his youth. His last words were an order to his servant to
+open the second shutter to let in more light. After this he traced with
+his forefinger letters in the air. At half-past eleven in the day he
+drew himself, without any sign of pain, into the left corner of his arm
+chair, and went so peacefully to sleep that it was long before the
+watchers knew that his spirit was really gone. He is buried in the
+grand-ducal vault, where the bones of Schiller are also laid.
+
+
+
+AUTOBIOGRAPHY TRUTH AND FICTION RELATING TO MY LIFE
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
+
+ As a preface to the present work, which, perhaps, more than another,
+requires one, I adduce the letter of a friend, by which so serious an
+undertaking was occasioned.
+
+"We have now, my dear friend, collected the twelve parts of your
+poetical works, and, on reading them through, find much that is known,
+much that is unknown; while much that had been forgotten is revived by
+this collection. These twelve volumes standing before us in uniform
+appearance, we cannot refrain from regarding as a whole; and one would
+like to sketch therefrom some image of the author and his talents. But
+it cannot be denied, considering the vigor with which he began his
+literary career, and the length of time which has since elapsed, that a
+dozen small volumes must appear incommensurate. Nor can one forget,
+that, with respect to the detached pieces, they have mostly been called
+forth by special occasions, and reflect particular external objects, as
+well as distinct grades of inward culture; while it is equally clear,
+that temporary moral and æsthetic maxims and convictions prevail in
+them. As a whole, however, these productions remain without connection;
+nay, it is often difficult to believe that they emanate from one and the
+same writer.
+
+"Your friends, in the mean time, have not relinquished the inquiry, and
+try, as they become more closely acquainted with your mode of life and
+thought, to guess many a riddle, to solve many a problem; indeed, with
+the assistance of an old liking, and a connection of many years'
+standing, they find a charm even in the difficulties which present
+themselves. Yet a little assistance here and there would not be
+unacceptable, and you cannot well refuse this to our friendly
+entreaties.
+
+"The first thing, then, we require, is that your poetical works,
+arranged in the late edition according to some internal relations, may
+be presented by you in chronological order, and that the states of life
+and feeling which afforded the examples that influenced you, and the
+theoretical principles by which you were governed, may be imparted in
+some kind of connection. Bestow this labor for the gratification of a
+limited circle, and perhaps it may give rise to something that will be
+entertaining and useful to an extensive one. The author, to the most
+advanced period of his life, should not relinquish the advantage of
+communicating, even at a distance, with those whom affection binds to
+him; and if it is not granted to every one to step forth anew, at a
+certain age, with surprising and powerful productions, yet just at that
+period of life, when knowledge is most perfect, and consciousness most
+distinct, it must be a very agreeable and re-animating task to treat
+former creations as new matter, and work them up into a kind of Last
+Part, which may serve once more for the edification of those who have
+been previously edified with and by the artist."
+
+This desire, so kindly expressed, immediately awakened within me an
+inclination to comply with it: for if, in the early years of life, our
+passions lead us to follow our own course, and, in order not to swerve
+from it, we impatiently repel the demands of others; so, in our later
+days, it becomes highly advantageous to us, should any sympathy excite
+and determine us, cordially, to new activity. I therefore instantly
+undertook the preparatory labor of separating the poems, both great and
+small, of my twelve volumes, and of arranging them according to years. I
+strove to recall the times and circumstances under which each had been
+produced. But the task soon grew more difficult, as full explanatory
+notes and illustrations were necessary to fill up the chasms between
+those which had already been given to the world. For, in the first
+place, all on which I had originally exercised myself were wanting, many
+that had been begun and not finished were also wanting, and of many that
+were finished even the external form had completely disappeared, having
+since been entirely reworked and cast into a different shape. Besides, I
+had also to call to mind how I had labored in the sciences and other
+arts, and what, in such apparently foreign departments, both
+individually and in conjunction with friends, I had practised in
+silence, or had laid before the public.
+
+All this I wished to introduce by degrees for the satisfaction of my
+well-wishers, but my efforts and reflections always led me farther on;
+since while I was anxious to comply with that very considerate request,
+and labored to set forth in succession my internal emotions, external
+influences, and the steps which, theoretically and practically, I had
+trod, I was carried out of my narrow private sphere into the wide world.
+The images of a hundred important men, who either directly or indirectly
+had influenced me, presented themselves to my view; and even the
+prodigious movements of the great political world, which had operated
+most extensively upon me, as well as upon the whole mass of my
+contemporaries, had to be particularly considered. For this seems to be
+the main object of biography,--to exhibit the man in relation to the
+features of his time, and to show to what extent they have opposed or
+favored his progress; what view of mankind and the world he has formed
+from them, and how far he himself, if an artist, poet, or author, may
+externally reflect them. But for this is required what is scarcely
+attainable; namely, that the individual should know himself and his
+age,--himself, so far as he has remained the same under all
+circumstances; his age, as that which carries along with it, determines
+and fashions, both the willing and the unwilling: so that one may
+venture to pronounce, that any person born ten years earlier or later
+would have been quite a different being, both as regards his own culture
+and his influence on others.
+
+In this manner, from such reflections and endeavors, from such
+recollections and considerations, arose the present delineation; and
+from this point of view, as to its origin, will it be the best enjoyed
+and used, and most impartially estimated. For any thing further it may
+be needful to say, particularly with respect to the half-poetical, half-
+historic, mode of treatment, an opportunity will, no doubt, frequently
+occur in the course of the narrative.
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+PART THE FIRST.
+
+
+
+FIRST BOOK
+
+SECOND BOOK
+
+THIRD BOOK
+
+FOURTH BOOK
+
+FIFTH BOOK
+
+PART THE SECOND.
+
+SIXTH BOOK
+
+SEVENTH BOOK
+
+EIGHTH BOOK
+
+NINTH BOOK
+
+
+
+PART THE FIRST
+
+FIRST BOOK.
+
+On the 28th of August, 1749, at mid-day, as the clock struck twelve, I
+came into the world, at Frankfort-on-the-Main. My horoscope was
+propitious: the sun stood in the sign of the Virgin, and had culminated
+for the day; Jupiter and Venus looked on him with a friendly eye, and
+Mercury not adversely; while Saturn and Mars kept themselves
+indifferent; the moon alone, just full, exerted the power of her
+reflection all the more, as she had then reached her planetary hour. She
+opposed herself, therefore, to my birth, which could not be accomplished
+until this hour was passed.
+
+These good aspects, which the astrologers managed subsequently to reckon
+very auspicious for me, may have been the causes of my preservation;
+for, through the unskilfulness of the midwife, I came into the world as
+dead; and only after various efforts was I enabled to see the light.
+This event, which had put our household into sore straits, turned to the
+advantage of my fellow-citizens, inasmuch as my grandfather, the
+/Schultheiss/ [Footnote: A chief judge or magistrate of the town.],
+John Wolfgang Textor, took occasion from it to have an /accoucheur/
+appointed, and to introduce, or revive, the tuition of midwives, which
+may have done some good to those who were born after me.
+
+When we desire to recall what happened to us in the earliest period of
+youth, it often happens that we confound what we have heard from others
+with that which we really possess from our own direct experience.
+Without, therefore, instituting a very close investigation into the
+point, which, after all, could lead to nothing, I am conscious that we
+lived in an old house, which, in fact, consisted of two adjoining
+houses, that had been opened into each other. A winding staircase led to
+rooms on different levels, and the unevenness of the stories was
+remedied by steps. For us children,--a younger sister and myself,--the
+favorite resort was a spacious floor below, near the door of which was a
+large wooden lattice that allowed us direct communication with the
+street and open air. A bird-cage of this sort, with which many houses
+were provided, was called a frame (/Geräms/). The women sat in it
+to sew and knit; the cook picked her salad there; female neighbors
+chatted with each other; and the streets consequently, in the fine
+season, wore a southern aspect. One felt at ease while in communication
+with the public. We children, too, by means of these frames, were
+brought into contact with our neighbors, of whom three brothers Von
+Ochsenstein, the surviving sons of the deceased /Schultheiss/,
+living on the other side of the way, won my love, and occupied and
+diverted themselves with me in many ways.
+
+Our family liked to tell of all sorts of waggeries to which I was
+enticed by these otherwise grave and solitary men. Let one of these
+pranks suffice for all. A crockery-fair had just been held, from which
+not only our kitchen had been supplied for a while with articles for a
+long time to come, but a great deal of small gear of the same ware had
+been purchased as playthings for us children. One fine afternoon, when
+every thing was quiet in the house, I whiled away the time with my pots
+and dishes in the frame, and, finding that nothing more was to be got
+out of them, hurled one of them into the street. The Von Ochsensteins,
+who saw me so delighted at the fine smash it made, that I clapped my
+hands for joy, cried out, "Another." I was not long in flinging out a
+pot; and, as they made no end to their calls for more, by degrees the
+whole collection, platters, pipkins, mugs and all, were dashed upon the
+pavement. My neighbors continued to express their approbation, and I was
+highly delighted to give them pleasure. But my stock was exhausted; and
+still they shouted, "More." I ran, therefore, straight to the kitchen,
+and brought the earthenware, which produced a still livelier spectacle
+in breaking; and thus I kept running backwards and forwards, fetching
+one plate after another, as I could reach it from where they stood in
+rows on the shelf. But, as that did not satisfy my audience, I devoted
+all the ware that I could drag out to similar destruction. It was not
+till afterwards that any one appeared to hinder and forbid. The mischief
+was done; and, in place of so much broken crockery, there was at least a
+ludicrous story, in which the roguish authors took special delight to
+the end of their days.
+
+My father's mother, for it was her house in which we dwelt, lived in a
+large back-room directly on the ground-floor; and we were accustomed to
+carry on our sports even up to her chair, and, when she was ill, up to
+her bedside. I remember her, as it were, a spirit,--a handsome, thin
+woman, always neatly dressed in white. Mild, gentle, and kind, she has
+ever remained in my memory.
+
+The street in which our house was situated passed by the name of the
+Stag-Ditch; but, as neither stags nor ditches were to be seen, we wished
+to have the term explained. They told us that our house stood on a spot
+that was once outside the city, and that, where the street now was,
+there had formerly been a ditch, in which a number of stags were kept.
+These stags were preserved and fed here because the senate, every year,
+according to an ancient custom, feasted publicly on a stag, which was
+therefore always at hand in the ditch for such a festival, in case
+princes or knights interfered with the city's right of chase outside, or
+the walls were encompassed or besieged by an enemy. This pleased us
+much, and we wished that such a lair for tame animals could have been
+seen in our times.
+
+The back of the house, from the second story particularly, commanded a
+very pleasant prospect over an almost immeasurable extent of neighboring
+gardens, stretching to the very walls of the city. But, alas! in
+transforming what were once public grounds into private gardens, our
+house, and some others lying towards the corner of the street, had been
+much stinted; since the houses towards the horse-market had appropriated
+spacious out-houses and large gardens to themselves, while a tolerably
+high wall shut us out from these adjacent paradises.
+
+On the second floor was a room which was called the garden-room, because
+they had there endeavored to supply the want of a garden by means of a
+few plants placed before the window. As I grew older, it was there that
+I made my favorite, not melancholy, but somewhat sentimental, retreat.
+Over these gardens, beyond the city's walls and ramparts, might be seen
+a beautiful and fertile plain, the same which stretches towards Höchst.
+In the summer season I commonly learned my lessons there, and watched
+the thunderstorms, but could never look my fill at the setting sun,
+which went down directly opposite my windows. And when, at the same
+time, I saw the neighbors wandering through their gardens, taking care
+of their flowers, the children playing, parties of friends enjoying
+themselves, and could hear the bowls rolling and the ninepins dropping,
+it early excited within me a feeling of solitude, and a sense of vague
+longing resulting from it, which, conspiring with the seriousness and
+awe implanted in me by nature, exerted its influence at an early age,
+and showed itself more distinctly in after-years.
+
+The old, many-cornered, and gloomy arrangement of the house was,
+moreover, adapted to awaken dread and terror in childish minds.
+Unfortunately, too, the principle of discipline, that young persons
+should be early deprived of all fear for the awful and invisible, and
+accustomed to the terrible, still prevailed. We children, therefore,
+were compelled to sleep alone; and when we found this impossible, and
+softly slipped from our beds, to seek the society of the servants and
+maids, our father, with his dressing-gown turned inside out, which
+disguised him sufficiently for the purpose, placed himself in the way,
+and frightened us back to our resting-places. The evil effect of this
+any one may imagine. How is he who is encompassed with a double terror
+to be emancipated from fear? My mother, always cheerful and gay, and
+willing to render others so, discovered a much better pedagogical
+expedient. She managed to gain her end by rewards. It was the season for
+peaches, the plentiful enjoyment of which she promised us every morning
+if we overcame our fears during the night. In this way she succeeded,
+and both parties were satisfied.
+
+In the interior of the house my eyes were chiefly attracted by a series
+of Roman views, with which my father had ornamented an ante-room. They
+were engravings by some of the accomplished predecessors of Piranesi,
+who well understood perspective and architecture, and whose touches were
+clear and excellent. There I saw every day the Piazza del Popolo, the
+Colosseum, the Piazza of St. Peter's, and St. Peter's Church, within and
+without, the castle of St. Angelo, and many other places. These images
+impressed themselves deeply upon me, and my otherwise very laconic
+father was often so kind as to furnish descriptions of the objects. His
+partiality for the Italian language, and for every thing pertaining to
+Italy, was very decided. A small collection of marbles and natural
+curiosities, which he had brought with him thence, he often showed to
+us; and he devoted a great part of his time to a description of his
+travels, written in Italian, the copying and correction of which he
+slowly and accurately completed, in several parcels, with his own hand.
+A lively old teacher of Italian, called Giovinazzi, was of service to
+him in this work. The old man, moreover, did not sing badly, and my
+mother every day must needs accompany him and herself upon the
+clavichord; and thus I speedily learned the "Solitario bosco ombroso,"
+so as to know it by heart before I understood it.
+
+My father was altogether of a didactic turn, and in his retirement from
+business liked to communicate to others what he knew or was able to do.
+Thus, during the first years of their marriage, he had kept my mother
+busily engaged in writing, playing the clavichord, and singing, by which
+means she had been laid under the necessity of acquiring some knowledge
+and a slight readiness in the Italian tongue.
+
+Generally we passed all our leisure hours with my grandmother, in whose
+spacious apartment we found plenty of room for our sports. She contrived
+to engage us with various trifles, and to regale us with all sorts of
+nice morsels. But, one Christmas evening, she crowned all her kind deeds
+by having a puppet-show exhibited before us, and thus unfolding a new
+world in the old house. This unexpected drama attracted our young minds
+with great force; upon the boy particularly it made a very strong
+impression, which continued to vibrate with a great and lasting effect.
+
+The little stage, with its speechless personages, which at the outset
+had only been exhibited to us, but was afterwards given over for our own
+use and dramatic vivification, was prized more highly by us children, as
+it was the last bequest of our good grandmother, whom encroaching
+disease first withdrew from our sight, and death next tore away from our
+hearts forever. Her departure was of still more importance to our
+family, as it drew after it a complete change in our condition.
+
+As long as my grandmother lived, my father had refrained from changing
+or renovating the house, even in the slightest particular; though it was
+known that he had pretty large plans of building, which were now
+immediately begun. In Frankfort, as in many other old towns, when
+anybody put up a wooden structure, he ventured, for the sake of space,
+to make, not only the first, but each successive, story project over the
+lower one, by which means narrow streets especially were rendered
+somewhat dark and confined. At last a law was passed, that every one
+putting up a new house from the ground, should confine his projections
+to the first upper story, and carry the others up perpendicularly. My
+father, that he might not lose the projecting space in the second story,
+caring little for outward architectural appearance, and anxious only for
+the good and convenient arrangement of the interior, resorted to the
+expedient which others had employed before him, of propping the upper
+part of the house, until one part after another had been removed from
+the bottom upwards, and a new house, as it were, inserted in its place.
+Thus, while comparatively none of the old structure remained, the new
+one merely passed for a repair. Now, as the tearing down and building up
+was done gradually, my father determined not to quit the house, that he
+might better direct and give his orders; as he possessed a good
+knowledge of the technicalities of building. At the same time, he would
+not suffer his family to leave him. This new epoch was very surprising
+and strange for the children. To see the rooms in which they had so
+often been confined and pestered with wearisome tasks and studies, the
+passages they had played in, the walls which had always been kept so
+carefully clean, all falling before the mason's hatchet and the
+carpenter's axe,--and that from the bottom upwards; to float as it were
+in the air, propped up by beams, being, at the same time, constantly
+confined to a certain lesson or definite task,--all this produced a
+commotion in our young heads that was not easily settled. But the young
+people felt the inconvenience less, because they had somewhat more space
+for play than before, and had many opportunities of swinging on beams,
+and playing at see-saw with the boards.
+
+At first my father obstinately persisted in carrying out his plan; but
+when at last even the roof was partly removed, and the rain reached our
+beds, in spite of the carpets that had been taken up, converted into
+tarpaulin, and stretched over as a defense, he determined, though
+reluctantly, that the children should be intrusted for a time to some
+kind friends, who had already offered their services, and sent to a
+public school.
+
+This transition was rather unpleasant; for, when the children, who had
+all along been kept at home in a secluded, pure, refined, yet strict
+manner, were thrown among a rude mass of young creatures, they were
+compelled unexpectedly to suffer every thing from the vulgar, bad, and
+even base, since they lacked both weapons and skill to protect
+themselves.
+
+It was properly about this period that I first became acquainted with my
+native city, which I strolled over with more and more freedom, in every
+direction, sometimes alone, and sometimes in the company of lively
+companions. To convey to others in any degree the impression made upon
+me by these grave and revered spots, I must here introduce a description
+of my birthplace, as in its different parts it was gradually unfolded to
+me. What I liked more than any thing was, to promenade on the great
+bridge spanning the Main. Its length, its firmness, and its fine
+appearance, rendered it a notable structure; and it was, besides, almost
+the only memorial left from ancient times of the precautions due from
+the civil government to its citizens. The beautiful stream above and
+below bridge attracted my eye; and, when the gilt weathercock on the
+bridge-cross glittered in the sunshine, I always had a pleasant feeling.
+Generally I extended my walk through Sachsenhausen, and for a
+/Kreutzer/ was ferried comfortably across the river. I was now
+again on this side of the stream, stole along to the wine-market, and
+admired the mechanism of the cranes when goods were unloaded.
+
+But it was particularly entertaining to watch the arrival of the market-
+boats, from which so many and such extraordinary figures were seen to
+disembark. On entering the city, the Saalhof, which at least stood on
+the spot where the castle of Emperor Charlemagne and his successors was
+reported to have been, was greeted every time with profound reverence.
+One liked to lose one's self in the old trading-town, particularly on
+market-days, among the crowd collected about the church of St.
+Bartholomew. From the earliest times, throngs of buyers and sellers had
+gathered there; and the place being thus occupied, it was not easy in
+later days to bring about a more roomy and cheerful arrangement. The
+booths of the so-called /Pfarreisen/ were very important places for
+us children, and we carried many a /Batzen</> to them in order to
+purchase sheets of colored paper stamped with gold animals; though one
+could but seldom make his way through the narrow, crowded, and dirty
+market-place. I call to mind, also, that I always flew past the
+adjoining meat-stalls, narrow and disgusting as they were, in perfect
+horror. On the other hand, the Roman Hill (/Romerberg/) was a most
+delightful place for walking. The way to the New-Town, along by the new
+shops, was always cheering and pleasant; yet we regretted that a street
+did not lead into the Zeil by the Church of Our Lady, and that we always
+had to go a roundabout way by the /Hasengasse/ or the Catherine
+Gate. But what chiefly attracted the child's attention, were the many
+little towns within the town, the fortresses within the fortress; viz.,
+the walled monastic enclosures, and several other precincts, remaining
+from earlier times, and more or less like castles,--as the Nuremberg
+Court, the Compostella, the Braunfels, the ancestral house of the family
+of Stallburg, and several strongholds, in later days transformed into
+dwellings and warehouses. No architecture of an elevating kind was then
+to be seen in Frankfort; and every thing pointed to a period long past
+and unquiet, both for town and district. Gates and towers, which defined
+the bounds of the old city,--then, farther on again, gates, towers,
+walls, bridges, ramparts, moats, with which the new city was
+encompassed,--all showed, but too plainly, that a necessity for guarding
+the common weal in disastrous times had induced these arrangements, that
+all the squares and streets, even the newest, broadest, and best laid
+out, owed their origin to chance and caprice, and not to any regulating
+mind. A certain liking for the antique was thus implanted in the boy,
+and was specially nourished and promoted by old chronicles and woodcuts,
+as, for instance, those of Grave relating to the siege of Frankfort. At
+the same time a different taste was developed in him for observing the
+conditions of mankind in their manifold variety and naturalness, without
+regard to their importance or beauty. It was, therefore, one of our
+favorite walks, which we endeavored to take now and then in the course
+of a year, to follow the circuit of the path inside the city-walls.
+Gardens, courts, and back buildings extend to the /Zwinger/; and we
+saw many thousand people amid their little domestic and secluded
+circumstances. From the ornamental and show gardens of the rich, to the
+orchards of the citizen, anxious about his necessities; from thence to
+the factories, bleaching-grounds, and similar establishments, even to
+the burying-grounds,--for a little world lay within the limits of the
+city,--we passed a varied, strange spectacle, which changed at every
+step, and with the enjoyment of which our childish curiosity was never
+satisfied. In fact, the celebrated Devil-upon-two-sticks, when he lifted
+the roofs of Madrid at night, scarcely did more for his friend than was
+here done for us in the bright sunshine and open air. The keys that were
+to be made use of in this journey, to gain us a passage through many a
+tower, stair, and postern, were in the hands of the authorities, whose
+subordinates we never failed to coax into good humor.
+
+But a more important, and in one sense more fruitful, place for us, was
+the city-hall, named from the Romans. In its lower vault-like rooms we
+liked but too well to lose ourselves. We obtained an entrance, too, into
+the large and very simple session-room of the council. The walls as well
+as the arched ceiling were white, though wainscoted to a certain height;
+and the whole was without a trace of painting, or any kind of carved
+work; only, high up on the middle wall, might be read this brief
+inscription:--
+
+                      "One man's word is no man's word:
+                       Justice needs that both be heard."
+
+After the most ancient fashion, benches were ranged around the
+wainscoting, and raised one step above the floor for the accommodation
+of the members of the assembly. This readily suggested to us why the
+order of rank in our senate was distributed by benches. To the left of
+the door, on the opposite corner, sat the /Schöffen/; in the corner
+itself the /Schultheiss/, who alone had a small table before him;
+those of the second bench sat in the space to his left as far as the
+wall to where the windows were; while along the windows ran the third
+bench, occupied by the craftsmen. In the midst of the hall stood a table
+for the registrar (/Protoculführer/).
+
+Once within the /Römer/, we even mingled with the crowd at the
+audiences of the burgomasters. But whatever related to the election and
+coronation of the emperors possessed a greater charm. We managed to gain
+the favor of the keepers, so as to be allowed to mount the new gay
+imperial staircase, which was painted in fresco, and on other occasions
+closed with a grating. The election-chamber, with its purple hangings
+and admirably fringed gold borders, filled us with awe. The
+representations of animals, on which little children or genii, clothed
+in the imperial ornaments and laden with the insignia of the empire,
+made a curious figure, were observed by us with great attention; and we
+even hoped that we might live to see, some time or other, a coronation
+with our own eyes. They had great difficulty to get us out of the great
+imperial hall, when we had been once fortunate enough to steal in; and
+we reckoned him our truest friend, who, while we looked at the half-
+lengths of all the emperors painted around at a certain height, would
+tell us something of their deeds.
+
+We listened to many a legend of Charlemagne. But that which was
+historically interesting for us began with Rudolph of Hapsburg, who by
+his courage put an end to such violent commotions. Charles the Fourth
+also attracted our notice. We had already heard of the Golden Bull, and
+of the statutes for the administration of criminal justice. We knew,
+too, that he had not made the Frankforters suffer for their adhesion to
+his noble rival, Emperor Gunther of Schwarzburg. We heard Maximilian
+praised, both as a friend to mankind, and to the townsmen, his subjects,
+and were also told that it had been prophesied of him he would be the
+last emperor of a German house, which unhappily came to pass, as after
+his death the choice wavered only between the king of Spain
+(/afterwards/), Charles V., and the king of France, Francis I. With
+some anxiety it was added, that a similar prophecy, or rather
+intimation, was once more in circulation; for it was obvious that there
+was room left for the portrait of only one more emperor,--a circumstance
+which, though seemingly accidental, filled the patriotic with concern.
+
+Having once entered upon this circuit, we did not fail to repair to the
+cathedral, and there visit the grave of that brave Gunther, so much
+prized both by friend and foe. The famous stone which formerly covered
+it is set up in the choir. The door close by, leading into the conclave,
+remained long shut against us, until we at last managed, through the
+higher authorities, to gain access to this celebrated place. But we
+should have done better had we continued as before to picture it merely
+in our imagination; for we found this room, which is so remarkable in
+German history, where the most powerful princes were accustomed to meet
+for an act so momentous, in no respect worthily adorned, and even
+disfigured with beams, poles, scaffolding, and similar lumber, which
+people had wanted to put out of the way. The imagination, for that very
+reason, was the more excited and the heart elevated, when we soon after
+received permission to be present in the city-hall, at the exhibition of
+the Golden Bull to some distinguished strangers.
+
+The boy then heard, with much curiosity, what his own family, as well as
+other older relations and acquaintances, liked to tell and repeat; viz.,
+the histories of the two last coronations, which had followed close upon
+each other; for there was no Frankforter of a certain age who would not
+have regarded these two events, and their attendant circumstances, as
+the crowning glory of his whole life. Splendid as had been the
+coronation of Charles Seventh, during which particularly the French
+ambassador had given magnificent feasts at great cost and with
+distinguished taste, the results were all the more afflicting to the
+good emperor, who could not preserve his capital Munich, and was
+compelled in some degree to implore the hospitality of his imperial
+towns.
+
+Although the coronation of Francis First was not so strikingly splendid
+as the former one, it was dignified by the presence of the Empress Maria
+Theresa, whose beauty appears to have created as much impression on the
+men as the earnest and noble form and the blue eyes of Charles Seventh
+on the women. At any rate, both sexes vied with each other in giving to
+the attentive boy a highly favorable opinion of both these personages.
+All these descriptions and narratives were given in a serene and quiet
+state of mind; for the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle had, for the moment, put
+an end to all feuds: and they spoke at their ease of past contests, as
+well as of their former festivities,--the battle of Dettingen for
+instance, and other remarkable events of by-gone years; and all that was
+important or dangerous seemed, as generally happens when a peace has
+been concluded, to have occurred only to afford entertainment to
+prosperous and unconcerned people.
+
+Half a year had scarcely passed away in this narrow patriotism before
+the fairs began, which always produced an incredible ferment in the
+heads of all children. The erection, in so short a time, of so many
+booths, creating a new town within the old one; the roll and crush, the
+unloading and unpacking of wares,--excited from the very first dawn of
+consciousness an insatiable active curiosity, and a boundless desire for
+childish property, which the boy with increasing years endeavored to
+gratify, in one way or another, as far as his little purse permitted. At
+the same time, he obtained a notion of what the world produces, what it
+wants, and what the inhabitants of its different parts exchange with
+each other.
+
+These great epochs, which came round regularly in spring and autumn,
+were announced by curious solemnities, which seemed the more dignified
+because they vividly brought before us the old time, and what had come
+down from it to ourselves. On Escort Day, the whole population were on
+their legs, thronging to the /Fahrgasse/, to the bridge, and beyond
+/Sachsenhausen/; all the windows were occupied, though nothing
+unusual took place on that day; the crowd seeming to be there only for
+the sake of jostling each other, and the spectators merely to look at
+one another; for the real occasion of their coming did not begin till
+nightfall, and was then rather taken upon trust than seen with the eyes.
+
+The affair was thus: in those old, unquiet times, when every one did
+wrong according to his pleasure, or helped the right as his liking led
+him, traders on their way to the fairs were so wilfully beset and
+harassed by waylayers, both of noble and ignoble birth, the princes and
+other persons of power caused their people to be accompanied to
+Frankfort by an armed escort. Now, the burghers of the imperial city
+would yield no rights pertaining to themselves or their district: they
+went out to meet the advancing party; and thus contests often arose as
+to how far the escort should advance, or whether it had a right to enter
+the city at all. But as this took place, not only in regard to matters
+of trade and fairs, but also when high personages came, in times of
+peace or war, and especially on the days of election; and as the affair
+often came to blows when a train which was not to be endured in the city
+strove to make its way in along with its lord,--many negotiations had
+from time to time been resorted to, and many temporary arrangements
+concluded, though always with reservations of rights on both sides. The
+hope had not been relinquished of composing once for all a quarrel that
+had already lasted for centuries, inasmuch as the whole institution, on
+account of which it had been so long and often so hotly contested, might
+be looked upon as nearly useless, or at least as superfluous.
+
+Meanwhile, on those days, the city cavalry in several divisions, each
+having a commander in front, rode forth from different gates, and found
+on a certain spot some troopers or hussars of the persons entitled to an
+escort, who, with their leaders, were well received and entertained.
+They staid till towards evening, and then rode back to the city,
+scarcely visible to the expectant crowd, many a city knight not being in
+a condition to manage his horse, or keep himself in the saddle. The most
+important bands returned by the bridge-gate, where the pressure was
+consequently the strongest. Last of all, just as night fell, the
+Nuremberg post-coach arrived, escorted in the same way, and always
+containing, as the people fancied, in pursuance of custom, an old woman.
+Its arrival, therefore, was a signal for all the urchins to break out
+into an ear-splitting shout, though it was utterly impossible to
+distinguish any one of the passengers within. The throng that pressed
+after the coach through the bridge-gate was quite incredible, and
+perfectly bewildering to the senses. The houses nearest the bridge were
+those, therefore, most in demand among spectators.
+
+Another more singular ceremony, by which the people were excited in
+broad daylight, was the Piper's Court (/Pfeifergericht/). It
+commemorated those early times when important larger trading-towns
+endeavored, if not to abolish tolls altogether, at least to bring about
+a reduction of them, as they increased in proportion with trade and
+industry. They were allowed this privilege by the emperor, who needed
+their aid, when it was in his power to grant it, but commonly only for
+one year; so that it had to be annually renewed. This was effected by
+means of symbolical gifts, which were presented before the opening of
+St. Bartholomew's Fair to the imperial magistrate (/Schultheiss/),
+who might have sometimes been the chief toll-gatherer; and, for the sake
+of a more imposing show, the gifts were offered when he was sitting in
+full court with the /Schöffen/. But when the chief magistrate
+afterwards came to be no longer appointed by the emperor, and was
+elected by the city itself, he still retained these privileges; and thus
+both the immunities of the cities from toll, and the ceremonies by which
+the representatives from Worms, Nuremberg, and old Bamberg, once
+acknowledged the ancient favor, had come down to our times. The day
+before Lady Day, an open court was proclaimed. In an enclosed space in
+the great Imperial Hall, the Schöffen took their elevated seats; a step
+higher, sat the /Schultheiss/ in the midst of them; while below, on
+the right hand, were the procurators of both parties invested with
+plenipotentiary powers. The /Actuarius/ begins to read aloud the
+weighty judgments reserved for this day: the lawyers demand copies,
+appeal, or do whatever else seems necessary. All at once a singular sort
+of music announces, if we may so speak, the advent of former centuries.
+It proceeds from three pipers, one of whom plays an old /shawm/,
+another a /sackbut/, and the third a /pommer/, or oboe. They
+wear blue mantles trimmed with gold, having the notes made fast to their
+sleeves, and their heads covered. Having thus left their inn at ten
+o'clock, followed by the deputies and their attendants, and stared at by
+all, natives and strangers, they enter the hall. The law proceedings are
+stayed, the pipers and their train halt before the railing, the deputy
+steps in and stations himself in front of the /Schultheiss/. The
+emblematic presents, which were required to be precisely the same as in
+the old precedents, consisted commonly of the staple wares of the city
+offering them. Pepper passed, as it were, for every thing else; and,
+even on this occasion, the deputy brought a handsomely turned wooden
+goblet filled with pepper. Upon it lay a pair of gloves, curiously
+slashed, stitched, and tasselled with silk,--a token of a favor granted
+and received,--such as the emperor himself made use of in certain cases.
+Along with this was a white staff, which in former times could not
+easily be dispensed with in judicial proceedings. Some small pieces of
+silver money were added: and the city of Worms brought an old felt hat,
+which was always redeemed again; so that the same one had been a witness
+of these ceremonies for many years.
+
+After the deputy had made his address, handed over his present, and
+received from the /Schultheiss/ assurance of continued favor, he
+quitted the enclosed circle, the pipers blew, the train departed as it
+had come, the court pursued its business, until the second and at last
+the third deputy had been introduced. For each came some time after the
+other, partly that the pleasure of the public might thus be prolonged,
+and partly because they were always the same antiquated /virtuosi/
+whom Nuremburg, for itself and its co-cities, had undertaken to
+maintain, and produce annually at the appointed place.
+
+We children were particularly interested in this festival, because we
+were not a little flattered to see our grandfather in a place of so much
+honor; and because commonly, on the self-same day, we used to visit him,
+quite modestly, in order that we might, when my grandmother had emptied
+the pepper into her spice-box, lay hold of a cup or small rod, a pair of
+gloves, or an old /Räder Albus/. [Footnote: An old silver coin.]
+These symbolical ceremonies, restoring antiquity as if by magic, could
+not be explained to us without leading us back into past times, and
+informing us of the manners, customs, and feelings of those early
+ancestors who were so strangely made present to us by pipers and
+deputies seemingly risen from the dead, and by tangible gifts which
+might be possessed by ourselves.
+
+These venerable solemnities were followed, in the fine season, by many
+festivals, delightful for us children, which took place in the open air,
+outside the city. On the right shore of the Main, going down, about half
+an hour's walk from the gate, there rises a sulphur-spring, neatly
+enclosed, and surrounded by aged lindens. Not far from it stands the
+Good-People's-Court, formerly a hospital erected for the sake of the
+waters. On the commons around, the herds of cattle from the neighborhood
+were collected on a certain day of the year; and the herdsmen, together
+with their sweethearts, celebrated a rural festival with dancing and
+singing, with all sorts of pleasure and clownishness. On the other side
+of the city lay a similar but larger common, likewise graced with a
+spring and still finer lindens. Thither, at Whitsuntide, the flocks of
+sheep were driven: and, at the same time, the poor, pale orphan children
+were allowed to come out of their walls into the open air; for the
+thought had not yet occurred that these destitute creatures, who must
+some time or other help themselves through the world, ought soon to be
+brought in contact with it; that, instead of being kept in dreary
+confinement, they should rather be accustomed to serve and to endure;
+and that there was every reason to strengthen them physically and
+morally from their infancy. The nurses and maids, always ready to take a
+walk, never failed to carry or conduct us to such places, even in our
+first years; so that these rural festivals belong to the earliest
+impressions that I can recall.
+
+Meanwhile, our house had been finished, and that too in tolerably short
+time; because every thing had been judiciously planned and prepared, and
+the needful money provided. We now found ourselves all together again,
+and felt comfortable; for, when a well-considered plan is once carried
+out, we forget the various inconveniences of the means that were
+necessary to its accomplishment. The building, for a private residence,
+was roomy enough, light and cheerful throughout, with broad staircases,
+agreeable parlors, and a prospect of the gardens that could be enjoyed
+easily from several of the windows. The internal completion, and what
+pertained to mere ornament and finish, was gradually accomplished, and
+served at the same time for occupation and amusement.
+
+The first thing brought into order was my father's collection of books,
+the best of which, in calf and half-calf binding, were to ornament the
+walls of his office and study. He possessed the beautiful Dutch editions
+of the Latin classics, which, for the sake of outward uniformity, he had
+endeavored to procure all in quarto; and also many other works relating
+to Roman antiquities and the more elegant jurisprudence. The most
+eminent Italian poets were not wanting, and for Tasso he showed a great
+predilection. There were also the best and most recent Travels, and he
+took great delight in correcting and completing Keyssler and Nemeiz from
+them. Nor had he omitted to surround himself with all needful aids to
+learning, such as dictionaries of various languages, and encyclopædias
+of science and art, which, with much else adapted to profit and
+amusement, might be consulted at will.
+
+The other half of this collection, in neat parchment bindings, with very
+beautifully written titles, was placed in a separate attic. The
+acquisition of new books, as well as their binding and arrangement, he
+pursued with great composure and love of order; and he was much
+influenced in his opinion by the critical notices that ascribed
+particular merit to any work. His collection of juridical treatises was
+annually increased by some volumes.
+
+Next, the pictures, which in the old house had hung about promiscuously,
+were now collected, and symmetrically hung on the walls of a cheerful
+room near the study, all in black frames set off with gilt mouldings. It
+was my father's principle, to which he gave frequent and even passionate
+utterance, that one ought to employ the living masters, and to spend
+less upon the departed, in the estimation of whom prejudice greatly
+concurred. He had the notion that it was precisely the same with
+pictures as with Rhenish wines, which, though age may impart to them a
+higher value, can be produced in any coming year of just as excellent
+quality as in years past. After the lapse of some time, the new wine
+also becomes old, quite as valuable and perhaps more delicious. This
+opinion he chiefly confirmed by the observation that many old pictures
+seemed to derive their chief value for lovers of art from the fact that
+they had become darker and browner, and that the harmony of tone in such
+pictures was often vaunted. My father, on the other hand, protested that
+he had no fear that the new pictures would not also turn black in time;
+though whether they were likely to gain any thing by this he was not so
+positive.
+
+In pursuance of these principles, he employed for many years the whole
+of the Frankfort artists,--the painter Hirt, who excelled in animating
+oak and beech woods, and other so-called rural scenes, with cattle;
+Trautmann, who had adopted Rembrandt as his model, and had attained
+great perfection in enclosed lights and reflections, as well as in
+effective conflagrations, so that he was once ordered to paint a
+companion piece to a Rembrandt; Schutz, who diligently elaborated
+landscapes of the Rhine country, in the manner of Sachtlebens; and
+Junker, who executed with great purity flower and fruit pieces, still
+life, and figures quietly employed, after the models of the Dutch. But
+now, by the new arrangement, by more convenient room, and still more by
+the acquaintance of a skilful artist, our love of art was again
+quickened and animated. This artist was Seekatz, a pupil of Brinkmann,
+court-painter at Darmstadt, whose talent and character will be more
+minutely unfolded in the sequel.
+
+In this way the remaining rooms were finished, according to their
+several purposes. Cleanliness and order prevailed throughout. Above all,
+the large panes of plate-glass contributed towards a perfect lightness,
+which had been wanting in the old house for many causes, but chiefly on
+account of the panes, which were for the most part round. My father was
+cheerful on account of the success of his undertaking; and if his good
+humor had not been often interrupted because the diligence and exactness
+of the mechanics did not come up to his wishes, a happier life than ours
+could not have been conceived, since much good partly arose in the
+family itself, and partly flowed from without.
+
+But an extraordinary event deeply disturbed the boy's peace of mind for
+the first time. On the 1st of November, 1755, the earthquake at Lisbon
+took place, and spread a prodigious alarm over the world, long
+accustomed to peace and quiet. A great and magnificent capital, which
+was at the same time a trading and mercantile city, is smitten without
+warning by a most fearful calamity. The earth trembles and totters; the
+sea foams; ships dash together; houses fall in, and over them churches
+and towers; the royal palace is in part swallowed by the waters; the
+bursting land seems to vomit flames, since smoke and fire are seen
+everywhere amid the ruins. Sixty thousand persons, a moment before in
+ease and comfort, fall together; and he is to be deemed most fortunate
+who is no longer capable of a thought or feeling about the disaster. The
+flames rage on; and with them rage a troop of desperadoes, before
+concealed, or set at large by the event. The wretched survivors are
+exposed to pillage, massacre, and every outrage; and thus on all sides
+Nature asserts her boundless capriciousness.
+
+Intimations of this event had spread over wide regions more quickly than
+the authentic reports: slight shocks had been felt in many places; in
+many springs, particularly those of a mineral nature, an unusual
+receding of the waters had been remarked; and so much the greater was
+the effect of the accounts themselves, which were rapidly circulated, at
+first in general terms, but finally with dreadful particulars. Hereupon
+the religious were neither wanting in reflections, nor the philosophic
+in grounds for consolation, nor the clergy in warnings. So complicated
+an event arrested the attention of the world for a long time; and, as
+additional and more detailed accounts of the extensive effects of this
+explosion came from every quarter, the minds already aroused by the
+misfortunes of strangers began to be more and more anxious about
+themselves and their friends. Perhaps the demon of terror had never so
+speedily and powerfully diffused his terrors over the earth.
+
+The boy, who was compelled to put up with frequent repetitions of the
+whole matter, was not a little staggered. God, the Creator and Preserver
+of heaven and earth, whom the explanation of the first article of the
+creed declared so wise and benignant, having given both the just and the
+unjust a prey to the same destruction, had not manifested himself by any
+means in a fatherly character. In vain the young mind strove to resist
+these impressions. It was the more impossible, as the wise and
+scripture-learned could not themselves agree as to the light in which
+such a phenomenon should be regarded.
+
+The next summer gave a closer opportunity of knowing directly that angry
+God, of whom the Old Testament records so much. A sudden hail-storm,
+accompanied by thunder and lightning, violently broke the new panes at
+the back of our house, which looked towards the west, damaged the new
+furniture, destroyed some valuable books and other things of worth, and
+was the more terrible to the children, as the whole household, quite
+beside themselves, dragged them into a dark passage, where, on their
+knees, with frightful groans and cries, they thought to conciliate the
+wrathful Deity. Meanwhile, my father, who was the only one self-
+possessed, forced open and unhinged the window-frames, by which we saved
+much glass, but made a broader inlet for the rain that followed the
+hail; so that, after we were finally quieted, we found ourselves in the
+rooms and on the stairs completely surrounded by floods and streams of
+water.
+
+These events, startling as they were on the whole, did not greatly
+interrupt the course of instruction which my father himself had
+undertaken to give us children. He had passed his youth in the Coburg
+Gymnasium, which stood as one of the first among German educational
+institutions. He had there laid a good foundation in languages, and
+other matters reckoned part of a learned education, had subsequently
+applied himself to jurisprudence at Leipzig, and had at last taken his
+degree at Giessen. His dissertation, "Electa de aditione Hereditatis,"
+which had been earnestly and carefully written, is still cited by
+jurists with approval.
+
+It is a pious wish of all fathers to see what they have themselves
+failed to attain realized in their sons, as if in this way they could
+live their lives over again, and at last make a proper use of their
+early experience. Conscious of his acquirements, with the certainty of
+faithful perseverance, and distrusting the teachers of the day, my
+father undertook to instruct his own children, allowing them to take
+particular lessons from particular masters only so far as seemed
+absolutely necessary. A pedagogical /dilettantism/ was already
+beginning to show itself everywhere. The pedantry and heaviness of the
+masters appointed in the public schools had probably given rise to this
+evil. Something better was sought for, but it was forgotten how
+defective all instruction must be which is not given by persons who are
+teachers by profession.
+
+My father had prospered in his own career tolerably according to his
+wishes: I was to follow the same course, only more easily, and much
+farther. He prized my natural endowments the more, because he was
+himself wanting in them; for he had acquired every thing only by means
+of unspeakable diligence, pertinacity, and repetition. He often assured
+me, early and late, both in jest and earnest, that with my talents he
+would have deported himself very differently, and would not have turned
+them to such small account.
+
+By means of a ready apprehension, practice, and a good memory, I very
+soon outgrew the instructions which my father and the other teachers
+were able to give, without being thoroughly grounded in any thing.
+Grammar displeased me, because I regarded it as a mere arbitrary law:
+the rules seemed ridiculous, inasmuch as they were invalidated by so
+many exceptions, which had all to be learned by themselves. And if the
+first Latin work had not been in rhyme, I should have got on but badly
+in that; but, as it was, I hummed and sang it to myself readily enough.
+In the same way we had a geography in memory-verses, in which the most
+wretched doggerel best served to fix the recollection of that which was
+to be retained; e.g.,--
+
+"Upper-Yssel has many a fen, Which makes it hateful to all men."
+
+The forms and inflections of language I caught with ease; and I also
+quickly unravelled what lay in the conception of a thing. In rhetoric,
+composition, and such matters, no one excelled me; although I was often
+put back for faults of grammar. Yet these were the attempts that gave my
+father particular pleasure, and for which he rewarded me with many
+presents of money, considerable for such a lad.
+
+My father taught my sister Italian in the same room in which I had to
+commit Cellarius to memory. As I was soon ready with my task, and was
+yet obliged to sit quiet, I listened with my book before me, and very
+readily caught the Italian, which struck me as an agreeable softening of
+Latin.
+
+Other precocities, with respect to memory and the power to combine, I
+possessed in common with those children who thus acquire an early
+reputation. For that reason, my father could scarcely wait for me to go
+to college. He very soon declared that I must study jurisprudence in
+Leipzig, for which he retained a strong predilection; and I was
+afterwards to visit some other university and take my degree. As for
+this second one he was indifferent as to which I might choose, except
+that he had for some reason or other a disinclination to Göttingen, to
+my disappointment, since it was precisely there that I had placed such
+confidence and high hopes.
+
+He told me further, that I was to go to Wetzlar and Ratisbon, as well as
+to Vienna, and thence towards Italy; although he repeatedly mentioned
+that Paris should first be seen, because after coming out of Italy
+nothing else could be pleasing.
+
+These tales of my future youthful travels, often as they were repeated,
+I listened to eagerly, the more so as they always led to accounts of
+Italy, and at last to a description of Naples. His otherwise serious and
+dry manner seemed on these occasions to relax and quicken, and thus a
+passionate wish awoke in us children to participate in the paradise he
+described.
+
+Private lessons, which now gradually multiplied, were shared with the
+children of the neighbors. This learning in common did not advance me:
+the teachers followed their routine; and the rudeness, sometimes the ill
+nature, of my companions, interrupted the brief hours of study with
+tumult, vexation, and disturbance. Chrestomathies, by which learning is
+made pleasant and varied, had not yet reached us. Cornelius Nepos, so
+dry to young people; the New Testament, which was much too easy, and
+which by preaching and religious instructions had been rendered even
+common-place; Cellarius and Pasor,--could impart no kind of interest: on
+the other hand, a certain rage for rhyme and versification, a
+consequence of reading the prevalent German poets, took complete
+possession of us. Me it had seized much earlier, as I had found it
+agreeable to pass from the rhetorical to the poetical treatment of
+subjects.
+
+We boys held a Sunday assembly where each of us was to produce original
+verses. And here I was struck by something strange, which long caused me
+uneasiness. My poems, whatever they might be, always seemed to me the
+best. But I soon remarked that my competitors, who brought forth very
+lame affairs, were in the same condition, and thought no less of
+themselves. Nay, what appeared yet more suspicious, a good lad (though
+in such matters altogether unskilful), whom I liked in other respects,
+but who had his rhymes made by his tutor, not only regarded these as the
+best, but was thoroughly persuaded they were his own, as he always
+maintained in our confidential intercourse. Now, as this illusion and
+error was obvious to me, the question one day forced itself upon me,
+whether I myself might not be in the same state, whether those poems
+were not really better than mine, and whether I might not justly appear
+to those boys as mad as they to me? This disturbed me much and long, for
+it was altogether impossible for me to find any external criterion of
+the truth: I even ceased from producing, until at length I was quieted
+by my own light temperament, and the feeling of my own powers, and
+lastly by a trial of skill,--started on the spur of the moment by our
+teachers and parents, who had noted our sport,--in which I came off
+well, and won general praise.
+
+No libraries for children had at that time been established. The old had
+themselves still childish notions, and found it convenient to impart
+their own education to their successors. Except the "Orbis Pictus" of
+Amos Comenius, no book of the sort fell into our hands; but the large
+folio Bible, with copperplates by Merian, was diligently gone over leaf
+by leaf; Gottfried's "Chronicles," with plates by the same master,
+taught us the most notable events of universal history; the "Acerra
+Philologica" added thereto all sorts of fables, mythologies, and
+wonders; and, as I soon became familiar with Ovid's "Metamorphoses," the
+first books of which in particular I studied carefully, my young brain
+was rapidly furnished with a mass of images and events, of significant
+and wonderful shapes and occurrences; and I never felt time hang upon my
+hands, as I always occupied myself in working over, repeating, and
+reproducing these acquisitions.
+
+A more salutary moral effect than that of these rude and hazardous
+antiquities was produced by Fenelon's "Telemachus," with which I first
+became acquainted in Neukirch's translation, and which, imperfectly as
+it was executed, had a sweet and beneficent influence on my mind. That
+"Robinson Crusoe" was added in due time, follows in the nature of
+things; and it may be imagined that the "Island of Falsenberg" was not
+wanting. Lord Anson's "Voyage round the Globe" combined the dignity of
+truth with the rich fancies of fable; and, while our thoughts
+accompanied this excellent seaman, we were conducted over all the world,
+and endeavored to follow him with our fingers on the globe. But a still
+richer harvest was to spring up before me, when I lighted on a mass of
+writings, which, in their present state, it is true, cannot be called
+excellent, but the contents of which, in a harmless way, bring near to
+us many a meritorious action of former times.
+
+The publication, or rather the manufacture, of those books, which have
+at a later day become so well known and celebrated under the name
+Volkschriften, Volksbucher (popular works or books), was carried on in
+Frankfort. The enormous sales they met with led to their being almost
+illegibly printed from stereotypes on horrible blotting-paper. We
+children were so fortunate as to find these precious remains of the
+Middle Ages every day on a little table at the door of a dealer in cheap
+books, and to obtain them at the cost of a couple of Kreutzer. "The
+Eulenspiegel," "The Four Sons of Haimon," "The Emperor Octavian," "The
+Fair Melusina," "The Beautiful Magelone," "Fortunatus," with the whole
+race down to "The Wandering Jew," were all at our service, as often as
+we preferred the relish of these works to the taste of sweet things. The
+greatest benefit of this was, that, when we had read through or damaged
+such a sheet, it could soon be reprocured, and swallowed a second time.
+
+As a family picnic in summer is vexatiously disturbed by a sudden storm,
+which transforms a pleasant state of things into the very reverse: so
+the diseases of childhood fall unexpectedly on the most beautiful season
+of early life. And thus it happened with me. I had just purchased
+"Fortunatus with his Purse and Wishing-hat," when I was attacked by a
+restlessness and fever which announced the small-pox. Inoculation was
+still with us considered very problematical; and, although it had
+already been intelligibly and urgently recommended by popular writers,
+the German physicians hesitated to perform an operation that seemed to
+forestall Nature. Speculative Englishmen, therefore, had come to the
+Continent, and inoculated, for a considerable fee, the children of such
+persons as were opulent, and free from prejudices. Still, the majority
+were exposed to the old disease: the infection raged through families,
+killed and disfigured many children; and few parents dared to avail
+themselves of a method, the probable efficacy of which had been
+abundantly confirmed by the result. The evil now invaded our house, and
+attacked me with unusual severity. My whole body was sown over with
+spots, and my face covered; and for several days I lay blind and in
+great pain. They tried the only possible alleviation, and promised me
+heaps of gold if I would keep quiet, and not increase the mischief by
+rubbing and scratching. I controlled myself, while, according to the
+prevailing prejudice, they kept me as warm as possible, and thus only
+rendered my suffering more acute. At last, after a woeful time, there
+fell, as it were, a mask from my face. The blotches had left no visible
+mark upon the skin, but the features were plainly altered. I myself was
+satisfied merely with seeing the light of day again, and gradually
+putting off my spotted skin; but others were pitiless enough to remind
+me often of my previous condition, especially a very lively aunt, who
+had formerly regarded me with idolatry, but in after-years could seldom
+look at me without exclaiming "The deuce, cousin, what a fright he's
+grown!" Then she would tell me circumstantially how I had once been her
+delight, and what attention she had excited when she carried me about;
+and thus I early learned that people very often subject us to a severe
+atonement for the pleasure which we have afforded them.
+
+I escaped neither measles nor chicken-pox, nor any other of the
+tormenting demons of childhood; and I was assured each time that it was
+a great piece of good luck that this malady was now past forever. But
+alas! another again threatened in the background, and advanced. All
+these things increased my propensity to reflection; and as I had already
+practised myself in fortitude, in order to remove the torture of
+impatience, the virtues which I had heard praised in the stoics appeared
+to me highly worthy of imitation, and the more so, as something similar
+was commended by the Christian doctrine of patience.
+
+While on the subject of these family diseases, I will mention a brother
+about three years younger than myself, who was likewise attacked by that
+infection, and suffered not a little from it. He was of a tender nature,
+quiet and capricious; and we were never on the most friendly terms.
+Besides, he scarcely survived the years of childhood. Among several
+other children born afterwards, who, like him, did not live long, I only
+remember a very pretty and agreeable girl, who also soon passed away; so
+that, after the lapse of some years, my sister and I remained alone, and
+were therefore the more deeply and affectionately attached to each
+other.
+
+These maladies, and other unpleasant interruptions, were in their
+consequences doubly grievous; for my father, who seemed to have laid
+down for himself a certain calendar of education and instruction, was
+resolved immediately to repair every delay, and imposed double lessons
+upon the young convalescent. These were not hard for me to accomplish,
+but were so far troublesome, that they hindered, and, to a certain
+extent, repressed, my inward development, which had taken a decided
+direction.
+
+From these didactic and pedagogic oppressions, we commonly fled to my
+grandfather and grandmother. Their house stood in the Friedberg Street,
+and appeared to have been formerly a fortress; for, on approaching it,
+nothing was seen but a large gate with battlements, which were joined on
+either side to the two neighboring houses. On entering through a narrow
+passage, we reached at last a tolerably wide court, surrounded by
+irregular buildings, which were now all united into one dwelling. We
+usually hastened at once into the garden, which extended to a
+considerable length and breadth behind the buildings, and was very well
+kept. The walks were mostly skirted by vine-trellises: one part of the
+space was used for vegetables, and another devoted to flowers, which
+from spring till autumn adorned in rich succession the borders as well
+as the beds. The long wall, erected towards the south, was used for some
+well-trained espalier peach-trees, the forbidden fruit of which ripened
+temptingly before us through the summer. Yet we rather avoided this
+side, because we here could not satisfy our dainty appetites; and we
+turned to the side opposite, where an interminable row of currant and
+gooseberry bushes furnished our voracity with a succession of harvests
+till autumn. Not less important to us was an old, high, wide-spreading
+mulberry-tree, both on account of its fruits, and because we were told
+that the silk-worms fed upon its leaves. In this peaceful region my
+grandfather was found every evening, tending with genial care, and with
+his own hand, the finer growths of fruits and flowers; while a gardener
+managed the drudgery. He was never vexed by the various toils which were
+necessary to preserve and increase a fine show of pinks. The branches of
+the peach-trees were carefully tied to the espaliers with his own hands,
+in a fan-shape, in order to bring about a full and easy growth of the
+fruit. The sorting of the bulbs of tulips, hyacinths, and plants of a
+similar nature, as well as the care of their preservation, he intrusted
+to none; and I still with pleasure recall to my mind how diligently he
+occupied himself in inoculating the different varieties of roses. That
+he might protect himself from the thorns, he put on a pair of those
+ancient leather gloves, of which three pair were given him annually at
+the Piper's Court; so that there was no dearth of the article. He wore
+also a loose dressing-gown, and a folded black velvet cap upon his head;
+so that he might have passed for an intermediate person between Alcinous
+and Laertes.
+
+All this work in the garden he pursued as regularly and with as much
+precision as his official business; for, before he came down, he always
+arranged the list of cases for the next day, and read the legal papers.
+In the morning he proceeded to the city-hall, dined after his return,
+then took a nap in his easy-chair, and so went through the same routine
+every day. He conversed little, never exhibited any vehemence; and I do
+not remember ever to have seen him angry. All that surrounded him was in
+the fashion of the olden time. I never perceived any alteration in his
+wainscoted room. His library contained, besides law-works, only the
+earliest books of travels, sea-voyages, and discoveries of countries.
+Altogether I can call to mind no situation more adapted than his to
+awaken the feeling of uninterrupted peace and eternal duration.
+
+But the reverence we entertained for this venerable old man was raised
+to the highest degree by a conviction that he possessed the gift of
+prophecy, especially in matters that pertained to himself and his
+destiny. It is true he revealed himself to no one distinctly and
+minutely, except to my grandmother; yet we were all aware that he was
+informed of what was going to happen by significant dreams. He assured
+his wife, for instance, at a time when he was still a junior councillor,
+that, on the first vacancy, he would obtain the place left open on the
+bench of the /Schöffen/; and soon afterwards, when one of those
+officers actually died of apoplexy, my grandfather gave orders that his
+house should be quietly got ready prepared on the day of electing and
+balloting, to receive his guests and congratulators. Sure enough, the
+decisive gold ball was drawn in his favor. The simple dream by which he
+had learned this, he confided to his wife as follows: He had seen
+himself in the ordinary full assembly of councilmen, where all went on
+just as usual. Suddenly the late /Schöff/ rose from his seat,
+descended the steps, pressed him in the most complimentary manner to
+take the vacant place, and then departed by the door.
+
+Something similar occurred on the death of the /Schultheiss/. They
+make no delay in supplying this place; as they always have to fear that
+the emperor will, at some time, resume his ancient right of nominating
+the officer. On this occasion, the messenger of the court came at
+midnight to summon an extraordinary session for the next morning; and,
+as the light in his lantern was about to expire, he asked for a candle's
+end to help him on his way. "Give him a whole one," said my grandfather
+to the ladies: "he takes the trouble all on my account." This expression
+anticipated the result,--he was made /Schultheiss/. And what
+rendered the circumstance particularly remarkable was, that, although
+his representative was the third and last to draw at the ballot, the two
+silver balls first came out, leaving the golden ball at the bottom of
+the bag for him.
+
+Perfectly prosaic, simple, and without a trace of the fantastic or
+miraculous, were the other dreams, of which we were informed. Moreover,
+I remember that once, as a boy, I was turning over his books and
+memoranda, and found, among some other remarks which related to
+gardening, such sentences as these: "To-night N. N. came to me, and
+said,"--the name and revelation being written in cipher; or, "This night
+I saw,"--all the rest being again in cipher, except the conjunctions and
+similar words, from which nothing could be learned.
+
+It is worthy of note also, that persons who showed no signs of prophetic
+insight at other times, acquired, for the moment, while in his presence,
+and that by means of some sensible evidence, presentiments of diseases
+or deaths which were then occurring in distant places. But no such gift
+has been transmitted to any of his children or grandchildren, who, for
+the most part, have been hearty people, enjoying life, and never going
+beyond the actual.
+
+While on this subject, I remember with gratitude many kindnesses I
+received from them in my youth. Thus, for example, we were employed and
+entertained in many ways when we visited the second daughter, married to
+the druggist Melber, whose house and shop stood near the market, in the
+midst of the liveliest and most crowded part of the town. There we could
+look down from the windows pleasantly enough upon the hurly-burly, in
+which we feared to lose ourselves; and though at first, of all the goods
+in the shop, nothing had much interest for us but the licorice, and the
+little brown stamped cakes made from it, we became in time better
+acquainted with the multitude of articles bought and sold in that
+business. This aunt was the most vivacious of all the family. Whilst my
+mother, in her early years, took pleasure in being neatly dressed,
+working at some domestic occupation, or reading a book, the other, on
+the contrary, ran about the neighborhood to pick up neglected children,
+take care of them, comb them, and carry them about in the way she had
+done with me for a good while. At a time of public festivities, such as
+coronations, it was impossible to keep her at home. When a little child,
+she had already scrambled for the money scattered on such occasions; and
+it was related of her, that once when she had got a good many together,
+and was looking at them with great delight in the palm of her hand, it
+was struck by somebody, and all her well-earned booty vanished at a
+blow. There was another incident of which she was very proud. Once,
+while standing on a post as the Emperor Charles VII. was passing, at a
+moment when all the people were silent, she shouted a vigorous "Vivat!"
+into the coach, which made him take off his hat to her, and thank her
+quite graciously for her bold salutation.
+
+Every thing in her house was stirring, lively, and cheerful; and we
+children owed her many a gay hour.
+
+In a more quiet situation, which was, however, suited to her character,
+was a second aunt, married to the Pastor Stark, incumbent of St.
+Catharine's Church. He lived much alone, in accordance with his
+temperament and vocation, and possessed a fine library. Here I first
+became acquainted with Homer, in a prose translation, which may be found
+in the seventh part of Herr Von Loen's new collection of the most
+remarkable travels, under the title, "Homer's Description of the
+Conquest of the Kingdom of Troy," ornamented with copperplates in the
+theatrical French taste. These pictures perverted my imagination to such
+a degree, that, for a long time, I could conceive the Homeric heroes
+only under such forms. The incidents themselves gave me unspeakable
+delight; though I found great fault with the work for affording us no
+account of the capture of Troy, and breaking off so abruptly with the
+death of Hector. My uncle, to whom I mentioned this defect, referred me
+to Virgil, who perfectly satisfied my demands.
+
+It will be taken for granted, that we children had among our other
+lessons a continued and progressive instruction in religion. But the
+Church-Protestantism imparted to us was, properly speaking, nothing but
+a kind of dry morality: ingenious exposition was not thought of, and the
+doctrine appealed neither to the understanding nor to the heart. For
+that reason, there were various secessions from the Established Church.
+Separatists, Pietists, Herrnhuter (Moravians), Quiet-in-the-Land, and
+others differently named and characterized, sprang up, all of whom are
+animated by the same purpose of approaching the Deity, especially
+through Christ, more closely than seemed to them possible under the
+forms of the established religion.
+
+The boy heard these opinions and sentiments constantly spoken of, for
+the clergy as well as the laity divided themselves into /pro/ and
+/con/. The minority were composed of those who dissented more or
+less broadly; but their modes of thinking attracted by originality,
+heartiness, perseverance, and independence. All sorts of stories were
+told of their virtues, and of the way in which they were manifested. The
+reply of a pious master-tinman was especially noted, who, when one of
+his craft attempted to shame him by asking, "Who is really your
+confessor?" answered with great cheerfulness, and confidence in the
+goodness of his cause, "I have a famous one,--no less than the confessor
+of King David."
+
+Things of this sort naturally made an impression on the boy, and led him
+into similar states of mind. In fact, he came to the thought that he
+might immediately approach the great God of nature, the Creator and
+Preserver of heaven and earth, whose earlier manifestations of wrath had
+been long forgotten in the beauty of the world, and the manifold
+blessings in which we participate while upon it. The way he took to
+accomplish this was very curious.
+
+The boy had chiefly kept to the first article of belief. The God who
+stands in immediate connection with nature, and owns and loves it as his
+work, seemed to him the proper God, who might be brought into closer
+relationship with man, as with every thing else, and who would take care
+of him, as of the motion of the stars, the days and seasons, the animals
+and plants. There were texts of the Gospels which explicitly stated
+this. The boy could ascribe no form to this Being: he therefore sought
+him in his works, and would, in the good Old-Testament fashion, build
+him an altar. Natural productions were set forth as images of the world,
+over which a flame was to burn, signifying the aspirations of man's
+heart towards his Maker. He brought out of the collection of natural
+objects which he possessed, and which had been increased as chance
+directed, the best ores and other specimens. But the next difficulty
+was, as to how they should be arranged and raised into a pile. His
+father possessed a beautiful red-lacquered music-stand, ornamented with
+gilt flowers, in the form of a four-sided pyramid, with different
+elevations, which had been found convenient for quartets, but lately was
+not much in use. The boy laid hands on this, and built up his
+representatives of nature one above the other in steps; so that it all
+looked quite pretty and at the same time sufficiently significant. On an
+early sunrise his first worship of God was to be celebrated, but the
+young priest had not yet settled how to produce a flame which should at
+the same time emit an agreeable odor. At last it occurred to him to
+combine the two, as he possessed a few fumigating pastils, which
+diffused a pleasant fragrance with a glimmer, if not with a flame. Nay,
+this soft burning and exhalation seemed a better representation of what
+passes in the heart, than an open flame. The sun had already risen for a
+long time, but the neighboring houses concealed the east. At last it
+glittered above the roofs: a burning-glass was at once taken up and
+applied to the pastils, which were fixed on the summit in a fine
+porcelain saucer. Every thing succeeded according to the wish, and the
+devotion was perfect. The altar remained as a peculiar ornament of the
+room which had been assigned him in the new house. Every one regarded it
+only as a well-arranged collection of natural curiosities. The boy knew
+better, but concealed his knowledge. He longed for a repetition of the
+solemnity. But unfortunately, just as the most opportune sun arose, the
+porcelain cup was not at hand: he placed the pastils immediately on the
+upper surface of the stand; they were kindled; and so great was the
+devotion of the priest, that he did not observe, until it was too late,
+the mischief his sacrifice was doing. The pastils had burned mercilessly
+into the red lacquer and beautiful gold flowers, and, as if some evil
+spirit had disappeared, had left their black, ineffaceable footprints.
+By this the young priest was thrown into the most extreme perplexity.
+The mischief could be covered up, it was true, with the larger pieces of
+his show materials; but the spirit for new offerings was gone, and the
+accident might almost be considered a hint and warning of the danger
+there always is in wishing to approach the Deity in such a way.
+
+ SECOND BOOK.
+
+All that has been hitherto recorded indicates that happy and easy
+condition in which nations exist during a long peace. But nowhere
+probably is such a beautiful time enjoyed in greater comfort than in
+cities living under their own laws, and large enough to include a
+considerable number of citizens, and so situated as to enrich them by
+trade and commerce. Strangers find it to their advantage to come and go,
+and are under a necessity of bringing profit in order to acquire profit.
+Even if such cities rule but a small territory, they are the better
+qualified to advance their internal prosperity; as their external
+relations expose them to no costly undertakings or alliances.
+
+Thus the Frankforters passed a series of prosperous years during my
+childhood; but scarcely, on the 28th of August, 1756, had I completed my
+seventh year, than that world-renowned war broke out which was also to
+exert great influence upon the next seven years of my life. Frederick
+the Second, King of Prussia, had fallen upon Saxony with sixty thousand
+men; and, instead of announcing his invasion by a declaration of war, he
+followed it up with a manifesto, composed by himself as it was said,
+which explained the causes that had moved and justified him in so
+monstrous a step. The world, which saw itself appealed to, not merely as
+spectator, but as judge, immediately split into two parties; and our
+family was an image of the great whole.
+
+My grandfather, who, as /Schöff/ of Frankfort, had carried the
+coronation canopy over Francis the First, and had received from the
+empress a heavy gold chain with her likeness, took the Austrian side
+along with some of his sons-in-law and daughters. My father having been
+nominated to the imperial council by Charles the Seventh, and
+sympathizing sincerely in the fate of that unhappy monarch, leaned
+towards Prussia, with the other and smaller half of the family. Our
+meetings, which had been held on Sundays for many years uninterruptedly,
+were very soon disturbed. The misunderstandings so common among persons
+related by marriage, found only now a form in which they could be
+expressed. Contention, discord, silence, and separation ensued. My
+grandfather, generally a cheerful, quiet man, and fond of ease, became
+impatient. The women vainly endeavored to smother the flames; and, after
+some unpleasant scenes, my father was the first to quit the society. At
+home we now rejoiced undisturbed at the Prussian victories, which were
+commonly announced with great glee by our vivacious aunt. Every other
+interest had to give way to this, and we passed the rest of the year in
+perpetual agitation. The occupation of Dresden, the moderation of the
+king at the outset, his slow but secure advances, the victory at
+Lowositz, the capture of the Saxons, were so many triumphs for our
+party. Every thing that could be alleged for the advantage of our
+opponents was denied or depreciated; and, as the members of the family
+on the other side did the same, they could not meet in the streets
+without disputes arising, as in "Romeo and Juliet."
+
+Thus I also was then a Prussian in my views, or, to speak more
+correctly, a Fritzian; since what cared we for Prussia? It was the
+personal character of the great king that worked upon all hearts. I
+rejoiced with my father in our conquests, readily copied the songs of
+triumph, and almost more willingly the lampoons directed against the
+other party, poor as the rhymes might be.
+
+Being their eldest grandson and godchild, I had dined every Sunday since
+my infancy with my grandfather and grandmother; and the hours so spent
+had been the most delightful of the whole week. But now I relished not a
+morsel, because I was compelled to hear the most horrible slanders of my
+hero. Here blew another wind, here sounded another tone, than at home.
+My liking and even my respect for my grandfather and grandmother fell
+off. I could mention nothing of this to my parents, but avoided the
+matter, both on account of my own feelings, and because I had been
+warned by my mother. In this way I was thrown back upon myself; and as
+in my sixth year, after the earthquake at Lisbon, the goodness of God
+had become to me in some measure suspicious: so I began now, on account
+of Frederick the Second, to doubt the justice of the public. My heart
+was naturally inclined to reverence, and it required a great shock to
+stagger my faith in any thing that was venerable. But alas! they had
+commended good manners and a becoming deportment to us, not for their
+own sake, but for the sake of the people. What will people say? was
+always the cry; and I thought that the people must be right good people,
+and would know how to judge of any thing and every thing. But my
+experience went just to the contrary. The greatest and most signal
+services were defamed and attacked; the noblest deeds, if not denied,
+were at least misrepresented and diminished; and this base injustice was
+done to the only man who was manifestly elevated above all his
+contemporaries, and who daily proved what he was able to do,--and that,
+not by the populace, but by distinguished men, as I took my grandfather
+and uncles to be. That parties existed, and that he himself belonged to
+a party, had never entered into the conceptions of the boy. He,
+therefore, believed himself all the more right, and dared hold his own
+opinion for the better one; since he and those of like mind appreciated
+the beauty and other good qualities of Maria Theresa, and even did not
+grudge the Emperor Francis his love of jewellery and money. That Count
+Daun was often called an old dozer, they thought justifiable.
+
+But, now that I look more closely into the matter, I here trace the germ
+of that disregard and even disdain of the public, which clung to me for
+a whole period of my life, and only in later days was brought within
+bounds by insight and cultivation. Suffice it to say, that the
+perception of the injustice of parties had even then a very unpleasant,
+nay, an injurious, effect upon the boy; as it accustomed him to separate
+himself from beloved and highly valued persons. The quick succession of
+battles and events left the parties neither quiet nor rest. We ever
+found a malicious delight in reviving and resharpening those imaginary
+evils and capricious disputes; and thus we continued to tease each
+other, until the occupation of Frankfort by the French some years
+afterwards brought real inconvenience into our homes.
+
+Although to most of us the important events occurring in distant parts
+served only for topics of hot controversy, there were others who
+perceived the seriousness of the times, and feared that the sympathy of
+France might open a scene of war in our own vicinity. They kept us
+children at home more than before, and strove in many ways to occupy and
+amuse us. With this view, the puppet-show bequeathed by our grandmother
+was again brought forth, and arranged in such a way that the spectators
+sat in my gable-room; while the persons managing and performing, as well
+as the theatre itself as far as the proscenium, found a place in the
+room adjoining. We were allowed, as a special favor, to invite first one
+and then another of the neighbor's children as spectators; and thus at
+the outset I gained many friends, but the restlessness inherent in
+children did not suffer them to remain long a patient audience. They
+interrupted the play; and we were compelled to seek a younger public,
+which could at any rate be kept in order by the nurses and maids. The
+original drama, to which the puppets had been specially adapted, we had
+learned by heart; and in the beginning this was exclusively performed.
+Soon growing weary of it, however, we changed the dresses and
+decorations, and attempted various other pieces, which were indeed on
+too grand a scale for so narrow a stage. Although this presumption
+spoiled and finally quite destroyed what we performed, such childish
+pleasures and employments nevertheless exercised and advanced in many
+ways my power of invention and representation, my fancy, and a certain
+technical skill, to a degree which in any other way could not perhaps
+have been secured in so short a time, in so confined a space, and at so
+little expense.
+
+I had early learned to use compasses and ruler, because all the
+instructions they gave me in geometry were forthwith put into practice;
+and I occupied myself greatly with paste-board-work. I did not stop at
+geometrical figures, little boxes, and such things, but invented pretty
+pleasure-houses adorned with pilasters, steps, and flat roofs. However,
+but little of this was completed.
+
+Far more persevering was I, on the other hand, in arranging, with the
+help of our domestic (a tailor by trade), an armory for the service of
+our plays and tragedies, which we ourselves performed with delight when
+we had outgrown the puppets. My playfellows, too, prepared for
+themselves such armories, which they considered to be quite as fine and
+good as mine; but I had made provision, not for the wants of one person
+only, and could furnish several of the little band with every requisite,
+and thus made myself more and more indispensable to our little circle.
+That such games tended to factions, quarrels, and blows, and commonly
+came to a sad end in tumult and vexation, may easily be supposed. In
+such cases certain of my companions generally took part with me, while
+others sided against me; though many changes of party occurred. One
+single boy, whom I will call Pylades, urged by the others, once only
+left my party, but could scarcely for a moment maintain his hostile
+position. We were reconciled amid many tears, and for a long time
+afterwards kept faithfully together.
+
+To him, as well as other well-wishers, I could render myself very
+agreeable by telling tales, which they most delighted to hear when I was
+the hero of my own story. It greatly rejoiced them to know that such
+wonderful things could befall one of their own playfellows; nor was it
+any harm that they did not understand how I could find time and space
+for such adventures, as they must have been pretty well aware of all my
+comings and goings, and how I was occupied the entire day. Not the less
+necessary was it for me to select the localities of these occurrences,
+if not in another world, at least in another spot; and yet all was told
+as having taken place only to-day or yesterday. They therefore had to
+form for themselves greater illusions than I could have palmed off upon
+them. If I had not gradually learned, in accordance with the instincts
+of my nature, to work up these visions and conceits into artistic forms,
+such vain-glorious beginnings could not have gone on without producing
+evil consequences for myself in the end.
+
+Considering this impulse more closely, we may see in it that presumption
+with which the poet authoritatively utters the greatest improbabilities,
+and requires every one to recognize as real whatever may in any way seem
+to him, the inventor, as true.
+
+But what is here told only in general terms, and by way of reflection,
+will perhaps become more apparent and interesting by means of an
+example. I subjoin, therefore, one of these tales, which, as I often had
+to repeat it to my comrades, still hovers entire in my imagination and
+memory.
+
+
+
+ THE NEW PARIS.
+
+A BOY'S LEGEND.
+
+On the night before Whitsunday, not long since, I dreamed that I stood
+before a mirror engaged with the new summer clothes which my dear
+parents had given me for the holiday. The dress consisted, as you know,
+of shoes of polished leather, with large silver buckles, fine cotton
+stockings, black nether garments of serge, and a coat of green baracan
+with gold buttons. The waistcoat of gold cloth was cut out of my
+father's bridal waistcoat. My hair had been frizzled and powdered, and
+my curls stuck out from my head like little wings; but I could not
+finish dressing myself, because I kept confusing the different articles,
+the first always falling off as soon as I was about to put on the next.
+In this dilemma, a young and handsome man came to me, and greeted me in
+the friendliest manner. "Oh! you are welcome," said I: "I am very glad
+to see you here."--"Do you know me, then?" replied he, smiling. "Why
+not?" was my no less smiling answer. "You are Mercury--I have often
+enough seen you represented in pictures."--"I am, indeed," replied he,
+"and am sent to you by the gods on an important errand. Do you see these
+three apples?" He stretched forth his hand and showed me three apples,
+which it could hardly hold, and which were as wonderfully beautiful as
+they were large, the one of a red, the other of a yellow, the third of a
+green, color. One could not help thinking they were precious stones made
+into the form of fruit. I would have snatched them; but he drew back,
+and said, "You must know, in the first place, that they are not for you.
+You must give them to the three handsomest youths of the city, who then,
+each according to his lot, will find wives to the utmost of their
+wishes. Take them, and success to you!" said he, as he departed, leaving
+the apples in my open hands. They appeared to me to have become still
+larger. I held them up at once against the light, and found them quite
+transparent; but soon they expanded upward, and became three beautiful
+little ladies about as large as middle-sized dolls, whose clothes were
+of the colors of the apples. They glided gently up my fingers: and when
+I was about to catch them, to make sure of one at least, they had
+already soared high and far; and I had to put up with the
+disappointment. I stood there all amazed and petrified, holding up my
+hands, and staring at my fingers as if there were still something on
+them to see. Suddenly I saw a most lovely girl dance upon the very tips.
+She was smaller, but pretty and lively; and as she did not fly away like
+the others, but remained dancing, now on one finger-point, now on
+another, I regarded her for a long while with admiration. And, as she
+pleased me so much, I thought in the end I could catch her, and made, as
+I fancied, a very adroit grasp. But at the moment I felt such a blow on
+my head that I fell down stunned, and did not awake from my stupor till
+it was time to dress myself and go to church.
+
+During the service I often called those images to mind, and also when I
+was eating dinner at my grandfather's table. In the afternoon I wished
+to visit some friends, partly to show myself in my new dress, with my
+hat under my arm and my sword by my side, and partly to return their
+visits. I found no one at home; and, as I heard that they were gone to
+the gardens, I resolved to follow them, and pass the evening pleasantly.
+My way led towards the intrenchments; and I came to the spot which is
+rightly called the Bad Wall, for it is never quite safe from ghosts
+there. I walked slowly, and thought of my three goddesses, but
+especially of the little nymph, and often held up my fingers in hopes
+she might be kind enough to balance herself there again. With such
+thoughts I was proceeding, when I saw in the wall on my left hand a
+little gate which I did not remember to have ever noticed before. It
+looked low, but its pointed arch would have allowed the tallest man to
+enter. Arch and wall had been chiselled in the handsomest way, both by
+mason and sculptor; but it was the door itself which first properly
+attracted my attention. The old brown wood, though slightly ornamented,
+was crossed with broad bands of brass wrought both in relief and
+intaglio. The foliage on these, with the most natural birds sitting in
+it, I could not sufficiently admire. But, what seemed most remarkable,
+no keyhole could be seen, no latch, no knocker; and from this I
+conjectured that the door could be opened only from within. I was not in
+error; for, when I went nearer in order to touch the ornaments, it
+opened inwards; and there appeared a man whose dress was somewhat long,
+wide, and singular. A venerable beard enveloped his chin, so that I was
+inclined to think him a Jew. But he, as if he had divined my thoughts,
+made the sign of the holy cross, by which he gave me to understand that
+he was a good Catholic Christian. "Young gentleman, how came you here,
+and what are you doing?" he said to me, with a friendly voice and
+manner." I am admiring," I replied," the workmanship of this door; for I
+have never seen any thing like it, except in some small pieces in the
+collections of amateurs."--"I am glad," he answered, "that you like such
+works. The door is much more beautiful inside. Come in, if you like." My
+heart, in some degree, failed me. The mysterious dress of the porter,
+the seclusion, and a something, I know not what, that seemed to be in
+the air, oppressed me. I paused, therefore, under the pretext of
+examining the outside still longer; and at the same time I cast stolen
+glances into the garden, for a garden it was which had opened before me.
+Just inside the door I saw a space. Old linden-trees, standing at
+regular distances from each other, entirely covered it with their
+thickly interwoven branches; so that the most numerous parties, during
+the hottest of the day, might have refreshed themselves in the shade.
+Already I had stepped upon the threshold, and the old man contrived
+gradually to allure me on. Properly speaking, I did not resist; for I
+had always heard that a prince or sultan in such a case must never ask
+whether there be danger at hand. I had my sword by my side too; and
+could I not soon have finished with the old man, in case of hostile
+demonstrations? I therefore entered perfectly re-assured: the keeper
+closed the door, which bolted so softly that I scarcely heard it. He now
+showed me the workmanship on the inside, which in truth was still more
+artistic than the outside, explained it to me, and at the same time
+manifested particular good will. Being thus entirely at my ease, I let
+myself be guided in the shaded space by the wall, that formed a circle,
+where I found much to admire. Niches tastefully adorned with shells,
+corals, and pieces of ore, poured a profusion of water from the mouths
+of tritons into marble basins. Between them were aviaries and other
+lattice-work, in which squirrels frisked about, guinea-pigs ran hither
+and thither, with as many other pretty little creatures as one could
+wish to see. The birds called and sang to us as we advanced: the
+starlings, particularly, chattered the silliest stuff. One always cried,
+"Paris, Paris!" and the other, "Narcissus, Narcissus!" as plainly as a
+schoolboy can say them. The old man seemed to continue looking at me
+earnestly while the birds called out thus; but I feigned not to notice
+it, and had in truth no time to attend to him, for I could easily
+perceive that we went round and round, and that this shaded space was in
+fact a great circle, which enclosed another much more important. Indeed,
+we had actually reached the small door again, and it seemed as though
+the old man would let me out. But my eyes remained directed towards a
+golden railing, which seemed to hedge round the middle of this wonderful
+garden, and which I had found means enough of observing in our walk;
+although the old man managed to keep me always close to the wall, and
+therefore pretty far from the centre. And now, just as he was going to
+the door, I said to him, with a bow, "You have been so extremely kind to
+me that I would fain venture to make one more request before I part from
+you. Might I not look more closely at that golden railing, which appears
+to enclose in a very wide circle the interior of the garden?"--"Very
+willingly," replied he, "but in that case you must submit to some
+conditions."--"In what do they consist?" I asked hastily. "You must
+leave here your hat and sword, and must not let go my hand while I
+accompany you."--"Most willingly," I replied; and laid my hat and sword
+on the nearest stone bench. Immediately he grasped my left hand with his
+right, held it fast, and led me with some force straight forwards. When
+we reached the railing, my wonder changed into amazement. On a high
+socle of marble stood innumerable spears and partisans, ranged beneath
+each other, joined by their strangely ornamented points, and forming a
+complete circle. I looked through the intervals, and saw just behind a
+gently flowing piece of water, bounded on both sides by marble, and
+displaying in its clear depths a multitude of gold and silver fish,
+which moved about now slowly and now swiftly, now alone and now in
+shoals. I would also fain have looked beyond the canal, to see what
+there was in the heart of the garden. But I found, to my great sorrow,
+that the other side of the water was bordered by a similar railing, and
+with so much art, that to each interval on this side exactly fitted a
+spear or partisan on the other. These, and the other ornaments, rendered
+it impossible for one to see through, stand as he would. Besides, the
+old man, who still held me fast, prevented me from moving freely. My
+curiosity, meanwhile, after all I had seen, increased more and more; and
+I took heart to ask the old man whether one could not pass over. "Why
+not?" returned he, "but on new conditions." When I asked him what these
+were, he gave me to understand that I must put on other clothes. I was
+satisfied to do so: he led me back towards the wall into a small, neat
+room, on the sides of which hung many kinds of garments, all of which
+seemed to approach the Oriental costume. I soon changed my dress. He
+confined my powdered hair under a many-colored net, after having to my
+horror violently dusted it out. Now, standing before a great mirror, I
+found myself quite handsome in my disguise, and pleased myself better
+than in my formal Sunday clothes. I made gestures, and leaped, as I had
+seen the dancers do at the fair-theatre. In the midst of this I looked
+in the glass, and saw by chance the image of a niche which was behind
+me. On its white ground hung three green cords, each of them twisted up
+in a way which from the distance I could not clearly discern. I
+therefore turned round rather hastily, and asked the old man about the
+niche as well as the cords. He very courteously took a cord down, and
+showed it to me. It was a band of green silk of moderate thickness, the
+ends of which, joined by green leather with two holes in it, gave it the
+appearance of an instrument for no very desirable purpose. The thing
+struck me as suspicious, and I asked the old man the meaning. He
+answered me very quietly and kindly, "This is for those who abuse the
+confidence which is here readily shown them." He hung the cord again in
+its place, and immediately desired me to follow him; for this time he
+did not hold me, and so I walked freely beside him.
+
+My chief curiosity now was, to discover where the gate and bridge, for
+passing through the railing and over the canal, might be; since as yet I
+had not been able to find any thing of the kind. I therefore watched the
+golden fence very narrowly as we hastened towards it. But in a moment my
+sight failed: lances, spears, halberds, and partisans began unexpectedly
+to rattle and quiver; and the strange movement ended in all the points
+sinking towards each other just as if two ancient hosts, armed with
+pikes, were about to charge. The confusion to the eyes, the clatter to
+the ears, was hardly to be borne; but infinitely surprising was the
+sight, when, falling perfectly level, they covered the circle of the
+canal, and formed the most glorious bridge that one can imagine. For now
+a most variegated garden parterre met my sight. It was laid out in
+curvilinear beds, which, looked at together, formed a labyrinth of
+ornaments; all with green borders of a low, woolly plant, which I had
+never seen before; all with flowers, each division of different colors,
+which, being likewise low and close to the ground, allowed the plan to
+be easily traced. This delicious sight, which I enjoyed in the full
+sunshine, quite riveted my eyes. But I hardly knew where I was to set my
+foot; for the serpentine paths were most delicately laid with blue sand,
+which seemed to form upon the earth a darker sky, or a sky seen in the
+water: and so I walked for a while beside my conductor, with my eyes
+fixed upon the ground, until at last I perceived, that, in the middle of
+this round of beds and flowers, there was a great circle of cypresses or
+poplar-like trees, through which one could not see, because the lowest
+branches seemed to spring out of the ground. My guide, without taking me
+exactly the shortest way, led me nevertheless immediately towards that
+centre; and how was I astonished, when, on entering the circle of high
+trees, I saw before me the peristyle of a magnificent garden-house,
+which seemed to have similar prospects and entrances on the other sides!
+The heavenly music which streamed from the building transported me still
+more than this model of architecture. I fancied that I heard now a lute,
+now a harp, now a guitar, and now something tinkling which did not
+belong to any of these instruments. The door for which we made opened
+soon on being lightly touched by the old man. But how was I amazed when
+the porteress who came out perfectly resembled the delicate girl who had
+danced upon my fingers in the dream! She greeted me as if we were
+already acquainted, and invited me to walk in. The old man staid behind;
+and I went with her through a short passage, arched and finely
+ornamented, to the middle hall, the splendid, dome-like ceiling of which
+attracted my gaze on my entrance, and filled me with astonishment. Yet
+my eye could not dwell on this long, being allured down by a more
+charming spectacle. On a carpet, directly under the middle of the
+cupola, sat three women in a triangle, clad in three different colors,--
+one red, the other yellow, the third green. The seats were gilt, and the
+carpet was a perfect flower-bed. In their arms lay the three instruments
+which I had been able to distinguish from without; for, being disturbed
+by my arrival, they had stopped their playing. "Welcome!" said the
+middle one, who sat with her face to the door, in a red dress, and with
+the harp. "Sit down by Alerte, and listen, if you are a lover of music."
+
+Now only I remarked that there was a rather long bench placed obliquely
+before them, on which lay a mandolin. The pretty girl took it up, sat
+down, and drew me to her side. Now also I looked at the second lady on
+my right. She wore the yellow dress, and had the guitar in her hand; and
+if the harp-player was dignified in form, grand in features, and
+majestic in her deportment, one might remark in the guitar-player an
+easy grace and cheerfulness. She was a slender blonde, while the other
+was adorned by dark-brown hair. The variety and accordance of their
+music could not prevent me from remarking the third beauty, in the green
+dress, whose lute-playing was for me at once touching and striking. She
+was the one who seemed to notice me the most, and to direct her music to
+me: only I could not make up my mind about her; for she appeared to me
+now tender, now whimsical, now frank, now self-willed, according as she
+changed her mien and mode of playing. Sometimes she seemed to wish to
+excite my emotions, sometimes to tease me; but, do what she would, she
+got little out of me; for my little neighbor, by whom I sat elbow to
+elbow, had gained me entirely to herself: and while I clearly saw in
+those three ladies the sylphides of my dream, and recognized the colors
+of the apples, I conceived that I had no cause to detain them. I should
+have liked better to lay hold of the pretty little maiden if I had not
+but too well remembered the blow she had given me in my dream. Hitherto
+she had remained quite quiet with her mandolin; but, when her mistresses
+had ceased, they commanded her to perform some pleasant little piece.
+Scarcely had she jingled off some dance-tune, in a most exciting manner,
+than she sprang up: I did the same. She played and danced; I was hurried
+on to accompany her steps; and we executed a kind of little ballet, with
+which the ladies seemed satisfied; for, as soon as we had done, they
+commanded the little girl to refresh me with something nice till supper
+should come in. I had indeed forgotten that there was any thing in the
+world beyond this paradise. Alerte led me back immediately into the
+passage by which I had entered. On one side of it she had two well-
+arranged rooms. In that in which she lived she set before me oranges,
+figs, peaches, and grapes; and I enjoyed with great gusto both the
+fruits of foreign lands and those of our own not yet in season.
+Confectionery there was in profusion: she filled, too, a goblet of
+polished crystal with foaming wine; but I had no need to drink, as I had
+refreshed myself with the fruits. "Now we will play," said she, and led
+me into the other room. Here all looked like a Christmas fair, but such
+costly and exquisite things were never seen in a Christmas booth. There
+were all kinds of dolls, dolls' clothes, and dolls' furniture; kitchens,
+parlors, and shops, and single toys innumerable. She led me round to all
+the glass cases in which these ingenious works were preserved.
+
+But she soon closed again the first cases, and said, "That is nothing
+for you, I know well enough. Here," she said, "we could find building-
+materials, walls and towers, houses, palaces, churches, to put together
+a great city. But this does not entertain me. We will take something
+else, which will be amusing to both of us." Then she brought out some
+boxes, in which I saw an army of little soldiers piled one upon the
+other, of which I must needs confess that I had never seen any thing so
+beautiful. She did not leave me time to examine them in detail, but took
+one box under her arm, while I seized the other. "We will go," she said,
+"to the golden bridge. There one plays best with soldiers: the lances
+give at once the direction in which the armies are to be opposed to each
+other." We had now reached the golden, trembling floor; and below me I
+could hear the waters gurgle and the fishes splash, while I knelt down
+to range my columns. All, as I now saw, were cavalry. She boasted that
+she had the queen of the Amazons as leader of her female host. I, on the
+contrary, found Achilles and a very stately Grecian cavalry. The armies
+stood facing each other, and nothing could have been seen more
+beautiful. They were not flat, leaden horsemen like ours; but man and
+horse were round and solid, and most finely wrought: nor could one
+conceive how they kept their balance; for they stood of themselves,
+without a support for their feet.
+
+Both of us had inspected our hosts with much self-complacency, when she
+announced the onset. We had found ordnance in our chests; viz., little
+boxes full of well-polished agate balls. With these we were to fight
+against each other from a certain distance; while, however, it was an
+express condition that we should not throw with more force than was
+necessary to upset the figures, as none of them were to be injured. Now
+the cannonade began on both sides, and at first it succeeded to the
+satisfaction of us both. But when my adversary observed that I aimed
+better than she, and might in the end win the victory, which depended on
+the majority of pieces remaining upright, she came nearer, and her
+girlish way of throwing had then the desired result. She prostrated a
+multitude of my best troops, and the more I protested the more eagerly
+did she throw. This at last vexed me, and I declared that I would do the
+same. In fact, I not only went nearer, but in my rage threw with much
+more violence; so that it was not long before a pair of her little
+centauresses flew in pieces. In her eagerness she did not instantly
+notice it, but I stood petrified when the broken figures joined together
+again of themselves: Amazon and horse became again one, and also
+perfectly close, set up a gallop from the golden bridge under the lime-
+trees, and, running swiftly backwards and forwards, were lost in their
+career, I know not how, in the direction of the wall. My fair opponent
+had hardly perceived this, when she broke out into loud weeping and
+lamentation, and exclaimed that I had caused her an irreparable loss,
+which was far greater than could be expressed. But I, by this time
+provoked, was glad to annoy her, and blindly flung a couple of the
+remaining agate balls with force into the midst of her army. Unhappily I
+hit the queen, who had hitherto, during our regular game, been excepted.
+She flew in pieces, and her nearest officers were also shivered. But
+they swiftly set themselves up again, and started off like the others,
+galloping very merrily about under the lime-trees, and disappearing
+against the wall. My opponent scolded and abused me; but, being now in
+full play, I stooped to pick up some agate balls which rolled about upon
+the golden lances. It was my fierce desire to destroy her whole army.
+She, on the other hand, not idle, sprang at me, and gave me a box on the
+ear, which made my head ring. Having always heard that a hearty kiss was
+the proper response to a girl's box of the ear, I took her by the ears,
+and kissed her repeatedly. But she uttered such a piercing scream as
+frightened even me. I let her go; and it was fortunate that I did so,
+for in a moment I knew not what was happening to me. The ground beneath
+me began to shake and rattle. I soon remarked that the railings again
+set themselves in motion; but I had no time to consider, nor could I get
+a footing so as to fly. I feared every instant to be pierced; for the
+partisans and lances, which had lifted themselves up, were already
+slitting my clothes. It is sufficient to say, that, I know not how it
+was, hearing and sight failed me; and I recovered from my swoon and
+terror at the foot of a lime-tree, against which the pikes in springing
+up had thrown me. As I awoke, my anger awakened also, and violently
+increased when I heard from the other side the gibes and laughter of my
+opponent, who had probably reached the earth somewhat more softly than
+I. Therefore I jumped up; and as I saw the little host with its leader
+Achilles scattered around me, having been driven over with me by the
+rising of the rails, I seized the hero first, and threw him against a
+tree. His resuscitation and flight now pleased me doubly, a malicious
+pleasure combining with the prettiest sight in the world; and I was on
+the point of sending all the other Greeks after him, when suddenly
+hissing waters spurted at me on all sides, from stones and wall, from
+ground and branches, and, wherever I turned, dashed against me
+crossways.
+
+In a short time my light garment was wet through. It was already rent,
+and I did not hesitate to tear it entirely off my body. I cast away my
+slippers, and one covering after another. Nay, at last I found it very
+agreeable to let such a shower-bath play over me in the warm day. Now,
+being quite naked, I walked gravely along between these welcome waters,
+where I thought to enjoy myself for some time. My anger cooled, and I
+wished for nothing more than a reconciliation with my little adversary.
+But, in a twinkling, the water stopped; and I stood drenched upon the
+saturated ground. The presence of the old man, who appeared before me
+unexpectedly, was by no means welcome. I could have wished, if not to
+hide, at least to clothe, myself. The shame, the shivering, the effort
+to cover myself in some degree, made me cut a most piteous figure. The
+old man employed the moment in venting the severest reproaches against
+me. "What hinders me," he exclaimed, "from taking one of the green
+cords, and fitting it, if not to your neck, to your back?" This threat I
+took in very ill part. "Refrain," I cried, "from such words, even from
+such thoughts; for otherwise you and your mistresses will be lost."--"
+Who, then, are you," he asked in defiance, "who dare speak thus?"--"A
+favorite of the gods," I said, "on whom it depends whether those ladies
+shall find worthy husbands and pass a happy life, or be left to pine and
+wither in their magic cell." The old man stepped some paces back. "Who
+has revealed that to you?" he inquired, with astonishment and concern.
+"Three apples," I said, "three jewels."--"And what reward do you
+require?" he exclaimed. "Before all things, the little creature," I
+replied, "who has brought me into this accursed state." The old man cast
+himself down before me, without shrinking from the wet and miry soil:
+then he rose without being wetted, took me kindly by the hand, led me
+into the hall, clad me again quickly; and I was soon once more decked
+out and frizzled in my Sunday fashion as before. The porter did not
+speak another word; but, before he let me pass the entrance, he stopped
+me, and showed me some objects on the wall over the way, while, at the
+same time, he pointed backwards to the door. I understood him: he wished
+to imprint the objects on my mind, that I might the more certainly find
+the door, which had unexpectedly closed behind me. I now took good
+notice of what was opposite me. Above a high wall rose the boughs of
+extremely old nut-trees, and partly covered the cornice at the top. The
+branches reached down to a stone tablet, the ornamented border of which
+I could perfectly recognize, though I could not read the inscription. It
+rested on the top-stone of a niche, in which a finely wrought fountain
+poured water from cup to cup into a great basin, that formed, as it
+were, a little pond, and disappeared in the earth. Fountain,
+inscription, nut-trees, all stood perpendicularly, one above another: I
+would paint it as I saw it.
+
+Now, it may well be conceived how I passed this evening, and many
+following days, and how often I repeated to myself this story, which
+even I could hardly believe. As soon as it was in any degree possible, I
+went again to the Bad Wall, at least to refresh my remembrance of these
+signs, and to look at the precious door. But, to my great amazement, I
+found all changed. Nut-trees, indeed, overtopped the wall; but they did
+not stand immediately in contact. A tablet also was inserted in the
+wall, but far to the right of the trees, without ornament, and with a
+legible inscription. A niche with a fountain was found far to the left,
+but with no resemblance whatever to that which I had seen; so that I
+almost believed that the second adventure was, like the first, a dream,
+for of the door there is not the slightest trace. The only thing that
+consoles me is the observation, that these three objects seem always to
+change their places. For, in repeated visits to the spot, I think I have
+noticed that the nut-trees have moved somewhat nearer together, and that
+the tablet and the fountain seem likewise to approach each other.
+Probably, when all is brought together again, the door, too, will once
+more be visible; and I will do my best to take up the thread of the
+adventure. Whether I shall be able to tell you what further happens, or
+whether I shall be expressly forbidden to do so, I cannot say.
+
+ This tale, of the truth of which my playfellows vehemently strove to
+convince themselves, received great applause. Each of them visited alone
+the place described, without confiding it to me or the others, and
+discovered the nut-trees, the tablet, and the spring, though always at a
+distance from each other; as they at last confessed to me afterwards,
+because it is not easy to conceal a secret at that early age. But here
+the contest first arose. One asserted that the objects did not stir from
+the spot, and always maintained the same distance; a second averred that
+they did move, and that, too, away from each other; a third agreed with
+the latter as to the first point of their moving, though it seemed to
+him that the nut-trees, tablet, and fountain rather drew near together;
+while a fourth had something still more wonderful to announce, which
+was, that the nut-trees were in the middle, but that the tablet and the
+fountain were on sides opposite to those which I had stated. With
+respect to the traces of the little door, they also varied. And thus
+they furnished me an early instance of the contradictory views men can
+hold and maintain in regard to matters quite simple and easily cleared
+up. As I obstinately refused the continuation of my tale, a repetition
+of the first part was often desired. I took good care not to change the
+circumstances much; and, by the uniformity of the narrative, I converted
+the fable into truth in the minds of my hearers.
+
+Yet I was averse to falsehood and dissimulation, and altogether by no
+means frivolous. Rather, on the contrary, the inward earnestness, with
+which I had early begun to consider myself and the world, was seen, even
+in my exterior; and I was frequently called to account, often in a
+friendly way, and often in raillery, for a certain dignity which I had
+assumed. For, although good and chosen friends were certainly not
+wanting to me, we were always a minority against those who found
+pleasure in assailing us with wanton rudeness, and who indeed often
+awoke us in no gentle fashion from that legendary and self-complacent
+dreaming in which we--I by inventing, and my companions by sympathizing-
+-were too readily absorbed. Thus we learned once more, that, instead of
+sinking into effeminacy and fantastic delights, there was reason rather
+for hardening ourselves, in order either to bear or to counteract
+inevitable evils.
+
+Among the stoical exercises which I cultivated, as earnestly as it was
+possible for a lad, was even the endurance of bodily pain. Our teachers
+often treated us very unkindly and unskilfully, with blows and cuffs,
+against which we hardened ourselves all the more as obstinacy was
+forbidden under the severest penalties. A great many of the sports of
+youth depend on a rivalry in such endurances: as, for instance, when
+they strike each other alternately with two fingers or the whole fist,
+till the limbs are numbed; or when they bear the penalty of blows
+incurred in certain games, with more or less firmness; when, in
+wrestling or scuffling, they do not let themselves be perplexed by the
+pinches of a half-conquered opponent; or, finally, when they suppress
+the pain inflicted for the sake of teasing, and even treat with
+indifference the nips and ticklings with which young persons are so
+active toward each other. Thus we gain a great advantage, of which
+others cannot speedily deprive us.
+
+But, as I made a sort of boast of this impassiveness, the importunity of
+the others was increased; and, since rude barbarity knows no limits, it
+managed to force me beyond my bounds. Let one case suffice for several.
+It happened once that the teacher did not come for the usual hour of
+instruction. As long as we children were all together, we entertained
+ourselves quite agreeably; but when my adherents, after waiting long
+enough, had left, and I remained alone with three of my enemies, these
+took it into their heads to torment me, to shame me, and to drive me
+away. Having left me an instant in the room, they came back with
+switches, which they had made by quickly cutting up a broom. I noted
+their design; and, as I supposed the end of the hour near, I at once
+resolved not to resist them till the clock struck. They began,
+therefore, without remorse, to lash my legs and calves in the cruellest
+fashion. I did not stir, but soon felt that I had miscalculated, and
+that such pain greatly lengthened the minutes. My wrath grew with my
+endurance; and, at the first stroke of the hour, I grasped the one who
+least expected it by the hair behind, hurled him to the earth in an
+instant, pressing my knee upon his back; the second, a younger and
+weaker one, who attacked me from behind, I drew by the head under my
+arm, and almost throttled him with the pressure. The last, and not the
+weakest, still remained; and my left hand only was left for my defense.
+But I seized him by the clothes; and, with a dexterous twist on my part
+and an over-precipitate one on his, I brought him down and struck his
+face on the ground. They were not wanting in bites, pinches, and kicks;
+but I had nothing but revenge in my limbs as well as in my heart. With
+the advantage which I had acquired, I repeatedly knocked their heads
+together. At last they raised a dreadful shout of murder, and we were
+soon surrounded by all the inmates of the house. The switches scattered
+around, and my legs, which I had bared of the stockings, soon bore
+witness for me. They put off the punishment, and let me leave the house;
+but I declared, that in future, on the slightest offence, I would
+scratch out the eyes, tear off the ears, of any one of them, if not
+throttle him.
+
+Though, as usually happens in childish affairs, this event was soon
+forgotten, and even laughed at, it was the cause that these joint
+instructions became fewer, and at last entirely ceased. I was thus
+again, as formerly, kept more at home; where I found my sister Cornelia,
+who was only one year younger than myself, a companion always growing
+more agreeable.
+
+Still, I will not leave this topic without telling some more stories of
+the many vexations caused me by my playfellows; for this is the
+instructive part of such moral communications, that a man may learn how
+it has gone with others, and what he also has to expect from life; and
+that, whatever comes to pass, he may consider that it happens to him as
+a man, and not as one specially fortunate or unfortunate. If such
+knowledge is of little use for avoiding evils, it is very serviceable so
+far as it qualifies us to understand our condition, and bear or even to
+overcome it.
+
+Another general remark will not be out of place here, which is, that, as
+the children of the cultivated classes grow up, a great contradiction
+appears. I refer to the fact, that they are urged and trained by parents
+and teachers to deport themselves moderately, intelligently, and even
+wisely; to give pain to no one from petulance or arrogance; and to
+suppress all the evil impulses which may be developed in them; but yet,
+on the other hand, while the young creatures are engaged in this
+discipline, they have to suffer from others that which in them is
+reprimanded and punished. In this way the poor things are brought into a
+sad strait between the natural and civilized states, and, after
+restraining themselves for a while, break out, according to their
+characters, into cunning or violence.
+
+Force may be warded off by force; but a well-disposed child, inclined to
+love and sympathy, has little to oppose to scorn and ill-will. Though I
+managed pretty well to keep off the assaults of my companions, I was by
+no means equal to them in sarcasm and abuse; because he who merely
+defends himself in such cases is always a loser. Attacks of this sort
+consequently, when they went so far as to excite anger, were repelled
+with physical force, or at least excited strange reflections in me which
+could not be without results. Among other advantages which my ill-
+wishers saw with envy, was the pleasure I took in the relations that
+accrued to the family from my grandfather's position of
+/Schultheiss/; since, as he was the first of his class, this had no
+small effect on those belonging to him. Once when, after the holding of
+the Piper's Court, I appeared to pride myself on having seen my
+grandfather in the midst of the council, one step higher than the rest,
+enthroned, as it were, under the portrait of the emperor, one of the
+boys said to me in derision, that, like the peacock contemplating his
+feet, I should cast my eyes back to my paternal grandfather, who had
+been keeper of the Willow Inn, and would never have aspired to thrones
+and coronets. I replied, that I was in no wise ashamed of that, as it
+was the glory and honor of our native city that all its citizens might
+consider each other equal, and every one derive profit and honor from
+his exertions in his own way. I was sorry only that the good man had
+been so long dead; for I had often yearned to know him in person, had
+many times gazed upon his likeness, nay, had visited his tomb, and had
+at least derived pleasure from the inscription on the simple monument of
+that past existence to which I was indebted for my own. Another ill-
+wisher, who was the most malicious of all, took the first aside, and
+whispered something in his ear; while they still looked at me
+scornfully. My gall already began to rise, and I challenged them to
+speak out. "What is more, then, if you will have it," continued the
+first, "this one thinks you might go looking about a long time before
+you could find your grandfather." I now threatened them more vehemently
+if they did not more clearly explain themselves. Thereupon they brought
+forward an old story, which they pretended to have overheard from their
+parents, that my father was the son of some eminent man, while that good
+citizen had shown himself willing to take outwardly the paternal office.
+They had the impudence to produce all sorts of arguments: as, for
+example, that our property came exclusively from our grandmother; that
+the other collateral relations who lived in Friedburg and other places
+were alike destitute of property; and other reasons of the sort, which
+could merely derive their weight from malice. I listened to them more
+composedly than they expected, for they stood ready to fly the very
+moment that I should make a gesture as if I would seize their hair. But
+I replied quite calmly, and in substance, "that even this was no great
+injury to me. Life was such a boon, that one might be quite indifferent
+as to whom one had to thank for it; since at least it must be derived
+from God, before whom we all were equals." As they could make nothing of
+it, they let the matter drop for this time: we went on playing together
+as before, which among children is an approved mode of reconciliation.
+
+Still, these spiteful words inoculated me with a sort of moral disease,
+which crept on in secret. It would not have displeased me at all to have
+been the grandson of any person of consideration, even if it had not
+been in the most lawful way. My acuteness followed up the scent, my
+imagination was excited, and my sagacity put in requisition. I began to
+investigate the allegation, and invented or found for it new grounds of
+probability. I had heard little said of my grandfather, except that his
+likeness, together with my grandmother's, had hung in a parlor of the
+old house; both of which, after the building of the new one, had been
+kept in an upper chamber. My grandmother must have been a very handsome
+woman, and of the same age as her husband. I remembered also to have
+seen in her room the miniature of a handsome gentleman in uniform, with
+star and order, which after her death, and during the confusion of
+house-building, had disappeared, with many other small pieces of
+furniture. These and many other things I put together in my childish
+head, and exercised that modern poetical talent which contrives to
+obtain the sympathies of the whole cultivated world by a marvellous
+combination of the important events of human life.
+
+But as I did not venture to trust such an affair to any one, or even to
+ask the most remote questions concerning it, I was not wanting in a
+secret diligence, in order to get, if possible, somewhat nearer to the
+matter. I had heard it explicitly maintained, that sons often bore a
+decided resemblance to their fathers or grandfathers. Many of our
+friends, especially Councillor Schneider, a friend of the family, were
+connected by business with all the princes and noblemen of the
+neighborhood, of whom, including both the ruling and the younger
+branches, not a few had estates on the Rhine and Main, and in the
+intermediate country, and who at times honored their faithful agents
+with their portraits.
+
+These, which I had often seen on the walls from my infancy, I now
+regarded with redoubled attention; seeking whether I could not detect
+some resemblance to my father or even to myself, which too often
+happened to lead me to any degree of certainty. For now it was the eyes
+of this, now the nose of that, which seemed to indicate some
+relationship. Thus these marks led me delusively backward and forward:
+and though in the end I was compelled to regard the reproach as a
+completely empty tale, the impression remained; and I could not from
+time to time refrain from privately calling up and testing all the
+noblemen whose images had remained very distinct in my imagination. So
+true is it that whatever inwardly confirms man in his self-conceit, or
+flatters his secret vanity, is so highly desirable to him, that he does
+not ask further, whether in other respects it may turn to his honor or
+disgrace.
+
+But, instead of mingling here serious and even reproachful reflections,
+I rather turn my look away from those beautiful times; for who is able
+to speak worthily of the fulness of childhood? We cannot behold the
+little creatures which flit about before us otherwise than with delight,
+nay, with admiration; for they generally promise more than they perform:
+and it seems that Nature, among the other roguish tricks that she plays
+us, here also especially designs to make sport of us. The first organs
+she bestows upon children coming into the world, are adapted to the
+nearest immediate condition of the creature, which, unassuming and
+artless, makes use of them in the readiest way for its present purposes.
+The child, considered in and for himself, with his equals, and in
+relations suited to his powers, seems so intelligent and rational, and
+at the same time so easy, cheerful, and clever, that one can hardly wish
+it further cultivation. If children grew up according to early
+indications, we should have nothing but geniuses; but growth is not
+merely development: the various organic systems which constitute one man
+spring one from another, follow each other, change into each other,
+supplant each other, and even consume each other; so that after a time
+scarcely a trace is to be found of many aptitudes and manifestations of
+ability. Even when the talents of the man have on the whole a decided
+direction, it will be hard for the greatest and most experienced
+connoisseur to declare them beforehand with confidence; although
+afterwards it is easy to remark what has pointed to a future.
+
+By no means, therefore, is it my design wholly to comprise the stories
+of my childhood in these first books; but I will rather afterwards
+resume and continue many a thread which ran through the early years
+unnoticed. Here, however, I must remark what an increasing influence the
+incidents of the war gradually exercised upon our sentiments and mode of
+life.
+
+The peaceful citizen stands in a wonderful relation to the great events
+of the world. They already excite and disquiet him from a distance; and,
+even if they do not touch him, he can scarcely refrain from an opinion
+and a sympathy. Soon he takes a side, as his character or external
+circumstances may determine. But when such grand fatalities, such
+important changes, draw nearer to him, then with many outward
+inconveniences remains that inward discomfort, which doubles and
+sharpens the evil, and destroys the good which is still possible. Then
+he has really to suffer from friends and foes, often more from the
+former than from the latter; and he knows not how to secure and preserve
+either his interests or his inclinations.
+
+The year 1757, which still passed in perfectly civic tranquillity, kept
+us, nevertheless, in great uneasiness of mind. Perhaps no other was more
+fruitful of events than this. Conquests, achievements, misfortunes,
+restorations, followed one upon another, swallowed up and seemed to
+destroy each other; yet the image of Frederick, his name and glory, soon
+hovered again above all. The enthusiasm of his worshippers grew always
+stronger and more animated; the hatred of his enemies more bitter; and
+the diversity of opinion, which separated even families, contributed not
+a little to isolate citizens, already sundered in many ways and on other
+grounds. For in a city like Frankfort, where three religions divide the
+inhabitants into three unequal masses; where only a few men, even of the
+ruling faith, can attain to political power,--there must be many wealthy
+and educated persons who are thrown back upon themselves, and, by means
+of studies and tastes, form for themselves an individual and secluded
+existence. It will be necessary for us to speak of such men, now and
+hereafter, if we are to bring before us the peculiarities of a Frankfort
+citizen of that time.
+
+My father, immediately after his return from his travels, had in his own
+way formed the design, that, to prepare himself for the service of the
+city, he would undertake one of the subordinate offices, and discharge
+its duties without emolument, if it wore conferred upon him without
+balloting. In the consciousness of his good intentions, and according to
+his way of thinking and the conception he had of himself, he believed
+that he deserved such a distinction, which, indeed, was not conformable
+to law or precedent. Consequently, when his suit was rejected, he fell
+into ill humor and disgust, vowed that he would never accept of any
+place, and, in order to render it impossible, procured the title of
+Imperial Councillor, which the /Schultheiss/ and elder
+/Schöffen/ bear as a special honor. He had thus made himself an
+equal of the highest, and could not begin again at the bottom. The same
+impulse induced him also to woo the eldest daughter of the
+/Schultheiss/, so that he was excluded from the council on this
+side also. He was now of that number of recluses who never form
+themselves into a society. They are as much isolated in respect to each
+other as they are in regard to the whole, and the more so as in this
+seclusion the character becomes more and more uncouth. My father, in his
+travels and in the world which he had seen, might have formed some
+conception of a more elegant and liberal mode of life than was, perhaps,
+common among his fellow-citizens. In this respect, however, he was not
+entirely without predecessors and associates.
+
+The name of Uffenbach is well known. At that time, there was a Schöff
+von Uffenbach, who was generally respected. He had been in Italy; had
+applied himself particularly to music; sang an agreeable tenor; and,
+having brought home a fine collection of pieces, concerts and oratorios
+were performed at his house. Now, as he sang in these himself, and held
+musicians in great favor, it was not thought altogether suitable to his
+dignity; and his invited guests, as well as the other people of the
+country, allowed themselves many a jocose remark on the matter.
+
+I remember, too, a Baron von Hakel, a rich nobleman, who, being married,
+but childless, occupied a charming house in the Antonius Street, fitted
+up with all the appurtenances of a dignified position in life. He also
+possessed good pictures, engravings, antiques, and much else which
+generally accumulates with collectors and lovers of art. From time to
+time he asked the more noted personages to dinner, and was beneficent in
+a careful way of his own; since he clothed the poor in his own house,
+but kept back their old rags, and gave them a weekly charity, on
+condition that they should present themselves every time clean and neat
+in the clothes bestowed on them. I can recall him but indistinctly, as a
+genial, well-made man; but more clearly his auction, which I attended
+from beginning to end, and, partly by command of my father, partly from
+my own impulse, purchased many things that are still to be found in my
+collections.
+
+At an earlier date than this,--so early that I scarcely set eyes upon
+him,--John Michael von Loen gained considerable repute in the literary
+world as well as at Frankfort. Not a native of Frankfort, he settled
+there, and married a sister of my grandmother Textor, whose maiden name
+was Lindheim. Familiar with the court and political world, and rejoicing
+in a renewed title of nobility, he had acquired reputation by daring to
+take part in the various excitements which arose in Church and State. He
+wrote "The Count of Rivera," a didactic romance, the subject of which is
+made apparent by the second title, "or, The Honest Man at Court." This
+work was well received, because it insisted on morality, even in courts,
+where prudence only is generally at home; and thus his labor brought him
+applause and respect. A second work, for that very reason, would be
+accompanied by more danger. He wrote "The Only True Religion," a book
+designed to advance tolerance, especially between Lutherans and
+Calvinists. But here he got in a controversy with the theologians: one
+Dr. Benner of Giessen, in particular, wrote against him. Von Loen
+rejoined; the contest grew violent and personal, and the unpleasantness
+which arose from it caused him to accept the office of president at
+Lingen, which Frederick II. offered him; supposing that he was an
+enlightened, unprejudiced man, and not averse to the new views that more
+extensively obtained in France. His former countrymen, whom he had left
+in some displeasure, averred that he was not contented there, nay, could
+not be so, as a place like Lingen was not to be compared with Frankfort.
+My father also doubted whether the president would be happy, and
+asserted that the good uncle would have done better not to connect
+himself with the king, as it was generally hazardous to get too near
+him, extraordinary sovereign as he undoubtedly was; for it had been seen
+how disgracefully the famous Voltaire had been arrested in Frankfort, at
+the requisition of the Prussian Resident Freitag, though he had formerly
+stood so high in favor, and had been regarded as the king's teacher in
+French poetry. There was, on such occasions, no want of reflections and
+examples to warn one against courts and princes' service, of which a
+native Frankforter could scarcely form a conception.
+
+An excellent man, Dr. Orth, I will only mention by name; because here I
+have not so much to erect a monument to the deserving citizens of
+Frankfort, but rather refer to them only in as far as their renown or
+personal character had some influence upon me in my earliest years. Dr.
+Orth was a wealthy man, and was also of that number who never took part
+in the government, although perfectly qualified to do so by his
+knowledge and penetration. The antiquities of Germany, and more
+especially of Frankfort, have been much indebted to him: he published
+remarks on the so-called "Reformation of Frankfort," a work in which the
+statutes of the state are collected. The historical portions of this
+book I diligently read in my youth.
+
+Von Ochsenstein, the eldest of the three brothers whom I have mentioned
+above as our neighbors, had not been remarkable during his lifetime, in
+consequence of his recluse habits, but became the more remarkable after
+his death, by leaving behind him a direction that common workingmen
+should carry him to the grave, early in the morning, in perfect silence,
+and without an attendant or follower. This was done; and the affair
+caused great excitement in the city, where they were accustomed to the
+most pompous funerals. All who discharged the customary offices on such
+occasions rose against the innovation. But the stout patrician found
+imitators in all classes; and, though such ceremonies were derisively
+called ox-burials,[Footnote: A pun upon the name of Ochsenstein.--
+Trans.] they came into fashion, to the advantage of many of the more
+poorly provided families; while funeral parades were less and less in
+vogue. I bring forward this circumstance, because it presents one of the
+earlier symptoms of that tendency to humility and equality, which, in
+the second half of the last century, was manifested in so many ways,
+from above downward, and broke out in such unlooked-for effects.
+
+Nor was there any lack of antiquarian amateurs. There were cabinets of
+pictures, collections of engravings; while the curiosities of our own
+country especially were zealously sought and hoarded. The older decrees
+and mandates of the imperial city, of which no collection had been
+prepared, were carefully searched for in print and manuscript, arranged
+in the order of time, and preserved with reverence, as a treasure of
+native laws and customs. The portraits of Frankforters, which existed in
+great number, were also brought together, and formed a special
+department of the cabinets.
+
+Such men my father appears generally to have taken as his models. He was
+wanting in none of the qualities that pertain to an upright and
+respectable citizen. Thus, after he had built his house, he put his
+property of every sort into order. An excellent collection of maps by
+Schenck and other geographers at that time eminent, the aforesaid
+decrees and mandates, the portraits, a chest of ancient weapons, a case
+of remarkable Venetian glasses, cups and goblets, natural curiosities,
+works in ivory, bronzes, and a hundred other things, were separated and
+displayed; and I did not fail, whenever an auction occurred, to get some
+commission for the increase of his possessions.
+
+I must still speak of one important family, of which I had heard strange
+things since my earliest years, and of some of whose members I myself
+lived to see a great deal that was wonderful,--I mean the Senkenbergs.
+The father, of whom I have little to say, was an opulent man. He had
+three sons, who, even in their youth, uniformly distinguished themselves
+as oddities. Such things are not well received in a limited city, where
+no one is suffered to render himself conspicuous, either for good or
+evil. Nicknames and odd stories, long kept in memory, are generally the
+fruit of such singularity. The father lived at the corner of Hare Street
+(/Hasengasse/), which took its name from a sign on the house, that
+represented one hare at least, if not three hares. They consequently
+called these three brothers only the three Hares, which nickname they
+could not shake off for a long while. But as great endowments often
+announce themselves in youth in the form of singularity and awkwardness,
+so was it also in this case. The eldest of the brothers was the
+/Reichshofrath/ (Imperial Councillor) von Senkenberg, afterwards so
+celebrated. The second was admitted into the magistracy, and displayed
+eminent abilities, which, however, he subsequently abused in a
+pettifogging and even infamous way, if not to the injury of his native
+city, certainty to that of his colleagues. The third brother, a
+physician and man of great integrity, but who practised little, and that
+only in high families, preserved even in his old age a somewhat
+whimsical exterior. He was always very neatly dressed, and was never
+seen in the street otherwise than in shoes and stockings, with a well-
+powdered, curled wig, and his hat under his arm. He walked on rapidly,
+but with a singular sort of stagger; so that he was sometimes on one and
+sometimes on the other side of the way, and formed a complete zigzag as
+he went. The wags said that he made this irregular step to get out of
+the way of the departed souls, who might follow him in a straight line,
+and that he imitated those who are afraid of a crocodile. But all these
+jests and many merry sayings were transformed at last into respect for
+him, when he devoted his handsome dwelling-house in Eschenheimer Street,
+with court, garden, and all other appurtenances, to a medical
+establishment, where, in addition to a hospital designed exclusively for
+the citizens of Frankfort, a botanic garden, an anatomical theatre, a
+chemical laboratory, a considerable library, and a house for the
+director, were instituted in a way of which no university need have been
+ashamed.
+
+Another eminent man, whose efficiency in the neighborhood and whose
+writings, rather than his presence, had a very important influence upon
+me, was Charles Frederick von Moser, who was perpetually referred to in
+our district for his activity in business. He also had a character
+essentially moral, which, as the vices of human nature frequently gave
+him trouble, inclined him to the so-called pious. Thus, what Von Loen
+had tried to do in respect to court-life, he would have done for
+business-life; introducing into it a more conscientious mode of
+proceeding. The great number of small German courts gave rise to a
+multitude of princes and servants, the former of whom desired
+unconditional obedience; while the latter, for the most part, would work
+or serve only according to their own convictions. Thus arose an endless
+conflict, and rapid changes and explosions; because the effects of an
+unrestricted course of proceeding become much sooner noticeable and
+injurious on a small scale than on a large one. Many families were in
+debt, and Imperial Commissions of Debts were appointed; others found
+themselves sooner or later on the same road: while the officers either
+reaped an unconscionable profit, or conscientiously made themselves
+disagreeable and odious. Moser wished to act as a statesman and man of
+business; and here his hereditary talent, cultivated to a profession,
+gave him a decided advantage: but he at the same time wished to act as a
+man and a citizen, and surrender as little as possible of his moral
+dignity. His "Prince and Servant," his "Daniel in the Lions' Den," his
+"Relics," paint throughout his own condition, in which he felt himself,
+not indeed tortured, but always cramped. They all indicate impatience in
+a condition, to the bearings of which one cannot reconcile one's self,
+yet from which one cannot get free. With this mode of thinking and
+feeling, he was, indeed, often compelled to seek other employments,
+which, on account of his great cleverness, were never wanting. I
+remember him as a pleasing, active, and, at the same time, gentle man.
+
+The name of Klopstock had already produced a great effect upon us, even
+at a distance. In the outset, people wondered how so excellent a man
+could be so strangely named; but they soon got accustomed to this, and
+thought no more of the meaning of the syllables. In my father's library
+I had hitherto found only the earlier poets, especially those who in his
+day had gradually appeared and acquired fame. All these had written in
+rhyme, and my father held rhyme as indispensable in poetical works.
+Canitz, Hagedorn, Drollinger, Gellert Creuz, Haller, stood in a row, in
+handsome calf bindings: to these were added Neukirch's "Telemachus,"
+Koppen's "Jerusalem Delivered," and other translations. I had from my
+childhood diligently perused the whole of these works, and committed
+portions of them to memory, whence I was often called upon to amuse the
+company. A vexatious era on the other hand opened upon my father, when,
+through Klopstock's "Messiah," verses, which seemed to him no verses,
+became an object of public admiration.[Footnote: The Messiah is written
+in hexameter verse.--Trans.] He had taken good care not to buy this
+book; but the friend of the family, Councillor Schneider, smuggled it
+in, and slipped it into the hands of my mother and her children.
+
+On this man of business, who read but little, "The Messiah," as soon as
+it appeared, made a powerful impression. Those pious feelings, so
+naturally expressed, and yet so beautifully elevated; that pleasant
+diction, even if considered merely as harmonious prose,--had so won the
+otherwise dry man of business, that he regarded the first ten cantos, of
+which alone we are properly speaking, as the finest book of devotion,
+and once every year in Passion Week, when he managed to escape from
+business, read it quietly through by himself, and thus refreshed himself
+for the entire year. In the beginning he thought to communicate his
+emotions to his old friend; but he was much shocked when forced to
+perceive an incurable dislike cherished against a book of such valuable
+substance, merely because of what appeared to him an indifferent
+external form. It may readily be supposed that their conversation often
+reverted to this topic; but both parties diverged more and more widely
+from each other, there were violent scenes: and the compliant man was at
+last pleased to be silent on his favorite work, that he might not lose,
+at the same time, a friend of his youth, and a good Sunday meal.
+
+It is the most natural wish of every man to make proselytes; and how
+much did our friend find himself rewarded in secret, when he discovered
+in the rest of the family hearts so openly disposed for his saint. The
+copy which he used only one week during the year was given over to our
+edification all the remaining time. My mother kept it secret; and we
+children took possession of it when we could, that in leisure hours,
+hidden in some nook, we might learn the most striking passages by heart,
+and particularly might impress the most tender as well as the most
+violent parts on our memory as quickly as possible.
+
+Porcia's dream we recited in a sort of rivalry, and divided between us
+the wild dialogue of despair between Satan and Adramelech, who have been
+cast into the Red Sea. The first part, as the strongest, had been
+assigned to me; and the second, as a little more pathetic, was
+undertaken by my sister. The alternate and horrible but well-sounding
+curses flowed only thus from our mouths, and we seized every opportunity
+to accost each other with these infernal phrases.
+
+One Saturday evening in winter,--my father always had himself shaved
+over night, that on Sunday morning he might dress for church at his
+ease,--we sat on a footstool behind the stove, and muttered our
+customary imprecations in a tolerably low voice, while the barber was
+putting on the lather. But now Adramelech had to lay his iron hands on
+Satan: my sister seized me with violence, and recited, softly enough,
+but with increasing passion,--
+
+"Give me thine aid, I entreat thee: I'll worship thee if thou demandest,
+ Thee, thou reprobate monster, yes, thee, of all criminals blackest!
+ Aid me. I suffer the tortures of death, everlasting, avenging!
+ Once, in the times gone by, I with furious hatred could hate thee:
+ Now I can hate thee no more! E'en this is the sharpest of tortures."
+
+Thus far all went on tolerably; but loudly, with a dreadful voice, she
+cried the following words:--
+
+"Oh, how utterly crushed I am now!"
+
+The good surgeon was startled, and emptied the lather-basin into my
+father's bosom. There was a great uproar; and a severe investigation was
+held, especially with respect to the mischief which might have been done
+if the shaving had been actually going forward. In order to relieve
+ourselves of all suspicions of mischievousness, we pleaded guilty of
+having acted these Satanic characters; and the misfortune occasioned by
+the hexameters was so apparent, that they were again condemned and
+banished.
+
+Thus children and common people are accustomed to transform the great
+and sublime into a sport, and even a farce; and how indeed could they
+otherwise abide and endure it?
+
+
+
+THIRD BOOK.
+
+At that time the general interchange of personal good wishes made the
+city very lively on New-Year's Day. Those who otherwise did not easily
+leave home, donned their best clothes, that for a moment they might be
+friendly and courteous to their friends and patrons. The festivities at
+my grandfather's house on this day were pleasures particularly desired
+by us children. At early dawn the grandchildren had already assembled
+there to hear the drums, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, and cornets played
+upon by the military, the city musicians, and whoever else might furnish
+his tones. The New-Year's gifts, sealed and superscribed, were divided
+by us children among the humbler congratulators; and, as the day
+advanced, the number of those of higher rank increased. The relations
+and intimate friends appeared first, then the subordinate officials;
+even the gentlemen of the council did not fail to pay their respects to
+the /Schultheiss/, and a select number were entertained in the
+evening in rooms which were else scarcely opened throughout the year.
+The tarts, biscuits, marchpane, and sweet wine had the greatest charm
+for the children; and, besides, the /Schultheiss/ and the two
+burgomasters annually received from some institutions some article of
+silver, which was then bestowed upon the grandchildren and godchildren
+in regular gradation. In fine, this small festival was not wanting in
+any of those things which usually glorify the greatest.
+
+The New-Year's Day of 1759 approached, as desirable and pleasant to us
+children as any preceding one, but full of import and foreboding to
+older persons. To the passage of the French troops people certainly had
+become accustomed; and they happened often, but they had been most
+frequent in the last days of the past year. According to the old usage
+of an imperial town, the warder of the chief tower sounded his trumpet
+whenever troops approached; and on this New-Year's Day he would not
+leave off, which was a sign that large bodies were in motion on several
+sides. They actually marched through the city in greater masses on this
+day, and the people ran to see them pass by. We had generally been used
+to see them go through in small parties; but these gradually swelled,
+and there was neither power nor inclination to stop them. In short, on
+the 2d of January, after a column had come through Sachsenhausen over
+the bridge, through the Fahrgasse, as far as the Police Guard-House, it
+halted, overpowered the small company which escorted it, took possession
+of the before-mentioned Guard-House, marched down the Zeil, and, after a
+slight resistance, the main guard were also obliged to yield. In a
+moment the peaceful streets were turned into a scene of war. The troops
+remained and bivouacked there until lodgings were provided for them by
+regular billeting.
+
+This unexpected, and, for many years, unheard-of, burden weighed heavily
+upon the comfortable citizens; and to none could it be more cumbersome
+than to my father, who was obliged to take foreign military inhabitants
+into his scarcely finished house, to open for them his well-furnished
+reception-rooms, which were generally closed, and to abandon to the
+caprices of strangers all that he had been used to arrange and keep so
+carefully. Siding as he did with the Prussians, he was now to find
+himself besieged in his own chambers by the French: it was, according to
+his way of thinking, the greatest misfortune that could happen to him.
+Had it, however, been possible for him to have taken the matter more
+easily, he might have saved himself and us many sad hours; since he
+spoke French well, and could deport himself with dignity and grace in
+the daily intercourse of life. For it was the king's lieutenant who was
+quartered on us; and he, although a military person, had only to settle
+civil occurrences, disputes between soldiers and citizens, and questions
+of debt and quarrels. This was the Count Thorane, a native of Grasse in
+Provence, not far from Antibes: a tall, thin, stern figure, with a face
+much disfigured by the small-pox; black, fiery eyes; and a dignified,
+reserved demeanor. His first entrance was at once favorable for the
+inmates of the house. They spoke of the different apartments, some of
+which were to be given up, and others retained by the family; and, when
+the count heard a picture-room mentioned, he immediately requested
+permission, although it was already night, at least to give a hasty look
+at the pictures by candlelight. He took extreme pleasure in these
+things, behaved in the most obliging manner to my father, who
+accompanied him; and when he heard that the greater part of the artists
+were still living, and resided in Frankfurt and its neighborhood, he
+assured us that he desired nothing more than to know them as soon as
+possible, and to employ them.
+
+But even this sympathy in respect to art could not change my father's
+feelings nor bend his character. He permitted what he could not prevent,
+but kept at a distance in inactivity; and the uncommon state of things
+around him was intolerable to him, even in the veriest trifle.
+
+Count Thorane behaved himself, meanwhile, in an exemplary manner. He
+would not even have his maps nailed on the walls, that he might not
+injure the new hangings. His people were skilful, quiet, and orderly:
+but in truth, as, during the whole day and a part of the night there was
+no quiet with him, one complainant quickly following another, arrested
+persons being brought in and led out, and all officers and adjutants
+being admitted to his presence,--as, moreover, the count kept an open
+table every day, it made, in the moderately sized house, arranged only
+for a family, and with but one open staircase running from top to
+bottom, a movement and a buzzing like that in a beehive; although every
+thing was managed with moderation, gravity, and severity.
+
+As mediator between the irritable master of the house--who became daily
+more of a hypochondriac self-tormentor--and his well-intentioned, but
+stern and precise, military guest, there was a pleasant interpreter, a
+handsome, corpulent, lively man, who was a citizen of Frankfort, spoke
+French well, knew how to adapt himself to every thing, and only made a
+jest of many little annoyances. Through him my mother had sent to the
+count a representation of the situation in which she was placed, owing
+to her husband's state of mind. He had explained the matter so
+skilfully,--had laid before him the new and scarcely furnished house,
+the natural reserve of the owner, his occupation in the education of his
+family, and all that could be said to the same effect,--that the count,
+who in his capacity took the greatest pride in the utmost justice,
+integrity, and honorable conduct, resolved here also to behave in an
+exemplary manner to those upon whom he was quartered, and, indeed, never
+swerved from this resolution under varying circumstances, during the
+several years he staid with us.
+
+My mother possessed some knowledge of Italian, a language not altogether
+unknown to any of the family: she therefore resolved to learn French
+immediately; for which purpose the interpreter, for whose child she had
+stood godmother during these stormy times, and who now, therefore, as a
+gossip,[Footnote: The obsolete word, "gossip," has been revived as an
+equivalent for the German, "/gevatter/." But it should be observed
+that this word not only signifies godfather, but that the person whose
+child has another person for godfather (or godmother) is that person's
+/gevatter/, or /gevatterin/ (feminine).] felt a redoubled
+interest in our house, devoted every spare moment to his child's
+godmother (for he lived directly opposite); and, above all, he taught
+her those phrases which she would be obliged to use in her personal
+intercourse with the count. This succeeded admirably. The count was
+flattered by the pains taken by the mistress of the house at her age:
+and as he had a cheerful, witty vein in his character, and he liked to
+exhibit a certain dry gallantry, a most friendly relation arose between
+them; and the allied godmother and father could obtain from him whatever
+they wanted.
+
+If, as I said before, it had been possible to cheer up my father, this
+altered state of things would have caused little inconvenience. The
+count practised the severest disinterestedness; he even declined
+receiving gifts which pertained to his situation; the most trifling
+thing which could have borne the appearance of bribery, he rejected
+angrily, and even punished. His people were most strictly forbidden to
+put the proprietor of the house to the least expense. We children, on
+the contrary, were bountifully supplied from the dessert. To give an
+idea of the simplicity of those times, I must take this opportunity to
+mention that my mother grieved us excessively one day, by throwing away
+the ices which had been sent us from the table, because she would not
+believe it possible for the stomach to bear real ice, however it might
+be sweetened.
+
+Besides these dainties, which we gradually learned to enjoy and to
+digest with perfect ease, it was very agreeable for us children to be in
+some measure released from fixed hours of study and strict discipline.
+My father's ill humor increased: he could not resign himself to the
+unavoidable. How he tormented himself, my mother, the interpreter, the
+councillors, and all his friends, only to rid him of the count! In vain
+they represented to him, that, under existing circumstances, the
+presence of such a man in the house was an actual benefit, and that the
+removal of the count would be followed by a constant succession of
+officers or of privates. None of these arguments had any effect. To him
+the present seemed so intolerable, that his indignation prevented his
+conceiving any thing worse that could follow.
+
+In this way his activity, which he had been used chiefly to devote to
+us, was crippled. The lessons he gave us were no longer required with
+the former exactness; and we tried to gratify our curiosity for military
+and other public proceedings as much as possible, not only at home, but
+also in the streets, which was the more easily done, as the front door,
+open day and night, was guarded by sentries who paid no attention to the
+running to and fro of restless children.
+
+The many affairs which were settled before the tribunal of the royal
+lieutenant had quite a peculiar charm, from his making it a point to
+accompany his decisions with some witty, ingenious, or lively turn. What
+he decreed was strictly just, his manner of expressing it whimsical and
+piquant. He seemed to have taken the Duke of Ossuna as his model.
+Scarcely a day passed in which the interpreter did not tell some
+anecdote or other of this kind to amuse us and my mother. This lively
+man had made a little collection of such Solomonian decisions; but I
+only remember the general impression, and cannot recall to my mind any
+particular case.
+
+By degrees we became better acquainted with the strange character of the
+count. This man clearly understood his own peculiarities; and as there
+were times in which he was seized with a sort of dejection,
+hypochondria, or by whatever name we may call the evil demon, he
+withdrew into his room at such hours, which were often lengthened into
+days, saw no one but his /valet/, and in urgent cases could not
+even be prevailed upon to receive any one. But, as soon as the evil
+spirit had left him, he appeared as before, active, mild, and cheerful.
+It might be inferred from the talk of his /valet/, Saint Jean, a
+small, thin man of lively good nature, that in his earlier years he had
+caused a great misfortune when overcome by this temper; and that,
+therefore, in so important a position as his, exposed to the eyes of all
+the world, he had earnestly resolved to avoid similar aberrations.
+
+During the very first days of the count's residence with us, all the
+Frankfort artists, as Hirt, Schütz, Trautmann, Nothnagel, and Junker,
+were called to him. They showed their finished pictures, and the count
+bought such as were for sale. My pretty, light room in the gable-end of
+the attic was given up to him, and immediately turned into a cabinet and
+studio; for he designed to keep all the artists at work for a long time,
+especially Seekatz of Darmstadt, whose pencil, particularly in simple
+and natural representations, highly pleased him. He therefore caused to
+be sent from Grasse, where his elder brother possessed a handsome house,
+the dimensions of all the rooms and cabinets; then considered, with the
+artists, the divisions of the walls, and fixed accordingly upon the size
+of the large oil-pictures, which were not to be set in frames, but to be
+fastened upon the walls like pieces of tapestry. And now the work went
+on zealously. Seekatz undertook country scenes, and succeeded extremely
+well in his old people and children, which were copied directly from
+nature. His young men did not answer so well,--they were almost all too
+thin; and his women failed from the opposite cause. For as he had a
+little, fat, good, but unpleasant-looking, wife, who would let him have
+no model but herself, he could produce nothing agreeable. He was also
+obliged to exceed the usual size of his figures. His trees had truth,
+but the foliage was over minute. He was a pupil of Brinkmann, whose
+pencil in easel pictures is not contemptible.
+
+Schütz, the landscape painter, had perhaps the best of the matter. He
+was thoroughly master of the Rhine country, and of the sunny tone which
+animates it in the fine season. Nor was he entirely unaccustomed to work
+on a larger scale, and then he showed no want of execution or keeping.
+His paintings were of a cheerful cast.
+
+Trautmann /Rembrandtized/ some resurrection miracles out of the New
+Testament, and alongside of them set fire to villages and mills. One
+cabinet was entirely allotted to him, as I found from the designs of the
+rooms. Hirt painted some good oak and beech forests. His cattle were
+praiseworthy.
+
+Junker, accustomed to the imitation of the most elaborate Dutch, was
+least able to manage this tapestry-work; but he condescended to ornament
+many compartments with flowers and fruits for a handsome price.
+
+As I had known all these men from my earliest youth, and had often
+visited them in their studios, and as the count also liked to have me
+with him, I was present at the suggestions, consultations, and orders,
+as well as at the deliveries, of the pictures, and ventured to speak my
+opinion freely when sketches and designs were handed in. I had already
+gained among amateurs, particularly at auctions, which I attended
+diligently, the reputation of being able to tell at once what any
+historical picture represented, whether taken from biblical or profane
+history, or from mythology; and, even if I did not always hit upon the
+meaning of allegorical pictures, there was seldom any one present who
+understood it better than I. Often had I persuaded the artists to
+represent this or that subject, and I now joyfully made use of these
+advantages. I still remember writing a circumstantial essay, in which I
+described twelve pictures which were to exhibit the history of Joseph:
+some of them were executed.
+
+After these achievements, which were certainly laudable in a boy, I will
+mention a little disgrace which happened to me within this circle of
+artists. I was well acquainted with all the pictures which had from time
+to time been brought into that room. My youthful curiosity left nothing
+unseen or unexplored. I once found a little black box behind the stove:
+I did not fail to investigate what might be concealed in it, and drew
+back the bolt without long deliberation. The picture contained was
+certainly of a kind not usually exposed to view; and, although I tried
+to bolt it again immediately, I was not quick enough. The count entered,
+and caught me. "Who allowed you to open that box?" he asked, with all
+his air of a royal lieutenant. I had not much to say for myself, and he
+immediately pronounced my sentence in a very stern manner: "For eight
+days," said he, "you shall not enter this room." I made a bow, and
+walked out. Even this order I obeyed most punctually; so that the good
+Seekatz, who was then at work in the room, was very much annoyed, for he
+liked to have me about him: and, out of a little spite, I carried my
+obedience so far, that I left Seekatz's coffee, which I generally
+brought him, upon the threshold. He was then obliged to leave his work
+and fetch it, which he took so ill, that he well nigh began to dislike
+me.
+
+It now seems necessary to state more circumstantially, and to make
+intelligible, how, under the circumstances, I made my way with more or
+less ease through the French language, which, however, I had never
+learned. Here, too, my natural gift was of service to me; enabling me
+easily to catch the sound of a language, its movement, accent, tone, and
+all other outward peculiarities. I knew many words from the Latin;
+Italian suggested still more; and by listening to servants and soldiers,
+sentries and visitors, I soon picked up so much, that, if I could not
+join in conversation, I could at any rate manage single questions and
+answers. All this, however, was little compared to the profit I derived
+from the theatre. My grandfather had given me a free ticket, which I
+used daily, in spite of my father's reluctance, by dint of my mother's
+support. There I sat in the pit, before a foreign stage, and watched the
+more narrowly the movement and the expression, both of gesture and
+speech; as I understood little or nothing of what was said, and
+therefore could only derive entertainment from the action and the tone
+of voice. I understood least of comedy; because it was spoken rapidly,
+and related to the affairs of common life, of the phrases of which I
+knew nothing. Tragedy was not so often played; and the measured step,
+the rhythm of the Alexandrines, the generality of the expression, made
+it more intelligible to me in every way. It was not long before I took
+up Racine, which I found in my father's library, and declaimed the plays
+to myself, in the theatrical style and manner, as the organ of my ear,
+and the organ of speech, so nearly akin to that, had caught it, and this
+with considerable animation; although I could not yet understand a whole
+connected speech. I even learned entire passages by rote like a trained
+talking-bird, which was easier to me, from having previously committed
+to memory passages from the Bible which are generally unintelligible to
+a child, and accustomed myself to reciting them in the tone of the
+Protestant preachers. The versified French comedy was then much in
+vogue: the pieces of Destouches, Marivaux, and La Chaussée were often
+produced; and I still remember distinctly many characteristic figures.
+Of those of Molière I recollect less. What made the greatest impression
+upon me was "The Hypermnestra" of Lemière, which, as a new piece, was
+brought out with care and often repeated. "The Devin du Village," "Rose
+et Colas," "Annette et Lubin," made each a very pleasant impression upon
+me. I can even now recall the youths and maidens decorated with ribbons,
+and their gestures. It was not long before the wish arose in me to see
+the interior of the theatre, for which many opportunities were offered
+me. For as I had not always patience to stay and listen to the entire
+plays, and often carried on all sorts of games with other children of my
+age in the corridors, and in the milder season even before the door, a
+handsome, lively boy joined us, who belonged to the theatre, and whom I
+had seen in many little parts, though only casually. He came to a better
+understanding with me than with the rest, as I could turn my French to
+account with him; and he the more attached himself to me because there
+was no boy of his age or his nation at the theatre, or anywhere in the
+neighborhood. We also went together at other times, as well as during
+the play; and, even while the representations went on, he seldom left me
+in peace. He was a most delightful little braggart, chattered away
+charmingly and incessantly, and could tell so much of his adventures,
+quarrels, and other strange incidents, that he amused me wonderfully;
+and I learned from him in four weeks more of the language, and of the
+power of expressing myself in it, than can be imagined: so that no one
+knew how I had attained the foreign tongue all at once, as if by
+inspiration.
+
+In the very earliest days of our acquaintance, he took me with him upon
+the stage, and led me especially to the /foyers/, where the actors
+and actresses remained during the intervals of the performance, and
+dressed and undressed. The place was neither convenient nor agreeable;
+for they had squeezed the theatre into a concert-room, so that there
+were no separate chambers for the actors behind the stage. A tolerably
+large room adjoining, which had formerly served for card-parties, was
+now mostly used by both sexes in common, who appeared to feel as little
+ashamed before each other as before us children, if there was not always
+the strictest propriety in putting on or changing the articles of dress.
+I had never seen any thing of the kind before; and yet from habit, after
+repeated visits, I soon found it quite natural.
+
+It was not long before a very peculiar interest of my own arose. Young
+Derones, for so I will call the boy whose acquaintance I still kept up,
+was, with the exception of his boasting, a youth of good manners and
+very courteous demeanor. He made me acquainted with his sister, a girl
+who was a few years older than we were, and a very pleasant, well-grown
+girl, of regular form, brown complexion, black hair and eyes: her whole
+deportment had about it something quiet, even sad. I tried to make
+myself agreeable to her in every way, but I could not attract her
+notice. Young girls think themselves much more advanced than younger
+boys; and, while aspiring to young men, they assume the manner of an
+aunt towards the boy whose first inclination is turned towards them.--
+With a younger brother of his, I had no acquaintance.
+
+Sometimes, when their mother had gone to rehearsals, or was out
+visiting, we met at her house to play and amuse ourselves. I never went
+there without presenting the fair one with a flower, a fruit, or
+something else; which she always received very courteously, and thanked
+me for most politely: but I never saw her sad look brighten, and found
+no trace of her having given me a further thought. At last I fancied I
+had discovered her secret. The boy showed me a crayon-drawing of a
+handsome man, behind his mother's bed, which was hung with elegant silk
+curtains; remarking at the same time, with a sly look, that this was not
+papa, but just the same as papa: and as he glorified this man, and told
+me many things in his circumstantial and ostentatious manner, I thought
+I had discovered that the daughter might belong to the father, but the
+other two children to the intimate friend. I thus explained to myself
+her melancholy look, and loved her for it all the more.
+
+My liking for this girl assisted me in bearing the braggadocio of her
+brother, who did not always keep within bounds. I had often to endure
+prolix accounts of his exploits,--how he had already often fought,
+without wishing to injure the other, all for the mere sake of honor. He
+had always contrived to disarm his adversary, and had then forgiven him;
+nay, he was such a good fencer, that he was once very much perplexed by
+striking the sword of his opponent up into a high tree, so that it was
+not easy to be got again.
+
+What much facilitated my visits to the theatre was, that my free ticket,
+coming from the hands of the /Schultheiss/, gave me access to any
+of the seats, and therefore also to those in the proscenium. This was
+very deep, after the French style, and was bordered on both sides with
+seats, which, surrounded by a low rail, ascended in several rows one
+behind another, so that the first seats were but a little elevated above
+the stage. The whole was considered a place of special honor, and was
+generally used only by officers; although the nearness of the actors
+destroyed, I will not say all illusion, but, in a measure, all
+enjoyment. I have thus experienced and seen with my own eyes the usage
+or abuse of which Voltaire so much complains. If, when the house was
+very full at such time as troops were passing through the town, officers
+of distinction strove for this place of honor, which was generally
+occupied already, some rows of benches and chairs were placed in the
+proscenium on the stage itself, and nothing remained for the heroes and
+heroines but to reveal their secrets in the very limited space between
+the uniforms and orders. I have even seen the "Hypermnestra" performed
+under such circumstances.
+
+The curtain did not fall between the acts: and I must yet mention a
+strange custom, which I thought quite extraordinary; as its
+inconsistency with art was to me, as a good German boy, quite
+unendurable. The theatre was considered the greatest sanctuary, and any
+disturbance occurring there would have been instantly resented as the
+highest crime against the majesty of the public. Therefore, in all
+comedies, two grenadiers stood with their arms grounded, in full view,
+at the two sides of the back scene, and were witnesses of all that
+occurred in the bosom of the family. Since, as I said before, the
+curtain did not fall between the acts, two others, while music struck
+up, relieved guard, by coming from the wings, directly in front of the
+first, who retired in the same measured manner. Now, if such a practice
+was well fitted to destroy all that is called illusion on the stage, it
+is the more striking, because it was done at a time when, according to
+Diderot's principles and examples, the most /natural naturalness/
+was required upon the stage, and a perfect deception was proposed as the
+proper aim of theatrical art. Tragedy, however, was absolved from any
+such military-police regulations; and the heroes of antiquity had the
+right of guarding themselves: nevertheless, the same grenadiers stood
+near enough behind the side scenes.
+
+I will also mention that I saw Diderot's "Father of a Family," and "The
+Philosophers" of Palissot, and still perfectly remember the figure of
+the philosopher in the latter piece going upon all fours, and biting
+into a raw head of lettuce.
+
+All this theatrical variety could not, however, keep us children always
+in the theatre. In fine weather we played in front of it, and in the
+neighborhood, and committed all manner of absurdities, which, especially
+on Sundays and festivals, by no means corresponded to our personal
+appearance; for I and my comrades then appeared dressed as I described
+myself in the tale, with the hat under the arm, and a little sword, the
+hilt of which was ornamented with a large silk knot. One day when we had
+long gone in this way, and Derones had joined us, he took it into his
+head to affirm that I had insulted him, and must give him satisfaction.
+I could not, in truth, conceive what was the cause of this; but I
+accepted his challenge, and was going to draw my sword. However, he
+assured me, that in such cases it was customary to go to secluded spots,
+in order to be able to settle the matter more conveniently. We therefore
+went behind some barns, and placed ourselves in the proper position. The
+duel took place in a somewhat theatrical style,--the blades clashed, and
+the thrusts followed close upon each other; but in the heat of the
+combat he remained with the point of his sword lodged in the knot of my
+hilt. This was pierced through; and he assured me that he had received
+the most complete satisfaction, then embraced me, also theatrically: and
+we went to the next coffee-house to refresh ourselves with a glass of
+almond-milk after our mental agitation, and to knit more closely the old
+bond of friendship.
+
+On this occasion I will relate another adventure which also happened to
+me at the theatre, although at a later time. I was sitting very quietly
+in the pit with one of my playmates; and we looked with pleasure at a
+/pas seul/, which was executed with much skill and grace by a
+pretty boy about our own age,--the son of a French dancing-master, who
+was passing through the city. After the fashion of dancers, he was
+dressed in a close vest of red silk, which, ending in a short hoop-
+petticoat, like a runner's apron, floated above the knee. We had given
+our meed of applause to this young artist with the whole public, when, I
+know not how, it occurred to me to make a moral reflection. I said to my
+companion, "How handsomely this boy was dressed, and how well he looked!
+who knows in how tattered a jacket he may sleep to-night!" All had
+already risen, but the crowd prevented our moving. A woman who had sat
+by me, and who was now standing close beside me, chanced to be the
+mother of the young artist, and felt much offended by my reflection.
+Unfortunately, she knew German enough to understand me, and spoke it
+just as much as was necessary to scold. She abused me violently. Who was
+I, she would like to know, that had a right to doubt the family and
+respectability of this young man? At all events, she would be bound he
+was as good as I; and his talents might probably procure him a fortune,
+of which I could not even venture to dream. This moral lecture she read
+me in the crowd, and made those about me wonder what rudeness I had
+committed. As I could neither excuse myself, nor escape from her, I was
+really embarrassed, and, when she paused for a moment, said without
+thinking, "Well! why do you make such a noise about it?--to-day red, to-
+morrow dead." [Footnote: A German proverb, "Heute roth, Morgen todt."]
+These words seemed to strike the woman dumb. She stared at me, and moved
+away from me as soon as it was in any degree possible. I thought no more
+of my words; only, some time afterwards, they occurred to me, when the
+boy, instead of continuing to perform, became ill, and that very
+dangerously. Whether he died, or not, I cannot say.
+
+Such intimations, by an unseasonably or even improperly spoken word,
+were held in repute, even by the ancients; and it is very remarkable
+that the forms of belief and of superstition have always remained the
+same among all people and in all times.
+
+From the first day of the occupation of our city, there was no lack of
+constant diversion, especially for children and young people. Plays and
+balls, parades, and marches through the town, attracted our attention in
+all directions. The last particularly were always increasing, and the
+soldiers' life seemed to us very merry and agreeable.
+
+The residence of the king's lieutenant at our house procured us the
+advantage of seeing by degrees all the distinguished persons in the
+French army, and especially of beholding close at hand the leaders whose
+names had already been made known to us by reputation. Thus we looked
+from stairs and landing-places, as if from galleries, very conveniently
+upon the generals who passed by. More than all the rest do I remember
+the Prince Soubise as a handsome, courteous gentleman; but most
+distinctly, the Maréchal de Broglio, who was a younger man, not tall,
+but well built, lively, nimble, and abounding in keen glances, betraying
+a clever mind.
+
+He repeatedly came to see the king's lieutenant, and it was easily
+noticed that they were conversing on weighty matters. We had scarcely
+become accustomed to having strangers quartered upon us in the first
+three months, when a rumor was obscurely circulated that the allies were
+on the march, and that Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick was coming to drive
+the French from the Main. Of these, who could not boast of any special
+success in war, no high opinion was held; and, after the battle of
+Rossbach, it was thought they might be dispersed. The greatest
+confidence was placed in Duke Ferdinand, and all those favorable to
+Prussia awaited with eagerness their delivery from the yoke hitherto
+borne. My father was in somewhat better spirits: my mother was
+apprehensive. She was wise enough to see that a small present evil might
+easily be exchanged for a great affliction; since it was but too plain
+that the French would not advance to meet the duke, but would wait an
+attack in the neighborhood of the city. A defeat of the French, a
+flight, a defense of the city, if it were only to cover their rear and
+hold the bridge, a bombardment, a sack,--all these presented themselves
+to the excited imagination, and gave anxiety to both parties. My mother,
+who could bear every thing but suspense, imparted her fears to the count
+through the interpreter. She received the answer usual in such cases:
+she might be quite easy, for there was nothing to fear; and should keep
+quiet, and mention the matter to no one.
+
+Many troops passed through the city: we learned that they halted at
+Bergen. The coming and going, the riding and running, constantly
+increased; and our house was in an uproar day and night. At this time I
+often saw Marshal de Broglio, always cheerful, always the same in look
+and manner; and I was afterwards pleased to find a man, whose form had
+made such a good and lasting impression upon me, so honorably mentioned
+in history.
+
+Thus, after an unquiet Passion Week, the Good Friday of 1759 arrived. A
+profound stillness announced the approaching storm. We children were
+forbidden to quit the house: my father had no quiet, and went out. The
+battle began: I ascended to the garret, where indeed I was prevented
+seeing the country round, but could very well hear the thunder of cannon
+and the general discharge of musketry. After some hours we saw the first
+symptoms of the battle in a line of wagons, in which the wounded, with
+various sad mutilations and gestures, were slowly drawn by us, to be
+taken to the convent of St. Mary, now transformed into a hospital. The
+compassion of the citizens was instantly moved. Beer, wine, bread, and
+money were distributed to those who were yet able to take them. But
+when, some time after, wounded and captive Germans were seen in the
+train, the pity knew no limits; and it seemed as if everybody would
+strip himself of every movable that he possessed to assist his suffering
+countrymen.
+
+The prisoners, however, were an evidence of a battle unfavorable to the
+allies. My father, whose party feelings made him quite certain that
+these would come off victorious, had the violent temerity to go forth to
+meet the expected victors, without thinking that the beaten party must
+pass over him in their flight. He first repaired to his garden before
+the Friedberg gate, where he found every thing lonely and quiet; then
+ventured to the Bornheim heath, where he soon descried various
+stragglers of the army, who were scattered, and amused themselves by
+shooting at the boundary-stones, so that the rebounding lead whizzed
+round the head of the inquisitive wanderer. He therefore considered it
+more prudent to go back, and learned on inquiry what the report of the
+firing might have before informed him, that all stood well for the
+French, and that there was no thought of retreating. Reaching home in an
+ill humor, the sight of his wounded and captured countrymen brought him
+altogether out of his usual self-command. He also caused various
+donations to be given to the passers-by; but only the Germans were to
+have them, which was not always possible, as fate had packed together
+both friend and foe.
+
+My mother and we children, who had already relied on the count's word,
+and had therefore passed a tolerably quiet day, were highly rejoiced;
+and my mother doubly consoled the next day, when, having consulted the
+oracle of her treasure-box, by the prick of a needle, she received a
+very comfortable answer, both for present and future. We wished our
+father similar faith and feelings; we flattered him as much as we could;
+we entreated him to take some food, from which he had abstained all day;
+but he repulsed our caresses and every enjoyment, and betook himself to
+his chamber. Our joy, however, was not interrupted; the affair was
+decided: the king's lieutenant, who, against his habit, had been on
+horseback that day, at last returned home, where his presence was more
+necessary than ever. We sprang to meet him, kissed his hands, and
+testified our delight. This seemed much to please him. "Well," said he
+more kindly than usual, "I am glad also for your sakes, my dear
+children." He immediately ordered that sweetmeats, sweet wine, and the
+best of every thing should be given us, and went to his room, already
+surrounded by a crowd of the urging, demanding, supplicating.
+
+We had now a fine collation, pitied our poor father who would not
+partake of it, and pressed our mother to call him in; but she, more
+prudent than we, well knew how distasteful such gifts would be to him.
+In the mean time she had prepared some supper, and would readily have
+sent a portion up to his room; but he never tolerated such an
+irregularity, even in the most extreme cases: and, after the sweet
+things were removed, we endeavored to persuade him to come down into the
+ordinary dining-room. At last he allowed himself to be persuaded
+unwillingly, and we had no notion of the mischief which we were
+preparing for him and ourselves. The stair-case ran through the whole
+house, along all the ante-rooms. My father, in coming down, had to go
+directly past the count's apartment. This ante-room was so full of
+people, that the count, to get through much at once, resolved to come
+out; and this happened unfortunately at the moment when my father
+descended. The count met him cheerfully, greeted him, and remarked, "You
+will congratulate yourselves and us that this dangerous affair is so
+happily terminated."--"By no means!" replied my father in a rage: "would
+that it had driven you to the Devil, even if I had gone with you!" The
+count restrained himself for a moment, and then broke out with wrath,
+"You shall pay for this," cried he: "you shall find that you have not
+thus insulted the good cause and myself for nothing!"
+
+My father, meanwhile, came down very calmly, seated himself near us,
+seemed more cheerful than before, and began to eat. We were glad of
+this, unconscious of the dangerous method in which he had rolled the
+stone from his heart. Soon afterwards my mother was called out, and we
+had great pleasure in chattering to our father about the sweet things
+the count had given us. Our mother did not return. At last the
+interpreter came in. At a hint from him we were sent to bed: it was
+already late, and we willingly obeyed. After a night quietly slept
+through, we heard of the violent commotion which had shaken the house
+the previous evening. The king's lieutenant had instantly ordered my
+father to be led to the guard-house. The subalterns well knew that he
+was never to be contradicted, yet they had often earned thanks by
+delaying the execution of his orders. The interpreter, whose presence of
+mind never forsook him, contrived to excite this disposition in them
+very strongly. The tumult, moreover, was so great, that a delay brought
+with it its own concealment and excuse. He had called out my mother, and
+put the adjutant, as it were, into her hands, that, by prayers and
+representations, she might gain a brief postponement of the matter. He
+himself hurried up to the count, who with great self-command had
+immediately retired into the inner room, and would rather allow the most
+urgent affair to stand still, than wreak on an innocent person the ill
+humor once excited in him, and give a decision derogatory to his
+dignity.
+
+The address of the interpreter to the count, the train of the whole
+conversation, were often enough repeated to us by the fat interpreter,
+who prided himself not a little on the fortunate result, so that I can
+still describe it from recollection.
+
+The interpreter had ventured to open the cabinet and enter, an act which
+was severely prohibited. "What do you want?" shouted the count angrily.
+"Out with you!--no one but St. Jean has a right to enter here."
+
+"Well, suppose I am St. Jean for a moment," answered the interpreter.
+
+"It would need a powerful imagination for that! Two of him would not
+make one such as you. Retire!"
+
+"Count, you have received a great gift from heaven; and to that I
+appeal."
+
+"You think to flatter me! Do not fancy you will succeed."
+
+"You have the great gift, count, of listening to the opinions of others,
+even in moments of passion--in moments of rage."
+
+"Well, well! the question now is just about opinions, to which I have
+listened too long. I know but too well that we are not liked here, and
+that these citizens look askance at us."
+
+"Not all!"
+
+"Very many. What! These towns will be imperial towns, will they? They
+saw their emperor elected and crowned: and when, being unjustly
+attacked, he is in danger of losing his dominions and surrendering to an
+usurper; when he fortunately finds faithful allies who pour out their
+blood and treasure in his behalf,--they will not put up with the slight
+burden that falls to their share towards humbling the enemy."
+
+"But you have long known these sentiments, and have endured them like a
+wise man: they are, besides, held only by a minority. A few, dazzled by
+the splendid qualities of the enemy, whom you yourself prize as an
+extraordinary man,--a few only, as you are aware."
+
+"Yes, indeed! I have known and suffered it too long! otherwise this man
+would not have presumed to utter such insults to my face, and at the
+most critical moment. Let them be as many as they please, they shall be
+punished in the person of this their audacious representative, and
+perceive what they have to expect."
+
+"Only delay, count."
+
+"In certain things one cannot act too promptly."
+
+"Only a little delay, count."
+
+"Neighbor, you think to mislead me into a false step: you shall not
+succeed."
+
+"I would neither lead you into a false step nor restrain you from one:
+your resolution is just,--it becomes the Frenchman and the king's
+lieutenant; but consider that you are also Count Thorane."
+
+"He has no right to interfere here."
+
+"But the gallant man has a right to be heard."
+
+"What would he say, then?"
+
+"'King's lieutenant,' he would begin, 'you have so long had patience
+with so many gloomy, untoward, bungling men, if they were not really too
+bad. This man has certainly been too bad: but control yourself, king's
+lieutenant; and every one will praise and extol you on that account.'"
+
+"You know I can often endure your jests, but do not abuse my good will.
+These men--are they, then, completely blinded? Suppose we had lost the
+battle: what would have been their fate at this moment? We fight up to
+the gates, we shut up the city, we halt, we defend ourselves to cover
+our retreat over the bridge. Think you the enemy would have stood with
+his hands before him? He throws grenades, and what he has at hand; and
+they catch where they can. This house-holder--what would he have? Here,
+in these rooms, a bomb might now have burst, and another have followed
+it;--in these rooms, the cursed China-paper of which I have spared,
+incommoding myself by not nailing up my maps! They ought to have spent
+the whole day on their knees."
+
+"How many would have done that!"
+
+"They ought to have prayed for a blessing on us, and to have gone out to
+meet the generals and officers with tokens of honor and joy, and the
+wearied soldiers with refreshments. Instead of this, the poison of
+party-spirit destroys the fairest and happiest moments of my life, won
+by so many cares and efforts."
+
+"It is party-spirit, but you will only increase it by the punishment of
+this man. Those who think with him will proclaim you a tyrant and a
+barbarian; they will consider him a martyr, who has suffered for the
+good cause; and even those of the other opinion, who are now his
+opponents, will see in him only their fellow-citizen, will pity him,
+and, while they confess your justice, will yet feel that you have
+proceeded too severely."
+
+"I have listened to you too much already,--now, away with you!"
+
+"Hear only this. Remember, this is the most unheard-of thing that could
+befall this man, this family. You have had no reason to be edified by
+the good will of the master of the house; but the mistress has
+anticipated all your wishes, and the children have regarded you as their
+uncle. With this single blow, you will forever destroy the peace and
+happiness of this dwelling. Indeed, I may say, that a bomb falling into
+the house would not have occasioned greater desolation. I have so often
+admired your self-command, count: give me this time opportunity to adore
+you. A warrior is worthy of honor, who considers himself a guest in the
+house of an enemy; but here there is no enemy, only a mistaking man.
+Control yourself, and you will acquire an everlasting fame."
+
+"That would be odd," replied the count, with a smile.
+
+"Merely natural," continued the interpreter: "I have not sent the wife
+and children to your feet, because I know you detest such scenes; but I
+will depict to you this wife and these children, how they will thank
+you. I will depict them to you conversing all their lives of the battle
+of Bergen, and of your magnanimity on this day, relating it to their
+children, and children's children, and inspiring even strangers with
+their own interest for you: an act of this kind can never perish."
+
+"But you do not hit my weak side yet, interpreter. About posthumous fame
+I am not in the habit of thinking; that is for others, not for me: but
+to do right at the moment, not to neglect my duty, not to prejudice my
+honor,--that is my care. We have already had too many words; now go--and
+receive the thanks of the thankless, whom I spare."
+
+The interpreter, surprised and moved by this unexpectedly favorable
+issue, could not restrain his tears, and would have kissed the count's
+hands. The count motioned him off, and said severely and seriously, "You
+know I cannot bear such things." And with these words he went into the
+ante-room to attend to his pressing affairs, and hear the claims of so
+many expectant persons. So the matter was disposed of; and the next
+morning we celebrated, with the remnants of the yesterday's sweetmeats,
+the passing over of an evil through the threatenings of which we had
+happily slept.
+
+Whether the interpreter really spoke so wisely, or merely so painted the
+scene to himself, as one is apt to do after a good and fortunate action,
+I will not decide; at least he never varied it in repeating it. Indeed,
+this day seemed to him both the most anxious and the most glorious in
+his life.
+
+One little incident will show how the count in general rejected all
+false parade, never assumed a title which did not belong to him, and how
+witty he was in his more cheerful moods.
+
+A man of the higher class, who was one of the abstruse, solitary
+Frankforters, thought he must complain of the quartering of the soldiers
+upon him. He came in person; and the interpreter proffered him his
+services, but the other supposed that he did not need them. He came
+before the count with a most becoming bow, and said, "Your Excellency!"
+The count returned the bow, as well as the "excellency." Struck by this
+mark of honor, and not supposing but that the title was too humble, he
+stooped lower, and said, "Monseigneur."--"Sir," said the count very
+seriously, "we will not go farther, or else we may easily bring it to
+Majesty." The other gentleman was extremely confused, and had not a word
+to utter. The interpreter, standing at some distance, and apprised of
+the whole affair, was wicked enough not to move; but the count, with
+much cheerfulness, continued, "Well, now, for instance, sir, what is
+your name?"--"Spangenberg," replied the other. "And mine," said the
+count, "is Thorane. Spangenberg, what is your business with Thorane?
+Now, then, let us sit down: the affair shall at once be settled."
+
+And thus the affair was indeed settled at once, to the great
+satisfaction of the person I have here named Spangenberg; and the same
+evening, in our family circle, the story was not only told by the
+waggish interpreter, but was given with all the circumstances and
+gestures.
+
+After these confusions, disquietudes, and grievances, the former
+security and thoughtlessness soon returned, in which the young
+particularly live from day to day, if it be in any degree possible. My
+passion for the French theatre grew with every performance. I did not
+miss an evening; though on every occasion, when, after the play, I sat
+down with the family to supper,--often putting up with the remains,--I
+had to endure my father's constant reproaches, that theatres were
+useless, and would lead to nothing. In these cases I adduced all and
+every argument which is at hand for the apologists of the stage when
+they fall into a difficulty like mine. Vice in prosperity, and virtue in
+misfortune, are in the end set right by poetical justice. Those
+beautiful examples of misdeeds punished, "Miss Sarah Sampson," and "The
+Merchant of London," were very energetically cited on my part: but, on
+the other hand, I often came off worst when the "Fouberies de Scapin,"
+and others of the sort, were in the bill; and I was forced to bear
+reproaches for the delight felt by the public in the deceits of
+intriguing servants, and the successful follies of prodigal young men.
+Neither party was convinced; but my father was very soon reconciled to
+the theatre when he saw that I advanced with incredible rapidity in the
+French language.
+
+Men are so constituted that everybody would rather undertake himself
+what he sees done by others, whether he has aptitude for it or not. I
+had soon exhausted the whole range of the French stage; several plays
+were performed for the third and fourth times; all had passed before my
+eyes and mind, from the stateliest tragedy to the most frivolous
+afterpiece; and, as when a child I had presumed to imitate Terence, I
+did not fail now as a boy, on a much more inciting occasion, to copy the
+French forms to the best of my ability and want of ability. There were
+then performed some half-mythological, half-allegorical pieces in the
+taste of Piron: they partook somewhat of the nature of parody, and were
+much liked. These representations particularly attracted me: the little
+gold wings of a lively Mercury, the thunderbolt of a disguised Jupiter,
+an amorous Danaë, or by whatever name a fair one visited by the gods
+might be called, if indeed it were not a shepherdess or huntress to whom
+they descended. And as elements of this kind, from "Ovid's
+Metamorphoses," or the "Pantheon Mythicum" of Pomey, were humming in
+swarms about my head, I had soon put together in my imagination a little
+piece of the kind, of which I can only say that the scene was rural, and
+that there was no lack in it of king's daughters, princes, or gods.
+Mercury, especially, made so vivid an impression on me, that I could
+almost be sworn that I had seen him with my own eyes.
+
+I presented my friend Derones with a very neat copy, made by myself;
+which he accepted with quite a special grace, and with a truly
+patronizing air, glanced hastily over the manuscript, pointed out a few
+grammatical blunders, found some speeches too long, and at last promised
+to examine and judge the work more attentively when he had the requisite
+leisure. To my modest question, whether the piece could by any chance be
+performed, he assured me that it was not altogether impossible. In the
+theatre, he said, a great deal went by favor; and he would support me
+with all his heart: only the affair must be kept private; for he had
+himself once on a time surprised the directors with a piece of his own,
+and it would certainly have been acted if it had not been too soon
+detected that he was the author. I promised him all possible silence,
+and already saw in my mind's eye the name of my piece posted up in large
+letters on the corners of the streets and squares.
+
+Light-minded as my friend generally was, the opportunity of playing the
+master was but too desirable. He read the piece through with attention,
+and, while he sat down with me to make some trivial alterations, turned
+the whole thing, in the course of the conversation, completely topsy-
+turvy, so that not one stone remained on another. He struck out, added,
+took away one character, substituted another,--in short, went on with
+the maddest wantonness in the world, so that my hair stood on end. My
+previous persuasion that he must surely understand the matter, allowed
+him to have his way; for he had often laid before me so much about the
+Three Unities of Aristotle, the regularity of the French drama, the
+probability, the harmony of the verse, and all that belongs to these,
+that I was forced to regard him, not merely as informed, but thoroughly
+grounded. He abused the English and scorned the Germans; in short, he
+laid before me the whole dramaturgic litany which I have so often in my
+life been compelled to hear.
+
+Like the boy in the fable, I carried my mangled offspring home, and
+strove in vain to bring it to life. As, however, I would not quite
+abandon it, I caused a fair copy of my first manuscript, after a few
+alterations, to be made by our clerk, which I presented to my father,
+and thus gained so much, that, for a long time, he let me eat my supper
+in quiet after the play was over.
+
+This unsuccessful attempt had made me reflective; and I resolved now to
+learn, at the very sources, these theories, these laws, to which every
+one appealed, but which had become suspicious to me chiefly through the
+impoliteness of my arrogant master. This was not indeed difficult, but
+laborious. I immediately read Corneille's "Treatise on the Three
+Unities," and learned from that how people would have it, but why they
+desired it so was by no means clear to me; and, what was worst of all, I
+fell at once into still greater confusion when I made myself acquainted
+with the disputes on the "Cid," and read the prefaces in which Corneille
+and Racine are obliged to defend themselves against the critics and
+public. Here at least I plainly saw that no man knew what he wanted;
+that a piece like the "Cid," which had produced the noblest effect, was
+to be condemned at the command of an all-powerful cardinal; that Racine,
+the idol of the French living in my day, who had now also become my idol
+(for I had got intimately acquainted with him when Schöff Von
+Olenschlager made us children act "Britannicus," in which the part of
+Nero fell to me),--that Racine, I say, even in his own day, was not able
+to get on with the amateurs nor critics. Through all this I became more
+perplexed than ever; and after having pestered myself a long time with
+this talking backwards and forwards, and theoretical quackery of the
+previous century, threw them to the dogs, and was the more resolute in
+casting all the rubbish away, the more I thought I observed that the
+authors themselves who had produced excellent things, when they began to
+speak about them, when they set forth the grounds of their treatment,
+when they desired to defend, justify, or excuse themselves, were not
+always able to hit the proper mark. I hastened back again, therefore, to
+the living present, attended the theatre far more zealously, read more
+scrupulously and connectedly, so that I had perseverance enough this
+time to work through the whole of Racine and Molière and a great part of
+Corneille.
+
+The king's lieutenant still lived at our house. He in no respect had
+changed his deportment, especially towards us; but it was observable,
+and the interpreter made it still more evident to us, that he no longer
+discharged his duties with the same cheerfulness and zeal as at the
+outset, though always with the same rectitude and fidelity. His
+character and habits, which showed the Spaniard rather than the
+Frenchman; his caprices, which were not without their influence on his
+business; his unbending will under all circumstances; his susceptibility
+as to whatever had reference to his person or reputation,--all this
+together might perhaps sometimes bring him into conflict with his
+superiors. Add to this, that he had been wounded in a duel, which had
+arisen in the theatre, and it was deemed wrong that the king's
+lieutenant, himself chief of police, should have committed a punishable
+offence. As I have said, all this may have contributed to make him live
+more retired, and here and there perhaps to act with less energy.
+
+[Illustration: A woman spinning and another reading while a child plays
+nearby.]
+
+Meanwhile, a considerable part of the pictures he had ordered had been
+delivered. Count Thorane passed his leisure hours in examining them;
+while in the aforesaid gable-room he had them nailed up, canvas after
+canvas, large and small, side by side, and, because there was want of
+space, even one over another, and then taken down and rolled up. The
+works were constantly inspected anew, the parts that were considered the
+most successful were repeatedly enjoyed, but there was no want of wishes
+that this or that had been differently done.
+
+Hence arose a new and very singular operation. As one painter best
+executed figures, another middle-grounds and distances, a third trees, a
+fourth flowers, it struck the count that these talents might perhaps be
+combined in the paintings, and that in this way perfect works might be
+produced. A beginning was made at once, by having, for instance, some
+beautiful cattle painted into a finished landscape. But because there
+was not always adequate room for all, and a few sheep more or less was
+no great matter to the cattle-painter, the largest landscape proved in
+the end too narrow. Now also the painter of figures had to introduce the
+shepherd and some travellers: these deprived each other of air, as we
+may say; and we marvelled that they were not all stifled, even in the
+most open country. No one could anticipate what was to come of the
+matter, and when it was finished it gave no satisfaction. The painters
+were annoyed. They had gained something by their first orders, but lost
+by these after-labors; though the count paid for them also very
+liberally. And, as the parts worked into each other in one picture by
+several hands produced no good effect after all the trouble, every one
+at last fancied that his own work had been spoiled and destroyed by that
+of the others; hence the artists were within a hair's-breadth of falling
+out, and becoming irreconcilably hostile to each other. These
+alterations, or rather additions, were made in the before-mentioned
+studio, where I remained quite alone with the artists; and it amused me
+to hunt out from the studies, particularly of animals, this or that
+individual or group, and to propose it for the foreground or the
+distance, in which respect they many times, either from conviction or
+kindness, complied with my wishes.
+
+The partners in this affair were therefore greatly discouraged,
+especially Seekatz, a very hypochondriacal, retired man, who, indeed, by
+his incomparable humor, was the best of companions among friends, but
+who, when he worked, desired to work alone, abstracted and perfectly
+free. This man, after solving difficult problems, and finishing them
+with the greatest diligence and the warmest love, of which he was always
+capable, was forced to travel repeatedly from Darmstadt to Frankfort,
+either to change something in his own pictures, or to touch up those of
+others, or even to allow, under his superintendence, a third person to
+convert his pictures into a variegated mess. His peevishness augmented,
+his resistance became more decided, and a great deal of effort was
+necessary on our part to guide this "gossip;" for he was one also,
+according to the count's wishes. I still remember, that when the boxes
+were standing ready to pack up all the pictures, in the order in which
+the upholsterer might hang them up at once, at their place of
+destination, a small but indispensable bit of afterwork was demanded;
+but Seekatz could not be moved to come over. He had, by way of
+conclusion, done the best he could, having represented, in paintings to
+be placed over the doors, the four elements as children and boys, after
+life, and having expended the greatest care, not only on the figures,
+but on the accessories. These were delivered and paid for, and he
+thought he was quit of the business forever; but now he was to come over
+again, that he might enlarge, by a few touches of his pencil, some
+figures, the size of which was too small. Another, he thought, could do
+it just as well; he had already set about some new work; in short, he
+would not come. The time for sending off the pictures was at hand; they
+had, moreover, to get dry; every delay was untoward; and the count, in
+despair, was about to have him fetched in military fashion. We all
+wished to see the pictures finally gone, and found at last no expedient
+than for the gossip interpreter to seat himself in a wagon, and fetch
+over the refractory subject, with his wife and child. He was kindly
+received by the count, well treated, and at last dismissed with liberal
+payment.
+
+After the pictures had been sent away, there was great peace in the
+house. The gable-room in the attic was cleaned, and given up to me; and
+my father, when he saw the boxes go, could not refrain from wishing to
+send off the count after them. For much as the tastes of the count
+coincided with his own, much as he must have rejoiced to see his
+principle of patronizing living artists so generously followed out by a
+man richer than himself, much as it may have flattered him that his
+collection had been the occasion of bringing so considerable a profit to
+a number of brave artists in a pressing time, he nevertheless felt such
+a repugnance to the foreigner who had intruded into his house, that he
+could not think well of any of his doings. One ought to employ painters,
+but not degrade them to paper-stainers; one ought to be satisfied with
+what they have done, according to their conviction and ability, even if
+it does not thoroughly please one, and not be perpetually carping at it.
+In short, in spite of all the count's own generous endeavors, there
+could, once for all, be no mutual understanding. My father only visited
+that room when the count was at table; and I can recall but one
+instance, when, Seekatz having excelled himself, and the wish to see
+these pictures having brought the whole house together, my father and
+the count met, and manifested a common pleasure in these works of art,
+which they could not take in each other.
+
+Scarcely, therefore, had the house been cleared of the chests and boxes,
+than the plan for removing the count, which had formerly been begun, but
+was afterwards interrupted, was resumed. The endeavor was made to gain
+justice by representations, equity by entreaties, favor by influence;
+and the quarter-masters were prevailed upon to decide thus: the count
+was to change his lodgings; and our house, in consideration of the
+burden borne day and night for several years uninterruptedly, was to be
+exempt for the future from billetting. But, to furnish a plausible
+pretext for this, we were to take in lodgers on the first floor, which
+the count had occupied, and thus render a new quartering, as it were,
+impossible. The count, who, after the separation from his dear pictures,
+felt no further peculiar interest in the house, and hoped, moreover, to
+be soon recalled and placed elsewhere, was pleased to move without
+opposition to another good residence, and left us in peace and good
+will. Soon afterwards he quitted the city, and received different
+appointments in gradation, but, it was rumored, not to his own
+satisfaction. Meantime, he had the pleasure of seeing the pictures which
+he had preserved with so much care felicitously arranged in his
+brother's chateau: he wrote sometimes, sent dimensions, and had
+different pieces executed by the artists so often named. At last we
+heard nothing further about him, except after several years we were
+assured that he had died as governor of one of the French colonies in
+the West Indies.
+
+
+
+ FOURTH BOOK.
+
+However much inconvenience the quartering of the French had caused us,
+we had become so accustomed to it, that we could not fail to miss it;
+nor could we children fail to feel as if the house were deserted.
+Moreover, it was not decreed that we should again attain perfect family
+unity. New lodgers were already bespoken; and after some sweeping and
+scouring, planing, and rubbing with beeswax, painting and varnishing,
+the house was completely restored again. The chancery-director Moritz,
+with his family, very worthy friends of my parents, moved in. He was not
+a native of Frankfort, but an able jurist and man of business, and
+managed the legal affairs of many small princes, counts, and lords. I
+never saw him otherwise than cheerful and pleasant, and diligent with
+his law-papers. His wife and children, gentle, quiet, and benevolent,
+did not indeed increase the sociableness of our house; for they kept to
+themselves: but a stillness, a peace, returned, which we had not enjoyed
+for a long time. I now again occupied my attic-room, in which the ghosts
+of the many pictures sometimes hovered before me; while I strove to
+frighten them away by labor and study.
+
+The counsellor of legation, Moritz, a brother of the chancellor, came
+from this time often to our house. He was even more a man of the world,
+had a handsome figure, while his manners were easy and agreeable. He
+also managed the affairs of different persons of rank, and on occasions
+of meetings of creditors and imperial commissions frequently came into
+contact with my father. They had a high opinion of each other, and
+commonly stood on the side of the creditors; though they were generally
+obliged to perceive, much to their vexation, that a majority of the
+agents on such occasions are usually gained over to the side of the
+debtors.
+
+The counsellor of legation readily communicated his knowledge, was fond
+of mathematics; and, as these did not occur in his present course of
+life, he made himself a pleasure by helping me on in this branch of
+study. I was thus enabled to finish my architectural sketches more
+accurately than heretofore, and to profit more by the instruction of a
+drawing-master, who now also occupied us an hour every day.
+
+This good old man was indeed only half an artist. We were obliged to
+draw and combine strokes, from which eyes and noses, lips and ears, nay,
+at last, whole faces and heads, were to arise; but of natural or
+artistic forms there was no thought. We were tormented a long while with
+this /quid pro quo/ of the human figure; and when the so-called
+Passions of Le Brun were given us to copy, it was supposed at last that
+we had made great progress. But even these caricatures did not improve
+us. Then we went off to landscapes, foliage, and all the things which in
+ordinary instruction are practised without consistency or method.
+Finally we dropped into close imitation and neatness of strokes, without
+troubling ourselves about the merit or taste of the original.
+
+In these endeavors our father led the way in an exemplary manner. He had
+never drawn; but he was unwilling to remain behind, now that his
+children pursued this art, and would give, even in his old age, an
+example how they should proceed in their youth. He therefore copied
+several heads of Piazetta, from his well-known sheets in small octavo,
+with an English lead-pencil upon the finest Dutch paper. In these he not
+only observed the greatest clearness of outline, but most accurately
+imitated the hatching of the copperplate with a light hand--only too
+slightly, as in his desire to avoid hardness he brought no keeping into
+his sketches. Yet they were always soft and accurate. His unrelaxing and
+untiring assiduity went so far, that he drew the whole considerable
+collection number by number; while we children jumped from one head to
+another, and chose only those that pleased us.
+
+About this time the long-debated project, long under consideration, for
+giving us lessons in music, was carried into effect; and the last
+impulse to it certainly deserves mention. It was settled that we should
+learn the harpsichord, but there was always a dispute about the choice
+of a master. At last I went once accidentally into the room of one of my
+companions, who was just taking his lesson on the harpsichord, and found
+the teacher a most charming man: for each finger of the right and left
+hand he had a nickname, by which he indicated in the merriest way when
+it was to be used. The black and white keys were likewise symbolically
+designated, and even the tones appeared under figurative names. Such a
+motley company worked most pleasantly together. Fingering and time
+seemed to become perfectly easy and obvious; and, while the scholar was
+put into the best humor, every thing else succeeded beautifully.
+
+Scarcely had I reached home, than I importuned my parents to set about
+the matter in good earnest at last, and give us this incomparable man
+for our master on the harpsichord. They hesitated, and made inquiries:
+they indeed heard nothing bad of the teacher, but, at the same time,
+nothing particularly good. Meanwhile, I had informed my sister of all
+the droll names: we could hardly wait for the lesson, and succeeded in
+having the man engaged.
+
+The reading of the notes began first; but, as no jokes occurred here, we
+comforted ourselves with the hope, that when we went to the harpsichord,
+and the fingers were needed, the jocular method would commence. But
+neither keys nor fingering seemed to afford opportunity for any
+comparisons. Dry as the notes were, with their strokes on and between
+the five lines, the black and white keys were no less so: and not a
+syllable was heard, either of "thumbling," "pointerling," or "gold
+finger;" while the countenance of the man remained as imperturbable
+during his dry teaching as it had been before during his dry jests. My
+sister reproached me most bitterly for having deceived her, and actually
+believed that it was all an invention of mine. But I was myself
+confounded and learned little, though the man at once went regularly
+enough to work; for I kept always expecting that the former jokes would
+make their appearance, and so consoled my sister from one day to
+another. They did not re-appear, however; and I should never have been
+able to explain the riddle if another accident had not solved it for me.
+
+One of my companions came in during a lesson, and at once all the pipes
+of the humorous /jet d'eau/ were opened: the "thumblings" and
+"pointerlings," the "pickers" and "stealers," as he used to call the
+fingers; the "falings" and "galings," meaning "f" and "g;" the
+"fielings" and "gielings," meaning "f" and "g" sharp, [Footnote: The
+names of the sharp notes in German terminate in "is," and hence "f" and
+"g" sharp are called "fis" and "gis."]--became once more extant, and
+made the most wonderful manikins. My young friend could not leave off
+laughing, and was rejoiced that one could learn in such a merry manner.
+He vowed that he would give his parents no peace until they had given
+him such an excellent man for a teacher.
+
+And thus the way to two arts was early enough opened to me, according to
+the principles of a modern theory of education, merely by good luck, and
+without any conviction that I should be furthered therein by a native
+talent. My father maintained that everybody ought to learn drawing; for
+which reason he especially venerated the Emperor Maximilian, by whom
+this had been expressly commanded. He therefore held me to it more
+steadily than to music; which, on the other hand, he especially
+recommended to my sister, and even out of the hours for lessons kept her
+fast, during a good part of the day, at her harpsichord.
+
+But the more I was in this way made to press on, the more I wished to
+press forward of myself; and my hours of leisure were employed in all
+sorts of curious occupations. From my earliest years I felt a love for
+the investigation of natural things. It is often regarded as an instinct
+of cruelty that children like at last to break, tear, and devour objects
+with which for a long time they have played, and which they have handled
+in various manners. Yet even in this way is manifested the curiosity,
+the desire of learning how such things hang together, how they look
+within. I remember, that, when a child, I pulled flowers to pieces to
+see how the leaves were inserted into the calyx, or even plucked birds
+to observe how the feathers were inserted into the wings. Children are
+not to be blamed for this, when even our naturalists believe they get
+their knowledge oftener by separation and division than by union and
+combination,--more by killing than by making alive.
+
+An armed loadstone, very neatly sewed up in scarlet cloth, was one day
+destined to experience the effects of this spirit of inquiry. For the
+secret force of attraction which it exercised, not only on the little
+iron bar attached to it, but which was of such a kind that it could gain
+strength and could daily bear a heavier weight,--this mysterious virtue
+had so excited my admiration, that for a long time I was pleased with
+merely staring at its operation. But at last I thought I might arrive at
+some nearer revelation by tearing away the external covering. This was
+done; but I became no wiser in consequence, as the naked iron taught me
+nothing further. This also I took off; and I held in my hand the mere
+stone, with which I never grew weary of making experiments of various
+kinds on filings and needles,--experiments from which my youthful mind
+drew no further advantage beyond that of a varied experience. I could
+not manage to reconstruct the whole arrangement: the parts were
+scattered, and I lost the wondrous phenomenon at the same time with the
+apparatus.
+
+Nor was I more fortunate in putting together an electrical machine. A
+friend of the family, whose youth had fallen in the time when
+electricity occupied all minds, often told us how, when a child, he had
+desired to possess such a machine: he got together the principal
+requisites, and, by the aid of an old spinning-wheel and some medicine
+bottles, had produced tolerable results. As he readily and frequently
+repeated the story, and imparted to us some general information on
+electricity, we children found the thing very plausible, and long
+tormented ourselves with an old spinning-wheel and some medicine
+bottles, without producing even the smallest result. We nevertheless
+adhered to our belief, and were much delighted, when at the time of the
+fair, among other rarities, magical and legerdemain tricks, an
+electrical machine performed its marvels, which, like those of
+magnetism, were at that time already very numerous.
+
+The want of confidence in the public method of instruction was daily
+increasing. People looked about for private tutors; and, because single
+families could not afford the expense, several of them united to attain
+their object. Yet the children seldom agreed; the young man had not
+sufficient authority; and, after frequently repeated vexations, there
+were only angry partings. It is not surprising, therefore, that other
+arrangements were thought of which should be more permanent as well as
+more advantageous.
+
+The thought of establishing boarding-schools (/Pensionen/) had
+arisen from the necessity, which every one felt, of having the French
+language taught and communicated orally. My father had brought up a
+young person, who had been his footman, valet, secretary, and in short
+successively all in all. This man, whose name was Pfeil, spoke French
+well. After he had married, and his patrons had to think of a situation
+for him, they hit upon the plan of making him establish a boarding-
+school, which extended gradually into a small academy, in which every
+thing necessary, and at last even Greek and Latin, were taught. The
+extensive connections of Frankfort caused young French and English men
+to be brought to this establishment, that they might learn German and
+acquire other accomplishments. Pfeil, who was a man in the prime of
+life, and of the most wonderful energy and activity, superintended the
+whole very laudably; and as he could never be employed enough, and was
+obliged to keep music-teachers for his scholars, he set about music on
+the occasion, and practised the harpsichord with such zeal, that,
+without having previously touched a note, he very soon played with
+perfect readiness and spirit. He seemed to have adopted my father's
+maxim, that nothing can more cheer and excite young people, than when at
+mature years one declares one's self again a learner; and at an age when
+new accomplishments are acquired with difficulty, one endeavors,
+nevertheless, by zeal and perseverance, to excel the younger, who are
+more favored by nature.
+
+By this love of playing the harpsichord, Pfeil was led to the
+instruments themselves, and, while he hoped to obtain the best, came
+into connection with Frederici of Gera, whose instruments were
+celebrated far and wide. He took a number of them on sale, and had now
+the joy of seeing, not only one piano, but many, set up in his
+residence, and of practising and being heard upon them.
+
+The vivacity of this man brought a great rage for music into our house.
+My father remained on lasting good terms with him up to certain points
+of dispute. A large piano of Frederici was purchased also for us, which
+I, adhering to my harpsichord, hardly touched; but which so much
+increased my sister's troubles, as, to duly honor the new instrument,
+she had to spend some time longer every day in practice; while my
+father, as overseer, and Pfeil, as a model and encouraging friend,
+alternately took their positions at her side.
+
+A singular taste of my father's caused much inconvenience to us
+children. This was the cultivation of silk, of the advantages of which,
+if it were more widely extended, he had a high opinion. Some
+acquaintances at Hanau, where the breeding of the worms was carried on
+with great care, gave him the immediate impulse. At the proper season,
+the eggs were sent to him from that place: and, as soon as the mulberry-
+trees showed sufficient leaves, they had to be stripped; and the
+scarcely visible creatures were most diligently tended. Tables and
+stands with boards were set up in a garret-chamber, to afford them more
+room and sustenance; for they grew rapidly, and, after their last change
+of skin, were so voracious that it was scarcely possible to get leaves
+enough to feed them,--nay, they had to be fed day and night, as every
+thing depends upon there being no deficiency of nourishment when the
+great and wondrous change is about to take place in them. When the
+weather was favorable, this business could indeed be regarded as a
+pleasant amusement; but, if the cold set in so that the mulberry-trees
+suffered, it was exceedingly troublesome. Still more unpleasant was it
+when rain fell during the last epoch; for these creatures cannot at all
+endure moisture, and the wet leaves had to be carefully wiped and dried,
+which could not always be done quite perfectly: and for this, or perhaps
+some other reason also, various diseases came among the flock, by which
+the poor things were swept off in thousands. The state of corruption
+which ensued produced a smell really pestilential; and, because the dead
+and diseased had to be taken away and separated from the healthy, the
+business was indeed extremely wearisome and repulsive, and caused many
+an unhappy hour to us children.
+
+After we had one year passed the finest weeks of the spring and summer
+in tending the silk-worms, we were obliged to assist our father in
+another business, which, though simpler, was no less troublesome. The
+Roman views, which, bound by black rods at the top and bottom, had hung
+for many years on the walls of the old house, had become very yellow
+through the light, dust, and smoke, and not a little unsightly through
+the flies. If such uncleanliness was not to be tolerated in the new
+house, yet, on the other hand, these pictures had gained in value to my
+father, in consequence of his longer absence from the places
+represented. For at the outset such copies serve only to renew and
+revive the impressions received shortly before. They seem trifling in
+comparison, and at the best only a melancholy substitute. But, as the
+remembrance of the original forms fades more and more, the copies
+imperceptibly assume their place: they become as dear to us as those
+once were, and what we at first contemned now gains esteem and
+affection. Thus it is with all copies, and particularly with portraits.
+No one is easily satisfied with the counterfeit of an object still
+present, but how we value every /silhouette/ of one who is absent
+or departed.
+
+In short, with this feeling of his former extravagance, my father wished
+that these engravings might be restored as much as possible. It was well
+known that this could be done by bleaching: and the operation, always
+critical with large plates, was undertaken under rather unfavorable
+circumstances; for the large boards, on which the smoked engravings were
+moistened and exposed to the sun, stood in the gutters before the garret
+windows, leaning against the roof, and were therefore liable to many
+accidents. The chief point was, that the paper should never thoroughly
+dry, but must be kept constantly moist. This was the duty of my sister
+and myself; and the idleness, which would have been otherwise so
+desirable, was excessively annoying on account of the tedium and
+impatience, and the watchfulness which allowed of no distraction. The
+end, however, was attained; and the bookbinder, who fixed each sheet
+upon thick paper, did his best to match and repair the margins, which
+had been here and there torn by our inadvertence. All the sheets
+together were bound in a volume, and for this time preserved.
+
+That we children might not be wanting in every variety of life and
+learning, a teacher of the English language had to announce himself just
+at this time, who pledged himself to teach anybody not entirely raw in
+languages, English in four weeks, and to advance him to such a degree,
+that, with some diligence, he could help himself farther. His price was
+moderate, and he was indifferent as to the number of scholars at one
+lesson. My father instantly determined to make the attempt, and took
+lessons, together with my sister and myself, of this expeditious master.
+The hours were faithfully kept; there was no want of repeating our
+lessons; other exercises were neglected rather than this during the four
+weeks; and the teacher parted from us, and we from him, with
+satisfaction. As he remained longer in the town, and found many
+employers, he came from time to time to look after us and to help us,
+grateful that we had been among the first who placed confidence in him,
+and proud to be able to cite us as examples to the others.
+
+My father, in consequence of this, entertained a new anxiety, that
+English might neatly stand in the series of my other studies in
+languages. Now, I will confess that it became more and more burdensome
+for me to take my occasions for study now from this grammar or
+collection of examples, now from that; now from one author, now from
+another,--and thus to divert my interest in a subject every hour. It
+occurred to me, therefore, that I might despatch all at the same time;
+and I invented a romance of six or seven brothers and sisters, who,
+separated from each other and scattered over the world, should
+communicate with each other alternately as to their conditions and
+feelings. The eldest brother gives an account, in good German, of all
+the manifold objects and incidents of his journey. The sister, in a
+ladylike style, with short sentences and nothing but stops, much as
+"Siegwart" was afterwards written, answers now him, now the other
+brothers, partly about domestic matters, and partly about affairs of the
+heart. One brother studies theology, and writes a very formal Latin, to
+which he often adds a Greek postscript. To another brother, holding the
+place of mercantile clerk at Hamburg, the English correspondence
+naturally falls; while a still younger one at Marseilles has the French.
+For the Italian was found a musician, on his first trip into the world;
+while the youngest of all, a sort of pert nestling, had applied himself
+to Jew-German,--the other languages having been cut off from him,--and,
+by means of his frightful ciphers, brought the rest of them into
+despair, and my parents into a hearty laugh at the good notion.
+
+To obtain matter for filling up this singular form, I studied the
+geography of the countries in which my creations resided, and by
+inventing for those dry localities all sorts of human incidents which
+had some affinity with the characters and employments of my heroes. Thus
+my exercise-books became much more voluminous, my father was better
+satisfied, and I was much sooner made aware of my deficiency in both
+what I had acquired and possessed of my own.
+
+Now, as such things, once begun, have no end nor limits, so it happened
+in the present case; for while I strove to attain the odd Jew-German,
+and to write it as well as I could read it, I soon discovered that I
+ought to know Hebrew, from which alone the modern corrupted dialect
+could be derived, and handled with any certainty. I consequently
+explained the necessity of my learning Hebrew to my father, and
+earnestly besought his consent; for I had a still higher object.
+Everywhere I heard it said, that, to understand the Old as well as the
+New Testament, the original languages were requisite. The latter I could
+read quite easily; because, that there might be no want of exercise,
+even on Sundays, the so-called Epistles and Gospels had, after church,
+to be recited, translated, and in some measure explained. I now purposed
+doing the same thing with the Old Testament, the peculiarities of which
+had always especially interested me.
+
+My father, who did not like to do any thing by halves, determined to
+request the rector of our gymnasium, one Dr. Albrecht, to give me
+private lessons weekly, until I should have acquired what was most
+essential in so simple a language; for he hoped, that, if it would not
+be despatched as soon as English was learned, it could at least be
+managed in double the time.
+
+Rector Albrecht was one of the most original figures in the world,--
+short, broad, but not fat, ill-shaped without being deformed; in short,
+an Aesop in gown and wig. His more than seventy-years-old face was
+completely twisted into a sarcastic smile; while his eyes always
+remained large, and, though red, were always brilliant and intelligent.
+He lived in the old cloister of the barefoot friars, the seat of the
+gymnasium. Even as a child, I had often visited him in company with my
+parents, and had, with a kind of trembling delight, glided through the
+long, dark passages, the chapels transformed into reception-rooms, the
+place broken up and full of stairs and corners. Without making me
+uncomfortable, he questioned me familiarly whenever we met, and praised
+and encouraged me. One day, on the changing of the pupils' places after
+a public examination, he saw me standing, as a mere spectator, not far
+from his chair, while he distributed the silver /proemia virtulis et
+diligentioe/. I was probably gazing very eagerly upon the little bag
+out of which he drew the medals: he nodded to me, descended a step, and
+handed me one of the silver pieces. My joy was great; although others
+thought that this gift, bestowed upon a boy not belonging to the school,
+was out of all order. But for this the good old man cared but little,
+having always played the eccentric, and that in a striking manner. He
+had a very good reputation as a schoolmaster, and understood his
+business; although age no more allowed him to practise it thoroughly.
+But almost more than by his own infirmities was he hindered by greater
+circumstances; and, as I already knew, he was satisfied neither with the
+consistory, the inspectors, the clergy, nor the teachers. To his natural
+temperament, which inclined to satire, and the watching for faults and
+defects, he allowed free play, both in his programmes and his public
+speeches; and, as Lucian was almost the only writer whom he read and
+esteemed, he spiced all that he said and wrote with biting ingredients.
+Fortunately for those with whom he was dissatisfied, he never went
+directly to work, but only jeered at the defects which he wanted to
+reprove, with hints, allusions, classic passages, and scripture-texts.
+His delivery, moreover,--he always read his discourses,--was unpleasant,
+unintelligible, and, above all, was often interrupted by a cough, but
+more frequently by a hollow, paunch-convulsing laugh, with which he was
+wont to announce and accompany the biting passages. This singular man I
+found to be mild and obliging when I began to take lessons of him. I now
+went to his house daily at six o'clock in the evening, and always
+experienced a secret pleasure when the outer door closed behind me, and
+I had to thread the long, dark cloister-passage. We sat in his library,
+at a table covered with oil-cloth, a much-read Lucian never quitting his
+side.
+
+In spite of all my willingness, I did not get at the matter without
+difficulty; for my teacher could not suppress certain sarcastic remarks
+as to the real truth about Hebrew. I concealed from him my designs upon
+Jew-German, and spoke of a better understanding of the original text. He
+smiled at this, and said I should be satisfied if I only learned to
+read. This vexed me in secret, and I concentrated all my attention when
+we came to the letters. I found an alphabet something like the Greek, of
+which the forms were easy, and the names, for the most part, not strange
+to me. All this I had soon comprehended and retained, and supposed we
+should now take up reading. That this was done from right to left I was
+well aware. But now all at once appeared a new army of little characters
+and signs, of points and strokes of all sorts, which were in fact to
+represent vowels. At this I wondered the more, as there were manifestly
+vowels in the larger alphabet; and the others only appeared to be hidden
+under strange appellations. I was also taught that the Jewish nation, as
+long as it flourished, actually were satisfied with the former signs,
+and knew no other way of writing and reading. Most willingly, then,
+would I have gone on along this ancient and, as it seemed to me, easier
+path; but my worthy declared rather sternly that we must go by the
+grammar as it had been approved and composed. Reading without these
+points and strokes, he said, was a very hard undertaking, and could be
+accomplished only by the learned and those who were well practised. I
+must, therefore, make up my mind to learn these little characters; but
+the matter became to me more and more confused. Now, it seemed, some of
+the first and larger primitive letters had no value in their places, in
+order that their little after-born kindred might not stand there in
+vain. Now they indicated a gentle breathing, now a guttural more or less
+rough, and now served as mere equivalents. But finally, when one fancied
+that he had well noted every thing, some of these personages, both great
+and small, were rendered inoperative; so that the eyes always had very
+much, and the lips very little, to do.
+
+As that of which I already knew the contents had now to be stuttered in
+a strange gibberish, in which a certain snuffle and gargle were not a
+little commended as something unattainable, I in a certain degree
+deviated from the matter, and diverted myself, in a childish way, with
+the singular names of these accumulated signs. There were "emperors,"
+"kings," and "dukes," [Footnote: These are the technical names for
+classes of accents in the Hebrew grammar.--TRANS.] which, as accents
+governing here and there, gave me not a little entertainment. But even
+these shallow jests soon lost their charm. Nevertheless I was
+indemnified, inasmuch as by reading, translating, repeating, and
+committing to memory, the substance of the book came out more vividly;
+and it was this, properly, about which I desired to be enlightened. Even
+before this time, the contradiction between tradition, and the actual
+and possible, had appeared to me very striking; and I had often put my
+private tutors to a non-plus with the sun which stood still on Gibeon,
+and the moon in the vale of Ajalon, to say nothing of other
+improbabilities and incongruities. Every thing of this kind was now
+awakened; while, in order to master the Hebrew, I occupied myself
+exclusively with the Old Testament, and studied it, though no longer in
+Luther's translation, but in the literal version of Sebastian Schmid,
+printed under the text, which my father had procured for me. Here, I am
+sorry to say, our lessons began to be defective in regard to practice in
+the language. Reading, interpreting, grammar, transcribing, and the
+repetition of words, seldom lasted a full half-hour; for I immediately
+began to aim at the sense of the matter, and, though we were still
+engaged in the first book of Moses, to utter several things suggested to
+me by the later books. At first the good old man tried to restrain me
+from such digressions, but at last they seemed to entertain him also. It
+was impossible for him to suppress his characteristic cough and chuckle:
+and, although he carefully avoided giving me any information that might
+have compromised himself, my importunity was not relaxed; nay, as I
+cared more to set forth my doubts than to learn their solution, I grew
+constantly more vivacious and bold, seeming justified by his deportment.
+Yet I could get nothing out of him, except that ever and anon he would
+exclaim with his peculiar, shaking laugh, "Ah! mad fellow! ah! mad boy!"
+
+Still, my childish vivacity, which scrutinized the Bible on all sides,
+may have seemed to him tolerably serious and worthy of some assistance.
+He therefore referred me, after a time, to the large English biblical
+work which stood in his library, and in which the interpretation of
+difficult and doubtful passages was attempted in an intelligent and
+judicious manner. By the great labors of German divines the translation
+had obtained advantages over the original. The different opinions were
+cited; and at last a kind of reconciliation was attempted, so that the
+dignity of the book, the ground of religion, and the human
+understanding, might in some degree co-exist. Now, as often as towards
+the end of the lesson I came out with my usual questions and doubts, so
+often did he point to the repository. I took the volume, he let me read,
+turned over his Lucian; and, when I made any remarks on the book, his
+ordinary laugh was the only answer to my sagacity. In the long summer
+days he let me sit as long as I could read, many times alone; after a
+time he suffered me to take one volume after another home with me.
+
+Man may turn which way he please, and undertake any thing whatsoever, he
+will always return to the path which nature has once prescribed for him.
+Thus it happened also with me in the present case. The trouble I took
+with the language, with the contents of the Sacred Scriptures
+themselves, ended at last in producing in my imagination a livelier
+picture of that beautiful and famous land, its environs and its
+vicinities, as well as of the people and events by which that little
+spot of earth was made glorious for thousands of years.
+
+This small space was to see the origin and growth of the human race;
+thence we were to derive our first and only accounts of primitive
+history; and such a locality was to lie before our imagination, no less
+simple and comprehensible than varied, and adapted to the most wonderful
+migrations and settlements. Here, between four designated rivers, a
+small, delightful spot was separated from the whole habitable earth, for
+youthful man. Here he was to unfold his first capacities, and here at
+the same time was the lot to befall him, which was appointed for all his
+posterity; namely, that of losing peace by striving after knowledge.
+Paradise was trifled away; men increased and grew worse; and the Elohim,
+not yet accustomed to the wickedness of the new race, became impatient,
+and utterly destroyed it. Only a few were saved from the universal
+deluge; and scarcely had this dreadful flood ceased, than the well-known
+ancestral soil lay once more before the grateful eyes of the preserved.
+
+Two rivers out of four, the Euphrates and Tigris, still flowed in their
+beds. The name of the first remained: the other seemed to be pointed out
+by its course. Minuter traces of paradise were not to be looked for
+after so great a revolution. The renewed race of man went forth hence a
+second time: it found occasion to sustain and employ itself in all sorts
+of ways, but chiefly to gather around it large herds of tame animals,
+and to wander with them in every direction.
+
+This mode of life, as well as the increase of the families, soon
+compelled the people to disperse. They could not at once resolve to let
+their relatives and friends go forever: they hit upon the thought of
+building a lofty tower, which should show them the way back from the far
+distance. But this attempt, like their first endeavor, miscarried. They
+could not be at the same time happy and wise, numerous and united. The
+Elohim confounded their minds; the building remained unfinished; the men
+were dispersed; the world was peopled, but sundered.
+
+But our regards, our interests, continue fixed on these regions. At last
+the founder of a race again goes forth from hence, and is so fortunate
+as to stamp a distinct character upon his descendants, and by that means
+to unite them for all time to come into a great nation, inseparable
+through all changes of place or destiny.
+
+From the Euphrates, Abraham, not without divine guidance, wanders
+towards the west. The desert opposes no invincible barrier to his march.
+He attains the Jordan, passes over its waters, and spreads himself over
+the fair southern regions of Palestine. This land was already occupied,
+and tolerably well inhabited. Mountains, not extremely high, but rocky
+and barren, were severed by many watered vales favorable to cultivation.
+Towns, villages, and solitary settlements lay scattered over the plain,
+and on the slopes of the great valley, the waters of which are collected
+in Jordan. Thus inhabited, thus tilled, was the land: but the world was
+still large enough; and the men were not so circumspect, necessitous,
+and active, as to usurp at once the whole adjacent country. Between
+their possessions were extended large spaces, in which grazing herds
+could freely move in every direction. In one of these spaces Abraham
+resides; his brother Lot is near him: but they cannot long remain in
+such places. The very condition of a land, the population of which is
+now increasing, now decreasing, and the productions of which are never
+kept in equilibrium with the wants, produces unexpectedly a famine; and
+the stranger suffers alike with the native, whose own support he has
+rendered difficult by his accidental presence. The two Chaldean brothers
+move onward to Egypt; and thus is traced out for us the theatre on
+which, for some thousands of years, the most important events of the
+world were to be enacted. From the Tigris to the Euphrates, from the
+Euphrates to the Nile, we see the earth peopled; and this space also is
+traversed by a well-known, heaven-beloved man, who has already become
+worthy to us, moving to and fro with his goods and cattle, and, in a
+short time, abundantly increasing them. The brothers return; but, taught
+by the distress they have endured, they determine to part. Both, indeed,
+tarry in Southern Canaan; but while Abraham remains at Hebron, near the
+wood of Mamre, Lot departs for the valley of Siddim, which, if our
+imagination is bold enough to give Jordan a subterranean outlet, so
+that, in place of the present Dead Sea, we should have dry ground, can
+and must appear like a second Paradise,--a conjecture all the more
+probable, because the residents about there, notorious for effeminacy
+and wickedness, lead us to infer that they led an easy and luxurious
+life. Lot lives among them, but apart.
+
+But Hebron and the wood of Mamre appear to us as the important place
+where the Lord speaks with Abraham, and promises him all the land as far
+as his eye can reach in four directions. From these quiet districts,
+from these shepherd-tribes, who can associate with celestials, entertain
+them as guests, and hold many conversations with them, we are compelled
+to turn our glance once more towards the East, and to think of the
+condition of the surrounding world, which, on the whole, perhaps, may
+have been like that of Canaan.
+
+Families hold together: they unite, and the mode of life of the tribes
+is determined by the locality which they have appropriated or
+appropriate. On the mountains which send down their waters to the
+Tigris, we find warlike populations, who even thus early foreshadow
+those world-conquerors and world-rulers, and in a campaign, prodigious
+for those times, give us a prelude of future achievements. Chedor
+Laomer, king of Elam, has already a mighty influence over his allies. He
+reigns a long while; for twelve years before Abraham's arrival in
+Canaan, he had made all the people tributary to him as far as the
+Jordan. They revolted at last, and the allies equipped for war. We find
+them unawares upon a route by which, probably, Abraham also reached
+Canaan. The people on the left and lower side of the Jordan were
+subdued. Chedor Laomer directs his march southwards towards the people
+of the Desert; then, wending north, he smites the Amalekites; and, when
+he has also overcome the Amorites, he reaches Canaan, falls upon the
+kings of the valley of Siddim, smites and scatters them, and marches
+with great spoil up the Jordan, in order to extend his conquests as far
+as Lebanon.
+
+Among the captives, despoiled, and dragged along with their property, is
+Lot, who shares the fate of the country in which he lives a guest.
+Abraham learns this, and here at once we behold the patriarch a warrior
+and hero. He hurriedly gathers his servants, divides them into troops,
+attacks and falls upon the luggage of booty, confuses the victors, who
+could not suspect another enemy in the rear, and brings back his brother
+and his goods, with a great deal more belonging to the conquered kings.
+Abraham, by means of this brief contest, acquires, as it were, the whole
+land. To the inhabitants he appears as a protector, savior, and, by his
+disinterestedness, a king. Gratefully the kings of the valley receive
+him; Melchisedek, the king and priest, with blessings.
+
+Now the prophecies of an endless posterity are renewed; nay, they take a
+wider and wider scope. From the waters of the Euphrates to the river of
+Egypt all the lands are promised him, but yet there seems a difficulty
+with respect to his next heirs. He is eighty years of age, and has no
+son. Sarai, less trusting in the heavenly powers than he, becomes
+impatient: she desires, after the Oriental fashion, to have a
+descendant, by means of her maid. But no sooner is Hagar given up to the
+master of the house, no sooner is there hope of a son, than dissensions
+arise. The wife treats her own dependant ill enough, and Hagar flies to
+seek a happier position among other tribes. She returns, not without a
+higher intimation, and Ishmael is born.
+
+Abraham is now ninety-nine years old, and the promises of a numerous
+posterity are constantly repeated: so that, in the end, the pair regard
+them as ridiculous. And yet Sarai becomes at last pregnant, and brings
+forth a son, to whom the name of Isaac is given.
+
+History, for the most part, rests upon the legitimate propagation of the
+human race. The most important events of the world require to be traced
+to the secrets of families, and thus the marriages of the patriarchs
+give occasion for peculiar considerations. It is as if the Divinity, who
+loves to guide the destiny of mankind, wished to prefigure here
+connubial events of every kind. Abraham, so long united by childless
+marriage to a beautiful woman whom many coveted, finds himself, in his
+hundredth year, the husband of two women, the father of two sons; and at
+this moment his domestic peace is broken. Two women, and two sons by
+different mothers, cannot possibly agree. The party less favored by law,
+usage, and opinion must yield. Abraham must sacrifice his attachment to
+Hagar and Ishmael. Both are dismissed; and Hagar is compelled now,
+against her will, to go upon a road which she once took in voluntary
+flight, at first, it seems, to the destruction of herself and child; but
+the angel of the Lord, who had before sent her back, now rescues her
+again, that Ishmael also may become a great people, and that the most
+improbable of all promises may be fulfilled beyond its limits.
+
+Two parents in advanced years, and one son of their old age--here, at
+last, one might expect domestic quiet and earthly happiness. By no
+means. Heaven is yet preparing the heaviest trial for the patriarch. But
+of this we cannot speak without premising several considerations.
+
+If a natural universal religion was to arise, and a special revealed one
+to be developed from it, the countries in which our imagination has
+hitherto lingered, the mode of life, the race of men, were the fittest
+for the purpose. At least, we do not find in the whole world any thing
+equally favorable and encouraging. Even to natural religion, if we
+assume that it arose earlier in the human mind, there pertains much of
+delicacy of sentiment; for it rests upon the conviction of an universal
+providence, which conducts the order of the world as a whole. A
+particular religion, revealed by Heaven to this or that people, carries
+with it the belief in a special providence, which the Divine Being
+vouchsafes to certain favored men, families, races, and people. This
+faith seems to develop itself with difficulty from man's inward nature.
+It requires tradition, usage, and the warrant of a primitive time.
+
+Beautiful is it, therefore, that the Israelitish tradition represents
+the very first men who confide in this particular providence as heroes
+of faith, following all the commands of that high Being on whom they
+acknowledge themselves dependent, just as blindly as, undisturbed by
+doubts, they are unwearied in awaiting the later fulfilments of his
+promises.
+
+As a particular revealed religion rests upon the idea that one man may
+be more favored by Heaven than another, so it also arises pre-eminently
+from the separation of classes. The first men appeared closely allied,
+but their employments soon divided them. The hunter was the freest of
+all: from him was developed the warrior and the ruler. Those who tilled
+the field bound themselves to the soil, erected dwellings and barns to
+preserve what they had gained, and could estimate themselves pretty
+highly, because their condition promised durability and security. The
+herdsman in his position seemed to have acquired the most unbounded
+condition and unlimited property. The increase of herds proceeded
+without end, and the space which was to support them widened itself on
+all sides. These three classes seemed from the very first to have
+regarded each other with dislike and contempt; and as the herdsman was
+an abomination to the townsman, so did he in turn separate from the
+other. The hunters vanish from our sight among the hills, and reappear
+only as conquerors.
+
+The patriarchs belonged to the shepherd class. Their manner of life upon
+the ocean of deserts and pastures gave breadth and freedom to their
+minds; the vault of heaven, under which they dwelt, with all its nightly
+stars, elevated their feelings; and they, more than the active, skilful
+huntsman, or the secure, careful, householding husbandman, had need of
+the immovable faith that a God walked beside them, visited them, cared
+for them, guided and saved them.
+
+We are compelled to make another reflection in passing to the rest of
+the history. Humane, beautiful, and cheering as the religion of the
+patriarchs appears, yet traits of savageness and cruelty run through it,
+out of which man may emerge, or into which he may again be sunk.
+
+That hatred should seek to appease itself by the blood, by the death, of
+the conquered enemy, is natural; that men concluded a peace upon the
+battle-field among the ranks of the slain may easily be conceived; that
+they should in like manner think to give validity to a contract by slain
+animals, follows from the preceding. The notion also that slain
+creatures could attract, propitiate, and gain over the gods, whom they
+always looked upon as partisans, either opponents or allies, is likewise
+not at all surprising. But if we confine our attention to the
+sacrifices, and consider the way in which they were offered in that
+primitive time, we find a singular, and, to our notions, altogether
+repugnant, custom, probably derived from the usages of war; viz., that
+the sacrificed animals of every kind, and whatever number was devoted,
+had to be hewn in two halves, and laid out on two sides: so that in the
+space between them were those who wished to make a covenant with the
+Deity.
+
+Another dreadful feature wonderfully and portentously pervades that fair
+world; namely, that whatever had been consecrated or vowed must die.
+This also was probably a usage of war transferred to peace. The
+inhabitants of a city which forcibly defends itself are threatened with
+such a vow: it is taken by storm or otherwise. Nothing is left alive;
+men never: and often women, children, and even cattle, share a similar
+fate. Such sacrifices are rashly and superstitiously and with more or
+less distinctness promised to the gods; and those whom the votary would
+willingly spare, even his nearest of kin, his own children, may thus
+bleed, the expiatory victims of such a delusion.
+
+In the mild and truly patriarchal character of Abraham, such a savage
+kind of worship could not arise; but the Godhead, [Footnote: It should
+be observed, that in this biblical narrative, when we have used the
+expressions, "Deity," "Godhead," or "Divinity," Goethe generally has
+"die Götter," or "the Gods."--TRANS.] which often, to tempt us, seems to
+put forth those qualities which man is inclined to assign to it, imposes
+a monstrous task upon him. He must offer up his son as a pledge of the
+new covenant, and, if he follows the usage, not only kill and burn him,
+but cut him in two, and await between the smoking entrails a new promise
+from the benignant Deity. Abraham, blindly and without lingering,
+prepares to execute the command: to Heaven the will is sufficient.
+Abraham's trials are now at an end, for they could not be carried
+farther. But Sarai dies, and this gives Abraham an opportunity for
+taking typical possession of the land of Canaan. He requires a grave,
+and this is the first time he looks out for a possession in this earth.
+He had before this probably sought out a twofold cave by the grove of
+Mamre. This he purchases, with the adjacent field; and the legal form
+which he observes on the occasion shows how important this possession is
+to him. Indeed, it was more so, perhaps, than he himself supposed: for
+there he, his sons and his grandsons, were to rest; and by this means
+the proximate title to the whole land, as well as the everlasting desire
+of his posterity to gather themselves there, was most properly grounded.
+
+From this time forth the manifold incidents of the family life become
+varied. Abraham still keeps strictly apart from the inhabitants; and
+though Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian woman, has married a daughter of
+that land, Isaac is obliged to wed a kinswoman of equal birth with
+himself.
+
+Abraham despatches his servant to Mesopotamia, to the relatives whom he
+had left behind there. The prudent Eleazer arrives unknown, and, in
+order to take home the right bride, tries the readiness to serve of the
+girls at the well. He asks to be permitted to drink; and Rebecca,
+unasked, waters his camels also. He gives her presents, he demands her
+in marriage, and his suit is not rejected. He conducts her to the home
+of his lord, and she is wedded to Isaac. In this case, too, issue has to
+be long expected. Rebecca is not blessed until after some years of
+probation; and the same discord, which, in Abraham's double marriage,
+arose through two mothers, here proceeds from one. Two boys of opposite
+characters wrestle already in their mother's womb. They come to light,
+the elder lively and vigorous, the younger gentle and prudent. The
+former becomes the father's, the latter the mother's, favorite. The
+strife for precedence, which begins even at birth, is ever going on.
+Esau is quiet and indifferent as to the birthright which fate has given
+him: Jacob never forgets that his brother forced him back. Watching
+every opportunity of gaining the desirable privilege, he buys the
+birthright of his brother, and defrauds him of their father's blessing.
+Esau is indignant, and vows his brother's death: Jacob flees to seek his
+fortune in the land of his forefathers.
+
+Now, for the first time, in so noble a family appears a member who has
+no scruple in attaining by prudence and cunning the advantages which
+nature and circumstances have denied him. It has often enough been
+remarked and expressed, that the Sacred Scriptures by no means intend to
+set up any of the patriarchs and other divinely favored men as models of
+virtue. They, too, are persons of the most different characters, with
+many defects and failings. But there is one leading trait, in which none
+of these men after God's own heart can be wanting: that is, unshaken
+faith that God has them and their families in his special keeping.
+
+General, natural religion, properly speaking, requires no faith; for the
+persuasion that a great producing, regulating, and conducting Being
+conceals himself, as it were, behind Nature, to make himself
+comprehensible to us--such a conviction forces itself upon every one.
+Nay, if we for a moment let drop this thread, which conducts us through
+life, it may be immediately and everywhere resumed. But it is different
+with a special religion, which announces to us that this Great Being
+distinctly and pre-eminently interests himself for one individual, one
+family, one people, one country. This religion is founded on faith,
+which must be immovable if it would not be instantly destroyed. Every
+doubt of such a religion is fatal to it. One may return to conviction,
+but not to faith. Hence the endless probation, the delay in the
+fulfilment of so often repeated promises, by which the capacity for
+faith in those ancestors is set in the clearest light.
+
+It is in this faith also that Jacob begins his expedition; and if, by
+his craft and deceit, he has not gained our affections, he wins them by
+his lasting and inviolable love for Rachel, whom he himself wooes on the
+instant, as Eleazar had courted Rebecca for his father. In him the
+promise of a countless people was first to be fully unfolded: he was to
+see many sons around him, but through them and their mothers was to
+endure manifold sorrows of heart.
+
+Seven years he serves for his beloved, without impatience and without
+wavering. His father-in-law, crafty like himself, and disposed, like
+him, to consider legitimate this means to an end, deceives him, and so
+repays him for what he has done to his brother. Jacob finds in his arms
+a wife whom he does not love. Laban, indeed, endeavors to appease him,
+by giving him his beloved also after a short time, and this but on the
+condition of seven years of further service. Vexation arises out of
+vexation. The wife he does not love is fruitful: the beloved one bears
+no children. The latter, like Sarai, desires to become a mother through
+her handmaiden: the former grudges her even this advantage. She also
+presents her husband with a maid, but the good patriarch is now the most
+troubled man in the world. He has four women, children by three, and
+none from her he loves. Finally she also is favored; and Joseph comes
+into the world, the late fruit of the most passionate attachment.
+Jacob's fourteen years of service are over; but Laban is unwilling to
+part with him, his chief and most trusty servant. They enter into a new
+compact, and portion the flocks between them. Laban retains the white
+ones, as most numerous: Jacob has to put up with the spotted ones, as
+the mere refuse. But he is able here, too, to secure his own advantage:
+and as by a paltry mess (/of pottage/) he had procured the
+birthright, and, by a disguise, his father's blessing, he manages by art
+and sympathy to appropriate to himself the best and largest part of the
+herds; and on this side also he becomes the truly worthy progenitor of
+the people of Israel, and a model for his descendants. Laban and his
+household remark the result, if not the stratagem. Vexation ensues:
+Jacob flees with his family and goods, and partly by fortune, partly by
+cunning, escapes the pursuit of Laban. Rachel is now about to present
+him another son, but dies in the travail; Benjamin, the child of sorrow,
+survives her; but the aged father is to experience a still greater
+sorrow from the apparent loss of his son Joseph.
+
+Perhaps some one may ask why I have so circumstantially narrated
+histories so universally known, and so often repeated and explained. Let
+the inquirer be satisfied with the answer, that I could in no other way
+exhibit how, with my life full of diversion, and with my desultory
+education, I concentrated my mind and feelings in quiet action on one
+point; that I was able in no other way to depict the peace that
+prevailed about me, even when all without was so wild and strange. When
+an ever busy imagination, of which that tale may bear witness, led me
+hither and thither; when the medley of fable and history, mythology and
+religion, threatened to bewilder me,--I liked to take refuge in those
+Oriental regions, to plunge into the first books of Moses, and to find
+myself there, amid the scattered shepherd-tribes, at the same time in
+the greatest solitude and the greatest society.
+
+These family scenes, before they were to lose themselves in a history of
+the Jewish nation, show us now, in conclusion, a form by which the hopes
+and fancies of the young in particular are agreeably excited,--Joseph,
+the child of the most passionate wedded love. He seems to us tranquil
+and clear, and predicts to himself the advantages which are to elevate
+him above his family. Cast into misfortune by his brothers, he remains
+steadfast and upright in slavery, resists the most dangerous
+temptations, rescues himself by prophecy, and is elevated according to
+his deserts to high honors. He shows himself first serviceable and
+useful to a great kingdom, then to his own kindred. He is like his
+ancestor Abraham in repose and greatness, his grandfather Isaac in
+silence and devotedness. The talent for traffic, inherited from his
+father, he exercises on a large scale. It is no longer flocks which are
+gained for himself from a father-in-law, but nations, with all their
+possessions, which he knows how to purchase for a king. Extremely
+graceful is this natural story, only it appears too short; and one feels
+called upon to paint it in detail.
+
+Such a filling-up of biblical characters and events given only in
+outline, was no longer strange to the Germans. The personages of both
+the Old and New Testaments had received through Klopstock a tender and
+affectionate nature, highly pleasing to the boy, as well as to many of
+his contemporaries. Of Bodmer's efforts in this line, little or nothing
+came to him; but "Daniel in the Lion's Den," by Moser, made a great
+impression on the young heart. In that work, a right-minded man of
+business, and courtier, arrives at high honors through manifold
+tribulations; and the piety for which they threatened to destroy him
+became, early and late, his sword and buckler. It had long seemed to me
+desirable to work out the history of Joseph; but I could not get on with
+the form, particularly as I was conversant with no kind of versification
+which would have been adapted to such a work. But now I found a
+treatment of it in prose very suitable, and I applied all my strength to
+its execution. I now endeavored to discriminate and paint the
+characters, and, by the interpolation of incidents and episodes, to make
+the old simple history a new and independent work. I did not consider,
+what, indeed, youth cannot consider, that subject-matter was necessary
+to such a design, and that this could only arise by the perceptions of
+experience. Suffice it to say, that I represented to myself all the
+incidents down to the minutest details, and narrated them accurately to
+myself in their succession.
+
+What greatly lightened this labor was a circumstance which threatened to
+render this work, and my authorship in general, exceedingly voluminous.
+A well-gifted young man, who, however, had become imbecile from over-
+exertion and conceit, resided as a ward in my father's house, lived
+quietly with the family, and, if allowed to go on in his usual way, was
+contented and agreeable. He had, with great care, written out notes of
+his academical course, and acquired a rapid, legible hand. He liked to
+employ himself in writing better than in any thing else, and was pleased
+when something was given him to copy; but still more when he was
+dictated to, because he then felt carried back to his happy academical
+years. To my father, who was not expeditious in writing, and whose
+German letters were small and tremulous, nothing could be more
+desirable; and he was consequently accustomed, in the conduct of his own
+and other business, to dictate for some hours a day to this young man. I
+found it no less convenient, during the intervals, to see all that
+passed through my head fixed upon paper by the hand of another; and my
+natural gift of feeling and imitation grew with the facility of catching
+up and preserving.
+
+As yet, I had not undertaken any work so large as that biblical prose-
+epic. The times were tolerably quiet, and nothing recalled my
+imagination from Palestine and Egypt. Thus my manuscripts swelled more
+and more every day, as the poem, which I recited to myself, as it were,
+in the air, stretched along the paper; and only a few pages from time to
+time needed to be re-written.
+
+When the work was done,--for, to my own astonishment, it really came to
+an end,--I reflected, that from former years many poems were extant,
+which did not even now appear to me utterly despicable, and which, if
+written together in the same size with "Joseph," would make a very neat
+quarto, to which the title "Miscellaneous Poems" might be given. I was
+pleased with this, as it gave me an opportunity of quietly imitating
+well-known and celebrated authors. I had composed a good number of so-
+called Anacreontic poems, which, on account of the convenience of the
+metre, and the lightness of the subject, flowed forth readily enough.
+But these I could not well take, as they were not in rhyme; and my
+desire before all things was to show my father something that would
+please him. So much the more, therefore, did the spiritual odes seem
+suitable, which I had very zealously attempted in imitation of the "Last
+Judgment" of Elias Schlegel. One of these, written to celebrate the
+descent of Christ into hell, received much applause from my parents and
+friends, and had the good fortune to please myself for some years
+afterwards. The so-called texts of the Sunday church-music, which were
+always to be had printed, I studied with diligence. They were, indeed,
+very weak; and I could well believe that my verses, of which I had
+composed many in the prescribed manner, were equally worthy of being set
+to music, and performed for the edification of the congregation. These,
+and many like them, I had for more than a year before copied with my own
+hand; because through this private exercise I was released from the
+copies of the writing-master. Now all were corrected and put in order,
+and no great persuasion was needed to have them neatly copied by the
+young man who was so fond of writing. I hastened with them to the book-
+binder: and when, very soon after, I handed the nice-looking volume to
+my father, he encouraged me with peculiar satisfaction to furnish a
+similar quarto every year; which he did with the greater conviction, as
+I had produced the whole in my spare moments alone.
+
+Another circumstance increased my tendency to these theological, or,
+rather, biblical, studies. The senior of the ministry, John Philip
+Fresenius, a mild man, of handsome, agreeable appearance, who was
+respected by his congregation and the whole city as an exemplary pastor
+and good preacher, but who, because he stood forth against the
+Herrnhüters, was not in the best odor with the peculiarly pious; while,
+on the other hand, he had made himself famous, and almost sacred, with
+the multitude, by the conversion of a free-thinking general who had been
+mortally wounded,--this man died; and his successor, Plitt, a tall,
+handsome, dignified man, who brought from his /chair/ (he had been
+a professor in Marburg) the gift of teaching rather than of edifying,
+immediately announced a sort of religious course, to which his sermons
+were to be devoted in a certain methodical connection. I had already, as
+I was compelled to go to church, remarked the distribution of the
+subject, and could now and then show myself off by a pretty complete
+recitation of a sermon. But now, as much was said in the congregation,
+both for and against the new senior, and many placed no great confidence
+in his announced didactic sermons, I undertook to write them out more
+carefully; and I succeeded the better from having made smaller attempts
+in a seat very convenient for hearing, but concealed from sight. I was
+extremely attentive and on the alert: the moment he said Amen, I
+hastened from church, and spent a couple of hours in rapidly dictating
+what I had fixed in my memory and on paper, so that I could hand in the
+written sermon before dinner. My father was very proud of this success;
+and the good friend of the family, who had just come in to dinner, also
+shared in the joy. Indeed, this friend was very well disposed towards
+me, because I had made his "Messiah" so much my own, that in my repeated
+visits, paid to him with a view of getting impressions of seals for my
+collection of coats-of-arms, I could recite long passages from it till
+the tears stood in his eyes.
+
+The next Sunday I prosecuted the work with equal zeal; and, as the
+mechanical part of it mainly interested me, I did not reflect upon what
+I wrote and preserved. During the first quarter these efforts may have
+continued pretty much the same; but as I fancied at last, in my self-
+conceit, that I found no particular enlightenment as to the Bible, nor
+clearer insight into dogmas, the small vanity which was thus gratified
+seemed to me too dearly purchased for me to pursue the matter with the
+same zeal. The sermons, once so many-leaved, grew more and more lean:
+and before long I should have relinquished this labor altogether, if my
+father, who was a fast friend to completeness, had not, by words and
+promises, induced me to persevere till the last Sunday in Trinity;
+though, at the conclusion, scarcely more than the text, the statement,
+and the divisions were scribbled on little pieces of paper.
+
+My father was particularly pertinacious on this point of completeness.
+What was once undertaken had to be finished, even if the inconvenience,
+tedium, vexation, nay, uselessness, of the thing begun were plainly
+manifested in the mean time. It seemed as if he regarded completeness as
+the only end, and perseverance as the only virtue. If in our family
+circle, in the long winter evenings, we had begun to read a book aloud,
+we were compelled to finish, though we were all in despair about it, and
+my father himself was the first to yawn. I still remember such a winter,
+when we had thus to work our way through Bower's "History of the Popes."
+It was a terrible time, as little or nothing that occurs in
+ecclesiastical affairs can interest children and young people. Still,
+with all my inattention and repugnance, so much of that reading remained
+in my mind that I was able, in after times, to take up many threads of
+the narrative.
+
+Amid all these heterogeneous occupations and labors, which followed each
+other so rapidly that one could hardly reflect whether they were
+permissible and useful, my father did not lose sight of the main object.
+He endeavored to direct my memory and my talent for apprehending and
+combining to objects of jurisprudence, and therefore gave me a small
+book by Hopp, in the shape of a catechism, and worked up according to
+the form and substance of the institutions. I soon learned questions and
+answers by heart, and could represent the catechist as well as the
+catechumen; and, as in religious instruction at that time, one of the
+chief exercises was to find passages in the Bible as readily as
+possible; so here a similar acquaintance with the "Corpus Juris" was
+found necessary, in which, also, I soon became completely versed. My
+father wished me to go on, and the little "Struve" was taken in hand;
+but here affairs did not proceed so rapidly. The form of the work was
+not so favorable for beginners, that they could help themselves on; nor
+was my father's method of illustration so liberal as greatly to interest
+me.
+
+Not only by the warlike state in which we lived for some years, but also
+by civil life itself, and the perusal of history and romances, was it
+made clear to me that there were many cases in which the laws are
+silent, and give no help to the individual, who must then see how to get
+out of the difficulty by himself. We had now reached the period when,
+according to the old routine, we were to learn, besides other things,
+fencing and riding, that we might guard our skins upon occasion, and
+present no pedantic appearance on horseback. As to the first, the
+practice was very agreeable to us; for we had already, long ago,
+contrived to make broad-swords out of hazel-sticks, with basket-hilts
+neatly woven of willow, to protect the hands. Now we might get real
+steel blades, and the clash we made with them was very merry.
+
+There were two fencing-masters in the city: an old, earnest German, who
+went to work in a severe and solid style; and a Frenchman, who sought to
+gain his advantage by advancing and retreating, and by light, fugitive
+thrusts, which he always accompanied by cries. Opinions varied as to
+whose manner was the best. The little company with which I was to take
+lessons sided with the Frenchman; and we speedily accustomed ourselves
+to move backwards and forwards, make passes and recover, always breaking
+out into the usual exclamations. But several of our acquaintance had
+gone to the German teacher, and practised precisely the opposite. These
+distinct modes of treating so important an exercise, the conviction of
+each that his master was the best, really caused a dissension among the
+young people, who were of about the same age: and the fencing-schools
+occasioned serious battles, for there was almost as much fighting with
+words as with swords; and, to decide the matter in the end, a trial of
+skill between the two teachers was arranged, the consequences of which I
+need not circumstantially describe. The German stood in his position
+like a wall, watched his opportunity, and contrived to disarm his
+opponent over and over again with his cut and thrust. The latter
+maintained that this mattered not, and proceeded to exhaust the other's
+wind by his agility. He fetched the German several lunges too, which,
+however, if they had been in earnest, would have sent him into the next
+world.
+
+On the whole, nothing was decided or improved, except that some went
+over to our countryman, of whom I was one. But I had already acquired
+too much from the first master; and hence a considerable time elapsed
+before the new one could break me of it, who was altogether less
+satisfied with us renegades than with his original pupils.
+
+With riding I fared still worse. It happened that they sent me to the
+course in the autumn, so that I commenced in the cool and damp season.
+The pedantic treatment of this noble art was highly repugnant to me.
+From first to last, the whole talk was about sitting the horse: and yet
+no one could say in what a proper sitting consisted, though all depended
+on that; for they went to and fro on the horse without stirrups.
+Moreover, the instruction seemed contrived only for cheating and
+degrading the scholars. If one forgot to hook or loosen the curb-chain,
+or let his switch fall down, or even his hat,--every delay, every
+misfortune, had to be atoned for by money; and one was laughed at into
+the bargain. This put me in the worst of humors, particularly as I found
+the place of exercise itself quite intolerable. The wide, nasty space,
+either wet or dusty, the cold, the mouldy smell, all together was in the
+highest degree repugnant to me; and since the stable-master always gave
+the others the best and me the worst horses to ride,--perhaps because
+they bribed him by breakfasts and other gifts, or even by their own
+cleverness; since he kept me waiting, and, as it seemed, slighted me,--I
+spent the most disagreeable hours in an employment that ought to have
+been the most pleasant in the world. Nay, the impression of that time
+and of these circumstances has remained with me so vividly, that
+although I afterwards became a passionate and daring rider, and for days
+and weeks together scarcely got off my horse, I carefully shunned
+covered riding-courses, and at least passed only a few moments in them.
+The case often happens, that, when the elements of an exclusive art are
+taught us, this is done in a painful and revolting manner. The
+conviction that this is both wearisome and injurious has given rise, in
+later times, to the educational maxim, that the young must be taught
+every thing in an easy, cheerful, and agreeable way: from which,
+however, other evils and disadvantages have proceeded.
+
+With the approach of spring, times became again more quiet with us; and
+if in earlier days I had endeavored to obtain a sight of the city, its
+ecclesiastical, civil, public, and private structures, and especially
+found great delight in the still prevailing antiquities, I afterwards
+endeavored, by means of "Lersner's Chronicle," and other Frankfortian
+books and pamphlets belonging to my father, to revive the persons of
+past times. This seemed to me to be well attained by great attention to
+the peculiarities of times and manners and of distinguished individuals.
+
+Among the ancient remains, that which, from my childhood, had been
+remarkable to me, was the skull of a State criminal, fastened up on the
+tower of the bridge, who, out of three or four, as the naked iron spikes
+showed, had, since 1616, been preserved in spite of the encroachments of
+time and weather. Whenever one returned from Sachsenhausen to Frankfort,
+one had this tower before one; and the skull was directly in view. As a
+boy, I liked to hear related the history of these rebels,--Fettmilch and
+his confederates,--how they had become dissatisfied with the government
+of the city, had risen up against it, plotted a mutiny, plundered the
+Jews' quarter, and excited a fearful riot, but were at last captured,
+and condemned to death by a deputy of the emperor. Afterwards I felt
+anxious to know the most minute circumstance, and to hear what sort of
+people they were. When from an old contemporary book, ornamented with
+wood-cuts, I learned, that, while these men had indeed been condemned to
+death, many councillors had at the same time been deposed, because
+various kinds of disorder and very much that was unwarrantable was then
+going on; when I heard the nearer particulars how all took place,--I
+pitied the unfortunate persons who might be regarded as sacrifices made
+for a future better constitution. For from that time was dated the
+regulation which allows the noble old house of Limpurg, the Frauenstein-
+house, sprung from a club, besides lawyers, trades-people, and artisans,
+to take part in a government, which, completed by a system of ballot,
+complicated in the Venetian fashion, and restricted by the civil
+colleges, was called to do right, without acquiring any special
+privilege to do wrong.
+
+Among the things which excited the misgivings of the boy, and even of
+the youth, was especially the state of the Jewish quarter of the city
+(/Judenstadt/), properly called the Jew Street (/Judengasse/);
+as it consisted of little more than a single street, which in early
+times may have been hemmed in between the walls and trenches of the
+town, as in a prison (/Zwinger/). The closeness, the filth, the
+crowd, the accent of an unpleasant language, altogether made a most
+disagreeable impression, even if one only looked in as one passed the
+gate. It was long before I ventured in alone; and I did not return there
+readily, when I had once escaped the importunities of so many men
+unwearied in demanding and offering to traffic. At the same time, the
+old legends of the cruelty of the Jews towards Christian children, which
+we had seen hideously illustrated in "Gottfried's Chronicle," hovered
+gloomily before my young mind. And although they were thought better of
+in modern times, the large caricature, still to be seen, to their
+disgrace, on an arched wall under the bridge-tower, bore extraordinary
+witness against them; for it had been made, not through private ill-
+will, but by public order.
+
+However, they still remained the chosen people of God, and passed, no
+matter how it came about, as a memorial of the most ancient times.
+Besides, they also were men, active and obliging; and, even to the
+tenacity with which they clung to their peculiar customs, one could not
+refuse one's respect. The girls, moreover, were pretty, and were far
+from displeased when a Christian lad, meeting them on the sabbath in the
+Fischerfeld, showed himself kindly and attentive. I was consequently
+extremely curious to become acquainted with their ceremonies. I did not
+desist until I had frequently visited their school, had assisted at a
+circumcision and a wedding, and formed a notion of the Feast of the
+Tabernacles. Everywhere I was well received, pleasantly entertained, and
+invited to come again; for it was through persons of influence that I
+had been either introduced or recommended.
+
+Thus, as a young resident in a large city, I was thrown about from one
+object to another; and horrible scenes were not wanting in the midst of
+the municipal quiet and security. Sometimes a more or less remote fire
+aroused us from our domestic peace: sometimes the discovery of a great
+crime, with its investigation and punishment, set the whole city in an
+uproar for many weeks. We were forced to be witnesses of different
+executions; and it is worth remembering, that I was also once present at
+the burning of a book. The publication was a French comic romance, which
+indeed spared the State, but not religion and manners. There was really
+something dreadful in seeing punishment inflicted on a lifeless thing.
+The packages burst asunder in the fire, and were raked apart by an oven-
+fork, to be brought in closer contact with the flames. It was not long
+before the kindled sheets were wafted about in the air, and the crowd
+caught at them with eagerness. Nor could we rest until we had hunted up
+a copy, while not a few managed likewise to procure the forbidden
+pleasure. Nay, if it had been done to give the author publicity, he
+could not himself have made a more effectual provision.
+
+But there were also more peaceable inducements which took me about in
+every part of the city. My father had early accustomed me to manage for
+him his little affairs of business. He charged me particularly to stir
+up the laborers whom he set to work, as they commonly kept him waiting
+longer than was proper; because he wished every thing done accurately,
+and was used in the end to lower the price for a prompt payment. In this
+way, I gained access to all the workshops: and as it was natural to me
+to enter into the condition of others, to feel every species of human
+existence, and sympathize in it with pleasure, these commissions were to
+me the occasion of many most delightful hours; and I learned to know
+every one's method of proceeding, and what joy and sorrow, what
+advantages and hardships, were incident to the indispensable conditions
+of this or that mode of life. I was thus brought nearer to that active
+class which connects the lower and upper classes. For if on the one side
+stand those who are employed in the simple and rude products, and on the
+other those who desire to enjoy something that has been already worked
+up, the manufacturer, with his skill and hand, is the mediator through
+whom the other two receive something from each other: each is enabled to
+gratify his wishes in his own way. The household economy of many crafts,
+which took its form and color from the occupation, was likewise an
+object of my quiet attention; and thus was developed and strengthened in
+me the feeling of the equality, if not of all men, yet of all human
+conditions,--the mere fact of existence seeming to me the main point,
+and all the rest indifferent and accidental.
+
+As my father did not readily permit himself an expense which would be
+consumed at once in some momentary enjoyment,--as I can scarcely call to
+mind that we ever took a walk together, and spent any thing in a place
+of amusement,--he was, on the other hand, not niggardly in procuring
+such things as had a good external appearance in addition to inward
+value. No one could desire peace more than he, although he had not felt
+the smallest inconvenience during the last days of the war. With this
+feeling, he had promised my mother a gold snuff-box, set with diamonds,
+which she was to receive as soon as peace should be publicly declared.
+In the expectation of the happy event, they had labored now for some
+years on this present. The box, which was tolerably large, had been
+executed in Hanau; for my father was on good terms with the gold-workers
+there, as well as with the heads of the silk establishments. Many
+designs were made for it: the cover was adorned by a basket of flowers,
+over which hovered a dove with the olive-branch. A vacant space was left
+for the jewels, which were to be set partly in the dove and partly on
+the spot where the box is usually opened. The jeweller, to whom the
+execution and the requisite stones were intrusted, was named Lautensak,
+and was a brisk, skilful man, who, like many artists, seldom did what
+was necessary, but usually works of caprice, which gave him pleasure.
+The jewels were very soon set, in the shape in which they were to be put
+upon the box, on some black wax, and looked very well; but they would
+not come off to be transferred to the gold. In the outset, my father let
+the matter rest: but as the hope of peace became livelier, and finally
+when the stipulations,--particularly the elevation of the Archduke
+Joseph to the Roman throne,--seemed more precisely known, he grew more
+and more impatient; and I had to go several times a week, nay, at last,
+almost daily, to visit the tardy artist. Owing to my unremitted teasing
+and exhortation, the work went on, though slowly enough; for, as it was
+of that kind which can be taken in hand or laid aside at will, there was
+always something by which it was thrust out of the way, and put aside.
+
+The chief cause of this conduct, however, was a task which the artist
+had undertaken on his own account. Everybody knew that the Emperor
+Francis cherished a strong liking for jewels, and especially for colored
+stones. Lautensak had expended a considerable sum, and, as it afterwards
+turned out, larger than his means, on such gems, out of which he had
+begun to shape a nosegay, in which every stone was to be tastefully
+disposed, according to its shape and color, and the whole form a work of
+art worthy to stand in the treasure-vaults of an emperor. He had, in his
+desultory way, labored at it for many years, and now hastened--because
+after the hoped-for peace the arrival of the emperor, for the coronation
+of his son, was expected in Frankfort--to complete it and finally to put
+it together. My desire to become acquainted with such things he used
+very dexterously to divert my attention by sending me forth as his dun,
+and to turn me away from my intention. He strove to impart a knowledge
+of these stones to me, and made me attentive to their properties and
+value; so that in the end I knew his whole bouquet by heart, and quite
+as well as he could have demonstrated its virtues to a customer. It is
+even now present to my mind; and I have since seen more costly, but not
+more graceful, specimens of show and magnificence in this sort. He
+possessed, moreover, a pretty collection of engravings, and other works
+of art, with which he liked to amuse himself; and I passed many hours
+with him, not without profit. Finally, when the Congress of Hubertsburg
+was finally fixed, he did for my sake more than was due; and the dove
+and flowers actually reached my mother's hands on the festival in
+celebration of the peace.
+
+I then received also many similar commissions to urge on painters with
+respect to pictures which had been ordered. My father had confirmed
+himself in the notion--and few men were free from it--that a picture
+painted on wood was greatly to be preferred to one that was merely put
+on canvas. It was therefore his great care to possess good oak boards,
+of every shape; because he well knew that just on this important point
+the more careless artists trusted to the joiners. The oldest planks were
+hunted up, the joiners were obliged to go accurately to work with
+gluing, painting, and arranging; and they were then kept for years in an
+upper room, where they could be sufficiently dried. A precious board of
+this kind was intrusted to the painter Junker, who was to represent on
+it an ornamental flower-pot, with the most important flowers drawn after
+nature in his artistic and elegant manner. It was just about the spring-
+time; and I did not fail to take him several times a week the most
+beautiful flowers that fell in my way, which he immediately put in, and
+by degrees composed the whole out of these elements with the utmost care
+and fidelity. On one occasion I had caught a mouse, which I took to him,
+and which he desired to copy as a very pretty animal; nay, really
+represented it, as accurately as possible, gnawing an ear of corn at the
+foot of the flower-pot. Many such inoffensive natural objects, such as
+butterflies and chafers, were brought in and represented; so that
+finally, as far as imitation and execution were concerned, a highly
+valuable picture was put together.
+
+Hence I was not a little astonished when the good man formally declared
+one day, when the work was just about to be delivered, that the picture
+no longer pleased him,--since, while it had turned out quite well in its
+details, it was not well composed as a whole, because it had been
+produced in this gradual manner; and he had committed a blunder at the
+outset, in not at least devising a general plan for light and shade, as
+well as for color, according to which the single flowers might have been
+arranged. He scrutinized, in my presence, the minutest parts of the
+picture, which had arisen before my eyes during six months, and had
+pleased me in many respects, and, much to my regret, managed to
+thoroughly convince me. Even the copy of the mouse he regarded as a
+mistake; for many persons, he said, have a sort of horror of such
+animals: and they should not be introduced where the object is to excite
+pleasure. As it commonly happens with those who are cured of a
+prejudice, and think themselves much more knowing than they were before,
+I now had a real contempt for this work of art, and agreed perfectly
+with the artist when he caused to be prepared another tablet of the same
+size, on which, according to his taste, he painted a better-formed
+vessel and a more artistically arranged nosegay, and also managed to
+select and distribute the little living accessories in an ornamental and
+agreeable way. This tablet also he painted with the greatest care,
+though altogether after the former copied one, or from memory, which,
+through a very long and assiduous practice, came to his aid. Both
+paintings were now ready; and we were thoroughly delighted with the
+last, which was certainly the more artistic and striking of the two. My
+father was surprised with two pictures instead of one, and to him the
+choice was left. He approved of our opinion, and of the reasons for it,
+and especially of our good will and activity; but, after considering
+both pictures some days, decided in favor of the first, without saying
+much about the motives of his choice. The artist, in an ill humor, took
+back his second well-meant picture, and could not refrain from the
+remark that the good oaken tablet on which the first was painted had
+certainly had its effect on my father's decision.
+
+Now that I am again speaking of painting, I am reminded of a large
+establishment, where I passed much time, because both it and its
+managers especially attracted me. It was the great oil-cloth factory
+which the painter Nothnagel had erected,--an expert artist, but one who
+by his mode of thought inclined more to manufacture than to art. In a
+very large space of courts and gardens, all sorts of oil-cloths were
+made, from the coarsest, that are spread with a trowel, and used for
+baggage-wagons and similar purposes, and the carpets impressed with
+figures, to the finer and the finest, on which sometimes Chinese and
+grotesque, sometimes natural flowers, sometimes figures, sometimes
+landscapes, were represented by the pencils of accomplished workmen.
+This multiplicity, to which there was no end, amused me vastly. The
+occupation of so many men, from the commonest labor to that in which a
+certain artistic worth could not be denied, was to me extremely
+attractive. I made the acquaintance of this multitude of younger and
+older men, working in several rooms one behind the other, and
+occasionally lent a hand myself. The sale of these commodities was
+extraordinarily brisk. Whoever at that time was building or furnishing a
+house, wished to provide for his lifetime; and this oil-cloth carpeting
+was certainly quite indestructible. Nothnagel had enough to do in
+managing the whole, and sat in his office surrounded by factors and
+clerks. The remainder of his time he employed in his collection of works
+of art, consisting chiefly of engravings, in which, as well as in the
+pictures he possessed, he traded occasionally. At the same time he had
+acquired a taste for etching: he etched a variety of plates, and
+prosecuted this branch of art even into his latest years.
+
+As his dwelling lay near the Eschenheim gate, my way when I had visited
+him led me out of the city to some pieces of ground which my father
+owned beyond the gates. One was a large orchard, the soil of which was
+used as a meadow, and in which my father carefully attended the
+transplanting of trees, and whatever else pertained to their
+preservation; though the ground itself was leased. Still more occupation
+was furnished by a very well-preserved vineyard beyond the Friedberg
+gate, where, between the rows of vines, rows of asparagus were planted
+and tended with great care. Scarcely a day passed in the fine season in
+which my father did not go there; and as on these occasions we might
+generally accompany him, we were provided with joy and delight from the
+earliest productions of spring to the last of autumn. We now also
+acquired a knowledge of gardening matters, which, as they were repeated
+every year, became in the end perfectly known and familiar to us. But,
+after the manifold fruits of summer and autumn, the vintage at last was
+the most lively and the most desirable; nay, there is no question, that
+as wine gives a freer character to the very places and districts where
+it is grown and drunk, so also do these vintage-days, while they close
+summer and at the same time open the winter, diffuse an incredible
+cheerfulness. Joy and jubilation pervade a whole district. In the
+daytime, huzzas and shoutings are heard from every end and corner; and
+at night rockets and fire-balls, now here, now there, announce that the
+people, everywhere awake and lively, would willingly make this festival
+last as long as possible. The subsequent labor at the wine-press, and
+during the fermentation in the cellar, gave us also a cheerful
+employment at home; and thus we ordinarily reached winter without being
+properly aware of it.
+
+These rural possessions delighted us so much the more in the spring of
+1763, as the 15th of February in that year was celebrated as a festival
+day, on account of the conclusion of the Hubertsberg peace, under the
+happy results of which the greater part of my life was to flow away.
+But, before I go farther, I think I am bound to mention some men who
+exerted an important influence on my youth.
+
+Von Olenschlager, a member of the Frauenstein family, a Schöff, and son-
+in-law of the above-mentioned Dr. Orth, a handsome, comfortable,
+sanguine man. In his official holiday costume he could well have
+personated the most important French prelate. After his academical
+course, he had employed himself in political and state affairs, and
+directed even his travels to that end. He greatly esteemed me, and often
+conversed with me on matters which chiefly interested him. I was with
+him when he wrote his "Illustration of the Golden Bull," when he managed
+to explain to me very clearly the worth and dignity of that document. My
+imagination was led back by it to those wild and unquiet times; so that
+I could not forbear representing what he related historically, as if it
+were present, by pictures of characters and circumstances, and often by
+mimicry. In this he took great delight, and by his applause excited me
+to repetition.
+
+I had from childhood the singular habit of always learning by heart the
+beginnings of books, and the divisions of a work, first of the five
+books of Moses, and then of the "Aeneid" and Ovid's "Metamorphoses." I
+now did the same thing with the "Golden Bull," and often provoked my
+patron to a smile, when I quite seriously and unexpectedly exclaimed,
+"/Omne regnum in se divisum desolabitur; nam principes ejus facti sunt
+socii furum./" [Footnote: Every kingdom divided against itself shall
+be brought to desolation, for the princes thereof have become the
+associates of robbers.--TRANS.] The knowing man shook his head, smiling,
+and said doubtingly, "What times those must have been, when, at a grand
+diet, the emperor had such words published in the face of his princes!"
+
+There was a great charm in Von Olenschlager's society. He received
+little company, but was strongly inclined to intellectual amusement, and
+induced us young people from time to time to perform a play; for such
+exercises were deemed particularly useful to the young. We acted
+"Canute" by Schlegel, in which the part of the king was assigned to me,
+Elfrida to my sister, and Ulfo to the younger son of the family. We then
+ventured on the "Britannicus;" [Footnote: Racine's tragedy.--TRANS.]
+for, besides our dramatic talents, we were to bring the language into
+practice. I took Nero, my sister Agrippina, and the younger son
+Britannicus. We were more praised than we deserved, and fancied we had
+done it even beyond the amount of praise. Thus I stood on the best terms
+with this family, and have been indebted to them for many pleasures and
+a speedier development.
+
+Von Reineck, of an old patrician family, able, honest, but stubborn, a
+meagre, swarthy man, whom I never saw smile. The misfortune befell him
+that his only daughter was carried off by a friend of the family. He
+pursued his son-in-law with the most vehement prosecution: and because
+the tribunals, with their formality, were neither speedy nor sharp
+enough to gratify his desire of vengeance, he fell out with them; and
+there arose quarrel after quarrel, suit after suit. He retired
+completely into his own house and its adjacent garden, lived in a
+spacious but melancholy lower room, into which for many years no brush
+of a whitewasher, and perhaps scarcely the broom of a maid-servant, had
+found its way. He was very fond of me, and had especially commended to
+me his younger son. He many times asked his oldest friends, who knew how
+to humor him, his men of business and agents, to dine with him, and on
+these occasions never omitted inviting me. There was good eating and
+better drinking at his house. But a large stove, that let out the smoke
+from many cracks, caused his guests the greatest pain. One of the most
+intimate of these once ventured to remark upon this, by asking the host
+whether he could put up with such an inconvenience all the winter. He
+answered, like a second Timon or Heautontimoroumenos, "Would to God this
+was the greatest evil of those which torment me!" It was long before he
+allowed himself to be persuaded to see his daughter and grandson. The
+son-in-law never again dared to come into his presence.
+
+On this excellent but unfortunate man my visits had a very favorable
+effect; for while he liked to converse with me, and particularly
+instructed me on world and state affairs, he seemed to feel himself
+relieved and cheered. The few old friends who still gathered round him,
+often, therefore, made use of me when they wished to soften his peevish
+humor, and persuade him to any diversion. He now really rode out with us
+many times, and again contemplated the country, on which he had not cast
+an eye for so many years. He called to mind the old landowners, and told
+stories of their characters and actions, in which he showed himself
+always severe, but often cheerful and witty. We now tried also to bring
+him again among other men, which, however, nearly turned out badly.
+
+About the same age, if indeed not older, was one Herr Von Malapert, a
+rich man, who possessed a very handsome house by the horse-market, and
+derived a good income from salt-pits. He also lived quite secluded; but
+in summer he was a great deal in his garden, near the Bockenheim gate,
+where he watched and tended a very fine plot of pinks.
+
+Von Reineck was likewise an amateur of pinks: the season of flowering
+had come, and suggestions were made as to whether these two could not
+visit each other. We introduced the matter, and persisted in it; till at
+last Von Reineck resolved to go out with us one Sunday afternoon. The
+greeting of the two old gentlemen was very laconic, indeed almost
+pantomimic; and they walked up and down by the long pink frames with
+true diplomatic strides. The display was really extraordinarily
+beautiful: and the particular forms and colors of the different flowers,
+the advantages of one over the other, and their rarity, gave at last
+occasion to a sort of conversation which appeared to get quite friendly;
+at which we others rejoiced the more because we saw the most precious
+old Rhine wine in cut decanters, fine fruits, and other good things
+spread upon a table in a neighboring bower. But these, alas! we were not
+to enjoy. For Von Reineck unfortunately saw a very fine pink with its
+head somewhat hanging down: he therefore took the stalk near the calyx
+very cautiously between his fore and middle fingers, and lifted the
+flower so that he could well inspect it. But even this gentle handling
+vexed the owner. Von Malapert courteously, indeed, but stiffly enough,
+and somewhat self-complacently, reminded him of the /Oculis, non
+manibus/.[Footnote: Eyes, not hands.--TRANS.] Von Reineck had already
+let go the flower, but at once took fire at the words, and said in his
+usual dry, serious manner, that it was quite consistent with an amateur
+to touch and examine them in such a manner. Whereupon he repeated the
+act, and took the flower again between his fingers. The friends of both
+parties--for Von Malapert also had one present--were now in the greatest
+perplexity. They set one hare to catch another (that was our proverbial
+expression, when a conversation was to be interrupted, and turned to
+another subject), but it would not do; the old gentleman had become
+quite silent: and we feared every moment that Von Reineck would repeat
+the act, when it would be all over with us. The two friends kept their
+principals apart by occupying them, now here, now there, and at last we
+found it most expedient to make preparation for departure. Thus, alas!
+we were forced to turn our backs on the inviting side-board, yet
+unenjoyed.
+
+Hofrath Huesgen, not born in Frankfort, of the Reformed [Footnote: That
+is to say, he was a Calvinist, as distinguished from a Lutheran.--
+TRANS.] religion, and therefore incapable of public office, including
+the profession of advocate, which, however, because much confidence was
+placed in him as an excellent jurist, he managed to exercise quietly,
+both in the Frankfort and the imperial courts, under assumed signatures,
+was already sixty years old when I took writing-lessons with his son,
+and so came into his house. His figure was tall without being thin, and
+broad without corpulency. You could not look, for the first time, on his
+face, which was not only disfigured by small-pox, but deprived of an
+eye, without apprehension. He always wore on his bald head a perfectly
+white bell-shaped cap, tied at the top with a ribbon. His morning-gowns,
+of calamanco or damask, were always very clean. He dwelt in a very
+cheerful suite of rooms on the ground-floor by the /Allée/, and the
+neatness of every thing about him corresponded with this cheerfulness.
+The perfect arrangement of his papers, books, and maps produced a
+favorable impression. His son, Heinrich Sebastian, afterwards known by
+various writings on art, gave little promise in his youth. Good-natured
+but dull, not rude but blunt, and without any special liking for
+instruction, he rather sought to avoid the presence of his father, as he
+could get all he wanted from his mother. I, on the other hand, grew more
+and more intimate with the old man, the more I knew of him. As he
+attended only to important cases, he had time enough to occupy and amuse
+himself in another manner. I had not long frequented his house, and
+heard his doctrines, before I could well perceive that he stood in
+opposition to God and the world. One of his favorite books was "Agrippa
+de Vanitate Scientiarum," which he especially commended to me, and so
+set my young brains in a considerable whirl for a long time. In the
+happiness of youth I was inclined to a sort of optimism, and had again
+pretty well reconciled myself with God or the gods; for the experience
+of a series of years had taught me that there was much to counterbalance
+evil, that one can well recover from misfortune, and that one may be
+saved from dangers and need not always break one's neck. I looked with
+tolerance, too, on what men did and pursued, and found many things
+worthy of praise which my old gentleman could not by any means abide.
+Indeed, once when he had sketched the world to me, rather from the
+distorted side, I observed from his appearance that he meant to close
+the game with an important trump-card. He shut tight his blind left eye,
+as he was wont to do in such cases, looked sharp out of the other, and
+said in a nasal voice, "Even in God I discover defects."
+
+My Timonic mentor was also a mathematician; but his practical turn drove
+him to mechanics, though he did not work himself. A clock, wonderful
+indeed in those days, which indicated, not only the days and hours, but
+the motions of the sun and moon, he caused to be made according to his
+own plan. On Sunday, about ten o'clock in the morning, he always wound
+it up himself; which he could do the more regularly, as he never went to
+church. I never saw company nor guests at his house; and only twice in
+ten years do I remember to have seen him dressed, and walking out of
+doors.
+
+My various conversations with these men were not insignificant, and each
+of them influenced me in his own way. From every one I had as much
+attention as his own children, if not more; and each strove to increase
+his delight in me as in a beloved son, while he aspired to mould me into
+his moral counterpart. Olenschlager would have made me a courtier, Von
+Reineck a diplomatic man of business: both, the latter particularly,
+sought to disgust me with poetry and authorship. Huisgen wished me to be
+a Timon after his fashion, but, at the same time, an able jurisconsult,
+--a necessary profession, as he thought, with which one could, in a
+regular manner, defend one's self and friends against the rabble of
+mankind, succor the oppressed, and, above all, pay off a rogue; though
+the last is neither especially practicable nor advisable.
+
+But if I liked to be at the side of these men to profit by their
+counsels and directions, younger persons, only a little older than
+myself, roused me to immediate emulation. I name here, before all
+others, the brothers Schlosser and Griesbach. But as, subsequently,
+there arose between us greater intimacy, which lasted for many years
+uninterruptedly, I will only say, for the present, that they were then
+praised as being distinguished in languages, and other studies which
+opened the academical course, and held up as models, and that everybody
+cherished the certain expectation that they would once do something
+uncommon in church and state.
+
+With respect to myself, I also had it in my mind to produce something
+extraordinary; but in what it was to consist was not clear. But as we
+are apt to look rather to the reward which may be received than to the
+merit which is to be acquired; so, I do not deny, that if I thought of a
+desirable piece of good fortune, it appeared to me most fascinating in
+the shape of that laurel garland which is woven to adorn the poet.
+
+
+
+ FIFTH BOOK.
+
+Every bird has its decoy, and every man is led and misled in a way
+peculiar to himself. Nature, education, circumstances, and habit kept me
+apart from all that was rude; and though I often came into contact with
+the lower classes of people, particularly mechanics, no close connection
+grew out of it. I had indeed boldness enough to undertake something
+uncommon and perhaps dangerous, and many times felt disposed to do so;
+but I was without the handle by which to grasp and hold it.
+
+Meanwhile I was quite unexpectedly involved in an affair which brought
+me near to a great hazard, and at least for a long time into perplexity
+and distress. The good terms on which I before stood with the boy whom I
+have already named Pylades was maintained up to the time of my youth. We
+indeed saw each other less often, because our parents did not stand on
+the best footing with each other; but, when we did meet, the old
+raptures of friendship broke out immediately. Once we met in the alleys
+which offer a very agreeable walk between the outer and inner gate of
+Saint Gallus. We had scarcely returned greetings when he said to me, "I
+hold to the same opinion as ever about your verses. Those which you
+recently communicated to me, I read aloud to some pleasant companions;
+and not one of them will believe that you have made them."--"Let it
+pass," I answered: "we will make and enjoy them, and the others may
+think and say of them what they please."
+
+"There comes the unbeliever now," added my friend. "We will not speak of
+it," I replied: "what is the use of it? one cannot convert them."--"By
+no means," said my friend: "I cannot let the affair pass off in this
+way."
+
+After a short, insignificant conversation, my young comrade, who was but
+too well disposed towards me, could not suffer the matter to drop,
+without saying to the other, with some resentment, "Here is my friend
+who made those pretty verses, for which you will not give him credit!"--
+"He will certainly not take it amiss," answered the other; "for we do
+him an honor when we suppose that more learning is required to make such
+verses than one of his years can possess." I replied with something
+indifferent; but my friend continued, "It will not cost much labor to
+convince you. Give him any theme, and he will make you a poem on the
+spot." I assented; we were agreed; and the other asked me whether I
+would venture to compose a pretty love-letter in rhyme, which a modest
+young woman might be supposed to write to a young man, to declare her
+inclination. "Nothing is easier than that," I answered, "if I only had
+writing materials." He pulled out his pocket almanac, in which there
+were a great many blank leaves; and I sat down upon a bench to write.
+They walked about in the mean while, but always kept me in sight. I
+immediately brought the required situation before my mind, and thought
+how agreeable it must be if some pretty girl were really attached to me,
+and would reveal her sentiments to me, either in prose or verse. I
+therefore began my declaration with delight, and in a little while
+executed it in a flowing measure, between doggerel and madrigal, with
+the greatest possible /naiveté/, and in such a way that the sceptic
+was overcome with admiration, and my friend with delight. The request of
+the former to possess the poem I could the less refuse, as it was
+written in his almanac; and I liked to see the documentary evidence of
+my capabilities in his hands. He departed with many assurances of
+admiration and respect, and wished for nothing more than that we should
+often meet; so we settled soon to go together into the country.
+
+Our excursion actually took place, and was joined by several more young
+people of the same rank. They were men of the middle, or, if you please,
+of the lower, class, who were not wanting in brains, and who, moreover,
+as they had gone through school, were possessed of various knowledge and
+a certain degree of culture. In a large, rich city, there are many modes
+of gaining a livelihood. These eked out a living by copying for the
+lawyers, and by advancing the children of the lower order more than is
+usual in common schools. With grown-up children, who were about to be
+confirmed, they went through the religious courses; then, again, they
+assisted factors and merchants in some way, and were thus enabled to
+enjoy themselves frugally in the evenings, and particularly on Sundays
+and festivals.
+
+On the way there, while they highly extolled my love-letter, they
+confessed to me that they had made a very merry use of it; viz., that it
+had been copied in a feigned hand, and, with a few pertinent allusions,
+had been sent to a conceited young man, who was now firmly persuaded
+that a lady to whom he had paid distant court was excessively enamored
+of him, and sought an opportunity for closer acquaintance. They at the
+same time told me in confidence, that he desired nothing more now than
+to be able to answer her in verse; but that neither he nor they were
+skilful enough, so that they earnestly solicited me to compose the much-
+desired reply.
+
+Mystifications are and will continue to be an amusement for idle people,
+whether more or less ingenious. A venial wickedness, a self-complacent
+malice, is an enjoyment for those who have neither resources in
+themselves nor a wholesome external activity. No age is quite exempt
+from such pruriences. We had often tricked each other in our childish
+years: many sports turn upon mystification and trick. The present jest
+did not seem to me to go farther: I gave my consent. They imparted to me
+many particulars which the letter ought to contain, and we brought it
+home already finished.
+
+A little while afterwards I was urgently invited, through my friend, to
+take part in one of the evening-feasts of that society. The lover, he
+said, was willing to bear the expense on this occasion, and desired
+expressly to thank the friend who had shown himself so excellent a
+poetical secretary.
+
+We came together late enough, the meal was most frugal, the wine
+drinkable; while, as for the conversation, it turned almost entirely on
+jokes upon the young man, who was present, and certainly not very
+bright, and who, after repeated readings of the letter, almost believed
+that he had written it himself.
+
+My natural good nature would not allow me to take much pleasure in such
+a malicious deception, and the repetition of the same subject soon
+disgusted me. I should certainly have passed a tedious evening, if an
+unexpected apparition had not revived me. On our arrival we found the
+table already neatly and orderly set, and sufficient wine served on it:
+we sat down and remained alone, without requiring further service. As
+there was, however, a scarcity of wine at last, one of them called for
+the maid; but, instead of the maid, there came in a girl of uncommon,
+and, when one saw her with all around her, of incredible, beauty. "What
+do you desire?" she asked, after having cordially wished us a good-
+evening: "the maid is ill in bed. Can I serve you?"--"The wine is out,"
+said one: "if you would fetch us a few bottles, it would be very kind."--
+"Do it, Gretchen," [Footnote: The diminutive of Margaret.--TRANS.] said
+another: "it is but a cat's leap from here."--"Why not?" she answered;
+and, taking a few empty bottles from the table, she hastened out. Her
+form, as seen from behind, was almost more elegant. The little cap sat
+so neatly upon her little head, which a slender throat united very
+gracefully to her neck and shoulders. Every thing about her seemed
+choice; and one could survey her whole form the more at ease, as one's
+attention was no more exclusively attracted and fettered by the quiet,
+honest eyes and lovely mouth. I reproved my comrades for sending the
+girl out alone at night, but they only laughed at me; and I was soon
+consoled by her return, as the publican lived only just across the way.
+"Sit down with us, in return," said one. She did so; but, alas! she did
+not come near me. She drank a glass to our health, and speedily
+departed, advising us not to stay very long together, and not to be so
+noisy, as her mother was just going to bed. It was not, however, her own
+mother, but the mother of our hosts.
+
+The form of that girl followed me from that moment on every path; it was
+the first durable impression which a female being had made upon me: and
+as I could find no pretext to see her at home, and would not seek one, I
+went to church for love of her, and had soon traced out where she sat.
+Thus, during the long Protestant service, I gazed my fill at her. When
+the congregation left the church, I did not venture to accost her, much
+less to accompany her, and was perfectly delighted if she seemed to have
+remarked me and to have returned my greeting with a nod. Yet I was not
+long denied the happiness of approaching her. They had persuaded the
+lover, whose poetical secretary I had been, that the letter written in
+his name had been actually despatched to the lady, and had strained to
+the utmost his expectations that an answer must come soon. This, also, I
+was to write; and the waggish company entreated me earnestly, through
+Pylades, to exert all my wit and employ all my art, in order that this
+piece might be quite elegant and perfect.
+
+In the hope of again seeing my beauty, I immediately set to work, and
+thought of every thing that would be in the highest degree pleasing if
+Gretchen were writing it to me. I thought I had composed every thing so
+completely according to her form, her nature, her manner, and her mind,
+that I could not refrain from wishing that it were so in reality, and
+lost myself in rapture at the mere thought that something similar could
+be sent from her to me. Thus I mystified myself, while I intended to
+impose upon another; and much joy and much trouble was yet to arise out
+of the affair. When I was once more summoned, I had finished, promised
+to come, and did not fail at the appointed hour. There was only one of
+the young people at home; Gretchen sat at the window spinning; the
+mother was going to and fro. The young man desired that I should read it
+over to him: I did so, and read, not without emotion, as I glanced over
+the paper at the beautiful girl; and when I fancied that I remarked a
+certain uneasiness in her deportment, and a gentle flush on her cheeks,
+I uttered better and with more animation that which I wished to hear
+from herself. The lover, who had often interrupted me with
+commendations, at last entreated me to make some alterations. These
+affected some passages which indeed were rather suited to the condition
+of Gretchen than to that of the lady, who was of a good family, wealthy,
+and known and respected in the city. After the young man had designated
+the desired changes, and had brought me an inkstand, but had taken leave
+for a short time on account of some business, I remained sitting on the
+bench against the wall, behind the large table, and essayed the
+alterations that were to be made, on the large slate, which almost
+covered the whole table, with a pencil that always lay in the window;
+because upon this slate reckonings were often made, and various
+memoranda noted down, and those coming in or going out even communicated
+with each other.
+
+I had for a while written different things and rubbed them out again,
+when I exclaimed impatiently, "It will not do!"--"So much the better,"
+said the dear girl in a grave tone: "I wished that it might not do! You
+should not meddle in such matters." She arose from the distaff, and,
+stepping towards the table, gave me a severe lecture, with a great deal
+of good sense and kindliness. "The thing seems an innocent jest: it is a
+jest, but it is not innocent. I have already lived to see several cases,
+in which our young people, for the sake of such mere mischief, have
+brought themselves into great difficulty."--"But what shall I do?" I
+asked: "the letter is written, and they rely upon me to alter it."--
+"Trust me," she replied, "and do not alter it; nay, take it back, put it
+in your pocket, go away, and try to make the matter straight through
+your friend. I will also put in a word; for look you, though I am a poor
+girl, and dependent upon these relations,--who indeed do nothing bad,
+though they often, for the sake of sport or profit, undertake a good
+deal that is rash,--I have resisted them, and would not copy the first
+letter, as they requested. They transcribed it in a feigned hand; and,
+if it is not otherwise, so may they also do with this. And you, a young
+man of good family, rich, independent, why will you allow yourself to be
+used as a tool in a business which can certainly bring no good to you,
+and may possibly bring much that is unpleasant? "It made me very happy
+to hear her speak thus continuously, for generally she introduced but
+few words into conversation. My liking for her grew incredibly. I was
+not master of myself, and replied, "I am not so independent as you
+suppose; and of what use is wealth to me, when the most precious thing I
+can desire is wanting?"
+
+She had drawn my sketch of the poetic epistle towards her, and read it
+half aloud in a sweet and graceful manner.
+
+"That is very pretty," said she, stopping at a sort of /naïve/
+point; "but it is a pity that it is not destined for a real purpose."--
+"That were indeed very desirable," I cried; "and, oh! how happy must he
+be, who receives from a girl he infinitely loves, such an assurance of
+her affection."--"There is much required for that," she answered, "and
+yet many things are possible."--"For example," I continued, "if any one
+who knew, prized, honored, and adored you, laid such a paper before you,
+what would you do?" I pushed the paper nearer to her, which she had
+previously pushed back to me. She smiled, reflected for a moment, took
+the pen, and subscribed her name. I was beside myself with rapture,
+jumped up, and was going to embrace her. "No kissing!" said she, "that
+is so vulgar; but let us love if we can." I had taken up the paper, and
+thrust it into my pocket. "No one shall ever get it," said I: "the
+affair is closed. You have saved me."--"Now complete the salvation," she
+exclaimed, "and hurry off, before the others arrive, and you fall into
+trouble and embarrassment!" I could not tear myself away from her; but
+she asked me in so kindly a manner, while she took my right hand in both
+of hers, and lovingly pressed it! The tears stood in my eyes: I thought
+hers looked moist. I pressed my face upon her hands, and hastened away.
+Never in my life had I found myself in such perplexity.
+
+The first propensities to love in an uncorrupted youth take altogether a
+spiritual direction. Nature seems to desire that one sex may by the
+senses perceive goodness and beauty in the other. And thus to me, by the
+sight of this girl,--by my strong inclination for her,--a new world of
+the beautiful and the excellent had arisen. I perused my poetical
+epistle a hundred times, gazed at the signature, kissed it, pressed it
+to my heart, and rejoiced in this amiable confession. But the more my
+transports increased, the more did it pain me not to be able to visit
+her immediately, and to see and converse with her again; for I dreaded
+the reproofs and importunities of her cousins. The good Pylades, who
+might have arranged the affair, I could not contrive to meet. The next
+Sunday, therefore, I set out for Niederrad, where these associates
+generally used to go, and actually found them there. I was, however,
+greatly surprised, when, instead of behaving in a cross, distant manner,
+they came up to me with joyful countenances. The youngest particularly
+was very kind, took me by the hand, and said, "You have lately played us
+a sorry trick, and we were very angry with you; but your absconding and
+taking away the poetical epistle has suggested a good thought to us,
+which otherwise might never have occurred. By way of atonement, you may
+treat us to-day; and you shall learn at the same time the notion we
+have, which will certainly give you pleasure." This harangue caused me
+no small embarrassment, for I had about me only money enough to regale
+myself and a friend: but to treat a whole company, and especially one
+which did not always stop at the right time, I was by no means prepared;
+nay, the proposal astonished me the more, as they had always insisted,
+in the most honorable manner, that each one should pay only his own
+share. They smiled at my distress; and the youngest proceeded, "Let us
+first take a seat in the bower, and then you shall learn more." We sat
+down; and he said, "When you had taken the love-letter with you, we
+talked the whole affair over again, and came to a conclusion that we had
+gratuitously misused your talent to the vexation of others and our own
+danger, for the sake of a mere paltry love of mischief, when we could
+have employed it to the advantage of all of us. See, I have here an
+order for a wedding-poem, as well as for a dirge. The second must be
+ready immediately, the other can wait a week. Now, if you make these,
+which is easy for you, you will treat us twice; and we shall long remain
+your debtors." This proposal pleased me in every respect; for I had
+already in my childhood looked with a certain envy on the occasional
+poems, [Footnote: That is to say, a poem written for a certain occasion,
+as a wedding, funeral, etc. The German word is
+/Gelegenheitsgedicht/."--TRANS.]--of which then several circulated
+every week, and at respectable marriages especially came to light by the
+dozen,--because I thought I could make such things as well, nay, better
+than others. Now an opportunity was offered me to show myself, and
+especially to see myself in print. I did not appear disinclined. They
+acquainted me with the personal particulars and the position of the
+family: I went somewhat aside, made my plan, and produced some stanzas.
+However, when I returned to the company, and the wine was not spared,
+the poem began to halt; and I could not deliver it that evening. "There
+is still time till to-morrow evening," they said; "and we will confess
+to you that the fee which we receive for the dirge is enough to get us
+another pleasant evening to-morrow. Come to us; for it is but fair that
+Gretchen, too, should sup with us, as it was she properly who gave us
+the notion." My joy was unspeakable. On my way home I had only the
+remaining stanzas in my head, wrote down the whole before I went to
+sleep, and the next morning made a very neat, fair copy. The day seemed
+infinitely long to me; and scarcely was it dusk, than I found myself
+again in the narrow little dwelling beside the dearest of girls.
+
+The young people, with whom in this way I formed a closer and closer
+connection, were not exactly of a low, but of an ordinary, type. Their
+activity was commendable, and I listened to them with pleasure when they
+spoke of the manifold ways and means by which one could gain a living:
+above all, they loved to tell of people, now very rich, who had begun
+with nothing. Others to whom they referred had, as poor clerks, rendered
+themselves indispensable to their employers, and had finally risen to be
+their sons-in-law; while others had so enlarged and improved a little
+trade in matches and the like, that they were now prosperous merchants
+and tradesmen. But above all, to young men who were active on their
+feet, the trade of agent and factor, and the undertaking of all sorts of
+commissions and charges for helpless rich men was, they said, a most
+profitable means of gaining a livelihood. We all liked to hear this; and
+each one fancied himself somebody, when he imagined, at the moment, that
+there was enough in him, not only to get on in the world, but to acquire
+an extraordinary fortune. But no one seemed to carry on this
+conversation more earnestly than Pylades, who at last confessed that he
+had an extraordinary passion for a girl, and was actually engaged to
+her. The circumstances of his parents would not allow him to go to
+universities; but he had endeavored to acquire a fine handwriting, a
+knowledge of accounts and the modern languages, and would now do his
+best in hopes of attaining that domestic felicity. His fellows praised
+him for this, although they did not approve of a premature engagement;
+and they added, that while forced to acknowledge him to be a fine, good
+fellow, they did not consider him active or enterprising enough to do
+any thing extraordinary. While he, in vindication of himself,
+circumstantially set forth what he thought himself fit for, and how he
+was going to begin, the others were also incited; and each one began to
+tell what he was now able to do, doing, or carrying on, what he had
+already accomplished, and what he saw immediately before him. The turn
+at last came to me. I was to set forth my course of life and prospects;
+and, while I was considering, Pylades said, "I make this one proviso,
+lest we be at too great a disadvantage, that he does not bring into the
+account the external advantages of his position. He should rather tell
+us a tale how he would proceed if at this moment he were thrown entirely
+upon his own resources, as we are."
+
+Gretchen, who till this moment had kept on spinning, rose, and seated
+herself as usual at the end of the table. We had already emptied some
+bottles, and I began to relate the hypothetical history of my life in
+the best humor. "First of all, then, I commend myself to you," said I,
+"that you may continue the custom you have begun to bestow on me. If you
+gradually procure me the profit of all the occasional poems, and we do
+not consume them in mere feasting, I shall soon come to something. But
+then, you must not take it ill if I dabble also in your handicraft."
+Upon this, I told them what I had observed in their occupations, and for
+which I held myself fit at any rate. Each one had previously rated his
+services in money, and I asked them to assist me also in completing my
+establishment. Gretchen had listened to all hitherto very attentively,
+and that in a position which well suited her, whether she chose to hear
+or to speak. With both hands she clasped her folded arms, and rested
+them on the edge of the table. Thus she could sit a long while without
+moving any thing but her head, which was never done without some
+occasion or meaning. She had several times put in a word, and helped us
+on over this and that, when we halted in our projects, and then was
+again still and quiet as usual. I kept her in my eye, and it may readily
+be supposed that I had not devised and uttered my plan without reference
+to her. My passion for her gave to what I said such an air of truth and
+probability, that, for a moment, I deceived myself, imagined myself as
+lonely and helpless as my story supposed, and felt extremely happy in
+the prospect of possessing her. Pylades had closed his confession with
+marriage; and the question arose among the rest of us, whether our plans
+went as far as that. "I have not the least doubt on that score," said I;
+"for properly a wife is necessary to every one of us, in order to
+preserve at home, and enable us to enjoy as a whole, what we rake
+together abroad in such an odd way." I then made a sketch of a wife,
+such as I wished; and it must have turned out strangely if she had not
+been a perfect counterpart of Gretchen.
+
+The dirge was consumed; the epithalamium now stood beneficially at hand:
+I overcame all fear and care, and contrived, as I had many
+acquaintances, to conceal my actual evening entertainments from my
+family. To see and to be near the dear girl was soon an indispensable
+condition of my being. The friends had grown just as accustomed to me,
+and we were almost daily together, as if it could not be otherwise.
+Pylades had, in the mean time, introduced his fair one into the house;
+and this pair passed many an evening with us. They, as bride and
+bridegroom, though still very much in the bud, did not conceal their
+tenderness: Gretchen's deportment towards me was only suited to keep me
+at a distance. She gave her hand to no one, not even to me; she allowed
+no touch: yet she many times seated herself near me, particularly when I
+wrote, or read aloud, and then, laying her arm familiarly upon my
+shoulder, she looked over the book or paper. If, however, I ventured to
+take on a similar liberty with her, she withdrew, and did not return
+very soon. This position she often repeated; and, indeed, all her
+attitudes and motions were very uniform, but always equally becoming,
+beautiful, and charming. But such a familiarity I never saw her practise
+towards anybody else.
+
+One of the most innocent, and, at the same time, amusing, parties of
+pleasure in which I engaged with different companies of young people,
+was this,--that we seated ourselves in the Höchst market-ship, observed
+the strange passengers packed away in it, and bantered and teased, now
+this one, now that, as pleasure or caprice prompted. At Höchst we got
+out at the time when the market-boat from Mentz arrived. At a hotel
+there was a well-spread table, where the better sort of travellers,
+coming and going, ate with each other, and then proceeded, each on his
+way, as both ships returned. Every time, after dining, we sailed up to
+Frankfort, having, with a very large company, made the cheapest water-
+excursion that was possible. Once I had undertaken this journey with
+Gretchen's cousins, when a young man joined us at table in Hochst, who
+might be a little older than we were. They knew him, and he got himself
+introduced to me. He had something very pleasing in his manner, though
+he was not otherwise distinguished. Coming from Mentz, he now went back
+with us to Frankfort, and conversed with me of every thing that related
+to the internal arrangements of the city, and the public offices and
+places, on which he seemed to me to be very well informed. When we
+separated, he bade me farewell, and added, that he wished I might think
+well of him, as he hoped on occasion to avail himself of my
+recommendation. I did not know what he meant by this, but the cousins
+enlightened me some days after. They spoke well of him, and asked me to
+intercede with my grandfather, as a moderate appointment was just now
+vacant, which this friend would like to obtain. I at first wished to be
+excused, as I had never meddled in such affairs; but they went on urging
+me until I resolved to do it. I had already many times remarked, that in
+these grants of offices, which unfortunately were regarded as matters of
+favor, the mediation of my grandmother or an aunt had not been without
+effect. I was now so advanced as to arrogate some influence to myself.
+For that reason, to gratify my friends, who declared themselves under
+every sort of obligation for such a kindness, I overcame the timidity of
+a grandchild, and undertook to deliver a written application that was
+handed in to me.
+
+One Sunday, after dinner, while my grandfather was busy in his garden,
+all the more because autumn was approaching, and I tried to assist him
+on every side, I came forward with my request and the petition, after
+some hesitation. He looked at it, and asked me whether I knew the young
+man. I told him in general terms what was to be said, and he let the
+matter rest there. "If he has merit, and, moreover, good testimonials, I
+will favor him for your sake and his own." He said no more, and for a
+long while I heard nothing of the matter.
+
+For some time I had observed that Gretchen was no longer spinning, but
+instead was employed in sewing, and that, too, on very fine work, which
+surprised me the more, as the days were already shortening, and winter
+was coming on. I thought no further about it; only it troubled me that
+several times I had not found her at home in the morning as formerly,
+and could not learn, without importunity, whither she had gone. Yet I
+was destined one day to be surprised in a very odd manner. My sister,
+who was getting herself ready for a ball, asked me to fetch her some so-
+called Italian flowers, at a fashionable milliner's. They were made in
+convents, and were small and pretty: myrtles especially, dwarf-roses,
+and the like, came out quite beautifully and naturally. I did her the
+favor, and went to the shop where I had been with her often already.
+Hardly had I entered, and greeted the proprietress, than I saw sitting
+in the window a lady, who, in a lace cap, looked very young and pretty,
+and in a silk mantilla seemed very well shaped. I could easily recognize
+that she was an assistant, for she was occupied in fastening a ribbon
+and feathers upon a hat. The milliner showed me the long box with single
+flowers of various sorts. I looked them over, and, as I made my choice,
+glanced again towards the lady in the window; but how great was my
+astonishment when I perceived an incredible similarity to Gretchen, nay,
+was forced to be convinced at last that it was Gretchen herself. Nor
+could I doubt any longer, when she winked with her eyes, and gave me a
+sign that I must not betray our acquaintance. I now, with my choosing
+and rejecting, drove the milliner into despair more than even a lady
+could have done. I had, in fact, no choice; for I was excessively
+confused, and at the same time liked to linger, because it kept me near
+the girl, whose disguise annoyed me, though in that disguise she
+appeared to me more enchanting than ever. Finally the milliner seemed to
+lose all patience, and with her own hands selected for me a whole
+bandbox full of flowers, which I was to place before my sister, and let
+her choose for herself. Thus I was, as it were, driven out of the shop,
+she sending the box in advance by one of her girls.
+
+Scarcely had I reached home than my father caused me to be called, and
+communicated to me that it was now quite certain that the Archduke
+Joseph would be elected and crowned king of Rome. An event so highly
+important was not to be expected without preparation, nor allowed to
+pass with mere gaping and staring. He wished, therefore, he said, to go
+through with me the election and coronation diaries of the two last
+coronations, as well as through the last capitulations of election, in
+order to remark what new conditions might be added in the present
+instance. The diaries were opened, and we occupied ourselves with them
+the whole day till far into the night; while the pretty girl, sometimes
+in her old house-dress, sometimes in her new costume, ever hovered
+before me, backwards and forwards among the most august objects of the
+Holy Roman Empire. This evening it was impossible to see her, and I lay
+awake through a very restless night. The study of yesterday was the next
+day zealously resumed; and it was not till towards evening that I found
+it possible to visit my fair one, whom I met again in her usual house-
+dress. She smiled when she saw me, but I did not venture to mention any
+thing before the others. When the whole company sat quietly together
+again, she began, and said, "It is unfair that you do not confide to our
+friend what we have lately resolved upon." She then continued to relate,
+that after our late conversation, in which the discussion was how any
+one could get on in the world, something was also said of the way in
+which a woman could enhance the value of her talent and labor, and
+advantageously employ her time. The cousin had consequently proposed
+that she should make an experiment at a milliner's, who was just then in
+want of an assistant. They had, she said, arranged with the woman: she
+went there so many hours a day, and was well paid; but she would there
+be obliged, for propriety's sake, to conform to a certain dress, which,
+however, she left behind her every time, as it did not at all suit her
+other modes of life and employment. I was indeed set at rest by this
+declaration; but it did not quite please me to know that the pretty girl
+was in a public shop, and at a place where the fashionable world found a
+convenient resort. But I betrayed nothing, and strove to work off my
+jealous care in silence. For this the younger cousin did not allow me a
+long time, as he once more came forward with a proposal for an
+occasional poem, told me all the personalities, and at once desired me
+to prepare myself for the invention and disposition of the work. He had
+spoken with me several times already concerning the proper treatment of
+such a theme; and, as I was voluble in these cases, he readily asked me
+to explain to him, circumstantially, what is rhetorical in these things,
+to give him a notion of the matter, and to make use of my own and
+others' labors in this kind for examples. The young man had some brains,
+but not a trace of a poetical vein; and now he went so much into
+particulars, and wished to have such an account of every thing, that I
+gave utterance to the remark, "It seems as if you wanted to encroach
+upon my trade, and take away my customers!"--"I will not deny it," said
+he, smiling, "as I shall do you no harm by it. This will only continue
+to the time when you go to the university, and till then you must allow
+me still to profit something by your society."--"Most cordially," I
+replied; and I encouraged him to draw out a plan, to choose a metre
+according to the character of his subject, and to do whatever else might
+seem necessary. He went to work in earnest, but did not succeed. I was
+in the end compelled to re-write so much of it, that I could more easily
+and better have written it all from the beginning myself. Yet this
+teaching and learning, this mutual labor, afforded us good
+entertainment. Gretchen took part in it, and had many a pretty notion;
+so that we were all pleased, we may, indeed, say happy. During the day
+she worked at the milliner's: in the evenings we generally met together,
+and our contentment was not even disturbed when at last the commissions
+for occasional poems began to leave off. Still we felt hurt once, when
+one of them came back under protest, because it did not suit the party
+who ordered it. We consoled ourselves, however, as we considered it our
+very best work, and could, therefore, declare the other a bad judge. The
+cousin, who was determined to learn something at any rate, resorted to
+the expedient of inventing problems, in the solution of which we always
+found amusement enough; but, as they brought in nothing, our little
+banquets had to be much more frugally managed.
+
+That great political object, the election and coronation of a king of
+Rome, was pursued with more and more earnestness. The assembling of the
+electoral college, originally appointed to take place at Augsburg in the
+October of 1763, was now transferred to Frankfort; and both at the end
+of this year and in the beginning of the next, preparations went forward
+which should usher in this important business. The beginning was made by
+a parade never yet seen by us. One of our chancery officials on
+horseback, escorted by four trumpeters likewise mounted, and surrounded
+by a guard of infantry, read in a loud, clear voice at all the corners
+of the city, a prolix edict, which announced the forthcoming
+proceedings, and exhorted the citizens to a becoming deportment suitable
+to the circumstances. The council was occupied with weighty
+considerations; and it was not long before the Imperial quartermaster,
+despatched by the hereditary grand marshal, made his appearance, in
+order to arrange and designate the residences of the ambassadors and
+their suites, according to the old custom. Our house lay in the Palatine
+district, and we had to provide for a new but agreeable billetting. The
+middle story, which Count Thorane had formerly occupied, was given up to
+a cavalier of the Palatinate; and as Baron von Königsthal, the Nuremburg
+/chargé-d'affaires/, occupied the upper floor, we were still more
+crowded than in the time of the French. This served me as a new pretext
+for being out of doors, and to pass the greater part of the day in the
+streets, that I might see all that was open to public view.
+
+After the preliminary alteration and arrangement of the rooms in the
+town-house had seemed to us worth seeing; after the arrival of the
+ambassadors one after another, and their first solemn ascent in a body,
+on the 6th of February, had taken place,--we admired the coming in of
+the imperial commissioners, and their ascent also to the /Romer/,
+which was made with great pomp. The dignified person of the Prince of
+Lichtenstein made a good impression; yet connoisseurs maintained that
+the showy liveries had already been used on another occasion, and that
+this election and coronation would hardly equal in brilliancy that of
+Charles the Seventh. We younger folks were content with what was before
+our eyes: all seemed to us very fine, and much of it perfectly
+astonishing.
+
+The electoral congress was fixed at last for the 3d of March. New
+formalities again set the city in motion, and the alternate visits of
+ceremony on the part of the ambassadors kept us always on our legs. We
+were, moreover, compelled to watch closely; as we were not only to gape
+about, but to note every thing well, in order to give a proper report at
+home, and even to make out many little memoirs, on which my father and
+Herr von Königsthal had deliberated, partly for our exercise and partly
+for their own information. And certainly this was of peculiar advantage
+to me; as I was enabled very tolerably to keep a living election and
+coronation diary, as far as regarded externals.
+
+The person who first of all made a durable impression upon me was the
+chief ambassador from the electorate of Mentz, Baron von Erthal,
+afterwards elector. Without having any thing striking in his figure, he
+was always highly pleasing to me in his black gown trimmed with lace.
+The second ambassador, Baron von Groschlag, was a well-formed man of the
+world, easy in his exterior, but conducting himself with great decorum.
+He everywhere produced a very agreeable impression. Prince Esterhazy,
+the Bohemian envoy, was not tall, though well formed, lively, and at the
+same time eminently decorous, without pride or coldness. I had a special
+liking for him, because he reminded me of Marshal de Broglio. Yet the
+form and dignity of these excellent persons vanished, in a certain
+degree, before the prejudice that was entertained in favor of Baron von
+Plotho, the Brandenburg ambassador. This man, who was distinguished by a
+certain parsimony, both in his own clothes and in his liveries and
+equipages, had been greatly renowned, from the time of the Seven Years'
+War, as a diplomatic hero. At Ratisbon, when the Notary April thought,
+in the presence of witnesses, to serve him with the declaration of
+outlawry which had been issued against his king, he had, with the laconic
+exclamation, "What! you serve?" thrown him, or caused him to be thrown,
+down stairs. We believed the first, because it pleased us best; and we
+could readily believe it of the little compact man, with his black,
+fiery eyes glancing here and there. All eyes were directed towards him,
+particularly when he alighted. There arose every time a sort of joyous
+whispering; and but little was wanting to a regular explosion, or a
+shout of /Vivat! Bravo!/ So high did the king, and all who were
+devoted to him, body and soul, stand in favor with the crowd, among
+whom, besides the Frankforters, were Germans from all parts.
+
+On the one hand these things gave me much pleasure; as all that took
+place, no matter of what nature it might be, concealed a certain
+meaning, indicated some internal relation: and such symbolic ceremonies
+again, for a moment, represented as living the old Empire of Germany,
+almost choked to death by so many parchments, papers, and books. But, on
+the other hand, I could not suppress a secret displeasure, when at home,
+I had, on behalf of my father, to transcribe the internal transactions,
+and at the same time to remark that here several powers, which balanced
+each other, stood in opposition, and only so far agreed, as they
+designed to limit the new ruler even more than the old one; that every
+one valued his influence only so far as he hoped to retain or enlarge
+his privileges, and better to secure his independence. Nay, on this
+occasion they were more attentive than usual, because they began to fear
+Joseph the Second, his vehemence, and probable plans.
+
+With my grandfather and other members of the council, whose families I
+used to visit, this was no pleasant time, they had so much to do with
+meeting distinguished guests, complimenting, and the delivery of
+presents. No less had the magistrate, both in general and in particular,
+to defend himself, to resist, and to protest, as every one on such
+occasions desires to extort something from him, or burden him with
+something; and few of those to whom he appeals support him, or lend him
+their aid. In short, all that I had read in "Lersner's Chronicle" of
+similar incidents on similar occasions, with admiration of the patience
+and perseverance of those good old councilmen, came once more vividly
+before my eyes.
+
+Many vexations arise also from this, that the city is gradually overrun
+with people, both useful and needless. In vain are the courts reminded,
+on the part of the city, of prescriptions of the Golden Bull, now,
+indeed, obsolete. Not only the deputies with their attendants, but many
+persons of rank, and others who come from curiosity or for private
+objects, stand under protection; and the question as to who is to be
+billetted out, and who is to hire his own lodging, is not always decided
+at once. The tumult constantly increases; and even those who have
+nothing to give, or to answer for, begin to feel uncomfortable.
+
+Even we young people, who could quietly contemplate it all, ever found
+something which did not quite satisfy our eyes or our imagination. The
+Spanish mantles, the huge plumed hats of the ambassadors, and other
+objects here and there, had indeed a truly antique look; but there was a
+great deal, on the other hand, so half-new or entirely modern, that the
+affair assumed throughout a motley, unsatisfactory, often tasteless,
+appearance. We were, therefore, very happy to learn that great
+preparations were made on account of the journey to Frankfort of the
+emperor and future king; that the proceedings of the college of
+electors, which were based on the last electoral capitulation, were now
+going forward rapidly; and that the day of election had been appointed
+for the 27th of March. Now there was a thought of fetching the insignia
+of the empire from Nuremburg and Aix-la-Chation; while Gretchen, by her
+unbroken attention, had highly encouraged me. At last she thanked me,
+and envied, as she said, all who were informed of the affairs of this
+world, and knew how this and that came about and what it signified. She
+wished she were a boy, and managed to acknowledge, with much kindness,
+that she was indebted to me for a great deal of instruction. "If I were
+a boy," said she, "we would learn something good together at the
+university." The conversation continued in this strain: she definitively
+resolved to take instruction in French, of the absolute necessity of
+which she had become well aware in the milliner's shop. I asked her why
+she no longer went there; for during the latter times, not being able to
+go out much in the evening, I had often passed the shop during the day
+for her sake, merely to see her for a moment. She explained that she had
+not liked to expose herself there in these unsettled times. As soon as
+the city returned to its former condition, she intended to go there
+again.
+
+Then the impending day of election was the topic of conversation. I
+contrived to tell, at length, what was going to happen, and how, and to
+support my demonstrations in detail by drawings on the tablet; for I had
+the place of conclave, with its altars, thrones, seats, and chairs,
+perfectly before my mind. We separated at the proper time, and in a
+particularly comfortable frame of mind.
+
+For, with a young couple who are in any degree harmoniously formed by
+nature, nothing can conduce to a more beautiful union than when the
+maiden is anxious to learn, and the youth inclined to teach. There
+arises from it a well-grounded and agreeable relation. She sees in him
+the creator of her spiritual existence; and he sees in her a creature
+that ascribes her perfection, not to nature, not to chance, nor to any
+one-sided inclination, but to a mutual will: and this reciprocation is
+so sweet, that we cannot wonder, if, from the days of the old and the
+new [Footnote: The "/new/ Abelard" is St. Preux, in the Nouvelle
+Héloise of Rousseau.--TRANS.] Abelard, the most violent passions, and as
+much happiness as unhappiness, have arisen from such an intercourse of
+two beings.
+
+With the next day began great commotion in the city, on account of the
+visits paid and returned, which now took place with the greatest
+ceremony. But what particularly interested me, as a citizen of
+Frankfort, and gave rise to a great many reflections, was the taking of
+the oath of security (/Sicherheitseides/) by the council, the
+military, and the body of citizens, not through representatives, but
+personally and in mass: first, in the great hall of the Römer, by the
+magistracy and staff-officers; then in the great square (/Platz/),
+the Römerberg, by all the citizens, according to their respective ranks,
+gradations, or quarterings; and, lastly, by the rest of the military.
+Here one could survey at a single glance the entire commonwealth,
+assembled for the honorable purpose of swearing security to the head and
+members of the empire, and unbroken peace during the great work now
+impending. The Electors of Treves and of Cologne had now also arrived.
+On the evening before the day of election, all strangers are sent out of
+the city, the gates are closed, the Jews are confined to their quarter,
+and the citizen of Frankfort prides himself not a little that he alone
+may witness so great a solemnity.
+
+All that had hitherto taken place was tolerably modern: the highest and
+high personages moved about only in coaches, but now we were going to
+see them in the primitive manner on horseback. The concourse and rush
+were extraordinary. I managed to squeeze myself into the Römer, which I
+knew as familiarly as a mouse does the private corn-loft, till I reached
+the main entrance, before which the electors and ambassadors, who had
+first arrived in their state-coaches, and had assembled above, were now
+to mount their horses. The stately, well-trained steeds were covered
+with richly laced housings, and ornamented in every way. The Elector
+Emeric Joseph, a handsome, portly man, looked well on horseback. Of the
+other two I remember less, excepting that the red princes' mantles,
+trimmed with ermine, which we had been accustomed to see only in
+pictures before, seemed to us very romantic in the open air. The
+ambassadors of the absent temporal electors, with their Spanish dresses
+of gold brocade, embroidered over with gold, and trimmed with gold lace,
+likewise did our eyes good; and the large feathers particularly, that
+waved most splendidly from the hats, which were cocked in the antique
+style. But what did not please me were the short modern breeches, the
+white silk stockings, and the fashionable shoes. We should have liked
+half-boots,--gilded as much as they pleased,--sandals, or something of
+the kind, that we might have seen a more consistent costume.
+
+In deportment the Ambassador Von Plotho again distinguished himself from
+all the rest. He appeared lively and cheerful, and seemed to have no
+great respect for the whole ceremony. For when his front-man, an elderly
+gentleman, could not leap immediately on his horse, and he was therefore
+forced to wait some time in the grand entrance, he did not refrain from
+laughing, till his own horse was brought forward, upon which he swung
+himself very dexterously, and was again admired by us as a most worthy
+representative of Frederick the Second.
+
+Now the curtain was for us once more let down. I had, indeed, tried to
+force my way into the church; but that place was more inconvenient than
+agreeable. The voters had withdrawn into the /sanctum/, where
+prolix ceremonies usurped the place of a deliberate consideration as to
+the election. After long delay, pressure, and bustle, the people at last
+heard the name of Joseph the Second, who was proclaimed King of Rome.
+
+The thronging of strangers into the city became greater and greater.
+Everybody went about in his holiday clothes, so that at last none but
+dresses entirely of gold were found worthy of note. The emperor and king
+had already arrived at /Heusenstamm/, a castle of the counts of
+Schönborn, and were there in the customary manner greeted and welcomed;
+but the city celebrated this important epoch by spiritual festivals of
+all the religions, by high masses and sermons; and, on the temporal
+side, by incessant firing of cannon as an accompaniment to the "Te
+Deums."
+
+If all these public solemnities, from the beginning up to this point,
+had been regarded as a deliberate work of art, not much to find fault
+with would have been found. All was well prepared. The public scenes
+opened gradually, and went on increasing in importance; the men grew in
+number, the personages in dignity, their appurtenances, as well as
+themselves, in splendor,--and thus it advanced with every day, till at
+last even a well-prepared and firm eye became bewildered.
+
+The entrance of the Elector of Mentz, which we have refused to describe
+more completely, was magnificent and imposing enough to suggest to the
+imagination of an eminent man the advent of a great prophesied world-
+ruler: even we were not a little dazzled by it. But now our expectation
+was stretched to the utmost, as it was said that the emperor and the
+future king were approaching the city. At a little distance from
+Sachsenhausen, a tent had been erected in which the entire magistracy
+remained, to show the appropriate honor, and to proffer the keys of the
+city to the chief of the empire. Farther out, on a fair, spacious plain,
+stood another, a state pavilion, whither the whole body of electoral
+princes and ambassadors repaired; while their retinues extended along
+the whole way, that gradually, as their turns came, they might again
+move towards the city, and enter properly into the procession. By this
+time the emperor reached the tent, entered it; and the princes and
+ambassadors, after a most respectful reception, withdrew, to facilitate
+the passage of the chief ruler.
+
+We who remained in the city, to admire this pomp within the walls and
+streets still more than could have been done in the open fields, were
+very well entertained for a while by the barricade set up by the
+citizens in the lanes, by the throng of people, and by the various jests
+and improprieties which arose, till the ringing of bells and the thunder
+of cannon announced to us the immediate approach of majesty. What must
+have been particularly grateful to a Frankforter was, that on this
+occasion, in the presence of so many sovereigns and their
+representatives, the imperial city of Frankfort also appeared as a
+little sovereign: for her equerry opened the procession; chargers with
+armorial trappings, upon which the white eagle on a red field looked
+very fine, followed him; then came attendants and officials, drummers
+and trumpeters, and deputies of the council, accompanied by the clerks
+of the council, in the city livery, on foot. Immediately behind these
+were the three companies of citizen cavalry, very well mounted,--the
+same that we had seen from our youth, at the reception of the escort,
+and on other public occasions. We rejoiced in our participation of the
+honor, and in our one hundred-thousandth part of a sovereignty which now
+appeared in its full brilliancy. The different trains of the hereditary
+imperial marshal, and of the envoys deputed by the six temporal
+electors, marched after these step by step. None of them consisted of
+less than twenty attendants and two state-carriages,--some, even, of a
+greater number. The retinue of the spiritual electors was ever on the
+increase,--their servants and domestic officers seemed innumerable: the
+Elector of Cologne and the Elector of Treves had above twenty state-
+carriages, and the Elector of Mentz quite as many alone. The servants,
+both on horseback and on foot, were clothed most splendidly throughout:
+the lords in the equipages, spiritual and temporal, had not omitted to
+appear richly and venerably dressed, and adorned with all the badges of
+their orders. The train of his imperial majesty now, as was fit,
+surpassed all the rest. The riding-masters, the led horses, the
+equipages, the shabracks and caparisons, attracted every eye; and the
+sixteen six-horse gala-wagons of the imperial chamberlains, privy
+councillors, high chamberlain, high stewards, and high equerry, closed,
+with great pomp, this division of the procession, which, in spite of its
+magnificence and extent, was still only to be the vanguard.
+
+But now the line became concentrated more and more, while the dignity
+and parade kept on increasing. For in the midst of a chosen escort of
+their own domestic attendants, the most of them on foot, and a few on
+horseback, appeared the electoral ambassadors, as well as the electors
+in person, in ascending order, each one in a magnificent state-carriage.
+Immediately behind the Elector of Mentz, ten imperial footmen, one and
+forty lackeys, and eight /heyducks/ [Footnote: A class of
+attendants dress in Hungarian costume.--TRANS.] announced their
+majesties. The most magnificent state-carriage, furnished even at the
+back part with an entire window of plate-glass, ornamented with
+paintings, lacquer, carved work, and gilding, covered with red
+embroidered velvet on the top and inside, allowed us very conveniently
+to behold the emperor and king, the long-desired heads, in all their
+glory. The procession was led a long, circuitous route, partly from
+necessity, that it might be able to unfold itself, and partly to render
+it visible to the great multitude of people. It had passed through
+Sachsenhausen, over the bridge, up the Fahrgasse, then down the Zeile,
+and turned towards the inner city through the Katharinenpforte, formerly
+a gate, and, since the enlargement of the city, an open thoroughfare.
+Here it had been happily considered, that, for a series of years, the
+external grandeur of the world had gone on expanding, both in height and
+breadth. Measure had been taken; and it was found that the present
+imperial state-carriage could not, without striking its carved work and
+other outward decorations, get through this gateway, through which so
+many princes and emperors had gone backwards and forwards. They debated
+the matter, and, to avoid an inconvenient circuit, resolved to take up
+the pavements, and to contrive a gentle descent and ascent. With the
+same view, they had also removed all the projecting eaves from the shops
+and booths in the street, that neither crown nor eagle nor the genii
+should receive any shock or injury.
+
+Eagerly as we directed our eyes to the high personages when this
+precious vessel with such precious contents approached us, we could not
+avoid turning our looks upon the noble horses, their harness, and its
+embroidery; but the strange coachmen and outriders, both sitting on the
+horses, particularly struck us. They looked as if they had come from
+some other nation, or even from another world, with their long black and
+yellow velvet coats, and their caps with large plumes of feathers, after
+the imperial-court fashion. Now the crowd became so dense that it was
+impossible to distinguish much more. The Swiss guard on both sides of
+the carriage; the hereditary marshal holding the Saxon sword upwards in
+his right hand; the field-marshals, as leaders of the imperial guard,
+riding behind the carriage; the imperial pages in a body; and, finally,
+the imperial horse-guard (/Hatschiergarde/) itself, in black velvet
+frocks (/Flügelröck/), with all the seams edged with gold, under
+which were red coats and leather-colored camisoles, likewise richly
+decked with gold. One scarcely recovered one's self from sheer seeing,
+pointing, and showing, so that the scarcely less splendidly clad body-
+guards of the electors were barely looked at; and we should, perhaps,
+have withdrawn from the windows, if we had not wished to take a view of
+our own magistracy, who closed the procession in their fifteen two-horse
+coaches; and particularly the clerk of the council, with the city keys
+on red velvet cushions. That our company of city grenadiers should cover
+the rear seemed to us honorable enough, and we felt doubly and highly
+edified as Germans and as Fraukforters by this great day,
+
+We had taken our place in a house which the procession had to pass again
+when it returned from the cathedral. Of religious services, of music, of
+rites and solemnities, of addresses and answers, of propositions and
+readings aloud, there was so much in church, choir, and conclave, before
+it came to the swearing of the electoral capitulation, that we had time
+enough to partake of an excellent collation, and to empty many bottles
+to the health of our old and young ruler. The conversation, meanwhile,
+as is usual on such occasions, reverted to the time past; and there were
+not wanting aged persons who preferred that to the present,--at least,
+with respect to a certain human interest and impassioned sympathy which
+then prevailed. At the coronation of Francis the First all had not been
+so settled as now; peace had not yet been concluded; France and the
+Electors of Brandenburg and the Palatinate were opposed to the election;
+the troops of the future emperor were stationed at Heidelberg, where he
+had his headquarters; and the insignia of the empire, coming from Aix,
+were almost carried off by the inhabitants of the Palatinate. Meanwhile,
+negotiations went on; and on neither side was the affair conducted in
+the strictest manner. Maria Theresa, though then pregnant, comes in
+person to see the coronation of her husband, which is at last earned
+into effect. She arrived at Aschaffenburg, and went on board a yacht in
+order to repair to Frankfort. Francis, coming from Heidelberg, thinks to
+meet his wife, but arrives too late: she has already departed. Unknown,
+he jumps into a little boat, hastens alter her, reaches her ship; and
+the loving pair is delighted at this surprising meeting. The story
+spreads immediately; and all the world sympathizes with this tender
+pair, so richly blessed with children, who have been so inseparable
+since their union, that once, on a journey from Vienna to Florence, they
+are forced to keep quarantine together on the Venetian border. Maria
+Theresa is welcomed in the city with rejoicings: she enters the Roman
+Emperor Inn, while the great tent for the reception of her husband is
+erected on the Bornheim heath. There, of the spiritual electors, only
+Mentz is found; and, of the ambassadors of the temporal electors, only
+Saxony, Bohemia, and Hanover. The entrance begins, and what it may lack
+of completeness and splendor is richly compensated by the presence of a
+beautiful lady. She stands upon the balcony of the well-situated house,
+and greets her husband with cries of "Vivat!" and clapping of hands: the
+people joined, excited to the highest enthusiasm. As the great are,
+after all, men, the citizen deems them big equals when he wishes to love
+them; and that he can best do when he can picture them to himself as
+loving husbands, tender parents, devoted brothers, and true friends. At
+that time all happiness had been wished and prophesied; and to-day it
+was seen fulfilled in the first-born son, to whom everybody was well
+inclined on account of his handsome, youthful form, and upon whom the
+world set the greatest hopes, on account of the great qualities that he
+showed.
+
+We had become quite absorbed in the past and future, when some friends
+who came in recalled us to the present. They were of that class of
+people who know the value of novelty, and therefore hasten to announce
+it first. They were even able to tell of a fine humane trait in those
+exalted personages whom we had seen go by with the greatest pomp. It had
+been concerted, that on the way, between Heusenstamm and the great tent,
+the emperor and king should find the Landgrave of Darmstadt in the
+forest. This old prince, now approaching the grave, wished to see once
+more the master to whom he had been devoted in former times. Both might
+remember the day when the landgrave brought over to Heidelberg the
+decree of the electors, choosing Francis as emperor, and replied to the
+valuable presents he received with protestations of unalterable
+devotion. These eminent persons stood in a grove of firs; and the
+landgrave, weak with old age, supported himself against a pine, to
+continue the conversation, which was not without emotion on both sides.
+The place was afterwards marked in an innocent way, and we young people
+sometimes wandered to it.
+
+Thus several hours had passed in remembrance of the old and
+consideration of the new, when the procession, though curtailed and more
+compact, again passed before our eyes; and we were enabled to observe
+and mark the detail more closely, and imprint it on our minds for the
+future.
+
+From that moment the city was in uninterrupted motion; for until each
+and every one whom it behooved, and of whom it was required, had paid
+their respects to the highest dignities, and exhibited themselves one by
+one, there was no end to the marching to and fro: and the court of each
+one of the high persons present could be very conveniently repeated in
+detail.
+
+Now, too, the insignia of the empire arrived. But, that no ancient usage
+might be omitted even in this respect, they had to remain half a day
+till late at night in the open field, on account of a dispute about
+territory and escort between the Elector of Mentz and the city. The
+latter yielded: the people of Mentz escorted the insignia as far as the
+barricade, and so the affair terminated for this time.
+
+In these days I did not come to myself. At home I had to write and copy;
+every thing had to be seen: and so ended the month of March, the second
+half of which had been so rich in festivals for us. I had promised
+Gretchen a faithful and complete account of what had lately happened,
+and of what was to be expected on the coronation-day. This great day
+approached; I thought more of how I should tell it to her than of what
+properly was to be told: all that came under my eyes and my pen I merely
+worked up rapidly for this sole and immediate use. At last I reached her
+residence somewhat late one evening, and was not a little proud to think
+how my discourse on this occasion would be much more successful than the
+first unprepared one. But a momentary incitement often brings us, and
+others through us, more joy than the most deliberate purpose can afford.
+I found, indeed, pretty nearly the same company; but there were some
+unknown persons among them. They sat down to play, all except Gretchen
+and her younger cousin, who remained with me at the slate. The dear girl
+expressed most gracefully her delight that she, though a stranger, had
+passed for a citizen on the election-day, and had taken part in that
+unique spectacle. She thanked me most warmly for having managed to take
+care of her, and for having been so attentive as to procure her, through
+Pylades, all sorts of admissions by means of billets, directions,
+friends, and intercessions.
+
+She liked to hear about the jewels of the empire. I promised her that we
+should, if possible, see these together. She made some jesting remarks
+when she learned that the garments and crown had been tried on the young
+king. I knew where she would be, to see the solemnities of the
+coronation-day, and directed her attention to every thing that was
+impending, and particularly to what might be minutely inspected from her
+place of view.
+
+Thus we forgot to think about time: it was already past midnight, and I
+found that I unfortunately had not the house-key with me. I could not
+enter the house without making the greatest disturbance. I communicated
+my embarrassment to her. "After all," said she, "it will be best for the
+company to remain together." The cousins and the strangers had already
+had this in mind, because it was not known where they would be lodged
+for the night. The matter was soon decided: Gretchen went to make some
+coffee, after bringing in and lighting a large brass lamp, furnished
+with oil and wick, because the candles threatened to burn out.
+
+The coffee served to enliven us for several hours, but the game
+gradually slackened; conversation failed; the mother slept in the great
+chair; the strangers, weary from travelling, nodded here and there; and
+Pylades and his fair one sat in a corner. She had laid her head on his
+shoulder, and had gone to sleep; and he did not keep long awake. The
+younger cousin, sitting opposite to us by the slate, had crossed his
+arms before him, and slept with his face resting upon them. I sat in the
+window-corner, behind the table, and Gretchen by me. We talked in a low
+voice: but at last sleep overcame her also; she leaned her head on my
+shoulder, and sank at once into a slumber. Thus I now sat, the only one
+awake, in a most singular position, in which the kind brother of death
+soon put me also to rest. I went to sleep; and, when I awoke, it was
+already bright day. Gretchen was standing before the mirror arranging
+her little cap: she was more lovely than ever, and, when I departed,
+cordially pressed my hands. I crept home by a roundabout way; for, on
+the side towards the little /Stag-ditch/, my father had opened a
+sort of little peep-hole in the wall, not without the opposition of his
+neighbor. This side we avoided when we wanted not to be observed by him
+in coming home. My mother, whose mediation always came in well for us,
+had endeavored to palliate my absence in the morning at breakfast, by
+the supposition that I had gone out early; and I experienced no
+disagreeable effects from this innocent night.
+
+Taken as a whole, this infinitely various world which surrounded me
+produced upon me but a very simple impression. I had no interest but to
+mark closely the outside of the objects, no business but that with which
+I had been charged by my father and Herr von Königsthal, by which,
+indeed, I perceived the inner course of things. I had no liking but for
+Gretchen, and no other view than to see and take in every thing
+properly, that I might be able to repeat it with her, and explain it to
+her. Often when a train was going by, I described it half aloud to
+myself, to assure myself of all the particulars, and to be praised by my
+fair one for this attention and accuracy: the applause and
+acknowledgments of the others I regarded as a mere appendix.
+
+I was indeed presented to many exalted and distinguished persons; but
+partly, no one had time to trouble himself about others, and partly,
+older people do not know at once how they should converse with a young
+man and try him. I, on my side, was likewise not particularly skilful in
+adapting myself to people. I generally won their favor, but not their
+approbation. Whatever occupied me was completely present to me, but I
+did not ask whether it might be also suitable to others. I was mostly
+too lively or too quiet, and appeared either importunate or sullen, just
+as persons attracted or repelled me; and thus I was considered to be
+indeed full of promise, but at the same time was declared eccentric.
+
+The coronation-day dawned at last on the 3d of April, 1764: the weather
+was favorable, and everybody was in motion. I, with several of my
+relations and friends, had been provided with a good place in one of the
+upper stories of the Römer itself, where we might completely survey the
+whole. We betook ourselves to the spot very early in the morning, and
+from above, as in a bird's-eye view, contemplated the arrangements which
+we had inspected more closely the day before. There was the newly
+erected fountain, with two large tubs on the left and right, into which
+the double-eagle on the post was to pour from its two beaks white wine
+on this side, and red wine on that. There, gathered into a heap, lay the
+oats: here stood the large wooden hut, in which we had several days
+since seen the whole fat ox roasted and basted on a huge spit before a
+charcoal fire. All the avenues leading out from the Römer, and from
+other streets back to the Römer, were secured on both sides by barriers
+and guards. The great square was gradually filled; and the waving and
+pressure grew every moment stronger and more in motion, as the multitude
+always, if possible, endeavored to reach the spot where some new scene
+arose, and something particular was announced.
+
+All this time there reigned a tolerable stillness; and, when the alarm-
+bells were sounded, all the people seemed struck with terror and
+amazement. What first attracted the attention of all who could overlook
+the square from above, was the train in which the lords of Aix and
+Nuremberg brought the crown-jewels to the cathedral. These, as palladia,
+had been assigned the first place in the carriage; and the deputies sat
+before them on the back-seat with becoming reverence. Now the three
+electors betake themselves to the cathedral. After the presentation of
+the insignia to the Elector of Mentz, the crown and sword are
+immediately carried to the imperial quarters. The further arrangements
+and manifold ceremonies occupied, in the interim, the chief persons, as
+well as the spectators, in the church, as we other well-informed persons
+could well imagine.
+
+In the mean time the ambassadors drove before our eyes up to the Römer,
+from which the canopy is carried by the under-officers into the imperial
+quarters. The hereditary marshal, Count von Pappenheim, instantly mounts
+his horse: he was a very handsome, slender gentleman, whom the Spanish
+costume, the rich doublet, the gold mantle, the high, feathered hat, and
+the loose, flying hair, became very well. He puts himself in motion;
+and, amid the sound of all the bells, the ambassadors follow him on
+horseback to the quarters of the emperor in still greater magnificence
+than on the day of election. One would have liked to be there too; as
+indeed, on this day, it would hare been altogether desirable to multiply
+one's self. However, we told each other what was going on there. Now the
+emperor is putting on his domestic robes, we said, a new dress, made
+after the old Carolingian pattern. The hereditary officers receive the
+insignia, and with them get on horseback. The emperor in his robes, the
+Roman king in the Spanish habit, immediately mount their steeds; and,
+while this is done, the endless procession which precedes them has
+already announced them.
+
+The eye was already wearied by the multitude of richly dressed
+attendants and magistrates, and by the nobility, who, in stately
+fashion, were moving along; but when the electoral envoys, the
+hereditary officers, and at last, under the richly embroidered canopy,
+borne by twelve /schöffen/ and senators, the emperor, in romantic
+costume, and to the left, a little behind him, in the Spanish dress, his
+son, slowly floated along on magnificently adorned horses, the eye was
+no more sufficient for the sight. One would have liked to fix the scene,
+but for a moment, by a magic charm; but the glory passed on without
+stopping: and the space that was scarcely quitted was immediately filled
+again by the crowd, which poured in like billows.
+
+But now a new pressure ensued; for another approach from the market to
+the Römer gate had to be opened, and a road of planks to be bridged over
+it, on which the train returning from the cathedral was to walk.
+
+What passed within the cathedral, the endless ceremonies which precede
+and accompany the anointing, the crowning, the dubbing of knighthood,--
+all this we were glad to hear told afterwards by those who had
+sacrificed much else to be present in the church.
+
+The rest of us, in the interim, partook of a frugal repast; for in this
+festal day we had to be contented with cold meat. But, on the other
+hand, the best and oldest wine had been brought out of all the family
+cellars; so that, in this respect at least, we celebrated the ancient
+festival in ancient style.
+
+In the square, the sight most worth seeing was now the bridge, which had
+been finished, and covered with orange and white cloth; and we who had
+stared at the emperor, first in his carriage and then on horseback, were
+now to admire him walking on foot. Singularly enough, the last pleased
+us the most; for we thought that in this way he exhibited himself both
+in the most natural and in the most dignified manner.
+
+Older persons, who were present at the coronation of Francis the First,
+related that Maria Theresa, beautiful beyond measure, had looked on this
+solemnity from a balcony window of the Frauenstein house, close to the
+Römer. As her consort returned from the cathedral in his strange
+costume, and seemed to her, so to speak, like a ghost of Charlemagne, he
+had, as if in jest, raised both his hands, and shown her the imperial
+globe, the sceptre, and the curious gloves, at which she had broken out
+into immoderate laughter, which served for the great delight and
+edification of the crowd, which was thus honored with a sight of the
+good and natural matrimonial understanding between the most exalted
+couple of Christendom. But when the empress, to greet her consort, waved
+her handkerchief, and even shouted a loud /vivat/ to him, the
+enthusiasm and exultation of the people was raised to the highest, so
+that there was no end to the cheers of joy.
+
+Now the sound of bells, and the van of the long train which gently made
+its way over the many-colored bridge, announced that all was done. The
+attention was greater than ever, and the procession more distinct than
+before, particularly for us, since it now came directly up to us. We saw
+both, and the whole of the square, which was thronged with people,
+almost as if on a ground-plan. Only at the end the magnificence was too
+much crowded: for the envoys; the hereditary officers; the emperor and
+king, under the canopy (/Baldachin/); the three spiritual electors,
+who immediately followed; the /schöffen/ and senators, dressed in
+black; the gold-embroidered canopy (/Himmel/),--all seemed only one
+mass, which, moved by a single will, splendidly harmonious, and thus
+stepping from the temple amid the sound of the bells, beamed towards us
+as something holy.
+
+A politico-religious ceremony possesses an infinite charm. We behold
+earthly majesty before our eyes, surrounded by all the symbols of its
+power; but, while it bends before that of heaven, it brings to our minds
+the communion of both. For even the individual can only prove his
+relationship with the Deity by subjecting himself and adoring.
+
+The rejoicings which resounded from the market-place now spread likewise
+over the great square; and a boisterous /vivat/ burst forth from
+thousands upon thousands of throats, and doubtless from as many hearts.
+For this grand festival was to be the pledge of a lasting peace, which
+indeed for many a long year actually blessed Germany.
+
+Several days before, it had been made known by public proclamation, that
+neither the bridge nor the eagle over the fountain was to be exposed to
+the people, and they were therefore not, as at other times, to be
+touched. This was done to prevent the mischief inevitable with such a
+rush of persons. But, in order to sacrifice in some degree to the genius
+of the mob, persons expressly appointed went behind the procession,
+loosened the cloth from the bridge, wound it up like a flag, and threw
+it into the air. This gave rise to no disaster, but to a laughable
+mishap; for the cloth unrolled itself in the air, and, as it fell,
+covered a larger or smaller number of persons. Those now who took hold
+of the ends and drew them towards them, pulled all those in the middle
+to the ground, enveloped them and teased them till they tore or cut
+themselves through; and everybody, in his own way, had borne off a
+corner of the stuff made sacred by the footsteps of majesty.
+
+I did not long contemplate this rough sport, but hastened from my high
+position through all sorts of little steps and passages, down to the
+great Römer-stairs, where the distinguished and majestic mass, which had
+been stared at from the distance, was to ascend in its undulating
+course. The crowd was not great, because the entrances to the city-hall
+were well garrisoned; and I fortunately reached at once the iron
+balustrades above. Now the chief personages ascended past me, while
+their followers remained behind in the lower arched passages; and I
+could observe them on the thrice-broken stairs from all sides, and at
+last quite close.
+
+Finally both their majesties came up. Father and son were altogether
+dressed like Menaechmi. The emperor's domestic robes, of purple-colored
+silk, richly adorned with pearls and stones, as well as his crown,
+sceptre, and imperial orb, struck the eye with good effect. For all in
+them was new, and the imitation of the antique was tasteful. He moved,
+too, quite easily in his attire; and his true-hearted, dignified face,
+indicated at once the emperor and the father. The young king, on the
+contrary, in his monstrous articles of dress, with the crown-jewels of
+Charlemagne, dragged himself along as if he had been in a disguise; so
+that he himself, looking at his father from time to time, could not
+refrain from laughing. The crown, which it had been necessary to line a
+great deal, stood out from his head like an overhanging roof. The
+dalmatica, the stole, well as they had been fitted and taken in by
+sewing, presented by no means an advantageous appearance. The sceptre
+and imperial orb excited some admiration; but one would, for the sake of
+a more princely effect, rather have seen a strong form, suited to the
+dress, invested and adorned with it.
+
+Scarcely were the gates of the great hall closed behind these figures,
+than I hurried to my former place, which, being already occupied by
+others, I only regained with some trouble.
+
+It was precisely at the right time that I again took possession of my
+window, for the most remarkable part of all that was to be seen in
+public was just about to take place. All the people had turned towards
+the Römer; and a reiterated shout of /vivat/ gave us to understand
+that the emperor and king, in their vestments, were showing themselves
+to the populace from the balcony of the great hall. But they were not
+alone to serve as a spectacle, since another strange spectacle occurred
+before their eyes. First of all, the handsome, slender hereditary
+marshal flung himself upon his steed: he had laid aside his sword; in
+his right hand he held a silver-handled vessel, and a tin spatula in his
+left. He rode within the barriers to the great heap of oats, sprang in,
+filled the vessel to overflow, smoothed it off, and carried it back
+again with great dignity. The imperial stable was now provided for. The
+hereditary chamberlain then rode likewise to the spot, and brought back
+a basin with ewer and towel. But more entertaining for the spectators
+was the hereditary carver, who came to fetch a piece of the roasted ox.
+He also rode, with a silver dish, through the barriers, to the large
+wooden kitchen, and came forth again with his portion covered, that he
+might go back to the Römer. Now it was the turn of the hereditary cup-
+bearer, who rode to the fountain and fetched wine. Thus now was the
+imperial table furnished; and every eye waited upon the hereditary
+treasurer, who was to throw about the money. He, too, mounted a fine
+steed, to the sides of whose saddle, instead of holsters, a couple of
+splendid bags, embroidered with the arms of the Palatinate, were
+suspended. Scarcely had he put himself in motion than he plunged his
+hands into these pockets, and generously scattered, right and left, gold
+and silver coins, which, on every occasion, glittered merrily in the air
+like metallic rain. A thousand hands waved instantly in the air to catch
+the gifts; but hardly had the coins fallen when the crowd tumbled over
+each other on the ground, and struggled violently for the pieces which
+might have reached the earth. As this agitation was constantly repeated
+on both sides as the giver rode forwards, it afforded the spectators a
+very diverting sight. It was most lively at the close, when he threw out
+the bags themselves, and everybody tried to catch this highest prize.
+
+Their majesties had retired from the balcony; and another offering was
+to be made to the mob, who, on such occasions, would rather steal the
+gifts than receive them tranquilly and gratefully. The custom prevailed,
+in more rude and uncouth times, of giving up to the people on the spot
+the oats, as soon as the hereditary marshal had taken away his share;
+the fountain and the kitchen, after the cup-bearer and the carver had
+performed their offices. But this time, to guard against all mischief,
+order and moderation were preserved as far as possible. But the old
+malicious jokes, that when one filled a sack with oats another cut a
+hole in it, with sallies of the kind, were revived. About the roasted
+ox, a more serious battle was, as usual, waged on this occasion. This
+could only be contested /en masse/. Two guilds, the butchers and
+the wine-porters, had, according to ancient custom, again stationed
+themselves so that the monstrous roast must fall to one of the two. The
+butchers believed that they had the best right to an ox which they
+provided entire for the kitchen: the wine-porters, on the other hand,
+laid claim because the kitchen was built near the abode of their guild,
+and because they had gained the victory the last time, the horns of the
+captured steer still projecting from the latticed gable-window of their
+guild and meeting-house as a sign of victory. Both these companies had
+very strong and able members; but which of them conquered this time, I
+no longer remember.
+
+But, as a festival of this kind must always close with something
+dangerous and frightful, it was really a terrible moment when the wooden
+kitchen itself was made a prize. The roof of it swarmed instantly with
+men, no one knowing how they got there: the boards were torn loose, and
+pitched down; so that one could not help supposing, particularly at a
+distance, that each would kill a few of those pressing to the spot. In a
+trice the hut was unroofed; and single individuals hung to the beams and
+rafters, in order to pull them also out of their joinings: nay, many
+floated above upon the posts which had been already sawn off below; and
+the whole skeleton, moving backwards and forwards, threatened to fall
+in. Sensitive persons turned their eyes away, and everybody expected a
+great calamity; but we did not hear of any mischief: and the whole
+affair, though impetuous and violent, had passed off happily.
+
+Everybody knew now that the emperor and king would return from the
+cabinet, whither they had retired from the balcony, and feast in the
+great hall of the Romer. We had been able to admire the arrangements
+made for it, the day before; and my most anxious wish was, if possible,
+to look in to-day. I repaired, therefore, by the usual path, to the
+great staircase, which stands directly opposite the door of the hall.
+Here I gazed at the distinguished personages who this day acted as the
+servants of the head of the empire. Forty-four counts, all splendidly
+dressed, passed me, carrying the dishes from the kitchen; so that the
+contrast between their dignity and their occupation might well be
+bewildering to a boy. The crowd was not great, but, considering the
+little space, sufficiently perceptible. The hall-door was guarded, while
+those who were authorized went frequently in and out. I saw one of the
+Palatine domestic officials, whom I asked whether he could not take me
+in with him. He did not deliberate long, but gave me one of the silver
+vessels he just then bore, which he could do so much the more, as I was
+neatly clad; and thus I reached the sanctuary. The Palatine buffet stood
+to the left, directly by the door; and with some steps I placed myself
+on the elevation of it, behind the barriers.
+
+At the other end of the hall, immediately by the windows, raised on the
+steps of the throne, and under canopies, sat the emperor and king in
+their robes; but the crown and sceptre lay at some distance behind them
+on gold cushions. The three spiritual electors, their buffets behind
+them, had taken their places on single elevations; the Elector of Mentz
+opposite their majesties, the Elector of Treves at the right, and the
+Elector of Cologne at the left. This upper part of the hall was imposing
+and cheerful to behold, and excited the remark that the spiritual power
+likes to keep as long as possible with the ruler. On the contrary, the
+buffets and tables of all the temporal electors, which were, indeed,
+magnificently ornamented, but without occupants, made one think of the
+misunderstanding which had gradually arisen for centuries between them
+and the head of the empire. Their ambassadors had already withdrawn to
+eat in a side-chamber; and if the greater part of the hall assumed a
+sort of spectral appearance, by so many invisible guests being so
+magnificently attended, a large unfurnished table in the middle was
+still more sad to look upon; for there, also, many covers stood empty,
+because all those who had certainly a right to sit there had, for
+appearance' sake, kept away, that on the greatest day of honor they
+might not renounce any of their honor, if, indeed, they were then to be
+found in the city.
+
+Neither my years nor the mass of present objects allowed me to make many
+reflections. I strove to see all as much as possible; and when the
+dessert was brought in, and the ambassadors re-entered to pay their
+court, I sought the open air, and contrived to refresh myself with good
+friends in the neighborhood, after a day's half-fasting, and to prepare
+for the illumination in the evening.
+
+This brilliant night I purposed celebrating in a right hearty way; for I
+had agreed with Gretchen, and Pylades and his mistress, that we should
+meet somewhere at nightfall. The city was already resplendent at every
+end and corner when I met my beloved. I offered Gretchen my arm: we went
+from one quarter to another, and found ourselves very happy in each
+other's society. The cousins at first were also of our party, but were
+afterwards lost in the multitude of people. Before the houses of some of
+the ambassadors, where magnificent illuminations were exhibited,--those
+of the Elector-Palatine were pre-eminently distinguished,--it was as
+clear as day. Lest I should be recognized, I had disguised myself to a
+certain extent; and Gretchen did not find it amiss. We admired the
+various brilliant representations and the fairy-like structures of flame
+by which each ambassador strove to outshine the others. But Prince
+Esterhazy's arrangements surpassed all the rest. Our little company were
+enraptured, both with the invention and the execution; and we were just
+about to enjoy this in detail, when the cousins again met us, and spoke
+to us of the glorious illumination with which the Brandenburg ambassador
+had adorned his quarters. We were not displeased at taking the long way
+from the Ross-markt (Horse-market) to the Saalhof, but found that we had
+been vlllanously hoaxed.
+
+The Saalhof is, towards the Main, a regular and handsome structure; but
+the part in the direction of the city is exceedingly old, irregular, and
+unsightly. Small windows, agreeing neither in form nor size, neither in
+a line nor placed at equal distances; gates and doors arranged without
+symmetry; a ground-floor mostly turned into shops,--it forms a confused
+outside, which is never observed by any one. Now, here this accidental,
+irregular, unconnected architecture had been followed; and every window,
+every door, every opening, was surrounded by lamps,--as indeed can be
+done with a well-built house; but here the most wretched and ill-formed
+of all facades was thus quite incredibly placed in the clearest light.
+Did one amuse one's self with this as with the jests of the
+/pagliasso/, [Footnote: A sort of buffoon.] though not without
+scruple, since everybody must recognize something intentional in it,--
+just as people had before glossed on the previous external deportment of
+Von Plotho, so much prized in other respects, and, when once inclined
+towards him, had admired him as a wag, who, like his king, would place
+himself above all ceremonies,--one nevertheless gladly returned to the
+fairy kingdom of Esterhazy.
+
+This eminent envoy, to honor the day, had quite passed over his own
+unfavorably situated quarters, and in their stead had caused the great
+esplanade of linden-trees in the Horse-market to be decorated in the
+front with a portal illuminated with colors, and at the back with a
+still more magnificent prospect. The entire enclosure was marked by
+lamps. Between the trees, stood pyramids and spheres of light upon
+transparent pedestals; from one tree to another were stretched
+glittering garlands, on which floated suspended lights. In several
+places bread and sausages were distributed among the people, and there
+was no want of wine.
+
+Here now, four abreast, we walked very comfortably up and down; and I,
+by Gretchen's side, fancied that I really wandered in those happy
+Elysian fields where they pluck from the trees crystal cups that
+immediately fill themselves with the wine desired, and shake down fruits
+that change into every dish at will. At last we also felt such a
+necessity; and, conducted by Pylades, we found a neat, well-arranged
+eating-house. When we encountered no more guests, since everybody was
+going about the streets, we were all the better pleased, and passed the
+greatest part of the night most happily and cheerfully, in the feeling
+of friendship, love, and attachment. When I had accompanied Gretchen as
+far as her door, she kissed me on the forehead. It was the first and
+last time that she granted me this favor; for, alas! I was not to see
+her again.
+
+The next morning, while I was yet in bed, my mother entered, in trouble
+and anxiety. It was easy to see when she was at all distressed. "Get
+up," she said, "and prepare yourself for something unpleasant. It has
+come out that you frequent very bad company, and have involved yourself
+in very dangerous and bad affairs. Your father is beside himself; and we
+have only been able to get thus much from him, that he will investigate
+the affair by means of a third party. Remain in your chamber, and await
+what may happen. Councillor Schneider will come to you: he has the
+commission both from your father and from the authorities; for the
+matter is already prosecuted, and may take a very bad turn."
+
+I saw that they took the affair for much worse than it was; yet I felt
+myself not a little disquieted, even if only the actual state of things
+should be detected. My old "Messiah"-loving friend finally entered, with
+the tears standing in his eyes: he took me by the arm, and said, "I am
+heartily sorry to come to you on such an affair. I could not have
+supposed that you could go astray so far. But what will not wicked
+companions and bad example do! Thus can a young, inexperienced man be
+led step by step into crime!"--"I am conscious of no crime," I replied,
+"and as little of having frequented bad company."--"The question now is
+not one of defense," said he, interrupting me, "but of investigation,
+and on your part of an upright confession."--"What do you want to know?"
+retorted I. He seated himself, drew out a paper, and began to question
+me: "Have you not recommended N. N. to your grandfather as a candidate
+for the ... place?" I answered "Yes."--"Where did you become acquainted
+with him?"--"In my walks."--"In what company?" I hesitated, for I would
+not willingly betray my friends. "Silence will not do now." he
+continued, "for all is sufficiently known."--"What is known, then?" said
+I. "That this man has been introduced to you by others like him--in
+fact, by. ..." Here he named three persons whom I had never seen nor
+known, which I immediately explained to the questioner. "You pretend,"
+he resumed, "not to know these men, and have yet had frequent meetings
+with them."--"Not in the least," I replied; "for, as I have said, except
+the first, I do not know one of them, and even him I have never seen in
+a house."--"Have you not often been in ... street?"--"Never," I replied.
+This was not entirely conformable to the truth. I had once accompanied
+Pylades to his sweetheart, who lived in that street; but we had entered
+by the back-door, and remained in the summer-house. I therefore supposed
+that I might permit myself the subterfuge that I had not been in the
+street itself.
+
+The good man put more questions, all of which I could answer with a
+denial; for of all that he wished to learn I knew nothing. At last he
+seemed to become vexed, and said, "You repay my confidence and good will
+very badly: I come to save you. You cannot deny that you have composed
+letters for these people themselves or for their accomplices, have
+furnished them writings, and have thus been accessory to their evil
+acts; for the question is of nothing less than of forged papers, false
+wills, counterfeit bonds, and things of the sort. I have come, not only
+as a friend of the family, I come in the name and by order of the
+magistrates, who, in consideration of your connections and youth, would
+spare you and some other young persons, who, like you, have been lured
+into the net." I had thought it strange, that, among the persons he
+named, none of those with whom I had been intimate were found. The
+circumstances touched, without agreeing; and I could still hope to save
+my young friends. But the good man grew more and more urgent. I could
+not deny that I had come home late many nights, that I had contrived to
+have a house-key made, that I had been seen at public places more than
+once with persons of low rank and suspicious looks, that some girls were
+mixed up in the affair,--in short, every thing seemed to be discovered
+but the names. This gave me courage to persist steadfastly in my
+silence. "Do not," said my excellent friend, "let me go away from you;
+the affair admits of no delay; immediately after me another will come,
+who will not grant you so much scope. Do not make the matter, which is
+bad enough, worse by your obstinacy."
+
+I represented very vividly to myself the good cousins, and particularly
+Gretchen: I saw them arrested, tried, punished, disgraced; and then it
+went through my soul like a flash of lightning, that the cousins, though
+they always observed integrity towards me, might have engaged in such
+bad affairs, at least the oldest, who never quite pleased me, who came
+home later and later, and had little to tell of a cheerful sort. Still I
+kept back my confession. "Personally," said I, "I am conscious of
+nothing evil, and can rest satisfied on that side; but it is not
+impossible that those with whom I have associated may have been guilty
+of some daring or illegal act. They may be sought, found, convicted,
+punished: I have hitherto nothing to reproach myself with, and will not
+do any wrong to those who have behaved well and kindly to me." He did
+not let me finish, but exclaimed, with some agitation, "Yes, they will
+be found out. These villains met in three houses. (He named the streets,
+he pointed out the houses, and, unfortunately, among them was the one I
+used to frequent.) The first nest is already broken up, and at this
+moment so are the two others. In a few hours the whole will be clear.
+Avoid, by a frank confession, a judicial inquiry, a confrontation, and
+all other disagreeable matters." The house was known and marked. Now I
+deemed silence useless; nay, considering the innocence of our meetings,
+I could hope to be still more useful to them than to myself. "Sit down!"
+I exclaimed, fetching him back from the door: "I will tell all, and at
+once lighten your heart and mine; only one thing I ask,--henceforth let
+there be no doubt of my veracity."
+
+I soon told my friend the whole progress of the affair, and was at first
+calm and collected; but the more I brought to mind and pictured to
+myself the persons, objects, and events, so many innocent pleasures and
+charming enjoyments, and was forced to depose as before a criminal
+court, the more did the most painful feeling increase, so that at last I
+burst forth in tears, and gave myself up to unrestrained passion. The
+family friend, who hoped that now the real secret was coming to light
+(for he regarded my distress as a symptom that I was on the point of
+confessing with repugnance something monstrous), sought to pacify me; as
+with him the discovery was the all-important matter. In this he only
+partly succeeded; but so far, however, that I could eke out my story to
+the end. Though satisfied of the innocence of the proceedings, he was
+still doubtful to some extent, and put further questions to me, which
+excited me afresh, and transported me with pain and rage. I asserted,
+finally, that I had nothing more to say, and well knew that I need fear
+nothing, for I was innocent, of a good family, and well reputed; but
+that they might be just as guiltless without having it recognized, or
+being otherwise favored. I declared at the same time, that if they were
+not spared like myself, that if their follies were not regarded with
+indulgence, and their faults pardoned, that if any thing in the least
+harsh or unjust happened to them, I would do some violence to myself,
+and no one should prevent me. In this, too, my friend tried to pacify
+me; but I did not trust him, and was, when he quitted me at last, in a
+most terrible state. I now reproached myself for having told the affair,
+and brought all the positions to light. I foresaw that our childlike
+actions, our youthful inclinations and confidences, would be quite
+differently interpreted, and that I might perhaps involve the excellent
+Pylades in the matter, and render him very unhappy. All these images
+pressed vividly one after the other before my soul, sharpened and
+spurred my distress, so that I did not know what to do for sorrow. I
+cast myself at full length upon the floor, and moistened it with my
+tears.
+
+I know not how long I may have lain, when my sister entered, was
+frightened at my gestures, and did all that she could to comfort me. She
+told me that a person connected with the magistracy had waited below
+with my father for the return of the family friend, and that, after they
+had been closeted together for some time, both the gentlemen had
+departed, had talked to each other with apparent satisfaction, and had
+even laughed. She believed that she had heard the words, "It is all
+right: the affair is of no consequence."--"Indeed!" I broke out, "the
+affair is of no consequence for me,--for us: for I have committed no
+crime; and, if I had, they would contrive to help me through: but the
+others, the others," I cried, "who will stand by them?"
+
+My sister tried to comfort me by circumstantially arguing that if those
+of higher rank were to be saved, a veil must also be cast over the
+faults of the more lowly. All this was of no avail. She had scarcely
+left than I again abandoned myself to my grief, and ever recalled
+alternately the images, both of my affection and passion, and of the
+present and possible misfortune. I repeated to myself tale after tale,
+saw only unhappiness following unhappiness, and did not fail in
+particular to make Gretchen and myself truly wretched.
+
+The family friend had ordered me to remain in my room, and have nothing
+to do with any one but the family. This was just what I wanted, for I
+found myself best alone. My mother and sister came to see me from time
+to time, and did not fail to assist me vigorously with all sorts of good
+consolation; nay, even on the second day they came in the name of my
+father, who was now better informed, to offer me a perfect amnesty,
+which indeed I gratefully accepted: but the proposal that I should go
+out with him and look at the insignia of the empire, which were now
+exposed to the curious, I stubbornly rejected; and I asserted that I
+wanted to know nothing, either of the world or of the Roman Empire, till
+I was informed how that distressing affair, which for me could have no
+further consequences, had turned out for my poor acquaintance. They had
+nothing to say on this head, and left me alone. Yet the next day some
+further attempts were made to get me out of the house, and excite in me
+a sympathy for the public ceremonies. In vain! neither the great
+galaday, nor what happened on the occasion of so many elevations of
+rank, nor the public table of the emperor and king,--in short, nothing
+could move me. The Elector of the Palatinate might come and wait on both
+their majesties; these might visit the electors; the last electoral
+sitting might be attended for the despatch of business in arrear, and
+the renewal of the electoral union,--nothing could call me forth from my
+passionate solitude. I let the bells ring for the rejoicings, the
+emperor repair to the Capuchin Church, the electors and emperor depart,
+without on that account moving one step from my chamber. The final
+cannonading, immoderate as it might be, did not arouse me; and as the
+smoke of the powder dispersed, and the sound died away, so had all this
+glory vanished from my soul.
+
+I now experienced no satisfaction except in ruminating on my misery, and
+in a thousand-fold imaginary multiplication of it. My whole inventive
+faculty, my poetry and rhetoric, had pitched on this diseased spot, and
+threatened, precisely by means of this vitality, to involve body and
+soul into an incurable disorder. In this melancholy condition nothing
+more seemed to me worth a desire, nothing worth a wish. An infinite
+yearning, indeed, seized me at times to know how it had gone with my
+poor friends and my beloved, what had been the result of a stricter
+scrutiny, how far they were implicated in those crimes, or had been
+found guiltless. This also I circumstantially painted to myself in the
+most various ways, and did not fail to hold them as innocent and truly
+unfortunate. Sometimes I longed to see myself freed from this
+uncertainty, and wrote vehemently threatening letters to the family
+friend, insisting that he should not withhold from me the further
+progress of the affair. Sometimes I tore them up again, from the fear of
+learning my unhappiness quite distinctly, and of losing the principal
+consolation with which hitherto I had alternately tormented and
+supported myself.
+
+Thus I passed both day and night in great disquiet, in raving and
+lassitude; so that I felt happy at last when a bodily illness seized me
+with considerable violence, when they had to call in the help of a
+physician, and think of every way to quiet me. They supposed that they
+could do it generally by the sacred assurance that all who were more or
+less involved in the guilt had been treated with the greatest
+forbearance; that my nearest friends, being as good as innocent, had
+been dismissed with a slight reprimand; and that Gretchen had retired
+from the city, and had returned to her own home. They lingered the most
+over this last point, and I did not take it in the best part; for I
+could discover in it, not a voluntary departure, but only a shameful
+banishment. My bodily and mental condition was not improved by this: my
+distress now only augmented; and I had time enough to torment myself by
+picturing the strangest romance of sad events, and an inevitably
+tragical catastrophe.
+
+
+
+PART THE SECOND.
+
+OF WHAT ONE WISHES IN YOUTH, WHEN OLD HE HAS IN ABUNDANCE.
+
+SIXTH BOOK.
+
+Thus I felt urged alternately to promote and to retard my recovery; and
+a certain secret chagrin was now added to my other sensations, for I
+plainly perceived that I was watched, that they were loath to hand me
+any sealed paper without taking notice what effect it produced, whether
+I kept it secret, whether I laid it down open and the like. I therefore
+conjectured that Pylades, or one of the cousins, or even Gretchen
+herself, might have attempted to write to me, either to give or to
+obtain information. In addition to my sorrow, I was now more cross than
+hitherto, and had again fresh opportunities to exercise my conjectures,
+and to mislead myself into the strangest combinations.
+
+It was not long before they gave me a special overseer. Fortunately it
+was a man whom I loved and valued. He had held the place of tutor in the
+family of one of our friends, and his former pupil had gone alone to the
+university. He often visited me in my sad condition; and they at last
+found nothing more natural than to give him a chamber next to mine, as
+he was then to provide me with employment, pacify me, and, as I was well
+aware, keep his eye on me. Still, as I esteemed him from my heart, and
+had already confided many things to him, though not my affection for
+Gretchen, I determined so much the more to be perfectly candid and
+straightforward with him; as it was intolerable to me to live in daily
+intercourse with any one, and at the same time to stand on an uncertain,
+constrained footing with him. It was not long, then, before I spoke to
+him about the matter, refreshed myself by the relation and repetition of
+the minutest circumstances of my past happiness, and thus gained so
+much, that he, like a sensible man, saw it would be better to make me
+acquainted with the issue of the story, and that, too, in its details
+and particulars, so that I might be clear as to the whole, and that,
+with earnestness and zeal, I might be persuaded of the necessity of
+composing myself, throwing the past behind me, and beginning a new life.
+First he confided to me who the other young people of quality were who
+had allowed themselves to be seduced, at the outset, into daring hoaxes,
+then into sportive breaches of police, afterwards into frolicsome
+impositions on others, and other such dangerous matters. Thus actually
+had arisen a little conspiracy, which unprincipled men had joined, who,
+by forging papers and counterfeiting signatures, had perpetrated many
+criminal acts, and had still more criminal matters in preparation. The
+cousins, for whom I at last impatiently inquired, had been found to be
+quite innocent, only very generally acquainted with those others, and
+not at all implicated with them. My client, owing to my recommendation
+of whom I had been tracked, was one of the worst, and had sued for that
+office chiefly that he might undertake or conceal certain villanies.
+After all this, I could at last contain myself no longer, and asked what
+had become of Gretchen, for whom I, once for all, confessed the
+strongest attachment. My friend shook his head and smiled. "Make
+yourself easy," replied he: "this girl has passed her examination very
+well, and has borne off honorable testimony to that effect. They could
+discover nothing in her but what was good and amiable: she even won the
+favor of those who questioned her, and could not refuse her desire of
+removing from the city. Even what she has confessed regarding you, my
+friend, does her honor: I have read her deposition in the secret reports
+myself, and seen her signature."--"The signature!" exclaimed I, "which
+makes me so happy and so miserable. What has she confessed, then? What
+has she signed?" My friend delayed answering, but the cheerfulness of
+his face showed me that he concealed nothing dangerous." If you must
+know, then," replied he at last, "when she was asked about you, and her
+intercourse with you, she said quite frankly, 'I cannot deny that I have
+seen him often and with pleasure; but I have always treated him as a
+child, and my affection for him was truly that of a sister. In many
+cases I have given him good advice; and, instead of instigating him to
+any equivocal action, I have hindered him from taking part in wanton
+tricks, which might have brought him into trouble.'"
+
+My friend still went on making Gretchen speak like a governess; but I
+had already for some time ceased to listen to him, for I was terribly
+affronted that she had set me down in the reports as a child, and
+believed myself at once cured of all passion for her. I even hastily
+assured my friend that all was now over. I also spoke no more of her,
+named her no more: but I could not leave off the bad habit of thinking
+about her, and of recalling her form, her air, her demeanor; though now,
+in fact, all appeared to me in quite another light. I felt it
+intolerable that a girl, at the most only a couple of years older than
+me, should regard me as a child; while I conceived I passed with her for
+a very sensible and clever youth. Her cold and repelling manner, which
+had before so charmed me, now seemed to me quite repugnant: the
+familiarities which she had allowed herself to take with me, but had not
+permitted me to return, were altogether odious. Yet all would have been
+well enough, if by signing that poetical love-letter, in which she had
+confessed a formal attachment to me, she had not given me a right to
+regard her as a sly and selfish coquette. Her masquerading it at the
+milliner's, too, no longer seemed to me so innocent; and I turned these
+annoying reflections over and over within myself until I had entirely
+stripped her of all her amiable qualities. My judgment was convinced,
+and I thought I must cast her away; but her image!--her image gave me
+the lie as often as it again hovered before me, which indeed happened
+often enough.
+
+Nevertheless, this arrow with its barbed hooks was torn out of my heart;
+and the question then was, how the inward sanative power of youth could
+be brought to one's aid? I really put on the man; and the first thing
+instantly laid aside was the weeping and raving, which I now regarded as
+childish in the highest degree. A great stride for the better! For I had
+often, half the night through, given myself up to this grief with the
+greatest violence; so that at last, from my tears and sobbing, I came to
+such a point that I could scarcely swallow any longer; eating and
+drinking became painful to me; and my chest, which was so nearly
+concerned, seemed to suffer. The vexation I had constantly felt since
+the discovery made me banish every weakness. It seemed to me something
+frightful that I had sacrificed sleep, repose, and health for the sake
+of a girl who was pleased to consider me a babe, and to imagine herself,
+with respect to me, something very much like a nurse.
+
+These depressing reflections, as I was soon convinced, were only to be
+banished by activity; but of what was I to take hold? I had, indeed,
+much to make up for in many things, and to prepare myself, in more than
+one sense, for the university, which I was now to attend; but I relished
+and accomplished nothing. Much appeared to me familiar and trivial: for
+grounding myself, in several respects, I found neither strength within
+nor opportunity without; and I therefore suffered myself to be moved by
+the taste of my good room-neighbor, to a study which was altogether new
+and strange to me, and which for a long time offered me a wide field of
+information and thought. For my friend began to make me acquainted with
+the secrets of philosophy. He had studied in Jena, under Daries, and,
+possessing a well-regulated mind, had acutely seized the relations of
+that doctrine, which he now sought to impart to me. But, unfortunately,
+these things would not hang together in such a fashion in my brain. I
+put questions, which he promised to answer afterwards: I made demands,
+which he promised to satisfy in future. But our most important
+difference was this: that I maintained a separate philosophy was not
+necessary, as the whole of it was already contained in religion and
+poetry. This he would by no means allow, but rather tried to prove to me
+that these must first be founded on philosophy; which I stubbornly
+denied, and, at every step in the progress of our discussions, found
+arguments for my opinion. For as in poetry a certain faith in the
+impossible, and as in religion a like faith in the inscrutable, must
+have a place, the philosophers appeared to me to be in a very false
+position who would demonstrate and explain both of them from their own
+field of vision. Besides, it was very quickly proved, from the history
+of philosophy, that one always sought a ground different from that of
+the other, and that the sceptic, in the end, pronounced every thing
+groundless and useless.
+
+However, this very history of philosophy, which my friend was compelled
+to go over with me, because I could learn nothing from dogmatical
+discourse, amused me very much, but only on this account, that one
+doctrine or opinion seemed to me as good as another, so far, at least,
+as I was capable of penetrating into it. With the most ancient men and
+schools I was best pleased, because poetry, religion, and philosophy
+were completely combined into one; and I only maintained that first
+opinion of mine with the more animation, when the Book of Job and the
+Song and Proverbs of Solomon, as well as the lays of Orpheus and Hesiod,
+seemed to bear valid witness in its favor. My friend had taken the
+smaller work of Brucker as the foundation of his discourse; and, the
+farther we went on, the less I could make of it. I could not clearly see
+what the first Greek philosophers would have. Socrates I esteemed as an
+excellent, wise man, who in his life and death might well be compared
+with Christ. His disciples, on the other hand, seemed to me to bear a
+strong resemblance to the apostles, who disagreed immediately after
+their Master's death, when each manifestly recognized only a limited
+view as the right one. Neither the keenness of Aristotle nor the fulness
+of Plato produced the least fruit in me. For the Stoics, on the
+contrary, I had already conceived some affection, and even procured
+Epictetus, whom I studied with much interest. My friend unwillingly let
+me have my way in this one-sidedness, from which he could not draw me;
+for, in spite of his varied studies, he did not know how to bring the
+leading question into a narrow compass. He need only have said to me
+that in life action is every thing, and that joy and sorrow come of
+themselves. However, youth should be allowed its own course: it does not
+stick to false maxims very long; life soon tears or charms it away
+again.
+
+The season had become fine: we often went together into the open air,
+and visited the places of amusement which surrounded the city in great
+numbers. But it was precisely here that matters went worse with me; for
+I still saw the ghosts of the cousins everywhere, and feared, now here,
+now there, to see one of them step forward. Even the most indifferent
+glances of men annoyed me. I had lost that unconscious happiness of
+wandering about unknown and unblamed, and of thinking of no observer,
+even in the greatest crowds. Now hypochondriacal fancies began to
+torment me, as if I attracted the attention of the people, as if their
+eyes were turned on my demeanor, to fix it on their memories, to scan
+and to find fault.
+
+I therefore drew my friend into the woods; and, while I shunned the
+monotonous firs, I sought those fine leafy groves, which do not indeed
+spread far in the district, but are yet of sufficient compass for a poor
+wounded heart to hide itself. In the remotest depth of the forest I
+sought out a solemn spot, where the oldest oaks and beeches formed a
+large, noble, shaded space. The ground was somewhat sloping, and made
+the worth of the old trunks only the more perceptible. Round this open
+circle closed the densest thickets, from which the mossy rocks mightily
+and venerably peered forth, and made a rapid fall for a copious brook.
+
+Scarcely had I dragged hither my friend, who would rather have been in
+the open country by the stream, among men, when he playfully assured me
+that I showed myself a true German. He related to me circumstantially,
+out of Tacitus, how our ancestors found pleasure in the feelings which
+Nature so provides for us, in such solitudes, with her inartificial
+architecture. He had not been long discoursing of this, when I
+exclaimed, "Oh! why did not this precious spot lie in a deeper
+wilderness! why may we not train a hedge around it, to hallow and
+separate from the world both it and ourselves! Surely there is no more
+beautiful adoration of the Deity than that which needs no image, but
+which springs up in our bosom merely from the intercourse with nature!"
+What I then felt is still present to my mind: what I said I know not how
+to recall. Thus much, however, is certain, that the undetermined, widely
+expanding feelings of youth and of uncultivated nations are alone
+adapted to the sublime, which, if it is to be excited in us through
+external objects, formless, or moulded into incomprehensible forms, must
+surround us with a greatness to which we are not equal.
+
+All men, more or less, have such a disposition, and seek to satisfy this
+noble want in various ways. But as the sublime is easily produced by
+twilight and night, when objects are blended, it is, on the other hand,
+scared away by the day, which separates and sunders every thing; and so
+must it also be destroyed by every increase of cultivation, if it be not
+fortunate enough to take refuge with the beautiful, and unite itself
+closely with it, whereby both become equally undying and indestructible.
+
+The brief moments of such enjoyments were still more shortened by my
+meditative friend: but, when I turned back into the world, it was
+altogether in vain that I sought, among the bright and barren objects
+around, again to arouse such feelings within me; nay, I could scarcely
+retain even the remembrance of them. My heart, however, was too far
+spoiled to be able to compose itself: it had loved, and the object was
+snatched away from it; it had lived, and life to it was embittered. A
+friend who makes it too perceptible that he designs to improve you,
+excites no feeling of comfort; while a woman who is forming you, while
+she seems to spoil you, is adored as a heavenly, joy-bringing being. But
+that form in which the idea of beauty manifested itself to me had
+vanished into distance; it often visited me under the shade of my oak-
+trees, but I could not hold it fast: and I felt a powerful impulse to
+seek something similar in the distance.
+
+I had imperceptibly accustomed, nay, compelled, my friend and overseer
+to leave me alone; for, even in my sacred grove, those undefined,
+gigantic feelings were not sufficient for me. The eye was, above all
+others, the organ by which I seized the world. I had, from childhood,
+lived among painters, and had accustomed myself to look at objects, as
+they did, with reference to art. Now I was left to myself and to
+solitude, this gift, half natural, half acquired, made its appearance.
+Wherever I looked, I saw a picture; and whatever struck me, whatever
+gave me delight, I wished to fix, and began, in the most awkward manner,
+to draw after nature. To this end I lacked nothing less than every
+thing; yet, though without any technical means, I obstinately persisted
+in trying to imitate the most magnificent things that offered themselves
+to my sight. Thus, to be sure, I acquired the faculty of paying a great
+attention to objects; but I only seized them as a whole, so far as they
+produced an effect: and, little as Nature had meant me for a descriptive
+poet, just as little would she grant me the capacity of a draughtsman
+for details. This, however, being the only way left me of uttering my
+thoughts, I stuck to it with so much stubbornness, nay, even with
+melancholy, that I always continued my labors the more zealously the
+less I saw they produced.
+
+But I will not deny that there was a certain mixture of roguery; for I
+had remarked, that if I chose for an irksome study a half-shaded old
+trunk, to the hugely curved roots of which clung well-lit fern, combined
+with twinkling maiden-hair, my friend, who knew from experience that I
+should not be disengaged in less than an hour, commonly resolved to
+seek, with his books, some other pleasant little spot. Now nothing
+disturbed me in prosecuting my taste, which was so much the more active,
+as my paper was endeared to me by the circumstance that I had accustomed
+myself to see in it, not so much what stood upon it, as what I had been
+thinking of at any time and hour when I drew. Thus plants and flowers of
+the commonest kind may form a charming diary for us, because nothing
+that calls back the remembrance of a happy moment can be insignificant;
+and even now it would be hard for me to destroy as worthless many things
+of the kind that have remained to me from different epochs, because they
+transport me immediately to those times which I like to remember,
+although not without melancholy.
+
+But, if such drawings may have had any thing of interest in themselves,
+they were indebted for this advantage to the sympathy and attention of
+my father. He, informed by my overseer that I had become gradually
+reconciled to my condition, and, in particular, had applied myself
+passionately to drawing from nature, was very well satisfied,--partly
+because he himself set a high value on drawing and painting, partly
+because gossip Seekatz had once said to him, that it was a pity I was
+not destined for a painter. But here again the peculiarities of father
+and son came into conflict: for it was almost impossible for me to make
+use of a good, white, perfectly clean sheet of paper; gray old leaves,
+even if scribbled over on one side already, charmed me most, just as if
+my awkwardness had feared the touchstone of a white ground. Nor were any
+of my drawings quite finished; and how should I have executed a whole,
+which indeed I saw with my eyes, but did not comprehend, and how an
+individual object, which I had neither skill nor patience to follow out?
+My father's mode of training me in this respect was really to be
+admired. He kindly asked for my attempts, and drew lines round every
+imperfect sketch. He wished, by this means, to compel me to completeness
+and fulness of detail. The irregular leaves he cut straight, and thus
+made the beginning of a collection, in which he wished, at some future
+time, to rejoice at the progress of his son. It was, therefore, by no
+means disagreeable to him when my wild, restless disposition sent me
+roving about the country: he rather seemed pleased when I brought back a
+parcel of drawings on which he could exercise his patience, and in some
+measure strengthen his hopes.
+
+They no longer said that I might relapse into my former attachments and
+connections: they left me by degrees perfect liberty. By accidental
+inducements and in accidental society I undertook many journeys to the
+mountain-range, which, from my childhood, had stood so distant and
+solemn before me. Thus we visited Homburg, Kroneburg, ascended the
+Feldberg, from which the prospect invited us still farther and farther
+into the distance. Königstein, too, was not left unvisited; Wiesbaden,
+Schwalbach, with its environs, occupied us many days; we reached the
+Rhine, which, from the heights, we had seen winding along far off. Mentz
+astonished us, but could not chain a youthful mind which was running
+into the open country; we were delighted with the situation of Biberich;
+and, contented and happy, we resumed our journey home.
+
+This whole tour, from which my father had promised himself many a
+drawing, might have been almost without fruit; for what taste, what
+talent, what experience, does it not require to seize an extensive
+landscape as a picture! I was again imperceptibly drawn into a narrow
+compass, from which I derived some profit; for I met no ruined castle,
+no piece of wall which pointed to antiquity, that I did not think an
+object worthy of my pencil, and imitate as well as I could. Even the
+stone of Drusus, on the ramparts of Mentz, I copied at some risk, and
+with inconveniences which every one must experience who wishes to carry
+home with him some pictorial reminiscences of his travels. Unfortunately
+I had again brought with me nothing but the most miserable common paper,
+and had clumsily crowded several objects into one sheet. But my paternal
+teacher was not perplexed at this: he cut the sheets apart; had the
+parts which belonged to each other put together by the bookbinder;
+surrounded the single leaves with lines; and thus actually compelled me
+to draw the outline of different mountains up to the margin, and to fill
+up the foreground with some weeds and stones.
+
+If his faithful endeavors could not increase my talent, nevertheless
+this mark of his love of order had upon me a secret influence, which
+afterwards manifested itself vigorously in more ways than one.
+
+From such rambling excursions, undertaken partly for pleasure, partly
+for art, and which could be performed in a short time, and often
+repeated, I was again drawn home, and that by a magnet which always
+acted upon me strongly: this was my sister. She, only a year younger
+than I, had lived the whole conscious period of my life with me, and was
+thus bound to me by the closest ties. To these natural causes was added
+a forcible motive, which proceeded from our domestic position: a father
+certainly affectionate and well-meaning, but grave, who, because he
+cherished within a very tender heart, externally, with incredible
+consistency, maintained a brazen sternness, that he might attain the end
+of giving his children the best education, and of building up,
+regulating, and preserving his well-founded house; a mother, on the
+other hand, as yet almost a child, who first grew up to consciousness
+with and in her two eldest children; these three, as they looked at the
+world with healthy eyes, capable of life, and desiring present
+enjoyment. This contradiction floating in the family increased with
+years. My father followed out his views unshaken and uninterrupted: the
+mother and children could not give up their feelings, their claims,
+their wishes.
+
+Under these circumstances it was natural that brother and sister should
+attach themselves close to each other, and adhere to their mother, that
+they might singly snatch the pleasures forbidden as a whole. But since
+the hours of solitude and toil were very long compared with the moments
+of recreation and enjoyment, especially for my sister, who could never
+leave the house for so long a time as I could, the necessity she felt
+for entertaining herself with me was still sharpened by the sense of
+longing with which she accompanied me to a distance.
+
+And as, in our first years, playing and learning, growth and education,
+had been quite common to both of us, so that we might well have been
+taken for twins, so did this community, this confidence, remain during
+the development of our physical and moral powers. That interest of
+youth; that amazement at the awakening of sensual impulses which clothe
+themselves in mental forms; of mental necessities which clothe
+themselves in sensual images; all the reflections upon these, which
+obscure rather than enlighten us, as the fog covers over and does not
+illumine the vale from which it is about to rise; the many errors and
+aberrations springing therefrom,--all these the brother and sister
+shared and endured hand in hand, and were the less enlightened as to
+their strange condition, as the nearer they wished to approach each
+other, to clear up their minds, the more forcibly did the sacred awe of
+their close relationship keep them apart
+
+Reluctantly do I mention, in a general way, what I undertook to set
+forth years ago, without being able to accomplish it. As I lost this
+beloved, incomprehensible being but too soon, I felt inducement enough
+to make her worth present to me: and thus arose in me the conception of
+a poetic whole, in which it might be possible to exhibit her
+individuality; but for this no other form could be devised than that of
+the Richardsonian novels. Only by the minutest detail, by endless
+particularities which bear vividly all the character of the whole, and,
+as they spring up from a wonderful depth, give some feeling of that
+depth,--only in such a manner would it have been in some degree possible
+to give a representation of this remarkable personality; for the spring
+can be apprehended only while it is flowing. But from this beautiful and
+pious design, as from so many others, the tumult of the world drew me
+away; and nothing now remains for me but to call up for a moment that
+blessed spirit, as if by the aid of a magic mirror.
+
+She was tall, well and delicately formed, and had something naturally
+dignified in her demeanor, which melted away into a pleasing mildness.
+The lineaments of her face, neither striking nor beautiful, indicated a
+character which was not nor ever could be in union with itself. Her eyes
+were not the finest I have ever seen, but the deepest, behind which you
+expected the most; and when they expressed any affection, any love,
+their brilliancy was unequalled. And yet, properly speaking, this
+expression was not tender, like that which comes from the heart, and at
+the same time carries with it something of longing and desire: this
+expression came from the soul; it was full and rich; it seemed as if it
+would only give, without needing to receive.
+
+But what in a manner quite peculiar disfigured her face, so that she
+would often appear positively ugly, was the fashion of those times,
+which not only bared the forehead, but, either accidentally or on
+purpose, did every thing apparently or really to enlarge it. Now, as she
+had the most feminine, most perfect arched forehead, and, moreover, a
+pair of strong black eyebrows, and prominent eyes, these circumstances
+occasioned a contrast, which, if it did not repel every stranger at the
+first glance, at least did not attract him. She early felt it; and this
+feeling became constantly the more painful to her, the farther she
+advanced into the years when both sexes find an innocent pleasure in
+being mutually agreeable.
+
+To nobody can his own form be repugnant; the ugliest, as well as the
+most beautiful, has a right to enjoy his own presence: and as favor
+beautifies, and every one regards himself in the looking-glass with
+favor, it may be asserted that every one must see himself with
+complacency, even if he would struggle against the feeling. Yet my
+sister had such a decided foundation of good sense, that she could not
+possibly be blind and silly in this respect; on the contrary, she
+perhaps knew more clearly than she ought, that she stood far behind her
+female playfellows in external beauty, without feeling consoled by the
+fact that she infinitely surpassed them in internal advantages.
+
+If a woman can find compensation for the want of beauty, she richly
+found it in the unbounded confidence, the regard and love, which all her
+female friends bore to her; whether they were older or younger, all
+cherished the same sentiments. A very pleasant society had collected
+around her: young men were not wanting who knew how to insinuate
+themselves; nearly every girl found an admirer; she alone had remained
+without a partner. While, indeed, her exterior was in some measure
+repulsive, the mind that gleamed through it was also more repelling than
+attractive; for the presence of any excellence throws others back upon
+themselves. She felt this sensibly: she did not conceal it from me, and
+her love was directed to me with so much the greater force. The case was
+singular enough. As confidants to whom one reveals a love-affair
+actually by genuine sympathy become lovers also, nay, grow into rivals,
+and at last, perchance, transfer the passion to themselves; so it was
+with us two: for, when my connection with Gretchen was torn asunder, my
+sister consoled me the more earnestly, because she secretly felt the
+satisfaction of having gotten rid of a rival; and I, too, could not but
+feel a quiet, half-mischievous pleasure, when she did me the justice to
+assure me that I was the only one who truly loved, understood, and
+esteemed her. If now, from time to time, my grief for the loss of
+Gretchen revived, and I suddenly began to weep, to lament, and to act in
+a disorderly manner, my despair for my lost one awakened in her likewise
+a similar despairing impatience as to the never-possessings, the
+failures, and miscarriages of such youthful attachments, that we both
+thought ourselves infinitely unhappy, and the more so, as, in this
+singular case, the confidants could not change themselves into lovers.
+
+Fortunately, however, the capricious god of love, who needlessly does so
+much mischief, here for once interfered beneficially, to extricate us
+out of all perplexity. I had much intercourse with a young Englishman
+who was educated in Pfeil's boarding-school. He could give a good
+account of his own language: I practised it with him, and thus learned
+much concerning his country and people. He went in and out of our house
+long enough without my remarking in him a liking for my sister; yet he
+may have been nourishing it in secret, even to passion, for at last it
+declared itself unexpectedly and at once. She knew him, she esteemed
+him, and he deserved it. She had often made the third at our English
+conversations: we had both tried to catch from his mouth the
+irregularities of the English pronunciation, and thereby accustomed
+ourselves, not only to the peculiarities of its accent and sound, but
+even to what was most peculiar in the personal qualities of our teacher;
+so that at last it sounded strangely enough when we all seemed to speak
+as if out of one mouth. The pains he took to learn as much German from
+us in the like manner were to no purpose; and I think I have remarked
+that even this little love-affair was also, both orally and in writing,
+carried on in the English language. Both the young persons were very
+well suited to each other: he was tall and well built, as she was, only
+still more slender; his face, small and compact, might really have been
+pretty, had it not been too much disfigured by the small-pox; his manner
+was calm, precise,--one might often have called it dry and cold; but his
+heart was full of kindness and love, his soul full of generosity, and
+his attachments as lasting as they were decided and controlled. Now,
+this serious pair, who had but lately formed an attachment, were quite
+peculiarly distinguished among the others, who, being already better
+acquainted with each other, of more frivolous character, and careless as
+to the future, roved about with levity in these connections, which
+commonly pass away as the mere fruitless prelude to subsequent and more
+serious ties, and very seldom produce a lasting effect upon life.
+
+The fine weather and the beautiful country did not remain unenjoyed by
+so lively a company: water-excursions were frequently arranged, because
+these are the most sociable of all parties of pleasure. Yet, whether we
+were going by water or by land, the individual attracting powers
+immediately showed themselves; each couple kept together: and for some
+men who were not engaged, of whom I was one, there remained either no
+conversation with the ladies at all, or only such as no one would have
+chosen for a day of pleasure. A friend who found himself in this
+situation, and who might have been in want of a partner chiefly for this
+reason, that, with, the best humor, he lacked tenderness, and, with much
+intelligence, that delicate attention, without which connections of this
+kind are not to be thought of,--this man, after often humorously and
+wittily lamenting his condition, promised at the next meeting to make a
+proposal which would benefit himself and the whole company. Nor did he
+fail to perform his promise; for when, after a brilliant trip by water,
+and a very pleasant walk, reclining on the grass between shady knolls,
+or sitting on mossy rocks and roots of trees, we had cheerfully and
+happily consumed a rural meal, and our friend saw us all cheerful and in
+good spirits, he, with a waggish dignity, commanded us to sit close
+round him in a semicircle, before which he stepped, and began to make an
+emphatic peroration as follows:--
+
+"Most worthy friends of both sexes, paired and unpaired!"--It was
+already evident from this address, how necessary it was that a preacher
+of repentance should arise, and sharpen the conscience of the company.
+"One part of my noble friends is paired, and they may find themselves
+quite happy; another unpaired, and these find themselves in the highest
+degree miserable, as I can assure you from my own experience: and
+although the loving couples are here in the majority, yet I would have
+them consider whether it is not a social duty to take thought for the
+whole. Why do we wish to assemble in such numbers, except to take a
+mutual interest in each other? and how can that be done when so many
+little secessions are to be seen in our circle? Far be it from me to
+insinuate any thing against such sweet connections, or even to wish to
+disturb them; but 'there is a time for all things,'--an excellent great
+saying, of which, indeed, nobody thinks when his own amusement is
+sufficiently provided for."
+
+He then went on with constantly increasing liveliness and gayety to
+compare the social virtues with the tender sentiments. "The latter,"
+said he, "can never fail us; we always carry them about with us, and
+every one becomes a master in them without practice: but we must go in
+quest of the former, we must take some trouble about them; and, though
+we progress in them as much as we will, we have never done learning
+them." Now he went into particulars. Many felt hit off, and they could
+not help casting glances at each other: yet our friend had this
+privilege, that nothing he did was taken ill; and so he could proceed
+without interruption.
+
+"It is not enough to discover deficiencies: indeed, it is unjust to do
+so, if at the same time one cannot contrive to give the means for
+bettering the state of affairs. I will not, therefore, my friends,
+something like a preacher in Passion Week, exhort you in general terms
+to repentance and amendment: I rather wish all amiable couples the
+longest and most enduring happiness; and, to contribute to it myself in
+the surest manner, I propose to sever and abolish these most charming
+little segregations during our social hours. I have," he continued,
+"already provided for the execution of my project, if it should meet
+your approbation. Here is a bag in which are the names of the gentlemen:
+now draw, my fair ones, and be pleased to favor as your servant, for a
+week, him whom fate shall send you. This is binding only within our
+circle; as soon as that is broken up, these connections are also
+abolished, and the heart may decide who shall attend you home."
+
+A great part of the company had been delighted with this address, and
+the manner in which he delivered it, and seemed to approve of the
+notion; yet some couples looked at each other as if they thought that it
+would not answer their purpose: he therefore cried with humorous
+vehemence,--
+
+"Truly! it surprises me that some one does not spring up, and, though
+others hesitate, extol my plan, explain its advantages, and spare me the
+pain of being my own encomiast. I am the oldest among you: may God
+forgive me for that! Already have I a bald pate, which is owing to my
+great meditation."--
+
+Here he took off his hat--
+
+"But I should expose it to view with joy and honor if my lucubrations,
+which dry up my skin, and rob me of my finest adornment, could only be
+in some measure beneficial to myself and others. We are young, my
+friends,--that is good; we shall grow older,--that is bad; we take
+little offence at each other,--that is right, and in accordance with the
+season. But soon, my friends, the days will come when we shall have much
+to be displeased at in ourselves; then, let every one see that he makes
+all right with himself; but, at the same time, others will take things
+ill of us, and on what account we shall not understand; for this we must
+prepare ourselves; this shall now be done."
+
+He had delivered the whole speech, but especially the last part, with
+the tone and gesture of a Capuchin; for, as he was a Catholic, he might
+have had abundant opportunity to study the oratory of these fathers. He
+now appeared out of breath, wiped his youthful, bald head, which really
+gave him the look of a priest, and by these drolleries put the light-
+hearted company in such good humor that every one was eager to hear him
+longer. But, instead of proceeding, he drew open the bag, and turned to
+the nearest lady. "Now for a trial of it!" exclaimed he: "the work will
+do credit to the master. If in a week's time we do not like it, we will
+give it up, and stick to the old plan."
+
+Half willingly, half on compulsion, the ladies drew their tickets; and
+it was easy to see that various passions were in play during this little
+affair. Fortunately it happened that the merry-minded were separated,
+while the more serious remained together, and so, too, my sister kept
+her Englishman; which, on both sides, they took very kindly of the god
+of Love and Luck. The new chance-couples were immediately united by the
+/Antistes/, their healths were drank, and to all the more joy was
+wished, as its duration was to be but short. This was certainly the
+merriest moment that our company had enjoyed for a long time. The young
+men to whose share no lady had fallen, held, for this week, the office
+of providing for the mind, the soul, and the body, as our orator
+expressed himself, but especially, he hinted, for the soul, since both
+the others already knew how to help themselves.
+
+These masters of ceremonies, who wished at once to do themselves credit,
+brought into play some very pretty new games, prepared at some distance
+a supper, which we had not reckoned on, and illuminated the yacht on our
+return at night, although there was no necessity for it in the bright
+moonlight; but they excused themselves by saying that it was quite
+conformable to the new social regulation to outshine the tender glances
+of the heavenly moon by earthly candles. The moment we touched the
+shore, our Solon cried, "/Ite, missa est!/" Each one now handed out
+of the vessel the lady who had fallen to him by lot, and then
+surrendered her to her proper partner, on receiving his own in exchange.
+
+At our next meeting this weekly regulation was established for the
+summer, and the lots were drawn once more. There was no question but
+that this pleasantry gave a new and unexpected turn to the company; and
+every one was stimulated to display whatever of wit and grace was in
+him, and to pay court to his temporary fair one in the most obliging
+manner, since he might depend on having a sufficient store of
+complaisance for one week at least.
+
+We had scarcely settled down, when, instead of thanking our orator, we
+reproached him for having kept to himself the best part of his speech,--
+the conclusion. He thereupon protested that the best part of a speech
+was persuasion, and that he who did not aim at persuasion should make no
+speech; for, as to conviction, that was a ticklish business. As,
+however, they gave him no peace, he began a Capuchinade on the spot,
+more comical than ever, perhaps, for the very reason that he took it
+into his head to speak on the most serious subjects. For with texts out
+of the Bible, which had nothing to do with the business; with similes
+which did not fit; with allusions which illustrated nothing,--he carried
+out the proposition, that whosoever does not know how to conceal his
+passions, inclinations, wishes, purposes, and plans, will come to no
+good in the world, but will be disturbed and made a butt in every end
+and corner; and that especially if one would be happy in love, one must
+take pains to keep it a most profound secret.
+
+This thought ran through the whole, without, properly speaking, a single
+word of it being said. If you would form a conception of this singular
+man, let it be considered, that, being born with a good foundation, he
+had cultivated his talents, and especially his acuteness, in Jesuit
+schools, and had amassed an extensive knowledge of the world and of men,
+but only on the bad side. He was some two and twenty years old, and
+would gladly have made me a proselyte to his contempt for mankind; but
+this would not take with me, as I always had a great desire to be good
+myself, and to find good in others. Meanwhile, I was by him made
+attentive to many things.
+
+To complete the /dramatis personae/ of every merry company, an
+actor is necessary who feels pleasure when the others, to enliven many
+an indifferent moment, point the arrows of their wit at him. If he is
+not merely a stuffed Saracen, like those on whom the knights used to
+practise their lances in mock battles, but understands himself how to
+skirmish, to rally, and to challenge, how to wound lightly, and recover
+himself again, and, while he seems to expose himself, to give others a
+thrust home, nothing more agreeable can be found. Such a man we
+possessed in our friend Horn, whose name, to begin with, gave occasion
+for all sorts of jokes, and who, on account of his small figure, was
+called nothing but Hörnchen (little Horn). He was, in fact, the smallest
+in the company, of a stout but pleasing form; a pug-nose, a mouth
+somewhat pouting, little sparkling eyes, made up a swarthy countenance
+which always seemed to invite laughter. His little compact skull was
+thickly covered with curly black hair: his beard was prematurely blue;
+and he would have liked to let it grow, that, as a comic mask, he might
+always keep the company laughing. For the rest, he was neat and nimble,
+but insisted that he had bandy legs, which everybody granted, since he
+was bent on having it so, but about which many a joke arose; for, since
+he was in request as a very good dancer, he reckoned it among the
+peculiarities of the fair sex, that they always liked to see bandy legs
+on the floor. His cheerfulness was indestructible, and his presence at
+every meeting indispensable. We two kept more together because he was to
+follow me to the university; and he well deserves that I should mention
+him with all honor, as he adhered to me for many years with infinite
+love, faithfulness, and patience.
+
+By my ease in rhyming, and in winning from common objects a poetical
+side, he had allowed himself to be seduced into similar labors. Our
+little social excursions, parties of pleasure, and the contingencies
+that occurred in them, we decked out poetically; and thus, by the
+description of an event, a new event always arose. But as such social
+jests commonly degenerate into personal ridicule, and my friend Horn,
+with his burlesque representations, did not always keep within proper
+bounds, many a misunderstanding arose, which, however, could soon be
+softened down and effaced.
+
+Thus, also, he tried his skill in a species of poetry which was then
+very much the order of the day,--the comic heroical poem. Pope's "Rape
+of the Lock" had called forth many imitations: Zachariä cultivated this
+branch of poetry on German soil; and it pleased every one, because the
+ordinary subject of it was some awkward fellow, of whom the genii made
+game, while they favored the better one.
+
+Although it is no wonder, yet it excites wonderment, when contemplating
+a literature, especially the German, one observes how a whole nation
+cannot get free from a subject which has been once given, and happily
+treated in a certain form, but will have it repeated in every manner,
+until, at last, the original itself is covered up, and stifled by the
+heaps of imitations.
+
+The heroic poem of my friend was a voucher for this remark. At a great
+sledging-party, an awkward man has assigned to him a lady who does not
+like him: comically enough, there befalls him, one after another, every
+accident that can happen on such an occasion, until at last, as he is
+entreating for the sledge-driver's right (a kiss), he falls from the
+back-seat; for just then, as was natural, the Fates tripped him up. The
+fair one seizes the reins, and drives home alone, where a favored friend
+receives her, and triumphs over his presumptuous rival. As to the rest,
+it was very prettily contrived that the four different kinds of spirits
+should worry him in turn, till at the end the gnomes hoist him
+completely out of the saddle. The poem, written in Alexandrines, and
+founded on a true story, highly delighted our little public; and we were
+convinced that it could well be compared with the "Walpurgisnight" of
+Löwen, or the "Renommist" of Zachariä. [Footnote: This word, which
+signifies something like our "bully," is specially used to designate a
+fighting student.--TRANS.]
+
+While, now, our social pleasures required but an evening, and the
+preparations for them only a few hours, I had enough time to read, and,
+as I thought, to study. To please my father, I diligently repeated the
+smaller work of Hopp, and could stand an examination in it forwards and
+backwards, by which means I made myself complete master of the chief
+contents of the institutes. But a restless eagerness for knowledge urged
+me farther: I lighted upon the history of ancient literature, and from
+that fell into an encyclopaedism, in which I hastily read Gessner's
+"Isagoge" and Morhov's "Polyhistor," and thus gained a general notion of
+how many strange things might have happened in learning and life. By
+this persevering and rapid industry, continued day and night, I became
+more confused than instructed; but I lost myself in a still greater
+labyrinth when I found Bayle in my father's library, and plunged deeply
+into this work.
+
+But a leading conviction, which was continually revived within me, was
+that of the importance of the ancient tongues; since from amidst this
+literary hurly-burly, thus much continually forced itself upon me, that
+in them were preserved all the models of oratory, and at the same time
+every thing else of worth that the world has ever possessed. Hebrew,
+together with biblical studies, had retired into the background, and
+Greek likewise, since my acquaintance with it did not extend beyond the
+New Testament. I therefore the more zealously kept to Latin, the
+masterpieces in which lie nearer to us, and which, besides its splendid
+original productions, offers us the other wealth of all ages in
+translations, and the works of the greatest scholars. I consequently
+read much in this language, with great ease, and was bold enough to
+believe I understood the authors, because I missed nothing of the
+literal sense. Indeed, I was very indignant when I heard that Grotius
+had insolently declared, "he did not read Terence as boys do." Happy
+narrow-mindedness of youth!--nay, of men in general, that they can, at
+every moment of their existence, fancy themselves finished, and inquire
+after neither the true nor the false, after neither the high nor the
+deep, but merely after that which is suited to them.
+
+I had thus learned Latin, like German, French, and English, merely by
+practice, without rules, and without comprehension. Whoever knows the
+then condition of scholastic instruction will not think it strange that
+I skipped grammar as well as rhetoric; all seemed to me to come together
+naturally: I retained the words, their forms and inflexions, in my ear
+and mind, and used the language with ease in writing and in chattering.
+
+Michaelmas, the time fixed for my going to the university, was
+approaching; and my mind was excited quite as much about my life as
+about my learning. I grew more and more clearly conscious of an aversion
+to my native city. By Gretchen's removal, the heart had been broken out
+of the boyish and youthful plant: it needed time to bud forth again from
+its sides, and surmount the first injury by a new growth. My ramblings
+through the streets had ceased: I now, like others, only went such ways
+as were necessary. I never went again into Gretchen's quarter of the
+city, not even into its vicinity: and as my old walls and towers became
+gradually disagreeable to me, so also was I displeased at the
+constitution of the city; all that hitherto seemed so worthy of honor
+now appeared to me in distorted shapes. As grandson of the
+/Schultheiss/ I had not remained unacquainted with the secret
+defects of such a republic; the less so, as children feel quite a
+peculiar surprise, and are excited to busy researches, as soon as
+something which they have hitherto implicitly revered becomes in any
+degree suspicious to them. The fruitless indignation of upright men, in
+opposition to those who are to be gained and even bribed by factions,
+had become but too plain to me: I hated every injustice beyond measure,
+for children are all moral rigorists. My father, who was concerned in
+the affairs of the city only as a private citizen, expressed himself
+with very lively indignation about much that had failed. And did I not
+see him, after so many studies, endeavors, pains, travels, and so much
+varied cultivation, between his four walls, leading a solitary life,
+such as I could never desire for myself? All this put together lay as a
+horrible load on my mind, from which I could only free myself by trying
+to contrive a plan of life altogether different from that which had been
+marked out for me. In thought I threw aside my legal studies, and
+devoted myself solely to the languages, to antiquities, to history, and
+to all that flows from them.
+
+Indeed, at all times, the poetic imitation of what I had perceived in
+myself, in others, and in nature, afforded me the greatest pleasure. I
+did it with ever-increasing facility, because it came by instinct, and
+no criticism had led me astray; and, if I did not feel full confidence
+in my productions, I could certainly regard them as defective, but not
+such as to be utterly rejected. Although here and there they were
+censured, I still retained my silent conviction that I could not but
+gradually improve, and that some time I might be honorably named along
+with Hagedorn, Gellert, and other such men. But such a distinction alone
+seemed to me too empty and inadequate; I wished to devote myself
+professionally and with zeal to those aforesaid fundamental studies,
+and, whilst I meant to advance more rapidly in my own works by a more
+thorough insight into antiquity, to qualify myself for a university
+professorship, which seemed to me the most desirable thing for a young
+man who strove for culture, and intended to contribute to that of
+others.
+
+With these intentions I always had my eye upon Göttingen. My whole
+confidence rested upon men like Heyne, Michaelis, and so many others: my
+most ardent wish was to sit at their feet, and attend to their
+instructions. But my father remained inflexible. Howsoever some family
+friends, who were of my opinion, tried to influence him, he persisted
+that I must go to Leipzig. I was now resolved, contrary to his views and
+wishes, to choose a line of studies and of life for myself, by way of
+self-defense. The obstinacy of my father, who, without knowing it,
+opposed himself to my plans, strengthened me in my impiety; so that I
+made no scruple to listen to him by the hour, while he described and
+repeated to me the course of study and of life which I should pursue at
+the universities and in the world.
+
+All hopes of Göttingen being cut off, I now turned my eyes towards
+Leipzig. There Ernesti appeared to me as a brilliant light: Morus, too,
+already awakened much confidence. I planned for myself in secret an
+opposition-course, or rather I built a castle in the air, on a tolerably
+solid foundation; and it seemed to me quite romantically honorable to
+mark out my own path of life, which appeared the less visionary, as
+Griesbach had already made great progress in a similar way, and was
+commended for it by every one. The secret joy of a prisoner, when he has
+unbound the fetters, and rapidly filed through the bars of his jail-
+window, cannot be greater than was mine as I saw day after day
+disappear, and October draw nigh. The inclement season and the bad
+roads, of which everybody had something to tell, did not frighten me.
+The thought of making good my footing in a strange place, and in winter,
+did not make me sad; suffice it to say, that I only saw my present
+situation was gloomy, and represented to myself the other unknown world
+as light and cheerful. Thus I formed my dreams, to which I gave myself
+up exclusively, and promised myself nothing but happiness and content in
+the distance.
+
+Closely as I kept these projects a secret from every one else, I could
+not hide them from my sister, who, after being very much alarmed about
+them at first, was finally consoled when I promised to send after her,
+so that she could enjoy with me the brilliant station I was to obtain,
+and share my comfort with me.
+
+Michaelmas, so longingly expected, came at last, when I set out with
+delight, in company with the bookseller Fleischer and his wife (whose
+maiden name was Triller, and who was going to visit her father in
+Wittemberg); and I left behind me the worthy city in which I had been
+born and bred, with indifference, as if I wished never to set foot in it
+again.
+
+Thus, at certain epochs, children part from parents, servants from
+masters, /protégés/ from their patrons; and, whether it succeed or
+not, such an attempt to stand on one's own feet, to make one's self
+independent, to live for one's self, is always in accordance with the
+will of nature.
+
+We had driven out through the Allerheiligen (/All Saints/) gate,
+and had soon left Hanau behind us, after which we reached scenes which
+aroused my attention by their novelty, if, at this season of the year,
+they offered little that was pleasing. A continual rain had completely
+spoiled the roads, which, generally speaking, were not then in such good
+order as we find them now; and our journey was thus neither pleasant nor
+happy. Yet I was indebted to this damp weather for the sight of a
+natural phenomenon which must be exceedingly rare, for I have seen
+nothing like it since, nor have I heard of its having been observed by
+others. It was this; namely, we were driving at night up a rising ground
+between Hanau and Gelhausen, and, although it was dark, we preferred
+walking to exposing ourselves to the danger and difficulty of that part
+of the road. All at once, in a ravine on the right-hand side of the way,
+I saw a sort of amphitheatre, wonderfully illuminated. In a funnel-
+shaped space there were innumerable little lights gleaming, ranged step-
+fashion over one another; and they shone so brilliantly that the eye was
+dazzled. But what still more confused the sight was, that they did not
+keep still, but jumped about here and there, as well downwards from
+above as /vice versa/, and in every direction. The greater part of
+them, however, remained stationary, and beamed on. It was only with the
+greatest reluctance that I suffered myself to be called away from this
+spectacle, which I could have wished to examine more closely. The
+postilion, when questioned, said that he knew nothing about such a
+phenomenon, but that there was in the neighborhood an old stone-quarry,
+the excavation of which was filled with water. Now, whether this was a
+pandemonium of will-o'-the-wisps, or a company of luminous creatures, I
+will not decide.
+
+The roads through Thuringia were yet worse; and unfortunately, at night-
+fall, our coach stuck fast in the vicinity of Auerstädt. We were far
+removed from all mankind, and did every thing possible to work ourselves
+out. I failed not to exert myself zealously, and might thereby have
+overstrained the ligaments of my chest; for soon afterwards I felt a
+pain, which went off and returned, and did not leave me entirely until
+after many years.
+
+Yet on that same night, as if it had been destined for alternate good
+and bad luck, I was forced, after an unexpectedly fortunate incident, to
+experience a teasing vexation. We met, in Auerstädt, a genteel married
+couple, who had also just arrived, having been delayed by a similar
+accident; a pleasing, dignified man, in his best years, with a very
+handsome wife. They politely persuaded us to sup in their company, and I
+felt very happy when the excellent lady addressed a friendly word to me.
+But when I was sent out to hasten the soup which had been ordered, not
+having been accustomed to the loss of rest and the fatigues of
+travelling, such an unconquerable drowsiness overtook me, that actually
+I fell asleep while walking, returned into the room with my hat on my
+head, and, without remarking that the others were saying grace, placed
+myself with quiet unconsciousness behind the chair, and never dreamed
+that by my conduct I had come to disturb their devotions in a very droll
+way. Madame Fleischer, who lacked neither spirit nor wit nor tongue,
+entreated the strangers, before they had seated themselves, not to be
+surprised at any thing they might see here; for that their young fellow-
+traveller had in his nature much of the peculiarity of the Quakers, who
+believe that they cannot honor God and the king better than with covered
+heads. The handsome lady, who could not restrain her laughter, looked
+prettier than ever in consequence; and I would have given every thing in
+the world not to have been the cause of a merriment which was so highly
+becoming to her countenance. I had, however, scarcely laid aside my hat,
+when these persons, in accordance with their polished manners,
+immediately dropped the joke, and, with the best wine from their bottle-
+case, completely extinguished sleep, chagrin, and the memory of all past
+troubles.
+
+I arrived in Leipzig just at the time of the fair, from which I derived
+particular pleasure; for here I saw before me the continuation of a
+state of things belonging to my native city, familiar wares and
+traders,--only in other places, and in a different order. I rambled
+about the market and the booths with much interest; but my attention was
+particularly attracted by the inhabitants of the Eastern countries in
+their strange dresses, the Poles and Russians, and, above all, the
+Greeks, for the sake of whose handsome forms and dignified costume I
+often went to the spot.
+
+But this animating bustle was soon over; and now the city itself
+appeared before me, with its handsome, high, and uniform houses. It made
+a very good impression upon me; and it cannot be denied, that in
+general, but especially in the silent moments of Sundays and holidays,
+it has something imposing; and when in the moonlight the streets were
+half in shadow, half-illuminated, they often invited me to nocturnal
+promenades.
+
+[Illustration: Woman with birds.]
+
+In the mean time, as compared with that to which I had hitherto been
+accustomed, this new state of affairs was by no means satisfactory.
+Leipzig calls up before the spectator no antique time: it is a new,
+recently elapsed epoch, testifying commercial activity, comfort and
+wealth, which announces itself to us in these monuments. Yet quite to my
+taste were the houses, which to me seemed immense, and which, fronting
+two streets, and embracing a citizen-world within their large court-
+yards, built round with lofty walls, are like large castles, nay, even
+half-cities. In one of these strange places I quartered myself; namely,
+in the Bombshell Tavern (/Feuerkugel/), between the Old and the New
+Newmarket (/Neumarkt/). A couple of pleasant rooms looking out upon
+a court-yard, which, on account of the thoroughfare, was not without
+animation, were occupied by the bookseller Fleischer during the fair,
+and by me taken for the rest of the time at a moderate price. As a
+fellow-lodger I found a theological student, who was deeply learned in
+his professional studies, a sound thinker, but poor, and suffering much
+from his eyes, which caused him great anxiety for the future. He had
+brought this affliction upon himself by his inordinate reading till the
+latest dusk of the evening, and even by moonlight, to save a little oil.
+Our old hostess showed herself benevolent to him, always friendly to me,
+and careful for us both.
+
+I now hastened with my letters of introduction to Hofrath Böhme, who,
+once a pupil of Maskow, and now his successor, was professor of history
+and public law. A little, thick-set, lively man received me kindly
+enough, and introduced me to his wife. Both of them, as well as the
+other persons whom I waited on, gave me the pleasantest hopes as to my
+future residence; but at first I let no one know of the design I
+entertained, although I could scarcely wait for the favorable moment
+when I should declare myself free from jurisprudence, and devoted to the
+study of the classics. I cautiously waited till the Fleischers had
+returned, that my purpose might not be too prematurely betrayed to my
+family. But I then went, without delay, to Hofrath Böhme, to whom,
+before all, I thought I must confide the matter, and with much self-
+importance and boldness of speech disclosed my views to him. However, I
+found by no means a good reception of my proposition. As professor of
+history and public law, he had a declared hatred for every thing that
+savored of the /belles-lettres/. Unfortunately he did not stand on
+the best footing with those who cultivated them; and Gellert in
+particular, in whom I had, awkwardly enough, expressed much confidence,
+he could not even endure. To send a faithful student to those men,
+therefore, while he deprived himself of one, and especially under such
+circumstances, seemed to him altogether out of the question. He
+therefore gave me a severe lecture on the spot, in which he protested
+that he could not permit such a step without the permission of my
+parents, even if he approved of it himself, which was not the case in
+this instance. He then passionately inveighed against philology and the
+study of languages, but still more against poetical exercises, which I
+had indeed allowed to peep out in the background. He finally concluded,
+that, if I wished to enter more closely into the study of the ancients,
+it could be done much better by the way of jurisprudence. He brought to
+my recollection many elegant jurists, such as Eberhard, Otto, and
+Heineccius, promised me mountains of gold from Roman antiquities and the
+history of law, and showed me, clear as the sun, that I should here be
+taking no roundabout way, even if afterwards, on more mature
+deliberation, and with the consent of my parents, I should determine to
+follow out my own plan. He begged me, in a friendly manner, to think the
+matter over once more, and to open my mind to him soon; as it would be
+necessary to come to a determination at once, on account of the
+impending commencement of the lectures.
+
+It was, however, very polite of him not to press me on the spot. His
+arguments, and the weight with which he advanced them, had already
+convinced my pliant youth; and I now first saw the difficulties and
+doubtfulness of a matter which I had privately pictured to myself as so
+feasible. Frau Hofrath Böhme invited me shortly afterwards. I found her
+alone. She was no longer young, and had very delicate health; was gentle
+and tender to an infinite degree; and formed a decided contrast to her
+husband, whose good nature was even blustering. She spoke of the
+conversation her husband had lately had with me, and once more placed
+the subject before me, in all its bearings, in so cordial a manner, so
+affectionately and sensibly, that I could not help yielding: the few
+reservations on which I insisted were also agreed upon by the other
+side.
+
+Thereupon her husband regulated my hours; for I was to hear lectures on
+philosophy, the history of law, the Institutes, and some other matters.
+I was content with this; but I carried my point so as to attend
+Gellert's history of literature (with Stockhausen for a text-book), and
+his "Practicum" besides.
+
+The reverence and love with which Gellert was regarded by all young
+people was extraordinary. I had already called on him, and had been
+kindly received by him. Not of tall stature; elegant without being lean;
+soft and rather pensive eyes; a very fine forehead; a nose aquiline, but
+not too much so; a delicate mouth; a face of an agreeable oval,--all
+made his presence pleasing and desirable. It cost some trouble to reach
+him. His two /Famuli/ appeared like priests who guard a sanctuary,
+the access to which is not permitted to everybody, nor at every time:
+and such a precaution was very necessary; for he would have sacrificed
+his whole time, had he been willing to receive and satisfy all those who
+wished to become intimate with him.
+
+At first I attended my lectures assiduously and faithfully, but the
+philosophy would not enlighten me at all. In the logic it seemed strange
+to me that I had so to tear asunder, isolate, and, as it were, destroy,
+those operations of the mind which I had performed with the greatest
+ease from my youth upwards, and this in order to see into the right use
+of them. Of the thing itself, of the world, and of God, I thought I knew
+about as much as the professor himself; and, in more places than one,
+the affair seemed to me to come into a tremendous strait. Yet all went
+on in tolerable order till towards Shrovetide, when, in the neighborhood
+of Professor Winkler's house on the Thomas Place, the most delicious
+fritters came hot out of the pan just at the hour of lecture: and these
+delayed us so long, that our note-books became disordered; and the
+conclusion of them, towards spring, melted away, together with the snow,
+and was lost.
+
+The law-lectures very soon fared not any better, for I already knew just
+as much as the professor thought good to communicate to us. My stubborn
+industry in writing down the lectures at first, was paralyzed by
+degrees; for I found it excessively tedious to pen down once more that
+which, partly by question, partly by answer, I had repeated with my
+father often enough to retain it forever in my memory. The harm which is
+done when young people at school are advanced too far in many things was
+afterwards manifested still more when time and attention were diverted
+from exercises in the languages, and a foundation in what are, properly
+speaking, preparatory studies, in order to be applied to what are called
+"Realities," which dissipate more than they cultivate, if they are not
+methodically and thoroughly taught.
+
+I here mention, by the way, another evil by which students are much
+embarrassed. Professors, as well as other men in office, cannot all be
+of the same age: but when the younger ones teach, in fact, only that
+they may learn, and moreover, if they have talent, anticipate their age,
+they acquire their own cultivation altogether at the cost of their
+hearers; since these are not instructed in what they really need, but in
+that which the professor finds it necessary to elaborate for himself.
+Among the oldest professors, on the contrary, many are for a long time
+stationary: they deliver on the whole only fixed views, and, in the
+details, much that time has already condemned as useless and false.
+Between the two arises a sad conflict, in which young minds are dragged
+hither and thither, and which can scarcely be set right by the middle-
+aged professors, who, though possessed of sufficient learning and
+culture, always feel within themselves an active desire for knowledge
+and reflection.
+
+Now, as in this way I learned to know much more than I could digest,
+whereby a constantly increasing uncomfortableness was forced upon me; so
+also from life I experienced many disagreeable trifles,--as, indeed, one
+must always pay one's footing when one changes one's place and comes
+into a new position. The first thing the ladies blamed me for was my
+dress, for I had come from home to the university rather oddly equipped.
+
+My father, who detested nothing so much as when something happened in
+vain, when any one did not know how to make use of his time, or found no
+opportunity for turning it to account, carried his economy of time and
+abilities so far, that nothing gave him greater pleasure than to kill
+two birds with one stone. [Footnote: Literally, "to strike two flies
+with one flapper."--TRANS.] He had, therefore, never engaged a servant
+who could not be useful to the house in something else. Now, as he had
+always written every thing with his own hand, and had, latterly, the
+convenience of dictating to the young inmate of the house, he found it
+most advantageous to have tailors for his domestics, who were obliged to
+make good use of their time, as they not only had to make their own
+liveries, but the clothes for my father and the children, besides doing
+all the mending. My father himself took pains to have the best materials
+and the best kind of cloth, by getting fine wares of the foreign
+merchants at the fair, and laying them up in store. I still remember
+well that he always visited the Herr von Löwenicht, of Aix-la-Chapelle,
+and from my earliest youth made me acquainted with these and other
+eminent merchants.
+
+Care was also taken for the fitness of the stuff: and there was a
+plentiful stock of different kinds of cloth, serge, and Götting stuff,
+besides the requisite lining; so that, as far as the materials were
+concerned, we might well venture to be seen. But the form spoiled almost
+every thing. For, if one of our home-tailors was any thing of a clever
+hand at sewing and making up a coat which had been cut out for him in
+masterly fashion, he was now obliged also to cut out the dress for
+himself, which did not always succeed to perfection. In addition to
+this, my father kept whatever belonged to his clothing in very good and
+neat order, and preserved more than used it for many years. Thus he had
+a predilection for certain old cuts and trimmings, by which our dress
+sometimes acquired a strange appearance.
+
+In this same way had the wardrobe which I took with me to the university
+been furnished: it was very complete and handsome, and there was even a
+laced suit amongst the rest. Already accustomed to this kind of attire,
+I thought myself sufficiently well dressed; but it was not long before
+my female friends, first by gentle raillery, then by sensible
+remonstrances, convinced me that I looked as if I had dropped down out
+of another world. Much as I felt vexed at this, I did not see at first
+how I was to mend matters. But when Herr von Masuren, the favorite
+poetical country squire, once entered the theatre in a similar costume,
+and was heartily laughed at, more by reason of his external than his
+internal absurdity, I took courage, and ventured at once to exchange my
+whole wardrobe for a new-fashioned one, suited to the place, by which,
+however, it shrunk considerably.
+
+When this trial was surmounted, a new one was to come up, which proved
+to be far more unpleasant, because it concerned a matter which one does
+not so easily put off and exchange.
+
+I had been born and bred in the Upper-German dialect; and although my
+father always labored to preserve a certain purity of language, and,
+from our youth upwards, had made us children attentive to what may be
+really called the defects of that idiom, and so prepared us for a better
+manner of speaking, I retained nevertheless many deeper-seated
+peculiarities, which, because they pleased me by their /naïvete/, I
+was fond of making conspicuous, and thus every time I used them incurred
+a severe reproof from my new fellow-townsmen. The Upper-German, and
+perhaps chiefly he who lives by the Rhine and Main (for great rivers,
+like the seacoast, always have something animating about them),
+expresses himself much in similes and allusions, and makes use of
+proverbial sayings with a native common-sense aptness. In both cases he
+is often blunt: but, when one sees the drift of the expression, it is
+always appropriate; only something, to be sure, may often slip in, which
+proves offensive to a more delicate ear.
+
+Every province loves its own dialect; for it is, properly speaking, the
+element in which the soul draws its breath. But every one knows with
+what obstinacy the Misnian dialect has contrived to domineer over the
+rest, and even, for a long time, to exclude them. We have suffered for
+many years under this pedantic tyranny, and only by reiterated struggles
+have all the provinces again established themselves in their ancient
+rights. What a lively young man had to endure from this continual
+tutoring, may be easily inferred by any one who reflects that modes of
+thought, imagination, feeling, native character, must be sacrificed with
+the pronunciation which one at last consents to alter. And this
+intolerable demand was made by men and women of education, whose
+convictions I could not adopt, whose injustice I thought I felt, though
+I was unable to make it plain to myself. Allusions to the pithy biblical
+texts were to be forbidden me, as well as the use of the honest-hearted
+expressions from the Chronicles. I had to forget that I had read the
+"Kaiser von Geisersberg," and eschew the use of proverbs, which
+nevertheless, instead of much fiddle-faddle, just hit the nail upon the
+head,--all this, which I had appropriated to myself with youthful ardor,
+I was now to do without: I felt paralyzed to the core, and scarcely knew
+any more how I had to express myself on the commonest things. I was,
+moreover, told that one should speak as one writes, and write as one
+speaks; while to me, speaking and writing seemed once for all two
+different things, each of which might well maintain its own rights. And
+even in the Misnian dialect had I to hear many things which would have
+made no great figure on paper.
+
+Every one who perceives in this the influence which men and women of
+education, the learned, and other persons who take pleasure in refined
+society, so decidedly exercise over a young student, would be
+immediately convinced that we were in Leipzig, even if it had not been
+mentioned. Each one of the German universities has a particular
+character; for, as no universal cultivation can pervade our fatherland,
+every place adheres to its own fashion, and carries out, even to the
+last, its own characteristic peculiarities: exactly the same thing holds
+good of the universities. In Jena and Halle roughness had been carried
+to the highest pitch: bodily strength, skill in fighting, the wildest
+self-help, was there the order of the day; and such a state of affairs
+can only be maintained and propagated by the most universal riot. The
+relations of the students to the inhabitants of those cities, various as
+they might be, nevertheless agreed in this, that the wild stranger had
+no regard for the citizen, and looked upon himself as a peculiar being,
+privileged to all sorts of freedom and insolence. In Leipzig, on the
+contrary, a student could scarcely be any thing else than polite, as
+soon as he wished to stand on any footing at all with the rich, well-
+bred, and punctilious inhabitants.
+
+All politeness, indeed, when it does not present itself as the flowering
+of a great and comprehensive mode of life, must appear restrained,
+stationary, and, from some points of view, perhaps, absurd; and so those
+wild huntsmen from the Saale [Footnote: The river on which Halle is
+built.--TRANS.] thought they had a great superiority over the tame
+shepherds on the Pleisse. [Footnote: The river near Leipzig.--TRANS.]
+Zachariä's "Renommist" will always be a valuable document, from which
+the manner of life and thought at that time rises visibly forth; as in
+general his poems must be welcome to every one who wishes to form for
+himself a conception of the then prevailing state of social life and
+manners, which was indeed feeble, but amiable on account of its
+innocence and child-like simplicity.
+
+All manners which result from the given relations of a common existence
+are indestructible; and, in my time, many things still reminded us of
+Zachariä's epic poem. Only one of our fellow-academicians thought
+himself rich and independent enough to snap his fingers at public
+opinion. He drank acquaintance with all the hackney-coachmen, whom he
+allowed to sit inside the coach as if they were gentlemen, while he
+drove them on the box; thought it a great joke to upset them now and
+then, and contrived to satisfy them for their smashed vehicles as well
+as for their occasional bruises; but otherwise he did no harm to any
+one, seeming only to make a mock of the public /en masse/. Once, on
+a most beautiful promenade-day, he and a comrade of his seized upon the
+donkeys of the miller in St. Thomas's square: well-dressed, and in their
+shoes and stockings, they rode around the city with the greatest
+solemnity, stared at by all the promenaders, with whom the glacis was
+swarming. When some sensible persons remonstrated with him on the
+subject, he assured them, quite unembarrassed, that he only wanted to
+see how the Lord Christ might have looked in a like case. Yet he found
+no imitators and few companions.
+
+For the student of any wealth and standing had every reason to show
+himself attentive to the mercantile class, and to be the more solicitous
+about the proper external forms, as the colony [Footnote: Leipzig was so
+called, because a large and influential portion of its citizens were
+sprung from a colony of Huguenots, who settled there after the
+revocation of the edict of Nantes.--/American Note/.] exhibited a
+model of French manners. The professors, opulent both from their private
+property and from their liberal salaries, were not dependent upon their
+scholars; and many subjects of the state, educated at the government
+schools or other gymnasia, and hoping for preferment, did not venture to
+throw off the traditional customs. The neighborhood of Dresden, the
+attention thence paid to us, and the true piety of the superintendent of
+the course of study, could not be without a moral, nay, a religious,
+influence.
+
+At first this kind of life was not repugnant to me: my letters of
+introduction had given me the /entrée/ into good families, whose
+circle of relatives also received me well. But as I was soon forced to
+feel that the company had much to find fault with in me, and that, after
+dressing myself in their fashion, I must now talk according to their
+tongue also; and as, moreover, I could plainly see that I was, on the
+other hand, but little benefited by the instruction and mental
+improvement I had promised myself from my academical residence,--I began
+to be lazy, and to neglect the social duties of visiting, and other
+attentions; and indeed I should have sooner withdrawn from all such
+connections, had not fear and esteem attached me firmly to Hofrath
+Böhme, and confidence and affection to his wife. The husband,
+unfortunately, had not the happy gift of dealing with young people, of
+winning their confidence, and of guiding them, for the moment, as
+occasion might require. When I visited him I never got any good by it:
+his wife, on the contrary, showed a genuine interest in me. Her ill
+health kept her constantly at home. She often invited me to spend the
+evening with her, and knew how to direct and improve me in many little
+external particulars: for my manners were good, indeed; but I was not
+yet master of what is properly termed /étiquette/. Only one friend
+spent the evenings with her; but she was much more dictatorial and
+pedantic, for which reason she displeased me excessively: and, out of
+spite to her, I often resumed those unmannerly habits from which the
+other had already weaned me. Nevertheless she always had patience enough
+with me, taught me piquet, ombre, and similar games, the knowledge and
+practice of which is held indispensable in society.
+
+But it was in the matter of taste that Madame Böhme had the greatest
+influence upon me,--in a negative way truly, yet one in which she agreed
+perfectly with the critics. The Gottsched waters [Footnote: That is to
+say, the influence of Gottsched on German literature, of which more is
+said in the next book.--TRANS.] had inundated the German world with a
+true deluge, which threatened to rise up, even over the highest
+mountains. It takes a long time for such a flood to subside again, for
+the mire to dry away; and as in any epoch there are numberless aping
+poets, so the imitation of the flat and watery produced a chaos, of
+which now scarcely a notion remains. To find out that trash was trash
+was hence the greatest sport, yea, the triumph, of the critics of those
+days. Whoever had only a little common sense, was superficially
+acquainted with the ancients, and was somewhat more familiar with the
+moderns, thought himself provided with a standard scale which he could
+everywhere apply. Madame Böhme was an educated woman, who opposed the
+trivial, weak, and commonplace: she was, besides, the wife of a man who
+lived on bad terms with poetry in general, and would not even allow that
+of which she perhaps might have somewhat approved. She listened, indeed,
+for some time with patience, when I ventured to recite to her the verse
+or prose of famous poets who already stood in good repute,--for then, as
+always, I knew by heart every thing that chanced in any degree to please
+me; but her complaisance was not of long duration. The first whom she
+outrageously abused were the poets of the Weisse school, who were just
+then often quoted with great applause, and had delighted me very
+particularly. If I looked more closely into the matter, I could not say
+she was wrong. I had sometimes even ventured to recite to her, though
+anonymously, some of my own poems; but these fared no better than the
+rest of the set. And thus, in a short time, the beautiful variegated
+meadows at the foot of the German Parnassus, where I was fond of
+luxuriating, were mercilessly mowed down; and I was even compelled to
+toss about the drying hay myself, and to ridicule that as lifeless
+which, a short time before, had given me such lively joy.
+
+Without knowing it, Professor Morus came to strengthen her instructions.
+He was an uncommonly gentle and friendly man, with whom I became
+acquainted at the table of Hofrath Ludwig, and who received me very
+pleasantly when I begged the privilege of visiting him. Now, while
+making inquiries of him concerning antiquity, I did not conceal from him
+what delighted me among the moderns; when he spoke about such things
+with more calmness, but, what was still worse, with more profundity than
+Madame Böhme; and he thus opened my eyes, at first to my greatest
+chagrin, but afterwards to my surprise, and at last to my edification.
+
+Besides this, there came the Jeremiads, with which Gellert, in his
+course, was wont to warn us against poetry. He wished only for prose
+essays, and always criticised these first. Verses he treated as a sorry
+addition: and, what was the worst of all, even my prose found little
+favor in his eyes; for, after my old fashion, I used always to lay, as
+the foundation, a little romance, which I loved to work out in the
+epistolary form. The subjects were impassioned, the style went beyond
+ordinary prose, and the contents probably did not display any very deep
+knowledge of mankind in the author; and so I stood in very little favor
+with our professor, although he carefully looked over my labors as well
+as those of the others, corrected them with red ink, and here and there
+added a moral remark. Many leaves of this kind, which I kept for a long
+time with satisfaction, have unfortunately, in the course of years, at
+last disappeared from among my papers.
+
+If elderly persons wish to play the pedagogue properly, they should
+neither prohibit nor render disagreeable to a young man any thing which
+gives him pleasure, of whatever kind it may be, unless, at the same
+time, they have something else to put in its place, or can contrive a
+substitute. Everybody protested against my tastes and inclinations; and,
+on the other hand, what they commended to me lay either so far from me
+that I could not perceive its excellencies, or stood so near me that I
+thought it not a whit better than what they inveighed against. I thus
+became thoroughly perplexed on the subject, and promised myself the best
+results from a lecture of Ernesti's on "Cicero de Oratore." I learned
+something, indeed, from this lecture, but was not enlightened on the
+subject which particularly concerned me. What I demanded was a standard
+of opinion, and thought I perceived that nobody possessed it; for no one
+agreed with another, even when they brought forward examples: and where
+were we to get a settled judgment, when they managed to reckon up
+against a man like Wieland so many faults in his amiable writings, which
+so completely captivated us younger folks?
+
+Amid this manifold distraction, this dismemberment of my existence and
+my studies, it happened that I took my dinners at Hofrath Ludwig's. He
+was a medical man, a botanist; and his company, with the exception of
+Morus, consisted of physicians just commencing or near the completion of
+their studies. Now, during these hours, I heard no other conversation
+than about medicine or natural history, and my imagination was drawn
+over into quite a new field. I heard the names of Haller, Linnaeus,
+Buffon, mentioned with great respect; and, even if disputes often arose
+about mistakes into which it was said they had fallen, all agreed in the
+end to honor the acknowledged abundance of their merits. The subjects
+were entertaining and important, and enchained my attention. By degrees
+I became familiar with many names and a copious terminology, which I
+grasped more willingly as I was afraid to write down a rhyme, however
+spontaneously it presented itself, or to read a poem, for I was fearful
+that it might please me at the time, and that perhaps immediately
+afterwards, like so much else, I should be forced to pronounce it bad.
+
+This uncertainty of taste and judgment disquieted me more and more every
+day, so that at last I fell into despair. I had brought with me those of
+my youthful labors which I thought the best, partly because I hoped to
+get some credit by them, partly that I might be able to test my progress
+with greater certainty; but I found myself in the miserable situation in
+which one is placed when a complete change of mind is required,--a
+renunciation of all that one has hitherto loved and found good. However,
+after some time and many struggles, I conceived so great a contempt for
+my labors, begun and ended, that one day I burnt up poetry and prose,
+plans, sketches, and projects, all together on the kitchen hearth, and
+threw our good old landlady into no small fright and anxiety by the
+smoke which filled the whole house.
+
+
+
+SEVENTH BOOK.
+
+About the condition of German literature of those times so much has been
+written, and so exhaustively, that every one who takes any interest in
+it can be completely informed; in regard to it critics agree now pretty
+well; and what at present I intend to say piecemeal and disconnectedly
+concerning it, relates not so much to the way in which it was
+constituted in itself, as to its relation to me. I will therefore first
+speak of those things by which the public is particularly excited; of
+those two hereditary foes of all comfortable life, and of all cheerful,
+self-sufficient, living poetry,--I mean, satire and criticism.
+
+In quiet times every one wants to live after his own fashion: the
+citizen will carry on his trade or his business, and enjoy the fruits of
+it afterwards; thus will the author, too, willingly compose something,
+publish his labors, and, since he thinks he has done something good and
+useful, hope for praise, if not reward. In this tranquillity the citizen
+is disturbed by the satirist, the author by the critic; and peaceful
+society is thus put into a disagreeable agitation.
+
+The literary epoch in which I was born was developed out of the
+preceding one by opposition. Germany, so long inundated by foreigners,
+interpenetrated by other nations, directed to foreign languages in
+learned and diplomatic transactions, could not possibly cultivate her
+own. Together with so many new ideas, innumerable foreign words were
+obtruded necessarily and unnecessarily upon her; and, even for objects
+already known, people were induced to make use of foreign expressions
+and turns of speech. The German, having run wild for nearly two hundred
+years in an unhappy tumultuary state, went to school with the French to
+learn manners, and with the Romans in order to express his thoughts with
+propriety. But this was to be done in the mother-tongue, when the
+literal application of those idioms, and their half-Germanization, made
+both the social and business style ridiculous. Besides this, they
+adopted without moderation the similes of the southern languages, and
+employed them most extravagantly. In the same way they transferred the
+stately deportment of the prince-like citizens of Rome to the learned
+German small-town officers, and were at home nowhere, least of all with
+themselves.
+
+But as in this epoch works of genius had already appeared, the German
+sense of freedom and joy also began to stir itself. This, accompanied by
+a genuine earnestness, insisted that men should write purely and
+naturally, without the intermixture of foreign words, and as common
+intelligible sense dictated. By these praiseworthy endeavors, however,
+the doors and gates were thrown open to an extended national insipidity,
+nay,--the dike was dug through by which the great deluge was shortly to
+rush in. Meanwhile, a stiff pedantry long stood its ground in all the
+four faculties, until at last, much later, it fled for refuge from one
+of them to another.
+
+Men of parts, children of nature looking freely about them, had
+therefore two objects on which they could exercise themselves, against
+which they could labor, and, as the matter was of no great importance,
+give a vent to their petulance: these were,--a language disfigured by
+foreign words, forms, and turns of speech on the one hand, and the
+worthlessness of such writings as had been careful to keep themselves
+free from those faults on the other; though it occurred to nobody, that,
+while they were battling against one evil, the other was called on for
+assistance.
+
+Liskow, a daring young man, first ventured to attack by name a shallow,
+silly writer, whose awkward demeanor soon gave him an opportunity to
+proceed still more severely. He then went farther, and constantly aimed
+his scorn at particular persons and objects, whom he despised and sought
+to render despicable,--nay, even persecuted them with passionate hatred.
+But his career was short; for he soon died, and was gradually forgotten
+as a restless, irregular youth. The talent and character shown in what
+he did, although he had accomplished little, may have seemed valuable to
+his countrymen; for the Germans have always shown a peculiar pious
+kindliness to talents of good promise, when prematurely cut off. Suffice
+it to say, that Liskow was very soon praised and recommended to us as an
+excellent satirist, who could have attained a rank even above the
+universally beloved Rabener. Here, indeed, we saw ourselves no better
+off than before; for we could discover nothing in his writings, except
+that he had found the silly, silly, which seemed to us quite a matter of
+course.
+
+Rabener, well educated, grown up under good scholastic instruction, of a
+cheerful, and by no means passionate or malicious, disposition, took up
+general satire. His censure of the so-called vices and follies springs
+from the clear views of a quiet common sense, and from a fixed moral
+conception of what the world ought to be. His denunciation of faults and
+failings is harmless and cheerful; and, in order to excuse even the
+slight boldness of his writings, it is supposed that the improving of
+fools by ridicule is no fruitless undertaking.
+
+Rabener's personal character will not easily appear again. As an able,
+punctual man of business, he does his duty, and thus gains the good
+opinion of his fellow-townsmen and the confidence of his superiors;
+along with which, he gives himself up to the enjoyment of a pleasant
+contempt for all that immediately surrounds him. Pedantic
+/literati/, vain youngsters, every sort of narrowness and conceit,
+he banters rather than satirizes; and even his banter expresses no
+contempt. Just in the same way does he jest about his own condition, his
+misfortune, his life, and his death.
+
+There is little of the aesthetic in the manner in which this writer
+treats his subjects. In external forms he is indeed varied enough, but
+throughout he makes too much use of direct irony; namely, in praising
+the blameworthy and blaming the praiseworthy, whereas this figure of
+speech should be used but extremely seldom; for, in the long run, it
+becomes annoying to clear-sighted men, perplexes the weak, while indeed
+it pleases the great middle class, who, without any special expense of
+mind, can fancy themselves more knowing than others. But whatever he
+brings before us, and however he does it, alike bears witness to his
+rectitude, cheerfulness, and equanimity; so that we always feel
+prepossessed in his favor. The unbounded applause of his own times was a
+consequence of such moral excellencies.
+
+That people looked for originals to his general descriptions and found
+them, was natural; that individuals complained of him, followed from the
+above; his lengthy apologies that his satire is not personal, prove the
+spite it provoked. Some of his letters crown him at once as a man and an
+author. The confidential epistle in which he describes the siege of
+Dresden, and how he loses his house, his effects, his writings, and his
+wigs, without having his equanimity in the least shaken or his
+cheerfulness clouded, is highly valuable; although his contemporaries
+and fellow-citizens could not forgive him his happy turn of mind. The
+letter where he speaks of the decay of his strength and of his
+approaching death is in the highest degree worthy of respect; and
+Rabener deserves to be honored as a saint by all cheerful, intelligent
+men, who cheerfully resign themselves to earthly events.
+
+I tear myself away from him reluctantly, yet I would make this remark:
+his satire refers throughout to the middle class; he lets us see here
+and there that he is also well acquainted with the higher ranks, but
+does not hold it advisable to come in contact with them. It may be said,
+that he has had no successor, that no one has been found who could
+consider himself equal or even similar to him.
+
+Now for criticism! and first of all for the theoretic attempts. It is
+not going too far when we say that the ideal had, at that time, escaped
+out of the world into religion; it scarcely even made its appearance in
+moral philosophy; of a highest principle of art no one had a notion.
+They put Gottsched's "Critical Art of Poetry" into our hands; it was
+useful and instructive enough, for it gave us a historical information
+of all the kinds of poetry, as well as of rhythm and its different
+movements: the poetic genius was presupposed! But, besides that, the
+poet was to have acquirements and even learning: he should possess
+taste, and every thing else of that kind. They directed us at last to
+Horace's "Art of Poetry:" we gazed at single golden maxims of this
+invaluable work, but did not know in the least what to do with it as a
+whole, or how we should use it.
+
+The Swiss stepped forth as Gottsched's antagonists: they must take it
+into their heads to do something different, to accomplish something
+better; accordingly we heard that they were, in fact, superior.
+Breitinger's "Critical Art of Poetry" was taken in hand. Here we reached
+a wider field, but, properly speaking, only a greater labyrinth, which
+was so much the more tiresome, as an able man, in whom we had
+confidence, was driving us about in it. Let a brief review justify these
+words.
+
+For poetry in itself they had been able to find no fundamental axiom: it
+was too spiritual and too volatile. Painting, an art which one could
+hold fast with one's eyes, and follow step by step with the external
+senses, seemed more favorable for such an end: the English and French
+had already theorized about plastic art; and, by a comparison drawn from
+this, it was thought that poetry might be grounded. The former presented
+images to the eye, the latter to the imagination: poetical images,
+therefore, were the first thing which was taken into consideration.
+People began with comparisons, descriptions followed, and only that was
+expressed which had always been apparent to the external senses.
+
+Images, then! But where should these images be got except from nature?
+The painter professedly imitated nature: why not the poet also? But
+nature, as she lies before us, cannot be imitated: she contains so much
+that is insignificant and worthless, that one must make a selection; but
+what determines the choice? one must select that which is important: but
+what is important?
+
+To answer this question, the Swiss may have taken a long time to
+consider; for they came to a notion, which is indeed singular, but
+clever, and even comical, inasmuch as they say, the new is always the
+most important: and after they have considered this for a while, they
+discover that the marvellous is always newer than every thing else.
+
+They had now pretty well collected their poetical requisitions; but they
+had still to consider that the marvellous might also be empty, and
+without relation to man. But this relation, demanded as necessary, must
+be a moral one, from which the improvement of mankind should manifestly
+follow; and thus a poem had reached its utmost aim when, with every
+thing else accomplished, it was useful besides. They now wished to test
+the different kinds of poetry according to all these requisites: those
+which imitated nature, besides being marvellous, and at the same time of
+a moral aim and use, were to rank as the first and highest. And, after
+much deliberation, this great pre-eminence was at last ascribed, with
+the highest degree of conviction, to Aesop's fables!
+
+Strange as such a deduction may now appear, it had the most decided
+influence on the best minds. That Gellert and subsequently Lichtwer
+devoted themselves to this department, that even Lessing attempted to
+labor in it, that so many others turned their talents towards it, speaks
+for the confidence which this species of poetry had gained. Theory and
+practice always act upon each other: one can see from their works what
+is the men's opinion, and, from their opinions, predict what they will
+do.
+
+Yet we must not dismiss our Swiss theory without doing it justice.
+Bodmer, with all the pains he took, remained theoretically and
+practically a child all his life. Breitinger was an able, learned,
+sagacious man, whom, when he looked rightly about him, the essentials of
+a poem did not all escape,--nay, it can be shown that he may have dimly
+felt the deficiencies of his system. Remarkable, for instance, is his
+query, "Whether a certain descriptive poem by König, on the 'Review-camp
+of Augustus the Second,' is properly a poem?" and the answer to it
+displays good sense. But it may serve for his complete justification
+that he, starting from a false point, on a circle almost run out
+already, still struck upon the main principle, and at the end of his
+book finds himself compelled to recommend as additions, so to speak, the
+representation of manners, character, passions,--in short, the whole
+inner man; to which, indeed, poetry pre-eminently belongs.
+
+It may well be imagined into what perplexity young minds felt themselves
+thrown by such dislocated maxims, half-understood laws, and shivered-up
+dogmas. We adhere to examples, and there, too, were no better off;
+foreigners as well as the ancients stood too far from us; and from the
+best native poets always peeped out a decided individuality, to the good
+points of which we could not lay claim, and into the faults of which we
+could not but be afraid of falling. For him who felt any thing
+productive in himself it was a desperate condition.
+
+When one considers closely what was wanting in the German poetry, it was
+a material, and that, too, a national one: there was never a lack of
+talent. Here we make mention only of Günther, who may be called a poet
+in the full sense of the word. A decided talent, endowed with
+sensuousness, imagination, memory, the gifts of conception and
+representation, productive in the highest degree, ready at rhythm,
+ingenious, witty, and of varied information besides,--he possessed, in
+short, all the requisites for creating, by means of poetry, a second
+life within life, even within common real life. We admire the great
+facility with which, in his occasional poems, he elevates all
+circumstances by the feelings, and embellishes them with suitable
+sentiments, images, and historical and fabulous traditions. Their
+roughness and wildness belong to his time, his mode of life, and
+especially to his character, or, if one would have it so, his want of
+fixed character. He did not know how to curb himself; and so his life,
+like his poetry, melted away from him.
+
+By his vacillating conduct, Günther had trifled away the good fortune of
+being appointed at the court of Augustus the Second, where, in addition
+to every other species of ostentation, they were also looking about for
+a court-poet, who could give elevation and grace to their festivities,
+and immortalize a transitory pomp. Von König was more mannerly and more
+fortunate: he filled this post with dignity and applause.
+
+In all sovereign states the material for poetry comes downwards from
+above; and "The Review-camp at Mühlberg" ("Das Lustlager bei Mühlberg")
+was, perhaps, the first worthy object, provincial, if not national,
+which presented itself to a poet. Two kings saluting one another in the
+presence of a great host, their whole courts and military state around
+them, well-appointed troops, a mock-fight, /fêtes/ of all kinds,--
+this is business enough for the outward sense, and overflowing material
+for delineating and descriptive poetry.
+
+This subject had, indeed, the internal defect, that it was only pomp and
+show, from which no real action could result. None except the very first
+distinguished themselves; and, even if they had done so, the poet could
+not render any one conspicuous lest he should offend the others. He had
+to consult the "Court and State Calendar;" and the delineation of the
+persons therefore went off pretty dryly,--nay, even his contemporaries
+very strongly reproached him with having described the horses better
+than the men. But should not this redound to his credit, that he showed
+his art just where an object for it presented itself? The main
+difficulty, too, seems soon to have manifested itself to him,--since the
+poem never advanced beyond the first canto.
+
+Amidst such studies and reflections, an unexpected event surprised me,
+and frustrated my laudable design of becoming acquainted with our new
+literature from the beginning. My countryman, John George Schlosser,
+after spending his academical years with industry and exertion, had
+repaired to Frankfort-on-the-Main, in the customary profession of an
+advocate; but his mind, aspiring and seeking after the universal, could
+not reconcile itself to this situation for many reasons. He accepted,
+without hesitation, an office as private secretary to the Duke Ludwig of
+Wurtemberg, who resided in Treptow; for the prince was named among those
+great men who, in a noble and independent manner, purposed to enlighten
+themselves, their families, and the world, and to unite for higher aims.
+It was this Prince Ludwig who, to ask advice about the education of his
+children, had written to Rousseau, whose well-known answer began with
+the suspicious-looking phrase, "/Si j'avais le malheur d'être né
+prince/."
+
+Not only in the affairs of the prince, but also in the education of his
+children, Schlosser was now willingly to assist in word and deed, if not
+to superintend them. This noble young man, who harbored the best
+intentions and strove to attain a perfect purity of morals, would have
+easily kept men from him by a certain dry austerity, if his fine and
+rare literary cultivation, his knowledge of languages, and his facility
+at expressing himself by writing, both in verse and prose, had not
+attracted every one, and made living with him more agreeable. It had
+been announced to me that he would pass through Leipzig, and I expected
+him with longing. He came and put up at a little inn or wine-house that
+stood in the /Brühl/ (Marsh), and the host of which was named
+Schönkopf. This man had a Frankfort woman for his wife; and although he
+entertained few persons during the rest of the year, and could lodge no
+guests in his little house, yet at fair-time he was visited by many
+Frankforters, who used to eat, and, in case of need, even take quarters,
+there also. Thither I hastened to find Schlosser, when he had sent to
+inform me of his arrival. I scarcely remembered having seen him before,
+and found a young, well-formed man, with a round, compressed face,
+without the features losing their sharpness on that account. The form of
+his rounded forehead, between black eyebrows and locks, indicated
+earnestness, sternness, and perhaps obstinacy. He was, in a certain
+measure, the opposite of myself; and this very thing doubtless laid the
+foundation of our lasting friendship. I had the greatest respect for his
+talents, the more so as I very well saw, that, in the certainty with
+which he acted and produced, he was completely my superior. The respect
+and the confidence which I showed him confirmed his affection, and
+increased the indulgence he was compelled to have for my lively,
+impetuous, and ever-excitable disposition, in such contrast with his
+own. He studied the English writers diligently: Pope, if not his model,
+was his aim; and, in opposition to that author's "Essay on Man," he had
+written a poem in like form and measure, which was to give the Christian
+religion the triumph over the deism of the other work. From the great
+store of papers which he carried with him, he showed me poetical and
+prose compositions in all languages, which, as they challenged me to
+imitation, once more gave me infinite disquietude. Yet I contrived to
+get over it immediately by activity. I wrote German, French, English,
+and Italian poems, addressed to him, the subject-matter of which I took
+from our conversations, which were always important and instructive.
+
+Schlosser did not wish to leave Leipzig without having seen face to face
+the men who had a name. I willingly took him to those I knew: with those
+whom I had not yet visited, I in this way became honorably acquainted;
+since he was received with distinction as a well-informed man of
+education, of already established character, and well knew how to pay
+for the outlay of conversation. I cannot pass over our visit we paid to
+Gottsched, as it exemplifies the character and manners of that man. He
+lived very respectably in the first story of the Golden Bear, where the
+elder Breitkopf, on account of the great advantage which Gottsched's
+writings, translations, and other aids had brought to the trade, had
+promised him a lodging for life.
+
+We were announced. The servant led us into a large chamber, saying his
+master would come immediately. Now, whether we misunderstood a gesture
+which he made, I cannot say: it is enough, we thought he directed us
+into an adjoining room. We entered, to witness a singular scene: for, on
+the instant, Gottsched, that tall, broad, gigantic man, came in at the
+opposite door in a morning-gown of green damask lined with red taffeta;
+but his monstrous head was bald and uncovered. This, however, was to be
+immediately provided for: the servant rushed in at a side-door with a
+great full-bottomed wig in his hand (the curls came down to the elbows),
+and handed the head-ornament to his master with gestures of terror.
+Gottsched, without manifesting the least vexation, raised the wig from
+the servant's arm with his left hand, and, while he very dexterously
+swung it up on his head, gave the poor fellow such a box on the ear with
+his right paw, that the latter, as often happens in a comedy, went
+spinning out at the door; whereupon the respectable old grandfather
+invited us quite gravely to be seated, and kept up a pretty long
+discourse with good grace.
+
+As long as Schlosser remained in Leipzig, I dined daily with him, and
+became acquainted with a very pleasant set of boarders. Some Livonians,
+and the son of Hermann (chief court-preacher in Dresden), afterwards
+burgomaster in Leipzig, and their tutor, Hofrath Pfeil, author of the
+"Count von P.," a continuation of Gellert's "Swedish Countess;"
+Zachariä, a brother of the poet; and Krebel, editor of geographical and
+genealogical manuals,--all these were polite, cheerful, and friendly
+men. Zachariä was the most quiet; Pfeil, an elegant man, who had
+something almost diplomatic about him, yet without affectation, and with
+great good humor; Krebel, a genuine Falstaff, tall, corpulent, fair,
+with prominent, merry eyes, as bright as the sky, always happy and in
+good spirits. These persons all treated me in the most handsome manner,
+partly on Schlosser's account--partly, too, on account of my own frank
+good humor and obliging disposition; and it needed no great persuasion
+to make me partake of their table in future. In fact, I remained with
+them after Schlosser's departure, deserted Ludwig's table, and found
+myself so much the better off in this society, which was limited to a
+certain number, as I was very well pleased with the daughter of the
+family, a very neat, pretty girl, and had opportunities to exchange
+friendly glances with her,--a comfort which I had neither sought nor
+found by accident since the mischance with Gretchen. I spent the dinner-
+hours with my friends cheerfully and profitably. Krebel, indeed, loved
+me, and continued to tease me and stimulate me in moderation: Pfeil, on
+the contrary, showed his earnest affection for me by trying to guide and
+settle my judgment upon many points.
+
+During this intercourse, I perceived through conversation, through
+examples, and through my own reflections, that the first step in
+delivering ourselves from the wishy-washy, long-winded, empty epoch,
+could be taken only by definiteness, precision, and brevity. In the
+style which had hitherto prevailed, one could not distinguish the
+commonplace from what was better; since all were brought down to a level
+with each other. Authors had already tried to escape from this wide-
+spread disease, with more or less success. Haller and Ramler were
+inclined to compression by nature: Lessing and Wieland were led to it by
+reflection. The former became by degrees quite epigrammatical in his
+poems, terse in "Minna," laconic in "Emilia Galotti,"--it was not till
+afterwards that he returned to that serene /naiveté/ which becomes
+him so well in "Nathan." "Wieland, who had been occasionally prolix in
+"Agathon," "Don Sylvio," and the "Comic Tales," becomes condensed and
+precise to a wonderful degree, as well as exceedingly graceful in
+"Musarion" and "Idris." Klopstock, in the first cantos of "The Messiah,"
+is not without diffuseness: in his "Odes" and other minor poems he
+appears compressed, as also in his tragedies. By his emulation of the
+ancients, especially Tacitus, he sees himself constantly forced into
+narrower limits, by which he at last becomes obscure and unpalatable.
+Gerstenberg, a fine but eccentric talent, also distinguishes himself:
+his merit is appreciated, but on the whole he gives little pleasure.
+Gleim, diffuse and easy by nature, is scarcely once concise in his war-
+songs. Ramler is properly more a critic than a poet. He begins to
+collect what the Germans have accomplished in lyric poetry. He now
+finds, that scarcely one poem fully satisfies him: he must leave out,
+arrange, and alter, that the things may have some shape or other. By
+this means he makes himself almost as many enemies as there are poets
+and amateurs; since every one, properly speaking, recognizes himself
+only in his defects: and the public interests itself sooner for a faulty
+individuality than for that which is produced or amended according to a
+universal law of taste. Rhythm lay yet in the cradle, and no one knew of
+a method to shorten its childhood. Poetical prose came into the
+ascendant. Gessner and Klopstock excited many imitators: others, again,
+still demanded an intelligible metre, and translated this prose into
+rhythm. But even these gave nobody satisfaction, for they were obliged
+to omit and add; and the prose original always passed for the better of
+the two. But the more, with all this, conciseness is aimed at, the more
+does a judgment become possible; since that which is important, being
+more closely compressed, allows a certain comparison at last. It
+happened, also, at the same time, that many kinds of truly poetical
+forms arose; for, as they tried to represent only what was necessary in
+the objects they wished to imitate, they were forced to do justice to
+every one of these: and in this manner, though no one did it
+consciously, the modes of representation multiplied themselves, among
+which, indeed, were some which were really caricatures, while many an
+attempt proved unsuccessful.
+
+Without question, Wieland possessed the finest natural gifts of all. He
+had early cultivated himself thoroughly in those ideal regions where
+youth so readily lingers; but when, by what is called experience, by the
+events of the world, and women, these were rendered distasteful to him,
+he threw himself on the side of the actual, and pleased himself and
+others with the contest of the two worlds, where, in light skirmishing
+between jest and earnest, his talent displayed itself most beautifully.
+How many of his brilliant productions fall into the time of my academic
+years! "Musarion" had the most effect upon me; and I can yet remember
+the place and the very spot where I got sight of the first proof-sheet,
+which Oeser gave me. Here it was that I believed I saw antiquity again
+living and fresh. Every thing that is plastic in Wieland's genius here
+showed itself in its highest perfection; and when that Phanias-Timon,
+condemned to an unhappy insipidity, finally reconciles himself to his
+mistress and to the world, one can well, with him, live through the
+misanthropical epoch. For the rest, we readily conceded to these works a
+cheerful aversion from those exalted sentiments, which, by reason of
+their easy misapplication to life, are often open to the suspicion of
+dreaminess. We pardoned the author for prosecuting with ridicule what we
+held as true and reverend, the more readily as he thereby gave us to
+understand that it caused him continual trouble.
+
+How miserably criticism then received such labors may be seen from the
+first volumes of "The Universal German Library." Of "The Comic Tales"
+there is honorable mention, but there is no trace of any insight into
+the character of the kind of poetry. The reviewer, like every one at
+that time, had formed his taste by examples. He never takes it into
+consideration, that, in a judgment of such parodistical works, one must
+first of all have before one's eyes the original noble, beautiful
+object, in order to see whether the parodist has really gotten from it a
+weak and comical side, whether he has borrowed any thing from it, or,
+under the appearance of such an imitation, has perhaps given us an
+excellent invention of his own. Of all this there is not a notion, but
+the poems are praised and blamed by passages. The reviewer, as he
+himself confesses, has marked so much that pleased him, that he cannot
+quote it all in print. When they even meet the highly meritorious
+translation of Shakespeare with the exclamation, "By rights, a man like
+Shakespeare should not have been translated at all!" it will be
+understood, without further remark, how infinitely "The Universal German
+Library" was behind-hand in matters of taste, and that young people,
+animated by true feeling, had to look about them for other guiding
+stars.
+
+The material which, in this manner, more or less determined the form,
+the Germans sought everywhere. They had handled few national subjects,
+or none at all. Schlegel's "Hermann" only showed the way. The idyllic
+tendency extended itself without end. The want of distinctive character
+with Gessner, with all his great gracefulness and child-like heartiness,
+made every one think that he could do something of the same kind. Just
+in the same manner, out of the more generally human, some snatch those
+poems which should have portrayed a foreign nationality, as, for
+instance, the Jewish pastoral poems, those on the patriarchs altogether,
+and whatever else related to the Old Testament. Bodmer's "Noachide" was
+a perfect symbol of the watery deluge that swelled high around the
+German Parnassus, and which abated but slowly. The leading-strings of
+Anacreon likewise allowed innumerable mediocre geniuses to reel about at
+large. The precision of Horace compelled the Germans, though but slowly,
+to conform to him. Comic heroic poems, mostly after the model of Pope's
+"Rape of the Lock," did not serve to bring in a better time.
+
+I must here mention a delusion, which operated as seriously as it must
+be ridiculous when one examines it more closely. The Germans had now
+sufficient historical knowledge of all the kinds of poetry in which the
+different nations had distinguished themselves. This pigeon-hole work,
+which, properly speaking, totally destroys the inner conception of
+poetry, had been already pretty completely hammered together by
+Gottsched in his "Critical Art of Poetry;" and it had been shown at the
+same time that German poets, too, had already known how to fill up all
+the rubrics with excellent works. And thus it ever went on. Each year
+the collection was more considerable, but every year one work pushed
+another out of the place in which it had hitherto shone. We now
+possessed, if not Homers, yet Virgils and Miltons; if not a Pindar, yet
+a Horace; of Theocrituses there was no lack: and thus they weighed
+themselves by comparisons from without; whilst the mass of poetical
+works always increased, so that at last there could be a comparison from
+within.
+
+Now though matters of taste stood on a very uncertain footing, there
+could be no dispute but that, within the Protestant part of Germany and
+of Switzerland, what is generally called common sense began to stir
+briskly at that epoch. The scholastic philosophy--which always has the
+merit of propounding according to received axioms, in a favorite order,
+and under fixed rubrics, every thing about which man can at all inquire-
+-had, by the frequent darkness and apparent uselessness of its subject-
+matter, by its unseasonable application of a method in itself
+respectable, and by its too great extension over so many subjects, made
+itself foreign to the mass, unpalatable, and at last superfluous. Many a
+one became convinced that nature had endowed him with as great a portion
+of good and straightforward sense as, perchance, he required to form
+such a clear notion of objects that he could manage them and turn them
+to his own profit, and that of others, without laboriously troubling
+himself about the most universal problems, and inquiring how the most
+remote things which do not particularly affect us may hang together. Men
+made the trial, opened their eyes, looked straight before them,
+observant, industrious, active, and believed, that, when one judges and
+acts correctly in one's own circle, one may well presume to speak of
+other things also, which lie at a greater distance.
+
+In accordance with such a notion, every one was now entitled, not only
+to philosophize, but also by degrees to consider himself a philosopher.
+Philosophy, therefore, was more or less sound, and practised common
+sense, which ventured to enter upon the universal, and to decide upon
+inner and outer experiences. A clear-sighted acuteness and an especial
+moderation, while the middle path and fairness to all opinions was held
+to be right, procured respect and confidence for writings and oral
+statements of the sort; and thus at last philosophers were found in all
+the faculties,--nay, in all classes and trades.
+
+In this way the theologians could not help inclining to what is called
+natural religion; and, when the discussion was how far the light of
+nature may suffice to advance us in the knowledge of God and the
+improving and ennobling of ourselves, they commonly ventured to decide
+in its favor without much scruple. According to the same principle of
+moderation, they then granted equal rights to all positive religions, by
+which they all became alike indifferent and uncertain. For the rest,
+they let every thing stand; and since the Bible is so full of matter,
+that, more than any other book, it offers material for reflection and
+opportunity for meditation on human affairs, it could still, as before,
+be always laid as the foundation of all sermons and other religious
+treatises.
+
+But over this work, as well as over the whole body of profane writers,
+was impending a singular fate, which, in the lapse of time, was not to
+be averted. Hitherto it had been received as a matter of implicit faith,
+that this book of books was composed in one spirit; that it was even
+inspired, and, as it were, dictated by the Divine Spirit. Yet for a long
+time already the discrepancies of the different parts of it had been now
+cavilled at, now apologized for, by believers and unbelievers. English,
+French, and Germans had attacked the Bible with more or less violence,
+acuteness, audacity, and wantonness; and just as often had it been taken
+under the protection of earnest, sound-thinking men of each nation. As
+for myself, I loved and valued it; for almost to it alone did I owe my
+moral culture: and the events, the doctrines, the symbols, the similes,
+had all impressed themselves deeply upon me, and had influenced me in
+one way or another. These unjust, scoffing, and perverting attacks,
+therefore, disgusted me; but people had already gone so far as very
+willingly to admit, partly as a main ground for the defense of many
+passages, that God had accommodated himself to the modes of thought and
+power of comprehension in men; that even those moved by the Spirit had
+not on that account been able to renounce their character, their
+individuality, and that Amos, a cow-herd, did not use the language of
+Isaiah, who is said to have been a prince.
+
+Out of such views and convictions, especially with a constantly
+increasing knowledge of languages, was very naturally developed that
+kind of study by which it was attempted to examine more accurately the
+Oriental localities, nationalities, natural products, and phenomena, and
+in this manner to make present to one's self that ancient time.
+Michaelis employed the whole strength of his talents and his knowledge
+on this side. Descriptions of travels became a powerful help in
+explaining the Holy Scriptures; and later travellers, furnished with
+numerous questions, were made, by the answers to them, to bear witness
+for the prophets and apostles.
+
+But whilst they were on all sides busied to bring the Holy Scriptures to
+a natural intuition, and to render peculiar modes of thought and
+representation in them more universally comprehensible, that by this
+historico-critical aspect many an objection might be removed, many
+offensive things effaced, and many a shallow scoffing be made
+ineffective, there appeared in some men just the opposite disposition,
+since these chose the darkest, most mysterious, writings as the subject
+of their meditations, and wished, if not to elucidate them, yet to
+confirm them through internal evidence, by means of conjectures,
+calculations, and other ingenious and strange combinations, and, so far
+as they contained prophecies, to prove them by the results, and thus to
+justify a faith in what was next to be expected.
+
+The venerable Bengel had procured a decided reception for his labors on
+the Revelation of St. John, from the fact that he was known as an
+intelligent, upright, God-fearing, blameless man. Deep minds are
+compelled to live in the past as well as in the future. The ordinary
+movements of the world can be of no importance to them, if they do not,
+in the course of ages up to the present, revere prophecies which have
+been revealed, and in the immediate, as well as in the most remote
+futurity, predictions still veiled. Hence arises a connection that is
+wanting in history, which seems to give us only an accidental wavering
+backwards and forwards in a necessarily limited circle. Doctor Crusius
+was one of those whom the prophetic part of Scripture suited more than
+any other, since it brings into action the two most opposite qualities
+of human nature, the affections, and the acuteness of the intellect.
+Many young men had devoted themselves to this doctrine, and already
+formed a respectable body, which attracted the more attention, as
+Ernesti with his friends threatened, not to illuminate, but completely
+to disperse, the obscurity in which these delighted. Hence arose
+controversies, hatred, persecution, and much that was unpleasant. I
+attached myself to the lucid party, and sought to appropriate to myself
+their principles and advantages; although I ventured to forebode, that
+by this extremely praiseworthy, intelligent method of interpretation,
+the poetic contents of the writings must at last be lost along with the
+prophetical.
+
+But those who devoted themselves to German literature and the /belles-
+lettres/ were more nearly concerned with the efforts of such men,
+who, as Jerusalem, Zollikofer, and Spalding, tried, by means of a good
+and pure style in their sermons and treatises, to gain, even among
+persons of a certain degree of sense and taste, applause and attachment
+for religion, and for the moral philosophy which is so closely related
+to it. A pleasing manner of writing began to be necessary everywhere;
+and since such a manner must, above all, be comprehensible, so did
+writers arise, on many sides, who undertook to write about their studies
+and their professions clearly, perspicuously, and impressively, and as
+well for the adepts as for the multitude.
+
+After the example of Tissot, a foreigner, the physicians also now began
+to labor zealously for the general cultivation. Haller, Unzer,
+Zimmerman, had a very great influence; and whatever may be said against
+them in detail, especially the last, they produced a very great effect
+in their time. And mention should be made of this in history, but
+particularly in biography; for a man remains of consequence, not so far
+as he leaves something behind him, but so far as he acts and enjoys, and
+rouses others to action and enjoyment.
+
+The jurists, accustomed from their youth upward to an abstruse style,
+which, in all legal papers, from the petty court of the Immediate Knight
+up to the Imperial Diet at Ratisbon, was still maintained in all its
+quaintness, could not easily elevate themselves to a certain freedom,
+the less so as the subjects of which they had to treat were most
+intimately connected with the external form, and consequently also with
+the style. But the younger Von Moser had already shown himself an
+independent and original writer; and Putter, by the clearness of his
+delivery, had also brought clearness into his subject, and the style in
+which he was to treat it. All that proceeded from his school was
+distinguished by this. And even the philosophers, in order to be
+popular, now found themselves compelled to write clearly and
+intelligibly. Mendelssohn and Garve appeared, and excited universal
+interest and admiration.
+
+With the cultivation of the German language and style in every
+department, the capacity for forming a judgment also increased, and we
+admire the reviews then published of works upon religious and moral, as
+well as medical, subjects; while, on the contrary, we remark that the
+judgments of poems, and of whatever else may relate to the /belles-
+lettres/, will be found, if not pitiful, at least very feeble. This
+holds good of the "Literary Epistles" ("Literaturbriefen"), and of "The
+Universal German Library," as well as of "The Library of the Belles-
+Lettres," notable instances of which could easily be produced.
+
+No matter in how motley a manner all this might be confused, still, for
+every one who contemplated producing any thing from himself,--who would
+not merely take the words and phrases out of the mouths of his
+predecessors,--there was nothing further left but, early and late, to
+look about him for some subject-matter which he might determine to use.
+Here, too, we were much led astray. People were constantly repeating a
+saying of Kleist, which we had to hear often enough. He had sportively,
+ingeniously, and truly replied to those who took him to task on account
+of his frequent, lonely walks, "that he was not idle at such times,--he
+was going to the image-hunt." This simile was very suitable for a
+nobleman and soldier, who by it placed himself in contrast with the men
+of his rank, who did not neglect going out, with their guns on their
+shoulders, hare-hunting and partridge-shooting, as often as an
+opportunity presented itself. Hence we find in Kleist's poems many such
+individual images, happily seized, although not always happily
+elaborated, which, in a kindly manner, remind us of nature. But now they
+also recommended us, quite seriously, to go out on the image-hunt, which
+did not at last leave us wholly without fruit; although Apel's garden,
+the kitchen-gardens, the Rosenthal, Golis, Raschwitz, and Konnewitz,
+would be the oddest ground to beat up poetical game in. And yet I was
+often induced by that motive to contrive that my walk should be
+solitary; and because many objects neither beautiful nor sublime met the
+eye of the beholder, and, in the truly splendid Rosenthal, the gnats, in
+the best season of the year, allowed no tender thoughts to arise, so did
+I, by unwearied, persevering endeavor, become extremely attentive to the
+small life of nature (I would use this word after the analogy of "still
+life"); and, since the pretty events which one perceives within this
+circle represent but little in themselves, so I accustomed myself to see
+in them a significance, which inclined now towards the symbolical, now
+towards the allegorical, side, accordingly as intuition, feeling, or
+reflection had the preponderance. I will relate one incident in place of
+many.
+
+I was, after the fashion of humanity, in love with my name, and, as
+young, uneducated people commonly do, wrote it down everywhere. Once I
+had carved it very handsomely and accurately on the smooth bark of a
+linden-tree of moderate age. The following autumn, when my affection for
+Annette was in its fullest bloom, I took the trouble to cut hers above
+it. Towards the end of the winter, in the mean time, like a capricious
+lover, I had wantonly sought many opportunities to tease her and cause
+her vexation: in the spring I chanced to visit the spot; and the sap,
+which was rising strongly in the trees, had welled out through the
+incisions which formed her name, and which were not yet crusted over,
+and moistened with innocent vegetable tears the already hardened traces
+of my own. Thus to see her here weeping over me,--me, who had so often
+called up her tears by my ill conduct, filled me with confusion. At the
+remembrance of my injustice and of her love, even the tears came into my
+eyes; I hastened to implore pardon of her, doubly and trebly: and I
+turned this incident into an idyl, [Footnote: Die Laune des Verliebten,
+translated as The Lover's Caprice, see p. 241.] which I never could read
+to myself without affection, or to others without emotion.
+
+While I now, like a shepherd on the Pleisse, was absorbed childishly
+enough in such tender subjects, and always chose only such as I could
+easily recall into my bosom, provision from a greater and more important
+side had long been made for German poets.
+
+The first true and really vital material of the higher order came into
+German poetry through Frederick the Great and the deeds of the Seven
+Years' War. All national poetry must be shallow or become shallow which
+does not rest on that which is most universally human,--upon the events
+of nations and their shepherds, when both stand for one man. Kings are
+to be represented in war and danger, where, by that very means, they
+appear as the first, because they determine and share the fate of the
+very least, and thus become much more interesting than the gods
+themselves, who, when they have once determined the fates, withdraw from
+all participation in them. In this view of the subject, every nation, if
+it would be worth any thing at all, must possess an epopee, to which the
+precise form of the epic poem is not necessary.
+
+The war-songs started by Gleim maintain so high a rank among German
+poems, because they arose with and in the achievements which are their
+subject; and because, moreover, their felicitous form, just as if a
+fellow-combatant had produced them in the loftiest moments, makes us
+feel the most complete effectiveness.
+
+Ramler sings the deeds of his king in a different and most noble manner.
+All his poems are full of matter, and occupy us with great, heart-
+elevating objects, and thus already maintain an indestructible value.
+
+For the internal matter of the subject treated is the beginning and end
+of art. It will not, indeed, be denied that genius, that thoroughly
+cultivated artistical talent, can make every thing out of every thing by
+its method of treatment, and can subdue the most refractory material.
+But, when closely examined, the result is rather a trick of art than a
+work of art, which should rest upon a worthy object, that the treatment
+of it, by skill, pains, and industry, may present to us the dignity of
+the subject-matter only the more happily and splendidly.
+
+The Prussians, and with them Protestant Germany, acquired thus for their
+literature a treasure which the opposite party lacked, and the want of
+which they have been able to supply by no subsequent endeavors. Upon the
+great idea which the Prussian writers might well entertain of their
+king, they first established themselves, and the more zealously as he,
+in whose name they did it all, wished once for all to know nothing about
+them. Already before this, through the French colony, afterwards through
+the king's predilection for the literature of that nation and for their
+financial institutions, had a mass of French civilization come into
+Prussia, which was highly advantageous to the Germans, since by it they
+were challenged to contradiction and resistance; thus the very aversion
+of Frederick from German was a fortunate thing for the formation of its
+literary character. They did every thing to attract the king's
+attention, not indeed to be honored, but only noticed, by him; yet they
+did it in German fashion, from an internal conviction; they did what
+they held to be right, and desired and wished that the king should
+recognize and prize this German uprightness. That did not and could not
+happen; for how can it be required of a king, who wishes to live and
+enjoy himself intellectually, that he shall lose his years in order to
+see what he thinks barbarous developed and rendered palatable too late?
+In matters of trade and manufacture, he might indeed force upon himself,
+but especially upon his people, very moderate substitutes instead of
+excellent foreign wares; but here every thing comes to perfection more
+rapidly, and it needs not a man's life-time to bring such things to
+maturity.
+
+But I must here, first of all, make honorable mention of one work, the
+most genuine production of the Seven Years' War, and of perfect North-
+German nationality: it is the first theatrical production caught from
+the important events of life, one of specific, temporary value, and one
+which therefore produced an incalculable effect,--"Minna von Barnhelm."
+Lessing, who, in opposition to Klopstock and Gleim, was fond of casting
+off his personal dignity, because he was confident that he could at any
+moment grasp and take it up again, delighted in a dissipated life in
+taverns and the world, as he always needed a strong counterpoise to his
+powerfully laboring interior; and for this reason, also, he had joined
+the suite of Gen. Tauentzien. One easily discovers how the above-
+mentioned piece was generated betwixt war and peace, hatred and
+affection. It was this production which happily opened the view into a
+higher, more significant, world, from the literary and citizen world in
+which poetic art had hitherto moved.
+
+The intense hatred in which the Prussians and Saxons stood towards each
+other during this war could not be removed by its termination. The Saxon
+now first felt, with true bitterness, the wounds which the upstart
+Prussian had inflicted upon him. Political peace could not immediately
+re-establish a peace between their dispositions. But this was to be
+brought about symbolically by the above-mentioned drama. The grace and
+amiability of the Saxon ladies conquer the worth, the dignity, and the
+stubbornness of the Prussians; and, in the principal as well as in the
+subordinate characters, a happy union of bizarre and contradictory
+elements is artistically represented.
+
+If I have put my reader in some perplexity by these cursory and
+desultory remarks on German literature, I have succeeded in giving them
+a conception of that chaotic condition in which my poor brain found
+itself, when, in the conflict of two epochs so important for the
+literary fatherland, so much that was new crowded in upon me before I
+could come to terms with the old, so much that was old yet made me feel
+its right over me, when I believed I had already cause to venture on
+renouncing it altogether. I will at present try to impart, as well as
+possible, the way I entered on to extricate myself from this difficulty,
+if only step by step.
+
+The period of prolixity into which my youth had fallen, I had labored
+through with genuine industry, in company with so many worthy men. The
+numerous quarto volumes of manuscript which I left behind with my father
+might serve for sufficient witnesses of this; and what a mass of essays,
+rough draughts, and half-executed designs, had, more from despondency
+than conviction, gone up in smoke! Now, through conversation, through
+instruction in general, through so many conflicting opinions, but
+especially through my fellow-boarder Hofrath Pfeil, I learned to value
+more and more the importance of the subject-matter and the conciseness
+of the treatment; without, however, being able to make it clear to
+myself where the former was to be sought, or how the latter was to be
+attained. For, what with the great narrowness of my situation; what with
+the indifference of my companions, the reserve of the professors, the
+exclusiveness of the educated inhabitants; and what with the perfect
+insignificance of the natural objects,--I was compelled to seek for
+every thing within myself. Whenever I desired a true basis in feeling or
+reflection for my poems, I was forced to grasp into my own bosom;
+whenever I required for my poetic representation an immediate intuition
+of an object or an event, I could not step outside the circle which was
+fitted to teach me, and inspire me with an interest. In this view I
+wrote at first certain little poems, in the form of songs or in a freer
+measure: they are founded on reflection, treat of the past, and for the
+most part take an epigrammatic turn.
+
+And thus began that tendency from which I could not deviate my whole
+life through; namely, the tendency to turn into an image, into a poem,
+every thing that delighted or troubled me, or otherwise occupied me, and
+to come to some certain understanding with myself upon it, that I might
+both rectify my conceptions of external things, and set my mind at rest
+about them. The faculty of doing this was necessary to no one more than
+to me, for my natural disposition whirled me constantly from one extreme
+to the other. All, therefore, that has been confessed by me, consists of
+fragments of a great confession; and this little book is an attempt
+which I have ventured on to render it complete.
+
+My early affection for Gretchen I had now transferred to one Annette
+(/Aennchen/), of whom I can say nothing more than that she was
+young, handsome, sprightly, loving, and so agreeable that she well
+deserved to be set up for a time in the shrine of the heart as a little
+saint, that she might receive all that reverence which it often causes
+more pleasure to bestow than to receive. I saw her daily without
+hinderance; she helped to prepare the meals I enjoyed; she brought, in
+the evening at least, the wine I drank; and indeed our select club of
+noon-day boarders was a warranty that the little house, which was
+visited by few guests except during the fair, well merited its good
+reputation. Opportunity and inclination were found for various kinds of
+amusement. But, as she neither could nor dared go much out of the house,
+the pastime was somewhat limited. We sang the songs of Zachariä; played
+the "Duke Michael" of Krüger, in which a knotted handkerchief had to
+take the place of the nightingale; and so, for a while, it went on quite
+tolerably. But since such connections, the more innocent they are,
+afford the less variety in the long run, I was seized with that wicked
+distemper which seduces us to derive amusement from the torment of a
+beloved one, and to domineer over a girl's devotedness with wanton and
+tyrannical caprice. My ill humor at the failure of my poetical attempts,
+at the apparent impossibility of coming to a clear understanding about
+them, and at every thing else that might pinch me here and there, I
+thought I might vent on her, because she truly loved me with all her
+heart, and did whatever she could to please me. By unfounded and absurd
+fits of jealousy, I destroyed our most delightful days, both for myself
+and her. She endured it for a time with incredible patience, which I was
+cruel enough to try to the uttermost. But, to my shame and despair, I
+was at last forced to remark that her heart was alienated from me, and
+that I might now have good ground for the madness in which I had
+indulged without necessity and without cause. There were also terrible
+scenes between us, in which I gained nothing; and I then first felt that
+I had truly loved her, and could not bear to lose her. My passion grew,
+and assumed all the forms of which it is capable under such
+circumstances; nay, at last I even took up the /rôle/ which the
+girl had hitherto played. I sought every thing possible in order to be
+agreeable to her, even to procure her pleasure by means of others; for I
+could not renounce the hope of winning her again. But it was too late! I
+had lost her really; and the frenzy with which I revenged my fault upon
+myself, by assaulting in various frantic ways my physical nature, in
+order to inflict some hurt on my moral nature, contributed very much to
+the bodily maladies under which I lost some of the best years of my
+life: indeed, I should perchance have been completely ruined by this
+loss, had not my poetic talent here shown itself particularly helpful
+with its healing power.
+
+Already, at many intervals before, I had clearly enough perceived my ill
+conduct. I really pitied the poor child, when I saw her so thoroughly
+wounded by me, without necessity. I pictured to myself so often and so
+circumstantially her condition and my own, and, as a contrast, the
+contented state of another couple in our company, that at last I could
+not forbear treating this situation dramatically, as a painful and
+instructive penance. Hence arose the oldest of my extant dramatic
+labors, the little piece entitled, "Die Laune des Verliebten" ("The
+Lover's Caprice"), in the simple nature of which one may at the same
+time perceive the impetus of a boiling passion.
+
+But, before this, a deep, significant, impulsive world had already
+interested me. Through my adventure with Gretchen and its consequences,
+I had early looked into the strange labyrinths by which civil society is
+undermined. Religion, morals, law, rank, connections, custom, all rule
+only the surface of city existence. The streets, bordered by splendid
+houses, are kept neat; and every one behaves himself there properly
+enough: but, indoors, it often seems only so much the more disordered;
+and a smooth exterior, like a thin coat of mortar, plasters over many a
+rotten wall that tumbles together overnight, and produces an effect the
+more frightful, as it comes into the midst of a condition of repose. A
+great many families, far and near, I had seen already, either
+overwhelmed in ruin or kept miserably hanging on the brink of it, by
+means of bankruptcies, divorces, seduced daughters, murders, house-
+robberies, poisonings; and, young as I was, I had often, in such cases,
+lent a hand for help and preservation. For as my frankness awakened
+confidence; as my secrecy was proved; as my activity feared no
+sacrifice, and loved best to exert itself in the most dangerous
+affairs,--I had often enough found opportunity to mediate, to hush up,
+to divert the lightning-flash, with every other assistance of the kind;
+in the course of which, as well in my own person as through others, I
+could not fail to come to the knowledge of many afflicting and
+humiliating facts. To relieve myself I designed several plays, and wrote
+the arguments [Footnote: "/Exposition/," in a dramatic sense,
+properly means a statement of the events which take place before the
+action of the play commences.--TRANS.] of most of them. But since the
+intrigues were always obliged to be painful, and almost all these pieces
+threatened a tragical conclusion, I let them drop one after another.
+"Die Mitschuldigen" ("The Accomplices") is the only one that was
+finished, the cheerful and burlesque tone of which upon the gloomy
+family-ground appears as if accompanied by something causing anxiety; so
+that, on the whole, it is painful in representation, although it pleases
+in detached passages. The illegal deeds, harshly expressed, wound the
+aesthetic and moral feeling, and the piece could therefore find no favor
+on the German stage; although the imitations of it, which steered clear
+of those rocks, were received with applause.
+
+Both the above-mentioned pieces were, however, written from a more
+elevated point of view, without my having been aware of it. They direct
+us to a considerate forbearance in casting moral imputations, and in
+somewhat harsh and coarse touches sportively express that most Christian
+maxim, /Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone/.
+
+Through this earnestness, which cast a gloom over my first pieces, I
+committed the mistake of neglecting very favorable materials which lay
+quite decidedly in my natural disposition. In the midst of these
+serious, and, for a young man, fearful, experiences, was developed in me
+a reckless humor, which feels itself superior to the moment, and not
+only fears no danger, but rather wantonly courts it. The reason of this
+lay in the exuberance of spirits in which the vigorous time of life so
+much delights, and which, if it manifests itself in a frolicsome way,
+causes much pleasure, both at the moment and in remembrance. These
+things are so usual, that, in the vocabulary of our young university
+friends, they are called /Suites/; and, on account of the close
+similarity of signification, to say "play /suites/," means just the
+same as to "play pranks." [Footnote: The real meaning of the passage is,
+that the idiom "Possen reissen" is used also with the university word
+"Suite," so that one can say "Suiten reissen."--TRANS.]
+
+Such humorous acts of daring, brought on the theatre with wit and sense,
+are of the greatest effect. They are distinguished from intrigue,
+inasmuch as they are momentary, and that their aim, whenever they are to
+have one, must not be remote. Beaumarchais has seized their full value,
+and the effects of his "Figaro" spring pre-eminently from this. Whereas
+such good-humored roguish and half-knavish pranks are practised with
+personal risk for noble ends, the situations which arise from them are
+aesthetically and morally considered of the greatest value for the
+theatre; as, for instance, the opera of "The Water-Carrier" treats
+perhaps the happiest subject which we have ever yet seen upon the stage.
+
+To enliven the extreme tedium of daily life, I played off numberless
+tricks of the sort, partly without any aim at all, partly in the service
+of my friends, whom I liked to please. For myself, I could not say that
+I had once acted in this designedly, nor did I ever happen to consider a
+feat of the kind as a subject for art. Had I, however, seized upon and
+elaborated such materials, which were so close at hand, my earliest
+labors would have been more cheerful and available. Some incidents of
+this kind occur indeed later, but isolated and without design. For since
+the heart always lies nearer to us than the head, and gives us trouble,
+whereas the latter knows how to set matters to rights, the affairs of
+the heart had always appeared to me as the most important. I was never
+weary of reflecting upon the transient nature of attachments, the
+mutability of human character, moral sensuality, and all the heights and
+depths, the combination of which in our nature may be considered as the
+riddle of human life. Here, too, I sought to get rid of that which
+troubled me, in a song, an epigram, in some kind of rhyme; which, since
+they referred to the most private feelings and the most peculiar
+circumstances, could scarcely interest any one but myself.
+
+In the mean time, my external position had very much changed after the
+lapse of a short time. Madame Böhme, after a long and melancholy
+illness, had at last died: she had latterly ceased to admit me to her
+presence. Her husband could not be very much satisfied with me: I seemed
+to him not sufficiently industrious, and too frivolous. He especially
+took it very ill of me, when it was told him, that at the lectures on
+German Public Law, instead of taking proper notes, I had been drawing on
+the margin of my note-book the personages presented to our notice in
+them, such as the President of the Chamber, the Moderators and
+Assessors, in strange wigs; and by this drollery had disturbed my
+attentive neighbors and set them laughing. After the loss of his wife he
+lived still more retired than before, and at last I shunned him in order
+to avoid his reproaches. But it was peculiarly unfortunate that Gellert
+would not use the power which he might have exercised over us. Indeed,
+he had not time to play the father-confessor, and to inquire after the
+character and faults of everybody: he therefore took the matter very
+much in the lump, and thought to curb us by means of the church forms.
+For this reason he commonly, when he admitted us to his presence, used
+to lower his little head, and, in his weeping, winning voice, to ask us
+whether we went regularly to church, who was our confessor, and whether
+we took the holy communion? If we came off badly at this examination, we
+were dismissed with lamentations: we were more vexed than edified, yet
+could not help loving the man heartily.
+
+On this occasion I cannot forbear recalling somewhat of my earlier
+youth, in order to make it obvious that the great affairs of the
+ecclesiastical religion must be carried on with order and coherence, if
+they are to prove as fruitful as is expected. The Protestant service has
+too little fulness and consistency to be able to hold the congregation
+together; hence it easily happens that members secede from it, and
+either form little congregations of their own, or, without
+ecclesiastical connection, quietly carry on their citizen-life side by
+side. Thus for a considerable time complaints were made that church-
+goers were diminishing from year to year, and, just in the same ratio,
+the persons who partook of the Lord's Supper. With respect to both, but
+especially the latter, the cause lies close at hand; but who dares to
+speak it out? We will make the attempt.
+
+In moral and religious, as well as in physical and civil, matters, man
+does not like to do any thing on the spur of the moment; he needs a
+sequence from which results habit; what he is to love and to perform, he
+cannot represent to himself as single or isolated; and, if he is to
+repeat any thing willingly, it must not have become strange to him. If
+the Protestant worship lacks fulness in general, so let it be
+investigated in detail, and it will be found that the Protestant has too
+few sacraments,--nay, indeed, he has only one in which he is himself an
+actor,--the Lord's Supper; for baptism he sees only when it is performed
+on others, and is not greatly edified by it. The sacraments are the
+highest part of religion, the symbols to our senses of an extraordinary
+divine favor and grace. In the Lord's Supper earthly lips are to receive
+a divine Being embodied, and partake of a heavenly under the form of an
+earthly nourishment. This import is the same in all kinds of Christian
+churches: whether the sacrament is taken with more or less submission to
+the mystery, with more or less accommodation as to that which is
+intelligible, it always remains a great, holy thing, which in reality
+takes the place of the possible or the impossible, the place of that
+which man can neither attain nor do without. But such a sacrament should
+not stand alone: no Christian can partake of it with the true joy for
+which it is given, if the symbolical or sacramental sense is not
+fostered within him. He must be accustomed to regard the inner religion
+of the heart and that of the external church as perfectly one, as the
+great universal sacrament, which again divides itself into so many
+others, and communicates to these parts its holiness,
+indestructibleness, and eternity.
+
+Here a youthful pair join hands, not for a passing salutation or for the
+dance: the priest pronounces his blessing upon them, and the bond is
+indissoluble. It is not long before this wedded pair bring a likeness to
+the threshold of the altar: it is purified with holy water, and so
+incorporated into the church, that it cannot forfeit this benefit but
+through the most monstrous apostasy. The child in the course of life
+goes on progressing in earthly things of his own accord, in heavenly
+things he must be instructed. Does it prove on examination that this has
+been fully done, he is now received into the bosom of the church as an
+actual citizen, as a true and voluntary professor, not without outward
+tokens of the weightiness of this act. Now, only, he is decidedly a
+Christian, now for the first time he knows his advantages and also his
+duties. But, in the mean time, a great deal that is strange has happened
+to him as a man: through instruction and affliction he has come to know
+how critical appears the state of his inner self, and there will
+constantly be a question of doctrines and of transgressions; but
+punishment shall no longer take place. For here, in the infinite
+confusion in which he must entangle himself, amid the conflict of
+natural and religious claims, an admirable expedient is given him, in
+confiding his deeds and misdeeds, his infirmities and doubts, to a
+worthy man, appointed expressly for that purpose, who knows how to calm,
+to warn, to strengthen him, to chasten him likewise by symbolical
+punishments, and at last, by a complete washing away of his guilt, to
+render him happy, and to give him back, pure and cleansed, the tablet of
+his manhood. Thus prepared, and purely set at rest by several
+sacramental acts, which on closer examination branch forth again into
+minuter sacramental traits, he kneels down to receive the host; and,
+that the mystery of this high act may be still enhanced, he sees the
+chalice only in the distance: it is no common eating and drinking that
+satisfies, it is a heavenly feast, which makes him thirst after heavenly
+drink.
+
+Yet let not the youth believe that this is all he has to do; let not
+even the man believe it. In earthly relations we are at last accustomed
+to depend on ourselves; and, even there, knowledge, understanding, and
+character will not always suffice: in heavenly things, on the contrary,
+we have never finished learning. The higher feeling within us, which
+often finds itself not even truly at home, is, besides, oppressed by so
+much from without, that our own power hardly administers all that is
+necessary for counsel, consolation, and help. But, to this end, that
+remedy is instituted for our whole life; and an intelligent, pious man
+is continually waiting to show the right way to the wanderers, and to
+relieve the distressed.
+
+And what has been so well tried through the whole life, is now to show
+forth all its healing power with tenfold activity at the gate of Death.
+According to a trustful custom, inculcated from youth upwards, the dying
+man receives with fervor those symbolical, significant assurances; and
+there, where every earthly warranty fails, he is assured, by a heavenly
+one, of a blessed existence for all eternity. He feels perfectly
+convinced that neither a hostile element nor a malignant spirit can
+hinder him from clothing himself with a glorified body, so that, in
+immediate relation with the Godhead, he may partake of the boundless
+happiness which flows forth from him.
+
+Then, in conclusion, that the whole may be made holy, the feet also are
+anointed and blessed. They are to feel, even in the event of possible
+recovery, a repugnance to touching this earthly, hard, impenetrable
+soil. A wonderful elasticity is to be imparted to them, by which they
+spurn from under them the clod of earth which hitherto attracted them.
+And so, through a brilliant cycle of equally holy acts, the beauty of
+which we have only briefly hinted at, the cradle and the grave, however
+far asunder they may chance to be, are joined in one continuous circle.
+
+But all these spiritual wonders spring not, like other fruits, from the
+natural soil, where they can neither be sown nor planted nor cherished.
+We must supplicate for them from another region,--a thing which cannot
+be done by all persons nor at all times. Here we meet the highest of
+these symbols, derived from pious tradition. We are told that one man
+may be more favored, blessed, and sanctified from above than another.
+But, that this may not appear as a natural gift, this great boon, bound
+up with a heavy duty, must be communicated to others by one authorized
+person to another; and the greatest good that a man can attain, without
+his having to obtain it by his own wrestling or grasping, must be
+preserved and perpetuated on earth by spiritual inheritance. In the very
+ordination of the priest is comprehended all that is necessary for the
+effectual solemnizing of those holy acts by which the multitude receive
+grace, without any other activity being needful on their part than that
+of faith and implicit confidence. And thus the priest joins the line of
+his predecessors and successors, in the circle of those anointed with
+him, representing the highest source of blessings, so much the more
+gloriously, as it is not he, the priest, whom we reverence, but his
+office: it is not his nod to which we bow the knee, but the blessing
+which he imparts, and which seems the more holy, and to come the more
+immediately from heaven, because the earthly instrument cannot at all
+weaken or invalidate it by its own sinful, nay, wicked, nature.
+
+How is this truly spiritual connection shattered to pieces in
+Protestantism, by part of the above-mentioned symbols being declared
+apocryphal, and only a few canonical!--and how, by their indifference to
+one of these, will they prepare us for the high dignity of the others?
+
+In my time I had been confided to the religious instruction of a good
+old infirm clergyman, who had been confessor of the family for many
+years. The "Catechism," a "Paraphrase" of it, and the "Scheme of
+Salvation," I had at my finger's ends: I lacked not one of the strongly
+proving biblical texts, but from all this I reaped no fruit; for, as
+they assured me that the honest old man arranged his chief examimation
+according to an old set form, I lost all pleasure and inclination for
+the business, spent the last week in all sorts of diversions, laid in my
+hat the loose leaves borrowed from an older friend, who had gotten them
+from the clergyman, and unfeelingly and senselessly read aloud all that
+I should have known how to utter with feeling and conviction.
+
+But I found my good intention and my aspirations in this important
+matter still more paralyzed by a dry, spiritless routine, when I was now
+to approach the confessional. I was indeed conscious of having many
+failings, but no great faults; and that very consciousness diminished
+them, since it directed me to the moral strength which lay within me,
+and which, with resolution and perseverance, was at last to become
+master over the old Adam. We were taught that we were much better than
+the Catholics for the very reason, that we were not obliged to confess
+any thing in particular in the confessional,--nay, that this would not
+be at all proper, even if we wished to do it. I did not like this at
+all; for I had the strangest religious doubts, which I would readily
+have had cleared up on such an occasion. Now, as this was not to be
+done, I composed a confession for myself, which, while it well expressed
+my state of mind, was to confess to an intelligent man, in general
+terms, that which I was forbidden to tell him in detail. But when I
+entered the old choir of the Barefoot Friars, when I approached the
+strange latticed closets in which the reverend gentlemen used to be
+found for that purpose, when the sexton opened the door for me, when I
+now saw myself shut up in the narrow place face to face with my
+spiritual grandsire, and he bade me welcome with his weak, nasal voice,
+all the light of my mind and heart was extinguished at once, the well-
+conned confession-speech would not cross my lips: in my embarrassment I
+opened the book I had in my hand, and read from it the first short form
+I saw, which was so general, that anybody might have spoken it with
+quite a safe conscience. I received absolution, and withdrew neither
+warm nor cold; went the next day with my parents to the Table of the
+Lord, and, for a few days, behaved myself as was becoming after so holy
+an act.
+
+In the sequel, however, there came over me that evil, which, from the
+fact of our religion being complicated by various dogmas, and founded on
+texts of scripture which admit of several interpretations, attacks
+scrupulous men in such a manner, that it brings on a hypochondriacal
+condition, and raises this to its highest point, to fixed ideas. I have
+known several men, who, though their manner of thinking and living was
+perfectly rational, could not free themselves from thinking about the
+sin against the Holy Ghost, and from the fear that they had committed
+it. A similar trouble threatened me on the subject of the communion; for
+the text, that one who unworthily partakes of the sacrament /eateth
+and drinketh damnation to himself/, had, very early, already made a
+monstrous impression upon me. Every fearful thing that I had read in the
+histories of the Middle Ages, of the judgments of God, of those most
+strange ordeals, by red-hot iron, flaming fire, swelling water, and even
+what the Bible tells us of the draught which agrees well with the
+innocent, but puffs up and bursts the guilty,--all this pictured itself
+to my imagination, and formed itself into the most frightful
+combinations; since false vows, hypocrisy, perjury, blasphemy, all
+seemed to weigh down the unworthy person at this most holy act, which
+was so much the more horrible, as no one could dare to pronounce himself
+worthy: and the forgiveness of sins, by which every thing was to be at
+last; done away, was found limited by so many conditions, that one could
+not with certainty dare appropriate it to one's self.
+
+This gloomy scruple troubled me to such a degree, and the expedient
+which they would represent to me as sufficient seemed so bald and
+feeble, that it gave the bugbear only a more fearful aspect; and, as
+soon as I had reached Leipzig, I tried to free myself altogether from my
+connection with the church. How oppressive, then, must have been to me
+the exhortations of Gellert, whom, considering the generally laconic
+style with which he was obliged to repel our obtrusiveness, I was
+unwilling to trouble with such singular questions, and the less so as in
+my more cheerful hours I was myself ashamed of them, and at last left
+completely behind me this strange anguish of conscience, together with
+church and altar.
+
+Gellert, in accordance with his pious feelings, had composed for himself
+a course of ethics, which from time to time he publicly read, and thus
+in an honorable manner acquitted himself of his duty to the public.
+Gellert's writings had already, for a long time, been the foundation of
+German moral culture, and every one anxiously wished to see that work
+printed; but, as this was not to be done till after the good man's
+death, people thought themselves very fortunate to hear him deliver it
+himself in his lifetime. The philosophical auditorium [Footnote: The
+lecture-room. The word is also used in university language to denote a
+professor's audience.] was at such times crowded: and the beautiful
+soul, the pure will, and the interest of the noble man in our welfare,
+his exhortations, warnings, and entreaties, uttered in a somewhat hollow
+and sorrowful tone, made indeed an impression for the moment; but this
+did not last long, the less so as there were many scoffers, who
+contrived to make us suspicious of this tender, and, as they thought,
+enervating, manner. I remember a Frenchman travelling through the town,
+who asked what were the maxims and opinions of the man who attracted
+such an immense concourse. "When we had given him the necessary
+information, he shook his head, and said, smiling, "/Laissez le faire,
+il nous forme des dupes./"
+
+And thus also did good society, which cannot easily endure any thing
+worthy near it, know how to spoil, on occasion, the moral influence
+which Gellert might have had upon us. Now it was taken ill of him that
+he instructed the Danes of distinction and wealth, who were particularly
+recommended to him, better than the other students, and had a marked
+solicitude for them; now he was charged with selfishness and nepotism
+for causing a /table d'hôte/ to be established for these young men
+at his brother's house. This brother, a tall, good-looking, blunt,
+unceremonious, and somewhat coarse, man, had, it was said, been a
+fencing-master; and, notwithstanding the too great lenity of his
+brother, the noble boarders were often treated harshly and roughly:
+hence the people thought they must again take the part of these young
+folks, and pulled about the good reputation of the excellent Gellert to
+such a degree, that, in order not to be mistaken about him, we became
+indifferent towards him, and visited him no more; yet we always saluted
+him in our best manner when he came riding along on his tame gray horse.
+This horse the elector had sent him, to oblige him to take an exercise
+so necessary for his health,--a distinction for which he was not easily
+to be forgiven.
+
+And thus, by degrees, the epoch approached when all authority was to
+vanish from before me, and I was to become suspicious--nay, to despair,
+even--of the greatest and best individuals whom I had known or imagined.
+
+Frederick the Second still stood at the head of all the distinguished
+men of the century in my thoughts; and it must therefore have appeared
+very surprising to me, that I could praise him as little before the
+inhabitants of Leipzig as formerly in my grandfather's house. They had
+felt the hand of war heavily, it is true; and therefore they were not to
+blame for not thinking the best of him who had begun and continued it.
+They, therefore, were willing to let him pass as a distinguished, but by
+no means as a great, man. "There was no art," they said, "in performing
+something with great means; and, if one spares neither lands nor money
+nor blood, one may well accomplish one's purpose at last. Frederick had
+shown himself great in none of his plans, and in nothing that he had,
+properly speaking, undertaken. So long as it depended on himself, he had
+only gone on making blunders, and what was extraordinary in him had only
+come to light when he was compelled to make these blunders good again.
+It was purely from this that he had obtained his great reputation; since
+every man wishes for himself that same talent of making good, in a
+clever way, the blunders which he frequently commits. If one goes
+through the Seven Years' War, step by step, it will be found that the
+king quite uselessly sacrificed his fine army, and that it was his own
+fault that this ruinous feud had been protracted to so great a length. A
+truly great man and general would have got the better of his enemies
+much sooner." In support of these opinions they could cite infinite
+details, which I did not know how to deny; and I felt the unbounded
+reverence which I had devoted to this remarkable prince, from my youth
+upwards, gradually cooling away.
+
+As the inhabitants of Leipzig had now destroyed for me the pleasant
+feeling of revering a great man; so did a new friend, whom I gained at
+the time, very much diminish the respect which I entertained for my
+present fellow-citizens. This friend was one of the strangest fellows in
+the world. He was named Behrisch, and was tutor to the young Count
+Lindenau. Even his exterior was singular enough. Lean and well-built,
+far advanced in the thirties, a very large nose, and altogether marked
+features: he wore from morning till night a scratch which might well
+have been called a peruke, but dressed himself very neatly, and never
+went out but with his sword by his side, and his hat under his arm. He
+was one of those men who have quite a peculiar gift of killing time, or,
+rather, who know how to make something out of nothing, in order to pass
+time away. Every thing he did had to be done with slowness, and with a
+certain deportment which might have been called affected if Behrisch had
+not even by nature had something affected in his manner. He resembled an
+old Frenchman, and also spoke and wrote French very well and easily. His
+greatest delight was to busy himself seriously about drolleries, and to
+follow up without end any silly notion. Thus he was constantly dressed
+in gray; and as the different parts of his attire were of different
+material, and also of different shades, he could reflect for whole days
+as to how he should procure one gray more for his body, and was happy
+when he had succeeded in this, and could put to shame us who had doubted
+it, or had pronounced it impossible. He then gave us long, severe
+lectures about our lack of inventive power, and our want of faith in his
+talents.
+
+For the rest, he had studied well, was particularly versed in the modern
+languages and their literature, and wrote an excellent hand. He was very
+well disposed towards me; and I, having been always accustomed and
+inclined to the society of older persons, soon attached myself to him.
+My intercourse served him, too, for a special amusement; since he took
+pleasure in taming my restlessness and impatience, with which, on the
+other hand, I gave him enough to do. In the art of poetry he had what is
+called taste,--a certain general opinion about the good and bad, the
+mediocre and tolerable: but his judgment was rather censorious; and he
+destroyed even the little faith in contemporary writers which I
+cherished within me, by unfeeling remarks, which he knew how to advance
+with wit and humor, about the writings and poems of this man and that.
+He received my productions with indulgence, and let me have my own way,
+but only on the condition that I should have nothing printed. He
+promised me, on the other hand, that he himself would copy those pieces
+which he thought good, and would present me with them in a handsome
+volume. This undertaking now afforded an opportunity for the greatest
+possible waste of time. For before he could find the right paper, before
+he could make up his mind as to the size, before he had settled the
+breadth of the margin and the form of handwriting, before the crow-
+quills were provided and cut into pens, and Indian ink was rubbed, whole
+weeks passed, without the least bit having been done. With just as much
+ado he always set about his writing, and really, by degrees, put
+together a most charming manuscript. The title of the poems was in
+German text; the verses themselves in a perpendicular Saxon hand; and at
+the end of every poem was an analogous vignette, which he had either
+selected somewhere or other, or had invented himself, and in which he
+contrived to imitate very neatly the hatching of the wood-cuts and tail-
+pieces which are used for such purposes. To show me these things as he
+went on, to celebrate beforehand in a comico-pathetical manner my good
+fortune in seeing myself immortalized in such exquisite handwriting, and
+that in a style which no printing-press could attain, gave another
+occasion for passing the most agreeable hours. In the mean time, his
+intercourse was always secretly instructive, by reason of his liberal
+acquirements, and, as he knew how to subdue my restless, impetuous
+disposition, was also quite wholesome for me in a moral sense. He had,
+too, quite a peculiar abhorrence of roughness; and his jests were always
+quaint without ever falling into the coarse or the trivial. He indulged
+himself in a distorted aversion from his countrymen, and described with
+ludicrous touches even what they were able to undertake. He was
+particularly inexhaustible in a comical representation of individual
+persons, as he found something to find fault with in the exterior of
+every one. Thus, when we lay together at the window, he could occupy
+himself for hours criticising the passers-by, and, when he had censured
+them long enough, in showing exactly and circumstantially how they ought
+to have dressed themselves, ought to have walked, and ought to have
+behaved, to look like orderly people. Such attempts, for the most part,
+ended in something improper and absurd; so that we did not so much laugh
+at how the man looked, but at how, perchance, he might have looked had
+he been mad enough to caricature himself. In all such matters. Behrisch
+went quite unmercifully to work, without being in the slightest degree
+malicious. On the other hand, we knew how to tease him, on our side, by
+assuring him, that, to judge from his exterior, he must be taken, if not
+for a French dancing-master, at least for the academical teacher of the
+language. This reproval was usually the signal for dissertations an hour
+long, in which he used to set forth the difference, wide as the heavens,
+which there was between him and an old Frenchman. At the same time he
+commonly imputed to us all sorts of awkward attempts, that we might
+possibly have made for the alteration and modification of his wardrobe.
+
+My poetical compositions, which I only carried on the more zealously as
+the transcript went on becoming more beautiful and more careful, now
+inclined altogether to the natural and the true: and if the subjects
+could not always be important, I nevertheless always endeavored to
+express them clearly and pointedly, the more so as my friend often gave
+me to understand what a great thing it was to write down a verse on
+Dutch paper, with the crow-quill and Indian ink; what time, talent, and
+exertion it required, which ought not to be squandered on any thing
+empty and superfluous. He would, at the same time, open a finished
+parcel, and circumstantially to explain what ought not to stand in this
+or that place, or congratulate us that it actually did not stand there.
+He then spoke with great contempt of the art of printing, mimicked the
+compositor, ridiculed his gestures and his hurried picking out of
+letters here and there, and derived from this manoeuvre all the
+calamities of literature. On the other hand, he extolled the grace and
+noble posture of a writer, and immediately sat down himself to exhibit
+it to us; while he rated us at the same time for not demeaning ourselves
+at the writing-table precisely after his example and model. He now
+reverted to the contrast with the compositor, turned a begun letter
+upside down, and showed how unseemly it would be to write any thing from
+the bottom to the top, or from the right to the left, with other things
+of like kind with which whole volumes might have been filled.
+
+With such harmless fooleries we squandered our precious time; while it
+could have occurred to none of us, that any thing would chance to
+proceed out of our circle which would awaken a general sensation and
+bring us into not the best repute.
+
+Gellert may have taken little pleasure in his "Practicum;" and if,
+perhaps, he took pleasure in giving some directions as to prose and
+poetical style, he did it most privately only to a few, among whom we
+could not number ourselves. Professor Clodius thought to fill the gap
+which thus arose in the public instruction. He had gained some renown in
+literature, criticism, and poetry, and, as a young, lively, obliging
+man, found many friends, both in the university and in the city. Gellert
+himself referred us to the lectures now commenced by him; and, as far as
+the principal matter was concerned, we remarked little difference. He,
+too, only criticised details, corrected likewise with red ink; and one
+found one's self in company with mere blunders, without a prospect as to
+where the right was to be sought. I had brought to him some of my little
+labors, which he did not treat harshly. But just at this time they wrote
+to me from home, that I must without fail furnish a poem for my uncle's
+wedding. I felt far removed from that light and frivolous period in
+which a similar thing would have given me pleasure; and, since I could
+get nothing out of the actual circumstance itself, I determined to trick
+out my work in the best manner with extraneous ornament. I therefore
+convened all Olympus to consult about the marriage of a Frankfort
+lawyer, and seriously enough, to be sure, as well became the festival of
+such an honorable man. Venus and Themis had quarrelled for his sake; but
+a roguish prank, which Amor played the latter, gained the suit for the
+former: and the gods decided in favor of the marriage.
+
+My work by no means displeased me. I received from home a handsome
+letter in its praise, took the trouble to have another fair copy, and
+hoped to extort some applause from my professor also. But here I had
+missed my aim. He took the matter severely; and as he did not notice the
+tone of parody, which nevertheless lay in the notion, he declared the
+great expenditure of divine means for such an insignificant human end in
+the highest degree reprehensible; inveighed against the use and abuse of
+such mythological figures, as a false habit originating in pedantic
+times; found the expression now too high, now too low; and, in divers
+particulars, had indeed not spared the red ink, though he asserted that
+he had yet done too little.
+
+Such pieces were read out and criticised anonymously, it is true; but we
+used to watch each other, and it remained no secret that this
+unfortunate assembly of the gods was my work: yet since his critique,
+when I took his point of view, seemed to be perfectly just, and those
+divinities more nearly inspected were in fact only hollow shadow-forms,
+I cursed all Olympus, flung the whole mythic Pantheon away; and from
+that time Amor and Luna have been the only divinities which at all
+appear in my little poems.
+
+Among the persons whom Behrisch had chosen as the butts of his wit,
+Clodius stood just at the head; nor was it hard to find a comical side
+in him. Being of small stature, rather stout and thick-set, he was
+violent in his motions, somewhat impetuous in his utterances, and
+restless in his demeanor. In all this he differed from his fellow-
+citizens, who, nevertheless, willingly put up with him on account of his
+good qualities, and the fine promise which he gave.
+
+He was usually commissioned with the poems which had become necessary on
+festive occasions. In the so-called "Ode," he followed the manner
+employed by Ramler, whom, however, it alone suited. But Clodius, as an
+imitator, had especially marked the foreign words by means of which the
+poems of Ramler come forth with a majestic pomp, which, because it is
+conformable to the greatness of his subject and the rest of his poetic
+treatment, produces a very good effect on the ear, feelings, and
+imagination. In Clodius, on the contrary, these expressions had a
+heterogeneous air; since his poetry was in other respects not calculated
+to elevate the mind in any manner.
+
+Now, we had often been obliged to see such poems printed and highly
+lauded in our presence; and we found it highly offensive, that he who
+had sequestered the heathen gods from us, now wished to hammer together
+another ladder to Parnassus out of Greek and Roman word-rungs. These
+oft-recurring expressions stamped themselves firmly on our memory; and
+in a merry hour, when we were eating some most excellent cakes in the
+kitchen-gardens (/Kohlgärten/), it all at once struck me to put
+together these words of might and power, in a poem on the cake-baker
+Hendel. No sooner thought than done! And let it stand here too, as it
+was written on the wall of the house with a lead-pencil.
+
+  "O Hendel, dessen Ruhm vom /Süd/ zum /Norden/ reicht,
+   Vernimm den /Päan/ der zu deinen Ohren steigt.
+   Du bäckst was /Gallien/ und /Britten/ emsig suchen,
+   Mit /schöpfrischen Genie, originelle/ Kuchen.
+   Des Kaffee's /Ocean/, der sich vor dir ergiesst,
+   Ist süssev als der Saft der vom /Hymettus/ fliesst.
+   Dein Haus ein /Monument/, wie wir den Künsten lohnen
+   Umhangen mit /Trophän/, erzählt den /Nationen/:
+   Auch ohne /Diadem/ fand Hendel hier sein Glück
+   Und raubte dem /Cothurn/ gar manch Achtgroschenstück.
+   Glänzt deine /Urn/ dereinst in majestäts'chen /Pompe/,
+   Dann weint der /Patriot/ an deinem /Katacombe/.
+   Doch leb! dein /Torus/ sey von edler Brut ein /Nest/,
+   Steh' hoch wie der /Olymp/, wie der /Parnassus/ fest!
+   Kein /Phalanx/ Griechenland mit römischen /Ballisten/
+   Vermög /Germanien/ und Hendel zu verwüsten.
+   Dein /Wohl/ is unser /Stolz/, dein /Leiden/, unser
+        /Schmerz/,
+/Und/ Hendel's /Tempel ist der Musensöhne Herz/."
+
+[Footnote: The humor of the above consists, not in the thoughts, but in
+the particular words employed. These have no remarkable effect in
+English, as to us the words of Latin origin are often as familiar as
+those which have Teutonic roots; and these form the chief peculiarity of
+the style. We have therefore given the poem in the original language,
+with the peculiar words (as indicated by Goethe) in Italics, and subjoin
+a literal translation. It will be observed that we have said that the
+peculiarity consists /chiefly/, not /solely/, in the use of
+the foreign words; for there are two or three instances of
+unquestionably German words, which are Italicized on account of their
+high-sounding pomp.
+
+"O Hendel, whose fame extends from /south/ to /north/, hear
+the /paean/i> which ascends to thine ears! Thou bakest that which
+/Gauls/ and /Britons/ industriously seek, (thou bakest) with
+/creative genius original/ cakes. The /ocean/ of coffee which
+ pours itself out before thee is sweeter than the juice which flows from
+/Hymettus/. Thy house, a /monument/, how we reward the arts,
+hung round with /trophies/, tells the nations: 'Even without a
+/diadem/, Hendel formed his fortune here, and robbed the
+/Cothurnus/ of many an eight-groschen-piece.' When thy /urn/
+shines hereafter in majestic /pomp/, then will the
+/patriot/ weep at thy /catacomb/. But live! let /thy/ bed
+(/torus/) be the /nest/ of a noble brood, stand high as
+/Olympus/, and firm as /Parnassus/. May no /phalanx/ of
+Greece with Roman /ballistoe/ be able to destroy /Germania/
+and Hendel. Thy /weal/ is our /pride/, thy /woe/ our
+/pain/, and Hendel's /temple/ is the /heart/ of the
+/sons of the Muses/."-TRANS.]
+
+This poem had its place for a long time among many others which
+disfigured the walls of that room, without being noticed; and we, who
+had sufficiently amused ourselves with it, forgot it altogether amongst
+other things. A long time afterwards, Clodius came out with his "Medon,"
+whose wisdom, magnanimity, and virtue we found infinitely ridiculous,
+much as the first representation of the piece was applauded. That
+evening, when we met together in the wine-house, I made a prologue in
+doggerel verse, in which Harlequin steps out with two great sacks,
+places them on each side of the /proscenium/, and, after various
+preliminary jokes, tells the spectators in confidence, that in the two
+sacks moral aesthetic dust is to be found, which the actors will very
+frequently throw into their eyes. One, to wit, was filled with good
+deeds, that cost nothing; and the other with splendidly expressed
+opinions, that had no meaning behind them. He reluctantly withdrew, and
+sometimes came back, earnestly exhorted the spectators to attend to his
+warning and shut their eyes, reminded them that he had always been their
+friend, and meant well with them, with many more things of the kind.
+This prologue was acted in the room, on the spot, by friend Horn: but
+the jest remained quite among ourselves, not even a copy had been taken;
+and the paper was soon lost. However, Horn, who had performed the
+Harlequin very prettily, took it into his head to enlarge my poem to
+Hendel by several verses, and then to make it refer to "Medon." He read
+it to us; but we could not take any pleasure in it, for we did not find
+the additions even ingenious: while the first poem, being written for
+quite a different purpose, seemed to us disfigured. Our friend,
+displeased with our indifference, or rather censure, may have shown it
+to others, who found it new and amusing. Copies were now made of it, to
+which the reputation of Clodius's "Medon" gave at once a rapid
+publicity. Universal disapproval was the consequence, and the
+originators (it was soon found out that the poem had proceeded from our
+clique) were severely censured; for nothing of the sort had been seen
+since Cronegk's and Rost's attacks upon Gottsched. We had besides
+already secluded ourselves, and now found ourselves quite in the case of
+the owl with respect to the other birds. In Dresden, too, they did not
+like the affair; and it had for us serious, if not unpleasant,
+consequences. For some time, already, Count Lindenau had not been quite
+satisfied with his son's tutor. For although the young man was by no
+means neglected, and Behrisch kept himself either in the chamber of the
+young count, or at least close to it, when the instructors gave their
+daily lessons, regularly frequented the lectures with him, never went
+out in the daytime without him, and accompanied him in all his walks,
+yet the rest of us were always to be found in Apel's house, and joined
+them whenever they went on a pleasure ramble: this already excited some
+attention. Behrisch, too, accustomed himself to our society, and at
+last, towards nine o'clock in the evenings, generally transferred his
+pupil into the hands of the /valet de chambre/, and went in quest
+of us to the wine-house, whither, however, he never used to come but in
+shoes and stockings, with his sword by his side, and commonly his hat
+under his arm. The jokes and fooleries, which he generally started, went
+on /ad infinitum/. Thus, for instance, one of our friends had a
+habit of going away precisely at ten, because he had a connection with a
+pretty girl, with whom he could converse only at that hour. We did not
+like to lose him; and one evening, when we sat very happily together,
+Behrisch secretly determined that he would not let him off this time. At
+the stroke of ten, the other arose and took leave. Behrisch called after
+him, and begged him to wait a moment, as he was just going with him. He
+now began, in the most amusing manner, first to look after his sword,
+which stood just before his eyes, and in buckling it on behaved
+awkwardly, so that he could never accomplish it. He did this, too, so
+naturally, that no one took offence at it. But when, to vary the theme,
+he at last went farther, so that the sword came now on the right side,
+now between his legs, an universal laughter arose, in which the man in a
+hurry, who was like-wise a merry fellow, chimed in, and let Behrisch
+have his own way till the happy hour was past, when, for the first time,
+there followed general pleasure and agreeable conversation till deep
+into the night.
+
+Unfortunately Behrisch, and we through him, had a certain other
+propensity for some girls who were better than their reputation,--by
+which our own reputation could not be improved. We had often been seen
+in their garden; and we directed our walks thither, even when the young
+count was with us. All this may have been treasured up, and at last
+communicated to his father: enough, he sought, in a gentlemanly manner,
+to get rid of the tutor, to whom the event proved fortunate. His good
+exterior, his knowledge and talents, his integrity, which no one could
+call in question, had won him the affection and esteem of distinguished
+persons, on whose recommendation he was appointed tutor to the
+hereditary prince of Dessau, and at the court of a prince, excellent in
+every respect, found a solid happiness.
+
+The loss of a friend like Behrisch was of the greatest consequence to
+me. He had spoiled while he cultivated me; and his presence was
+necessary, if the pains he had thought good to spend upon me were in any
+degree to bring forth fruit for society. He knew how to engage me in all
+kinds of pretty and agreeable things, in whatever was just appropriate,
+and to bring out my social talents. But as I had gained no self-
+dependence in such things, so when I was alone again I immediately
+relapsed into my confused and crabbed disposition, which always
+increased, the more discontented I was with those about me, since I
+fancied that they were not contented with me. With the most arbitrary
+caprice, I took offence at what I might have considered an advantage;
+thus alienated many with whom I had hitherto been on a tolerable
+footing; and on account of the many disagreeable consequences which I
+had drawn on myself and others, whether by doing or leaving undone, by
+doing too much or too little, was obliged to hear the remark from my
+well-wishers, that I lacked experience. The same thing was told me by
+every person of sound sense who saw my productions, especially when
+these referred to the external world. I observed this as well as I
+could, but found in it little that was edifying, and was still forced to
+add enough of my own to make it only tolerable. I had often pressed my
+friend Behrisch, too, that he would make plain to me what was meant by
+experience? But, because he was full of nonsense, he put me off with
+fair words from one day to another, and at last, after great
+preparations, disclosed to me, that true experience was properly when
+one experiences how an experienced man must experience in experiencing
+his experience. Now, when we scolded him outrageously, and called him to
+account for this, he assured us that a great mystery lay hidden behind
+these words, which we could not comprehend until we had experienced
+...and so on without end,--for it cost him nothing to talk on in that
+way by the quarter of an hour,--since the experience would always become
+more experienced and at last come to true experience. When we were about
+to despair at such fooleries, he protested that he had learned this way
+of making himself intelligible and impressive from the latest and
+greatest authors, who had made us observe how one can rest a restful
+rest, and how silence, in being silent, can constantly become more
+silent.
+
+By chance an officer, who came among us on furlough, was praised in good
+company as a remarkable, sound-minded, and experienced man, who had
+fought through the Seven Years' War, and had gained universal
+confidence. It was not difficult for me to approach him, and we often
+went walking with each other. The idea of experience had almost become
+fixed in my brain, and the craving to make it clear to me passionate.
+Being of a frank disposition, I disclosed to him the uneasiness in which
+I found myself. He smiled, and was kind enough to tell me, as an answer
+to my question, something of his own life, and generally of the world
+immediately about us; from which, indeed, little better was to be
+gathered than that experience convinces us that our best thoughts,
+wishes, and designs are unattainable, and that he who fosters such
+vagaries, and advances them with eagerness, is especially held to be an
+inexperienced man.
+
+Yet, as he was a gallant, good fellow, he assured me that he had himself
+not quite given up these vagaries, and felt himself tolerably well off
+with the little faith, love, and hope which remained. He then felt
+obliged to tell me a great deal about war, about the sort of life in the
+field, about skirmishes and battles, especially so far as he had taken
+part in them; when these vast events, by being considered in relation to
+a single individual, gained a very marvellous aspect. I then led him on
+to an open narration of the late situation of the court, which seemed to
+me quite like a tale. I heard of the bodily strength of Augustus the
+Second, of his many children and his vast expenses, then of his
+successor's love of art and of making collections; of Count Brühl and
+his boundless love of magnificence, which in detail appeared almost
+absurd, of his numerous banquets and gorgeous amusements, which were all
+cut off by Frederick's invasion of Saxony. The royal castles now lay in
+ruins, Brühl's splendors were annihilated, and, of the whole, a glorious
+land, much injured, alone remained.
+
+When he saw me astonished at that mad enjoyment of fortune, and then
+grieved by the calamity that followed, and informed me that one expects
+from an experienced man exactly this, that he shall be astonished at
+neither the one nor the other, nor take too lively an interest in them,
+I felt a great desire still to remain a while in the same inexperience
+as hitherto; in which desire he strengthened me, and very urgently
+entreated me, for the present at least, always to cling to agreeable
+experiences, and to try to avoid those that were disagreeable as much as
+possible, if they should intrude themselves upon me. But once, when the
+discussion was again about experience in general, and I related to him
+those ludicrous phrases of my friend Behrisch, he shook his head,
+smiling, and said, "There, one sees how it is with words which are only
+once uttered! These sound so comical, nay, so silly, that it would seem
+almost impossible to put a rational meaning into them; and yet, perhaps,
+the attempt might be made."
+
+And, when I pressed him, he replied in his intelligent, cheerful manner,
+"If you will allow me, while commenting on and completing your friend's
+observations, to go on after his fashion, I think he meant to say, that
+experience is nothing else than that one experiences what one does not
+wish to experience; which is what it amounts to for the most part, at
+least in this world."
+
+
+
+EIGHTH BOOK.
+
+Another man, although infinitely different from Behrisch in every
+respect, might yet be compared with him in a certain sense: I mean
+Oeser, who was also one of those men who dream away their lives in a
+comfortable state of being busy. His friends themselves secretly
+acknowledged, that, with very fine natural powers, he had not spent his
+younger years in sufficient activity; for which reason he never went so
+far as to practise his art with perfect technicality. Yet a certain
+diligence appeared to be reserved for his old age; and, during the many
+years which I knew him, he never lacked invention or laboriousness. From
+the very first moment he had attracted me very much: even his residence,
+strange and portentous, was highly charming to me. In the old castle
+Pleissenburg, at the right-hand corner, one ascended a repaired,
+cheerful, winding staircase. The saloons of the Academy of Design, of
+which he was director, were found to the left, and were light and roomy;
+but he himself could only be reached through a narrow, dark passage, at
+the end of which one first sought the entrance into his apartments,
+having just passed between the whole suite of them and an extensive
+granary. The first apartment was adorned with pictures from the later
+Italian school, by masters whose grace he used highly to commend. As I,
+with some noblemen, had taken private lessons of him, we were permitted
+to draw here; and we often penetrated into his adjoining private
+cabinet, which contained at the same time his few books, collections of
+art and natural curiosities, and whatever else might have most
+interested him. Every thing was arranged with taste, simply, and in such
+a manner that the little space held a great deal. The furniture,
+presses, and portfolios were elegant, without affection or superfluity.
+Thus also the first thing which he recommended to us, and to which he
+always recurred, was simplicity in every thing that art and manual labor
+united are called upon to produce. Being a sworn foe to the scroll-and-
+shell style, and of the whole taste for quaintness, he showed us in
+copper-plates and drawings old patterns of the sort contrasted with
+better decorations and simpler forms of furniture, as well as with other
+appurtenances of a room; and, because every thing about him corresponded
+with these maxims, his words and instructions made a good and lasting
+impression on us. Besides this, he had an opportunity to let us see his
+opinions in practice; since he stood in good consideration, both with
+private and with official persons, and was asked for advice when there
+were new buildings and alterations. He seemed in general to be more fond
+of preparing things on occasion, for a certain end and use, than of
+undertaking and completing such as exist for themselves and require a
+greater perfection; he was therefore always ready and at hand when the
+publishers needed larger and smaller copper-plates for any work: thus
+the vignettes to Winckelmann's first writings were etched by him. But he
+often made only very sketchy drawings, to which Geyser knew very well
+how to adapt himself. His figures had throughout something general, not
+to say ideal. His women were pleasing and agreeable, his children
+/naive/ enough; only he could not succeed with the men, who, in his
+spirited but always cloudy, and at the same time foreshortening, manner,
+had for the most part the look of Lazzaroni. Since he designed his
+composition less with regard to form than to light, shade, and masses,
+the general effect was good; as indeed all that he did and produced was
+attended by a peculiar grace. As he at the same time neither could nor
+would control a deep-rooted propensity to the significant and the
+allegorical--to that which excites a secondary thought, so his works
+always furnished something to reflect upon, and were complete through a
+conception, even where they could not be so from art and execution. This
+bias, which is always dangerous, frequently led him to the very bounds
+of good taste, if not beyond them. He often sought to attain his views
+by the oddest notions and by whimsical jests; nay, his best works always
+have a touch of humor. If the public were not always satisfied with such
+things, he revenged himself by a new and even stranger drollery. Thus he
+afterwards exhibited, in the ante-room of the great concert-hall, an
+ideal female figure, in his own style, who was raising a pair of
+snuffers to a taper; and he was extraordinarily delighted when he was
+able to cause a dispute on the question, whether this singular muse
+meant to snuff the light or to extinguish it? when he roguishly allowed
+all sorts of bantering by-thoughts to peep forth.
+
+But the building of the new theatre, in my time, made the greatest
+noise; in which his curtain, when it was still quite new, had certainly
+an uncommonly charming effect. Oeser had taken the Muses out of the
+clouds, upon which they usually hover on such occasions, and set them
+upon the earth. The statues of Sophocles and Aristophanes, around whom
+all the modern dramatic writers were assembled, adorned a vestibule to
+the Temple of Fame. Here, too, the goddesses of the arts were likewise
+present; and all was dignified and beautiful. But now comes the oddity!
+Through the open centre was seen the portal of the distant temple: and a
+man in a light jerkin was passing between the two above-mentioned
+groups, and, without troubling himself about them, directly up to the
+temple; he was seen from behind, and was not particularly distinguished.
+Now, this man was to represent Shakespeare, who without predecessors or
+followers, without concerning himself about models, went to meet
+immortality in his own way. This work was executed on the great floor
+over the new theatre. "We often assembled round him there, and in that
+place I read aloud to him the proof-sheets of "Musarion." As to myself,
+I by no means advanced in the practice of the art. His instructions
+worked upon our mind and our taste; but his own drawing was too
+undefined to guide me, who had only glimmered along by the objects of
+art and of nature, to a severe and decided practice. Of the faces and
+bodies he gave us rather the aspect than the forms, rather the postures
+than the proportions. He gave us the conceptions of the figures, and
+desired that we should impress them vividly upon our minds. That might
+have been beautifully and properly done, if he had not had mere
+beginners before him. If, on this account, a pre-eminent talent for
+instruction may be well denied him, it must, on the other hand, be
+acknowledged that he was very discreet and politic, and that a happy
+adroitness of mind qualified him very peculiarly for a teacher in a
+higher sense. The deficiencies under which each one labored he clearly
+saw; but he disdained to reprove them directly, and rather hinted his
+praise and censure indirectly and very laconically. One was now
+compelled to think over the matter, and soon came to a far deeper
+insight. Tims, for instance, I had very carefully executed, after a
+pattern, a nosegay on blue paper, with white and black crayon, and
+partly with the stump, partly by hatching it up, had tried to give
+effect to the little picture. After I had been long laboring in this
+way, he once came behind me, and said, "More paper!" upon which he
+immediately withdrew. My neighbor and I puzzled our heads as to what
+this could mean; for my bouquet, on a large half-sheet, had plenty of
+space around it. After we had reflected a long while, we thought, at
+last, that we had hit his meaning, when we remarked, that, by working
+together the black and the white, I had quite covered up the blue
+ground, had destroyed the middle tint, and, in fact, with great
+industry, had produced a disagreeable drawing. As to the rest, he did
+not fail to instruct us in perspective, and in light and shade,
+sufficiently indeed, but always so that we had to exert and torment
+ourselves to find the application of the principles communicated.
+Probably his view with regard to us who did not intend to become
+artists, was only to form the judgment and taste, and to make us
+acquainted with the requisites of a work of art, without precisely
+requiring that we should produce one. Since, moreover, patient industry
+was not my talent, for nothing gave me pleasure except what came to me
+at once, so by degrees I became discouraged, if not lazy; and, as
+knowledge is more comfortable than doing, I was quite content to follow
+wherever he chose, after his own fashion, to lead us.
+
+At this time the "Lives of the Painters," by D'Argenville, was
+translated into German: I obtained it quite fresh, and studied it
+assiduously enough. This seemed to please Oeser; and he procured us an
+opportunity of seeing many a portfolio out of the great Leipzig
+collections, and thus introduced us to the history of the art. But even
+these exercises produced in me an effect different from that which he
+probably had in mind. The manifold subjects which I saw treated by
+artists awakened the poetic talent in me: and, as one easily makes an
+engraving for a poem; so did I now make poems to the engravings and
+drawings, by contriving to present to myself the personages introduced
+in them, in their previous and subsequent condition, and sometimes to
+compose a little song which might have suited them; and thus accustomed
+myself to consider the arts in connection with each other. Even the
+mistakes which I made, so that my poems were often descriptive, were
+useful to me in the sequel, when I came to more reflection, by making me
+attentive to the differences between the arts. Of such little things
+many were in the collection which Behrisch had arranged, but there is
+nothing left of them now.
+
+The atmosphere of art and taste in which Oeser lived, and into which one
+was drawn, provided one visited him frequently, was the more and more
+worthy and delightful, because he was fond of remembering departed or
+absent persons, with whom he had been, or still continued to be, on good
+terms; for, if he had once given any one his esteem, he remained
+unalterable in his conduct towards him, and always showed himself
+equally friendly.
+
+After we had heard Caylus pre-eminently extolled among the French, he
+made us also acquainted with Germans of activity in this department.
+Thus we learned that Professor Christ, as an amateur, a collector, a
+connoisseur, a fellow-laborer, had done good service for art, and had
+applied his learning to its true improvement. Heinecken, on the
+contrary, could not be honorably mentioned, partly because he devoted
+himself too assiduously to the ever-childish beginnings of German art;
+which Oeser little valued, partly because he had once treated
+Winckelmann shabbily, which could never be forgiven him. Our attention,
+however, was strongly drawn to the labors of Lippert, since our
+instructor knew how to set forth his merits sufficiently. "For," he
+said, "although single statues and larger groups of sculpture remain the
+foundation and the summit of all knowledge of art, yet, either as
+originals or as casts, they are seldom to be seen; on the contrary, by
+Lippert, a little world of gems is made known, in which the more
+comprehensible merit of the ancients, their happy invention, judicious
+composition, tasteful treatment, are made more striking and
+intelligible, while, from the great number of them, comparison is much
+more possible." While now we were busying ourselves with these as much
+as was allowed, Winckelmann's lofty life of art in Italy was pointed
+out, and we took his first writings in hand with devotion; for Oeser had
+a passionate reverence for him, which he was able easily to instil into
+us. The problematical part of those little treatises, which are,
+besides, confused even from their irony, and from their referring to
+opinions and events altogether peculiar, we were, indeed, unable to
+decipher; but as Oeser had great influence over us, and incessantly gave
+them out to us as the gospel of the beautiful, and still more of the
+tasteful and the pleasing, we found out the general sense, and fancied,
+that, with such interpretations, we should go on the more securely, as
+we regarded it no small happiness to draw from the same fountain from
+which Winckelmann had allayed his earliest thirst.
+
+No greater good fortune can befall a city, than when several educated
+men, like-minded in what is good and right, live together in it. Leipzig
+had this advantage, and enjoyed it the more peacefully, as so many
+differences of judgment had not yet manifested themselves. Huber, a
+print collector and well-experienced connoisseur, had furthermore the
+gratefully acknowledged merit of having determined to make the worth of
+German literature known to the French; Kreuchauf, an amateur with a
+practised eye, who, as the friend of the whole society of art, might
+regard all collections as his own; Winkler, who much loved to share with
+others the intelligent delight he cherished for his treasures; many more
+who were added to the list,--all lived and labored with one feeling;
+and, often as I was permitted to be present when they examined works of
+art, I do not remember that a dispute ever arose. The school from which
+the artist had proceeded, the time in which he lived, the peculiar
+talent which nature had bestowed on him, and the degree of excellence to
+which he had brought it in his performances, were always fairly
+considered. There was no predilection for spiritual or temporal
+subjects, for landscape or for city views, for animate or inanimate: the
+question was always about the accordance with art.
+
+Now, although from their situation, mode of thought, abilities, and
+opportunities, these amateurs and collectors inclined more to the Dutch
+school, yet, while the eye was practised on the endless merits of the
+north-western artist, a look of reverential longing was always turned
+towards the south-east.
+
+And so the university, where I neglected the ends of both my family and
+myself, was to ground me in that in which I afterwards found the
+greatest satisfaction of my life: the impression of those localities,
+too, in which I received such important incitements, has always remained
+to me most dear and precious. The old Pleissenburg; the rooms of the
+Academy; but, above all, the abode of Oeser; and no less the collections
+of Winkler and Richter,--I have always vividly present before me.
+
+But a young man, who, while older persons are conversing with each other
+on subjects already familiar to them, is instructed only incidentally,
+and for whom the most difficult part of the business--that of rightly
+arranging all--yet remains, must find himself in a very painful
+situation. I therefore, as well as others, looked about with longing for
+some new light, which was indeed to come to us from a man to whom we
+owed so much already.
+
+The mind can be highly delighted in two ways,--by perception and
+conception. But the former demands a worthy object, which is not always
+at hand, and a proportionate culture, which one does not immediately
+attain. Conception, on the other hand, requires only susceptibility: it
+brings its subject-matter with it, and is itself the instrument of
+culture. Hence that beam of light was most welcome to us which that most
+excellent thinker brought down to us through dark clouds. One must be a
+young man to render present to one's self the effect which Lessing's
+"Laocoön" produced upon us, by transporting us out of the region of
+scanty perceptions into the open fields of thought. The /ut pictura
+poesis/, so long misunderstood, was at once laid aside: the
+difference between plastic and speaking art [Footnote: Bildende und
+Redende Kunst." The expression "speaking art" is used to produce a
+corresponding antithesis, though "/belles-lettres/ would be the
+ordinary rendering.--TRANS.] was made clear; the summits of the two now
+appeared sundered, however near their bases might border on each other.
+The plastic artist was to keep himself within the bounds of the
+beautiful, if the artist of language, who cannot dispense with the
+significant in any kind, is permitted to ramble abroad beyond them. The
+former labors for the outer sense, which is satisfied only by the
+beautiful; the latter for the imagination, which may even reconcile
+itself to the ugly. All the consequences of this splendid thought were
+illumined to us as by a lightning-flash: all the criticism which had
+hitherto guided and judged was thrown away like a worn-out coat. We
+considered ourselves freed from all evil, and fancied we might venture
+to look down with some compassion upon the otherwise so splendid
+sixteenth century, when, in German sculptures and poems, they knew how
+to represent life only under the form of a fool hung with bells, death
+under the misformed shape of a rattling skeleton, and the necessary and
+accidental evils of the world under the image of the caricatured Devil.
+
+What enchanted us most was the beauty of that thought, that the ancients
+had recognized death as the brother of sleep, and had represented them
+similar, even to confusion, as becomes Menaechmi. Here we could first do
+high honor to the triumph of the beautiful, and banish the ugly of every
+kind into the low sphere of the ridiculous within the realm of art,
+since it could not be utterly driven out of the world.
+
+The splendor of such leading and fundamental conceptions appears only to
+the mind upon which they exercise their infinite activity,--appears only
+to the age in which, after being longed for, they come forth at the
+right moment. Then do those at whose disposal such nourishment is placed
+fondly occupy whole periods of their lives with it, and rejoice in a
+superabundant growth; while men are not wanting, meanwhile, who resist
+such an effect on the spot, nor others who afterwards haggle and cavil
+at its high meaning.
+
+But, as conception and perception mutually require each other, I could
+not long work up these new thoughts without an infinite desire arising
+within me to see important works of art, once and away, in great number.
+I therefore determined to visit Dresden without delay. I was not in want
+of the necessary cash: but there were other difficulties to overcome,
+which I needlessly increased still further, through my whimsical
+disposition; for I kept my purpose a secret from every one, because I
+wished to contemplate the treasures of art there quite after my own way,
+and, as I thought, to allow no one to perplex me. Besides this, so
+simple a matter became more complicated by still another eccentricity.
+
+We have weaknesses, both by birth and by education; and it may be
+questioned which of the two gives us the most trouble. Willingly as I
+made myself familiar with all sorts of conditions, and many as had been
+my inducements to do so, an excessive aversion from all inns had
+nevertheless been instilled into me by my father. This feeling had taken
+firm root in him on his travels through Italy, France, and Germany.
+Although he seldom spoke in images, and only called them to his aid when
+he was very cheerful, yet he used often to repeat that he always fancied
+he saw a great cobweb spun across the gate of an inn, so ingeniously
+that the insects could indeed fly in, but that even the privileged wasps
+could not fly out again unplucked. It seemed to him something horrible
+that one should be obliged to pay immoderately for renouncing one's
+habits and all that was dear to one in life, and living after the manner
+of publicans and waiters. He praised the hospitality of the olden time;
+and, reluctantly as he otherwise endured even any thing unusual in the
+house, he yet practised hospitality, especially towards artists and
+virtuosi. Thus gossip Seekatz always had his quarters with us; and Abel,
+the last musician who handled the /viol di gamba/ with success and
+applause, was well received and entertained. With such youthful
+impressions, which nothing had as yet rubbed off, how could I have
+resolved to set foot in an inn in a strange city? Nothing would have
+been easier than to find quarters with good friends. Hofrath Krebel,
+Assessor Hermann, and others, had often spoken to me about it already;
+but even to these my trip was to remain a secret, and I hit upon a most
+singular notion. My next-room neighbor, the industrious theologian,
+whose eyes unfortunately constantly grew weaker and weaker, had a
+relation in Dresden, a shoemaker, with whom from time to time he
+corresponded. For a long while already this man had been highly
+remarkable to me on account of his expressions, and the arrival of one
+of his letters was always celebrated by us as a holiday. The mode in
+which he replied to the complaints of his cousin, who feared blindness,
+was quite peculiar: for he did not trouble himself about grounds of
+consolation, which are always hard to find; but the cheerful way in
+which he looked upon his own narrow, poor, toilsome life, the merriment
+which he drew, even from evils and inconveniences, the indestructible
+conviction that life is in itself and on its own account a blessing,
+communicated itself to him who read the letter, and, for the moment at
+least, transposed him into a like mood. Enthusiastic as I was, I had
+often sent my compliments to this man, extolled his happy natural gift,
+and expressed the wish to become acquainted with him. All this being
+premised, nothing seemed to me more natural than to seek him out, to
+converse with him,--nay, to lodge with him, and to learn to know him
+intimately. My good candidate, after some opposition, gave me a letter,
+written with difficulty, to carry with me; and, full of longing, I went
+to Dresden in the yellow coach, with my matriculation in my pocket.
+
+I went in search of my shoemaker, and soon found him in the suburb
+(/Vorstadt/). He received me in a friendly manner, sitting upon his
+stool, and said, smiling, after he had read the letter, "I see from
+this, young sir, that you are a whimsical Christian."--"How so, master?"
+I replied. "No offence meant by '/whimsical/,'" he continued: "one
+calls every one so who is not consistent with himself; and I call you a
+whimsical Christian because you acknowledge yourself a follower of our
+Lord in one thing, but not in another." On my requesting him to
+enlighten me, he said further, "It seems that your view is, to announce
+glad tidings to the poor and lowly; that is good, and this imitation of
+the Lord is praiseworthy: but you should reflect, besides, that he
+rather sat down to table with prosperous rich folks, where there was
+good fare, and that he himself did not despise the sweet scent of the
+ointment, of which you will find the opposite in my house."
+
+This pleasant beginning put me at once in good humor, and we rallied
+each other for some time. His wife stood doubting how she should board
+and lodge such a guest. On this point, too, he had notions which
+referred, not only to the Bible, but also to "Gottfried's Chronicle;"
+and when we were agreed that I was to stay, I gave my purse, such as it
+was, into the charge of my hostess, and requested her to furnish herself
+from it, if any thing should be necessary. When he would have declined
+it, and somewhat waggishly gave me to understand that he was not so
+burned out as he might appear, I disarmed him by saying, "Even if it
+were only to change water into wine, such a well-tried domestic resource
+would not be out of place, since there are no more miracles nowadays."
+The hostess seemed to find my conduct less and less strange: we had soon
+accommodated ourselves to each other, and spent a very merry evening. He
+remained always the same, because all flowed from one source. His
+peculiarity was an apt common sense, which rested upon a cheerful
+disposition, and took delight in uniform habitual activity. That he
+should labor incessantly was his first and most necessary care; that he
+regarded every thing else as secondary,--this kept up his comfortable
+state of mind; and I must reckon him before many others in the class of
+those who are called practical unconscious philosophers. [Footnote:
+"Pratische Philosophen, bewusstlose Weltweisen." It is impossible to
+give two substantives, as in the original, since this is effected by
+using first the word of Greek, then the word of German origin, whereas
+we have but one.--TRANS.]
+
+The hour when the gallery was to be opened appeared, after having been
+expected with impatience. I entered into this sanctuary, and my
+astonishment surpassed every conception which I had formed. This room,
+returning into itself, in which splendor and neatness reigned together
+with the deepest stillness; the dazzling frames, all nearer to the time
+in which they had been gilded; the floor polished with bees'-wax; the
+spaces more trodden by spectators than used by copyists,--imparted a
+feeling of solemnity, unique of its kind, which so much the more
+resembled the sensation with which one treads a church, as the
+adornments of so many a temple, the objects of so much adoration, seemed
+here again set up only for the sacred purposes of art. I readily put up
+with the cursory description of my guide, only I requested that I might
+be allowed to remain in the outer gallery. Here, to my comfort, I felt
+really at home. I had already seen the works of several artists, others
+I knew from engravings, others by name. I did not conceal this, and I
+thus inspired my conductor with some confidence: nay, the rapture which
+I expressed at pieces where the pencil had gained the victory over
+nature delighted him; for such were the things which principally
+attracted me, where the comparison with known nature must necessarily
+enhance the value of art.
+
+When I again entered my shoemaker's house for dinner, I scarcely
+believed my eyes; for I fancied I saw before me a picture by Ostade, so
+perfect that all it needed was to be hung up in the gallery. The
+position of the objects, the light, the shadow, the brownish tint of the
+whole, the magical harmony,--every thing that one admires in those
+pictures, I here saw in reality. It was the first time that I perceived,
+in so high a degree, the faculty which I afterwards exercised with more
+consciousness; namely, that of seeing nature with the eyes of this or
+that artist, to whose works I had devoted a particular attention. This
+faculty has afforded me much enjoyment, but has also increased the
+desire zealously to abandon myself, from time to time, to the exercise
+of a talent which nature seemed to have denied me.
+
+I visited the gallery at all permitted hours, and continued to express
+too loudly the ecstasy with which I beheld many precious works. I thus
+frustrated my laudable purpose of remaining unknown and unnoticed; and
+whereas only one of the unclerkeepers had hitherto had intercourse with
+me, the gallery-inspector, Counsellor Riedel, now also took notice of
+me, and called my attention to many things which seemed chiefly to lie
+within my sphere. I found this excellent man just as active and obliging
+then, as when I afterwards saw him during many years, and as he shows
+himself to this day. His image has, for me, interwoven itself so closely
+with those treasures of art, that I can never regard the two apart: the
+remembrance of him has even accompanied me to Italy, where, in many
+large and rich collections, his presence would have been very desirable.
+
+Since, even with strangers and unknown persons, one cannot gaze on such
+works silently and without mutual sympathy,--nay, since the first sight
+of them is rather adapted, in the highest degree, to open hearts towards
+each other, I there got into conversation with a young man who seemed to
+be residing at Dresden, and to belong to some embassy. He invited me to
+come in the evening to an inn where a lively company met, and where, by
+each one's paying a moderate reckoning, one could pass some very
+pleasant hours.
+
+I repaired thither, but did not find the company; and the waiter
+somewhat surprised me when he delivered the compliments of the gentleman
+who made the appointment with me, by which the latter sent an excuse for
+coming somewhat later, with the addition that I must not take offence at
+any thing that might occur; also, that I should have nothing to pay
+beyond my own score. I knew not what to make of these words: my father's
+cobwebs came into my head, and I composed myself to await whatever might
+befall. The company assembled; my acquaintance introduced me; and I
+could not be attentive long, without discovering that they were aiming
+at the mystification of a young man, who showed himself a novice by an
+obstreperous, assuming deportment: I therefore kept very much on my
+guard, so that they might not find delight in selecting me as his
+fellow. At table this intention became more apparent to everybody,
+except to himself. They drank more and more deeply: and, when a vivat in
+honor of sweethearts was started, every one solemnly swore that there
+should never be another out of those glasses; they flung them behind
+them, and this was the signal for far greater follies. At last I
+withdrew very quietly; and the waiter, while demanding quite a moderate
+amount, requested me to come again, as they did not go on so wildly
+every evening. I was far from my lodgings, and it was near midnight when
+I reached them. I found the doors unlocked; everybody was in bed; and
+one lamp illuminated the narrow domestic household, where my eye, more
+and more practised, immediately perceived the finest picture by
+Schalken, from which I could not tear myself away, so that it banished
+from me all sleep.
+
+The few days of my residence in Dresden were solely devoted to the
+picture-gallery. The antiquities still stood in the pavilion of the
+great garden; but I declined seeing them, as well as all the other
+precious things which Dresden contained, being but too full of the
+conviction, that, even in and about the collection of paintings, much
+must yet remain hidden from me. Thus I took the excellence of the
+Italian masters more on trust and in faith, than by pretending to any
+insight into them. What I could not look upon as nature, put in the
+place of nature, and compare with a known object, was without effect
+upon me. It is the material impression which makes the beginning even to
+every more elevated taste.
+
+With my shoemaker I lived on very good terms. He was witty and varied
+enough, and we often outvied each other in merry conceits: nevertheless,
+a man who thinks himself happy, and desires others to do the same, makes
+us discontented; indeed, the repetition of such sentiments produces
+weariness. I found myself well occupied, entertained, excited, but by no
+means happy; and the shoes from his last would not fit me. We parted,
+however, as the best friends; and even my hostess, on my departure, was
+not dissatisfied with me.
+
+Shortly before my departure, something else very pleasant was to happen.
+By the mediation of that young man, who wished to somewhat regain his
+credit with me, I was introduced to the Director Von Hagedorn, who, with
+great kindness, showed me his collection, and was highly delighted with
+the enthusiasm of the young lover of art. He himself, as becomes a
+connoisseur, was quite peculiarly in love with the pictures which he
+possessed, and therefore seldom found in others an interest such as he
+wished. It gave him particular satisfaction that I was so excessively
+pleased with a picture by Schwanefeld, and that I was not tired of
+praising and extolling it in every single part; for landscapes, which
+again reminded me of the beautiful clear sky under which I had grown up,
+of the vegetable luxuriance of those spots, and of whatever other favors
+a warmer climate offers to man, were just the things that most affected
+me in the imitation, while they awakened in me a longing remembrance.
+
+These delightful experiences, preparing both mind and sense for true
+art, were nevertheless interrupted and damped by one of the most
+melancholy sights,--by the destroyed and desolate condition of so many
+of the streets of Dresden through which I took my way. The Mohrenstrasse
+in ruins, and the Church (/Kreuzkirche/) of the Cross, with its
+shattered tower, impressed themselves deeply upon me, and still stand
+like a gloomy spot in my imagination. From the cupola of the Lady Church
+(/Frauenkirche/) I saw these pitiable ruins scattered about amid
+the beautiful order of the city. Here the clerk commended to me the art
+of the architect, who had already fitted up church and cupola for so
+undesirable an event, and had built them bomb-proof. The good sacristan
+then pointed out to me the ruins on all sides, and said doubtfully and
+laconically, "/The enemy hath done this/!"
+
+At last, though very loath, I returned to Leipzig, and found my friends,
+who were not used to such digressions in me, in great astonishment,
+busied with all sorts of conjectures as to what might be the import of
+my mysterious journey. When, upon this, I told them my story quite in
+order, they declared it was only a made-up tale, and sagaciously tried
+to get at the bottom of the riddle which I had been waggish enough to
+conceal under my shoemaker-lodgings.
+
+But, could they have looked into my heart, they would have discovered no
+waggery there; for the truth of that old proverb, "He that increaseth
+knowledge increaseth sorrow," had struck me with all its force: and the
+more I struggled to arrange and appropriate to myself what I had seen,
+the less I succeeded. I had at last to content myself with a silent
+after-operation. Ordinary life carried me away again; and I at last felt
+myself quite comfortable when a friendly intercourse, improvement in
+branches of knowledge which were suitable for me, and a certain practice
+of the hand, engaged me in a manner less important, but more in
+accordance with my strength.
+
+Very pleasant and wholesome for me was the connection I formed with the
+Breitkopf family. Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, the proper founder of
+the family, who had come to Leipzig as a poor journeyman printer, was
+yet living, and occupied the Golden Bear, a respectable house in the new
+Newmarket, with Gottsched as an inmate. The son, Johann Gottlob
+Immanuel, had already been long married, and was the father of many
+children. They thought they could not spend a part of their considerable
+wealth better than in putting up, opposite the first house, a large new
+one, the Silver Bear, which they built higher and more extensive than
+the original house itself. Just at the time of the building I became
+acquainted with the family. The eldest son, who might have been some
+years older than I, was a well-formed young man, devoted to music, and
+practised to play skilfully on both the piano and the violin. The
+second, a true, good soul, likewise musical, enlivened the concerts
+which were often got up, no less than his elder brother. They were both
+kindly disposed towards me, as well as their parents and sisters. I lent
+them a helping hand during the building up and the finishing, the
+furnishing and the moving in, and thus formed a conception of much that
+belongs to such an affair: I also had an opportunity of seeing Oeser's
+instructions put in practice. In the new house, which I had thus seen
+erected, I was often a visitor. We had many pursuits in common; and the
+eldest son set some of my songs to music, which, when printed, bore his
+name, but not mine, and have been little known. I have selected the
+best, and inserted them among my other little poems. The father had
+invented or perfected musical type. He granted me the use of a fine
+library, which related principally to the origin and progress of
+printing; and thus I gained some knowledge in that department. I found
+there, moreover, good copper-plates, which exhibited antiquity, and
+advanced on this side also my studies, which were still further promoted
+by the circumstance that a considerable collection of casts had fallen
+into disorder in moving. I set them right again as well as I could, and
+in doing so was compelled to search Lippert and other authorities. A
+physician, Doctor Reichel, likewise an inmate of the house, I consulted
+from time to time when I felt, if not sick, yet unwell; and thus we led
+together a quiet, pleasant life.
+
+I was now to enter into another sort of connection in this house; for
+the copper-plate engraver, Stock, had moved into the attic. He was a
+native of Nuremberg, a very industrious man, and, in his labors, precise
+and methodical. He also, like Geyser, engraved, after Oeser's designs,
+larger and smaller plates, which came more and more into vogue for
+novels and poems. He etched very neatly, so that his work came out of
+the aquafortis almost finished; and but little touching-up remained to
+be done with the graver, which he handled very well. He made an exact
+calculation how long a plate would occupy him, and nothing could call
+him off from his work if he had not completed the daily task he had set
+himself. Thus he sat working by a broad table, by the great gable-
+window, in a very neat and orderly chamber, where his wife and two
+daughters afforded him a domestic society. Of these last, one is happily
+married, and the other is an excellent artist: they have continued my
+friends all my life long. I now divided my time between the upper and
+lower stories, and attached myself much to the man, who, together with
+his persevering industry, possessed an excellent humor, and was good
+nature itself.
+
+The technical neatness of this branch of art charmed me, and I
+associated myself with him to execute something of the kind. My
+predilection was again directed towards landscape, which, while it
+amused me in my solitary walks, seemed in itself more attainable and
+more comprehensible for works of art than the human figure, which
+discouraged me. Under his directions, therefore, I etched, after Thiele
+and others, various landscapes, which, although executed by an
+unpractised hand, produced some effect, and were well received. The
+grounding (varnishing) of the plates, the putting in the high lights,
+the etching, and at last the biting with aquafortis, gave me variety of
+occupation; and I soon got so far that I could assist my master in many
+things. I did not lack the attention necessary for the biting, and I
+seldom failed in any thing; but I had not care enough in guarding
+against the deleterious vapors which are generated on such occasions,
+and these may have contributed to the maladies which afterwards troubled
+me for a long time. Amidst such labors, lest any thing should be left
+untried, I often made wood-cuts also. I prepared various little
+printing-blocks after French patterns, and many of them were found fit
+for use.
+
+Let me here make mention of some other men who resided in Leipzig, or
+tarried there for a short time. Weisse, the custom-house collector of
+the district, in his best years, cheerful, friendly, and obliging, was
+loved and esteemed by us. We would not, indeed, allow his theatrical
+pieces to be models throughout, but we suffered ourselves to be carried
+away by them; and his operas, set to music by Hiller in an easy style,
+gave us much pleasure. Schiebler, of Hamburgh, pursued the same track;
+and his "Lisuard and Dariolette" was likewise favored by us. Eschenburg,
+a handsome young man, but little older than we were, distinguished
+himself advantageously among the students. Zachariä was pleased to spend
+some weeks with us, and, being introduced by his brother, dined every
+day with us at the same table. We rightly deemed it an honor to gratify
+our guest in return, by a, few extra dishes, a richer dessert, and
+choicer wine; for, as a tall, well-formed, comfortable man, he did not
+conceal his love of good eating. Lessing came at a time when we had I
+know not what in our heads: it was our good pleasure to go nowhere on
+his account,--nay, even to avoid the places to which he came, probably
+because we thought ourselves too good to stand at a distance, and could
+make no pretension to obtain a closer intimacy with him. This momentary
+absurdity, which, however, is nothing rare in presuming and freakish
+youth, proved, indeed, its own punishment in the sequel; for I have
+never set eyes on that eminent man, who was most highly esteemed by me.
+
+Notwithstanding all our efforts relative to art and antiquity, we each
+of us always had Winckelmann before our eyes, whose ability was
+acknowledged in his country with enthusiasm. We read his writings
+diligently, and tried to make ourselves acquainted with the
+circumstances under which he had written the first of them. We found in
+them many views which seemed to have originated with Oeser, even jests
+and whims after his fashion: and we did not rest until we had formed
+some general conception of the occasion on which these remarkable and
+sometimes so enigmatical writings had arisen, though we were not very
+accurate; for youth likes better to be excited than instructed, and it
+was not the last time that I was to be indebted to Sibylline leaves for
+an important step in cultivation.
+
+It was then a fine period in literature, when eminent men were yet
+treated with respect; although the disputes of Klotz and Lessing's
+controversies already indicated that this epoch would soon close.
+Winckelmann enjoyed an universal, unassailed reverence; and it is known
+how sensitive he was with regard to any thing public which did not seem
+commensurate with his deeply felt dignity. All the periodical
+publications joined in his praise, the better class of tourists came
+back from him instructed and enraptured, and the new views which he gave
+extended themselves over science and life. The Prince of Dessau had
+raised himself up to a similar degree of respect. Young, well and nobly
+minded, he had on his travels and at other times shown himself truly
+desirable. Winckelmann was in the highest degree delighted with him,
+and, whenever he mentioned him, loaded him with the handsomest epithets.
+The laying out of a park, then unique, the taste for architecture, which
+Von Erdmannsdorf supported by his activity, every thing spoke in favor
+of a prince, who, while he was a shining example for the rest, gave
+promise of a golden age for his servants and subjects. We young people
+now learned with rejoicings that Winckelmann would return back from
+Italy, visit his princely friend, call on Oeser by the way, and so come
+within our sphere of vision. We made no pretensions to speaking with
+him, but we hoped to see him; and, as at that time of life one willingly
+changes every occasion into a party of pleasure, we had already agreed
+upon a journey to Dessau, where in a beautiful spot, made glorious by
+art, in a land well governed and at the same time externally adorned, we
+thought to lie in wait, now here, now there, in order to see with our
+own eyes these men so highly exalted above us walking about. Oeser
+himself was quite elated if he only thought of it, and the news of
+Winckelmann's death fell down into the midst of us like a thunderbolt
+from a clear sky. I still remember the place where I first heard it: it
+was in the court of the Pleissenburg, not far from the little gate
+through which one used to go up to Oeser's residence. One of my fellow-
+pupils met me, and told me that Oeser was not to be seen, with the
+reason why. This monstrous event [Footnote: Winckelmann was
+assassinated.--TRANS.] produced a monstrous effect: there was an
+universal mourning and lamentation, and Winckelmann's untimely death
+sharpened the attention paid to the value of his life. Perhaps, indeed,
+the effect of his activity, if he had /continued/ it to a more
+advanced age, would probably not have been so great as it now
+necessarily became, when, like many other extraordinary men, he was
+distinguished by fate through a strange and calamitous end.
+
+Now, while I was infinitely lamenting the death of Winckelmann, I did
+not think that I should soon find myself in the case of being
+apprehensive about my own life; since, during all these events, my
+bodily condition had not taken the most favorable turn. I had already
+brought with me from home a certain touch of hypochondria, which, in
+this new sedentary and lounging life, was rather increased than
+diminished. The pain in my chest, which I had felt from time to time
+ever since the accident at Auerstädt, and which after a fall from
+horseback had perceptibly increased, made me dejected. By an unfortunate
+diet I destroyed my powers of digestion; the heavy Merseburg beer
+clouded my brain; coffee, which gave me a peculiarly melancholy tone,
+especially when taken with milk after dinner, paralyzed my bowels, and
+seemed completely to suspend their functions, so that I experienced
+great uneasiness on this account, yet without being able to embrace a
+resolution for a more rational mode of life. My natural disposition,
+supported by the sufficient strength of youth, fluctuated between the
+extremes of unrestrained gayety and melancholy discomfort. Moreover, the
+epoch of cold-water bathing, which was unconditionally recommended, had
+then begun. One was to sleep on a hard bed, only slightly covered, by
+which all the usual perspiration was suppressed. These and other
+follies, in consequence of some misunderstood suggestions of Rousseau,
+would, it was promised, bring us nearer to nature, and deliver us from
+the corruption of morals. Now, all the above, without discrimination,
+applied with injudicious alternation, were felt by many most
+injuriously; and I irritated my happy organization to such a degree,
+that the particular systems contained within it necessarily broke out at
+last into a conspiracy and revolution, in order to save the whole.
+
+One night I awoke with a violent hemorrhage, and had just strength and
+presence of mind enough to waken my next-room neighbor. Dr. Reichel was
+called in, who assisted me in the most friendly manner; and thus for
+many days I wavered betwixt life and death: and even the joy of a
+subsequent improvement was embittered by the circumstance that, during
+that eruption, a tumor had formed on the left side of the neck, which,
+after the danger was past, they now first found time to notice. Recovery
+is, however, always pleasing and delightful, even though it takes place
+slowly and painfully: and, since nature had helped herself with me, I
+appeared now to have become another man; for I had gained a greater
+cheerfulness of mind than I had known for a long time, and I was
+rejoiced to feel my inner self at liberty, although externally a
+wearisome affliction threatened me.
+
+But what particularly set me up at this time was, to see how many
+eminent men had, undeservedly, given me their affection. Undeservedly, I
+say; for there was not one among them to whom I had not been troublesome
+through contradictory humors, not one whom I had not more than once
+wounded by morbid absurdity,--nay, whom I had not stubbornly avoided for
+a long time, from a feeling of my own injustice. All this was forgotten:
+they treated me in the most affectionate manner, and sought, partly in
+my chamber, partly as soon as I could leave it, to amuse and divert me.
+They drove out with me, entertained me at their country houses, and I
+seemed soon to recover.
+
+Among these friends I name first of all Docter Hermann, then senator,
+afterwards burgomaster at Leipzig. He was among those boarders with whom
+I had become acquainted through Schlosser, the one with whom an always
+equable and enduring connection was maintained. One might well reckon
+him the most industrious of his academical fellow-citizens. He attended
+his lectures with the greatest regularity, and his private industry
+remained always the same. Step by step, without the slightest deviation,
+I saw him attain his doctor's degree, and then raise himself to the
+assessorship, without any thing of all this appearing arduous to him, or
+his having in the least hurried or been too late with any thing. The
+gentleness of his character attracted me, his instructive conversation
+held me fast; indeed, I really believe that I took delight in his
+methodical industry especially for this reason, because I thought, by
+acknowledgments and high esteem, to appropriate to myself at least a
+part of a merit of which I could by no means boast.
+
+He was just as regular in the exercise of his talents and the enjoyment
+of his pleasures as in his business. He played the harpsichord with
+great skill, drew from nature with feeling, and stimulated me to do the
+same; when, in his manner, on gray paper and with black and white chalk,
+I used to copy many a willow-plot on the Pleisse, and many a lovely nook
+of those still waters, and at the same time longingly to indulge in my
+fancies. He knew how to meet my sometimes comical disposition with merry
+jests; and I remember many pleasant hours which we spent together when
+he invited me, with mock solemnity, to a /tete-a-tete/ supper,
+where, with some dignity, by the light of waxen candles, we ate what
+they call a council-hare, which had run into his kitchen as a perquisite
+of his place, and, with many jokes in the manner of Behrisch, were
+pleased to season the meat and heighten the spirit of the wine. That
+this excellent man, who is still constantly laboring in his respectable
+office, rendered me the most faithful assistance during a disease, of
+which there was indeed a foreboding, but which had not been foreseen in
+its full extent; that he bestowed every leisure hour upon me, and, by
+remembrances of former happy times, contrived to brighten the gloomy
+moment,---I still acknowledge with the sincerest thanks, and rejoice
+that after so long a time I can give them publicly.
+
+Besides this worthy friend, Groening of Bremen particularly interested
+himself in me. I had made his acquaintance only a short time before, and
+first discovered his good feeling towards me during my misfortune: I
+felt the value of this favor the more warmly, as no one is apt to seek a
+closer connection with invalids. He spared nothing to give me pleasure,
+to draw me away from musing on my situation, to hold up to my view and
+promise me recovery and a wholesome activity in the nearest future. How
+often have I been delighted, in the progress of life, to hear how this
+excellent man has in the weightiest affairs shown himself useful, and
+indeed a blessing to his native city.
+
+Here, too, it was that friend Horn uninterruptedly brought into action
+his love and attention. The whole Breitkopf household, the Stock family,
+and many others, treated me like a near relative; and thus, through the
+good will of so many friendly persons, the feeling of my situation was
+soothed in the tenderest manner.
+
+I must here, however, make particular mention of a man with whom I first
+became acquainted at this time, and whose instructive conversation so
+far blinded me to the miserable state in which I was, that I actually
+forgot it. This was Langer, afterwards librarian at Wolfenbüttel.
+Eminently learned and instructed, he was delighted at my voracious
+hunger after knowledge, which, with the irritability of sickness, now
+broke out into a perfect fever. He tried to calm me by perspicuous
+summaries; and I have been very much indebted to his acquaintance, short
+as it was, since he understood how to guide me in various ways, and made
+me attentive whither I had to direct myself at the present moment. I
+felt all the more obliged to this important man, as my intercourse
+exposed him to some danger; for when, after Behrisch, he got the
+situation of tutor to the young Count Lindenau, the father made it an
+express condition with the new Mentor that he should have no intercourse
+with me. Curious to become acquainted with such a dangerous subject, he
+frequently found means of meeting me indirectly. I soon gained his
+affection; and he, more prudent than Behrisch, called for me by night:
+we went walking together, conversed on interesting things, and at last I
+accompanied him to the very door of his mistress; for even this
+externally severe, earnest, scientific man had not kept free from the
+toils of a very amiable lady.
+
+German literature, and with it my own poetical undertakings, had already
+for some time become strange to me; and, as is usually the result in
+such an auto-didactic circular course, I turned back towards the beloved
+ancients who still constantly, like distant blue mountains, distinct in
+their outlines and masses, but indiscernible in their parts and internal
+relations, bounded the horizon of my intellectual wishes. I made an
+exchange with Langer, in which I at last played the part of Glaucus and
+Diomedes: I gave up to him whole baskets of German poets and critics,
+and received in return a number of Greek authors, the reading of whom
+was to give me recreation, even during the most tedious convalescence.
+
+The confidence which new friends repose in each other usually develops
+itself by degrees. Common occupation and tastes are the first things in
+which a mutual harmony shows itself; then the mutual communication
+generally extends over past and present passions, especially over love-
+affairs: but it is a lower depth which opens itself, if the connection
+is to be perfected; the religious sentiments, the affairs of the heart
+which relate to the imperishable, are the things which both establish
+the foundation and adorn the summit of a friendship.
+
+The Christian religion was fluctuating between its own historically
+positive base and a pure deism, which, grounded on morality, was in its
+turn to lay the foundation of ethics. The diversity of characters and
+modes of thought here showed itself in infinite gradations, especially
+when a leading difference was brought into play by the question arising
+as to how great a share reason, and how great a share the feelings,
+could and should have in such convictions. The most lively and ingenious
+men showed themselves, in this instance, like butterflies, who, quite
+regardless of their caterpillar state, throw away the chrysalis veil in
+which they have grown up to their organic perfection. Others, more
+honestly and modestly minded, might be compared to the flowers, which,
+although they unfold themselves to the most beautiful bloom, yet do not
+tear themselves from the root, from the mother stalk, nay,--rather
+through this family connection first bring the desired fruit to
+maturity. Of this latter class was Langer; for although a learned man,
+and eminently versed in books, he would yet give the Bible a peculiar
+pre-eminence over the other writings which have come down to us, and
+regard it as a document from which alone we could prove our moral and
+spiritual pedigree. He belonged to those who cannot conceive an
+immediate connection with the great God of the universe: a mediation,
+therefore, was necessary for him, an analogy to which he thought he
+could find everywhere in earthly and heavenly things. His discourse,
+which was pleasing and consistent, easily found a hearing with a young
+man, who, separated from worldly things by an annoying illness, found it
+highly desirable to turn the activity of his mind towards the heavenly.
+Grounded as I was in the Bible, all that was wanted was merely the faith
+to explain as divine that which I had hitherto esteemed in human
+fashion,---a belief the easier for me, since I had made my first
+acquaintance with that book as a divine one. To a sufferer, to one who
+felt himself delicate, nay, weak, the gospel was therefore welcome; and
+even though Langer, with all his faith, was at the same time a very
+sensible man, and firmly maintained that one should not let the feelings
+prevail, should not let one's self be led astray into mysticism, I could
+not have managed to occupy myself with the New Testament without feeling
+and enthusiasm.
+
+In such conversations we spent much time; and he grew so fond of me as
+an honest and well-prepared proselyte, that he did not scruple to
+sacrifice to me many of the hours destined for his fair one, and even to
+run the risk of being betrayed and looked upon unfavorably by his
+patron, like Behrisch. I returned his affection in the most grateful
+manner; and, if what he did for me would have been of value at any time,
+I could not but regard it, in my present condition, as worthy of the
+highest honor.
+
+But as when the concert of our souls is most spiritually attuned, the
+rude, shrieking tones of the world usually break in most violently and
+boisterously, and the contrast which has gone on exercising a secret
+control affects us so much the more sensibly when it comes forward all
+at once: thus was I not to be dismissed from the peripatetic school of
+my Langer without having first witnessed an event, strange at least for
+Leipzig; namely, a tumult which the students excited, and that on the
+following pretence. Some young people had quarrelled with the city
+soldiers, and the affair had not gone off without violence. Many of the
+students combined to revenge the injuries inflicted. The soldiers
+resisted stubbornly, and the advantage was not on the side of the very
+discontented academical citizens. It was now said that respectable
+persons had commended and rewarded the conquerors for their valiant
+resistance; and, by this, the youthful feeling of honor and revenge was
+mightily excited. It was publicly said, that, on the next evening,
+windows would be broken in: and some friends who brought me word that
+this was actually taking place, were obliged to carry me there; for
+youth and the multitude are always attracted by danger and tumult. There
+really began a strange spectacle. The otherwise open street was lined on
+one side with men who, quite quiet, without noise or movement, were
+waiting to see what would happen. About a dozen young fellows were
+walking singly up and down the empty sidewalk, with the greatest
+apparent composure; but, as soon as they came opposite the marked house,
+they threw stones at the windows as they passed by, and this repeatedly
+as they returned backwards and forwards, as long as the panes would
+rattle. Just as quietly as this was done, all at last dispersed; and the
+affair had no further consequences.
+
+With such a ringing echo of university exploits, I left Leipzig in the
+September of 1768, in a comfortable hired coach, and in the company of
+some respectable persons of my acquaintance. In the neighborhood of
+Auerstädt I thought of that previous accident; but I could not forebode
+that which many years afterwards would threaten me from thence with
+still greater danger, just as little as in Gotha, where we had the
+castle shown to us, I could think in the great hall adorned with stucco
+figures, that so much favor and affection would befall me on that very
+spot.
+
+The nearer I approached my native city, the more I recalled to myself
+doubtingly the circumstances, prospects, and hopes with which I had left
+home; and it was with a very disheartening feeling that I now returned,
+as it were, like one shipwrecked. Yet, since I had not very much with
+which to reproach myself, I contrived to compose myself tolerably well:
+however, the welcome was not without emotion. The great vivacity of my
+nature, excited and heightened by sickness, caused an impassioned scene.
+I might have looked worse than I myself knew, since for a long time I
+had not consulted a looking-glass; and who does not become used to
+himself? Suffice it to say, they silently resolved to communicate many
+things to me only by degrees, and before all things to let me have some
+repose, both bodily and mental.
+
+My sister immediately associated herself with me, and as previously,
+from her letters, so I could now more in detail and accurately
+understand the circumstances and situation of the family. My father had,
+after my departure, applied all his didactic taste to my sister; and in
+a house completely shut up, rendered secure by peace, and even cleared
+of lodgers, he had cut off from her almost every means of looking about
+and finding some recreation abroad. She had by turns to pursue and work
+at French, Italian, and English; besides which he compelled her to
+practise a great part of the day on the harpsichord. Nor was her writing
+to be neglected; and I had already remarked that he had directed her
+correspondence with me, and had let his doctrines come to me through her
+pen. My sister was and still continued to be an undefinable being, the
+most singular mixture of strength and weakness, of stubbornness and
+pliability, which qualities operated now united, now isolated by will
+and inclination. Thus she had, in a manner which seemed to me fearful,
+turned the hardness of her character against her father, whom she did
+not forgive for having, in these three years, hindered, or embittered to
+her, so many innocent joys; and of his good and excellent qualities she
+would not acknowledge even one. She did all he commanded and arranged,
+but in the most unamiable manner in the world. She did it in the
+established routine, but nothing more and nothing less. Not from love or
+a desire to please did she accommodate herself to any thing, so that
+this was one of the first things about which my mother complained to me
+in private. But, since love was as essential to my sister as to any
+human being, she turned her affection wholly on me. Her care in nursing
+and entertaining me absorbed all her time: her female companions, who
+were swayed by her without her intending it, had likewise to contrive
+all sorts of things to be pleasing and consolatory to me. She was
+inventive in cheering me up, and even developed some germs of comical
+humor which I had never known in her, and which became her very well.
+There soon arose between us a coterie-language, by which we could
+converse before all people without their understanding us; and she often
+used this gibberish with great pertness in the presence of our parents.
+
+My father was personally tolerably comfortable. He was in good health,
+spent a great part of the day in the instruction of my sister, went on
+with the description of his travels, and was longer in tuning his lute
+than in playing on it. He concealed at the same time, as well as he
+could, his vexation at finding, instead of a vigorous, active son, who
+ought now to take his degree and run through the prescribed course of
+life, an invalid who seemed to suffer still more in soul than in body.
+He did not conceal his wish that they would be expeditious with my cure;
+but one was forced to be specially on one's guard in his presence
+against hypochondriacal expressions, because he could then become
+passionate and bitter.
+
+My mother, by nature very lively and cheerful, spent under these
+circumstances very tedious days. Her little housekeeping was soon
+provided for. The good woman's mind, inwardly never unoccupied, wished
+to find an interest in something; and that which was nearest at hand was
+religion, which she embraced the more fondly as her most eminent female
+friends were cultivated and hearty worshippers of God. At the head of
+these stood Fräulein von Klettenberg. She is the same person from whose
+conversations and letters arose the "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul,"
+which are found inserted in "Wilhelm Meister." She was slenderly formed,
+of the middle size: a hearty natural demeanor had been made still more
+pleasing by the manners of the world and the court. Her very neat attire
+reminded of the dress of the Hernhutt women. Her serenity and peace of
+mind never left her; she looked upon her sickness as a necessary element
+of her transient earthly existence; she suffered with the greatest
+patience, and, in painless intervals, was lively and talkative. Her
+favorite, nay, indeed, perhaps her only, conversation, was on the moral
+experiences which a man who observes himself can form in himself; to
+which was added the religious views which, in a very graceful manner,
+nay, with genius, came under her consideration as natural and
+supernatural. It scarcely needs more to recall back to the friends of
+such representations, that complete delineation composed from the very
+depths of her soul. Owing to the very peculiar course she had taken from
+her youth upwards, the distinguished rank in which she had been born and
+educated, and the liveliness and originality of her mind, she did not
+agree very well with the other ladies who had set out on the same road
+to salvation. Frau Griesbach, the chief of them, seemed too severe, too
+dry, too learned: she knew, thought, comprehended, more than the others,
+who contented themselves with the development of their feelings; and she
+was therefore burdensome to them, because every one neither could nor
+would carry with her so great an apparatus on the road to bliss. But for
+this reason most of them were indeed somewhat monotonous, since they
+confined themselves to a certain terminology which might well have been
+compared to that of the later sentimentalists. Fräulein von Klettenberg
+guided her way between both extremes, and seemed, with some self-
+complacency, to see her own reflections in the image of Count
+Zindendorf, whose opinions and actions bore witness to a higher birth
+and more distinguished rank. Now she found in me what she needed, a
+lively young creature, striving after an unknown happiness, who,
+although he could not think himself an extraordinary sinner, yet found
+himself in no comfortable condition, and was perfectly healthy neither
+in body nor soul. She was delighted with what nature had given me, as
+well as with much which I had gained for myself. And, if she conceded to
+me many advantages, this was by no means humiliating to her: for, in the
+first place, she never thought of emulating one of the male sex; and,
+secondly, she believed, that, in regard to religious culture, she was
+very much in advance of me. My disquiet, my impatience, my striving, my
+seeking, investigating, musing, and wavering, she interpreted in her own
+way, and did not conceal from me her conviction, but assured me in plain
+terms that all this proceeded from my having no reconciled God. Now, I
+had believed from my youth upwards that I stood on very good terms with
+my God,--nay, I even fancied to myself, according to various
+experiences, that he might even be in arrears to me; and I was daring
+enough to think that I had something to forgive him. This presumption
+was grounded on my infinite good will, to which, as it seemed to me, he
+should have given better assistance. It may be imagined how often I got
+into disputes on this subject with my friend, which, however, always
+terminated in the friendliest way, and often, like my conversations with
+the old rector, with the remark, "that I was a foolish fellow, for whom
+many allowances must be made."
+
+I was much troubled with the tumor in my neck, as the physician and
+surgeon wished first to disperse this excrescence, afterwards, as they
+said, to draw it to a head, and at last thought it best to open it; so
+for a long time I had to suffer more from inconvenience than pain,
+although towards the end of the cure the continual touching with lunar
+caustic and other corrosive substances could not but give me very
+disagreeable prospects for every fresh day. The physician and surgeon
+both belonged to the Pious Separatists, although both were of highly
+different natural characters. The surgeon, a slender, well-built man, of
+easy and skilful hand, was unfortunately somewhat hectic, but endured
+his condition with truly Christian patience, and did not suffer his
+disease to perplex him in his profession. The physician was an
+inexplicable, sly-looking, fair-spoken, and, besides, an abstruse, man,
+who had quite won the confidence of the pious circle. Being active and
+attentive, he was consoling to the sick; but, more than by all this, he
+extended his practice by the gift of showing in the background some
+mysterious medicines prepared by himself, of which no one could speak,
+since with us the physicians were strictly prohibited from making up
+their own prescriptions. With certain powders, which may have been some
+kind of digestive, he was not so reserved, but that powerful salt, which
+could only be applied in the greatest danger, was only mentioned among
+believers; although no one had yet seen it or traced its effects. To
+excite and strengthen our faith in the possibility of such an universal
+remedy, the physician, wherever he found any susceptibility, had
+recommended certain chemico-alchemical books to his patients, and given
+them to understand, that, by one's own study of them, one could well
+attain this treasure for one's self, which was the more necessary, as
+the mode of its preparation, both for physical, and especially for
+moral, reasons, could not be well communicated; nay, that in order to
+comprehend, produce, and use this great work, one must know the secrets
+of nature in connection, since it was not a particular, but an universal
+remedy, and could indeed be produced under different forms and shapes.
+My friend had listened to these enticing words. The health of the body
+was too nearly allied to the health of the soul; and could a greater
+benefit, a greater mercy, be shown towards others than by appropriating
+to one's self a remedy by which so many sufferings could be assuaged, so
+many a danger averted? She had already secretly studied Welling's "Opus
+Mago-cabalisticum," for which, however, as the author himself
+immediately darkens and removes the light he imparts, she was looking
+about for a friend, who, in this alternation of glare and gloom, might
+bear her company. It needed small incitement to inoculate me also with
+this disease. I procured the work, which, like all writings of this
+kind, could trace its pedigree in a direct line up to the Neo-Platonic
+school. My chief labor in this book was most accurately to notice the
+obscure hints by which the author refers from one passage to another,
+and thus promises to reveal what he conceals, and to mark down on the
+terminology which might well have been compared to that of the later
+sentimentalists. Fräulein von Klettenberg guided her way between both
+extremes, and seemed, with some self-complacency, to see her own
+reflections in the image of Count Zindendorf, whose opinions and actions
+bore witness to a higher birth and more distinguished rank. Now she
+found in me what she needed, a lively young creature, striving after an
+unknown happiness, who, although he could not think himself an
+extraordinary sinner, yet found himself in no comfortable condition, and
+was perfectly healthy neither in body nor soul. She was delighted with
+what nature had given me, as well as with much which I had gained for
+myself. And, if she conceded to me many advantages, this was by no means
+humiliating to her: for, in the first place, she never thought of
+emulating one of the male sex; and, secondly, she believed, that, in
+regard to religious culture, she was very much in advance of me. My
+disquiet, my impatience, my striving, my seeking, investigating, musing,
+and wavering, she interpreted in her own way, and did not conceal from
+me her conviction, but assured me in plain terms that all this proceeded
+from my having no reconciled God. Now, I had believed from my youth
+upwards that I stood on very good terms with my God,--nay, I even
+fancied to myself, according to various experiences, that he might even
+be in arrears to me; and I was daring enough to think that I had
+something to forgive him. This presumption was grounded on my infinite
+good will, to which, as it seemed to me, he should have given better
+assistance. It may be imagined how often I got into disputes on this
+subject with my friend, which, however, always terminated in the
+friendliest way, and often, like my conversations with the old rector,
+with the remark, "that I was a foolish fellow, for whom many allowances
+must be made."
+
+I was much troubled with the tumor in my neck, as the physician and
+surgeon wished first to disperse this excrescence, afterwards, as they
+said, to draw it to a head, and at last thought it best to open it; so
+for a long time I had to suffer more from inconvenience than pain,
+although towards the end of the cure the continual touching with lunar
+caustic and other corrosive substances could not but give me very
+disagreeable prospects for every fresh day. The physician and surgeon
+both belonged to the Pious Separatists, although both were of highly
+different natural characters. The surgeon, a slender, well-built man, of
+easy and skilful hand, was unfortunately somewhat hectic, but endured
+his condition with truly Christian patience, and did not suffer his
+disease to perplex him in his profession. The physician was an
+inexplicable, sly-looking, fair-spoken, and, besides, an abstruse, man,
+who had quite won the confidence of the pious circle. Being active and
+attentive, he was consoling to the sick; but, more than by all this, he
+extended his practice by the gift of showing in the background some
+mysterious medicines prepared by himself, of which no one could speak,
+since with us the physicians were strictly prohibited from making up
+their own prescriptions. With certain powders, which may have been some
+kind of digestive, he was not so reserved, but that powerful salt, which
+could only be applied in the greatest danger, was only mentioned among
+believers; although no one had yet seen it or traced its effects. To
+excite and strengthen our faith in the possibility of such an universal
+remedy, the physician, wherever he found any susceptibility, had
+recommended certain chemico-alchemical books to his patients, and given
+them to understand, that, by one's own study of them, one could well
+attain this treasure for one's self, which was the more necessary, as
+the mode of its preparation, both for physical, and especially for
+moral, reasons, could not be well communicated; nay, that in order to
+comprehend, produce, and use this great work, one must know the secrets
+of nature in connection, since it was not a particular, but an universal
+remedy, and could indeed be produced under different forms and shapes.
+My friend had listened to these enticing words. The health of the body
+was too nearly allied to the health of the soul; and could a greater
+benefit, a greater mercy, be shown towards others than by appropriating
+to one's self a remedy by which so many sufferings could be assuaged, so
+many a danger averted? She had already secretly studied Welling's "Opus
+Mago-cabalisticum," for which, however, as the author himself
+immediately darkens and removes the light he imparts, she was looking
+about for a friend, who, in this alternation of glare and gloom, might
+bear her company. It needed small incitement to inoculate me also with
+this disease. I procured the work, which, like all writings of this
+kind, could trace its pedigree in a direct line up to the Neo-Platonic
+school. My chief labor in this book was most accurately to notice the
+obscure hints by which the author refers from one passage to another,
+and thus promises to reveal what he conceals, and to mark down on the
+margin the number of the page where such passages as should explain each
+other were to be found. But even thus the book still remained dark and
+unintelligible enough, except that one at last studied one's self into a
+certain terminology, and, by using it according to one's own fancy,
+believed that one was, at any rate, saying, if not understanding,
+something. The work mentioned before makes very honorable mention of its
+predecessors, and we were incited to investigate those original sources
+themselves. We turned to the works of Theophrastus, Paracelsus, and
+Basilius Valentinus, as well as to those of Helmont, Starkey, and
+others, whose doctrines and directions, resting more or less on nature
+and imagination, we endeavored to see into and follow out. I was
+particularly pleased with the "Aurea Catena Homeri," in which nature,
+though perhaps in fantastical fashion, is represented in a beautiful
+combination; and thus sometimes by ourselves, sometimes together, we
+employed much time on these singularities, and spent the evenings of a
+long winter--during which I was compelled to keep my chamber--very
+agreeably, since we three (my mother being included) were more delighted
+with these secrets than we could have been at their elucidation.
+
+In the mean time, a very severe trial was preparing for me: for a
+disturbed, and, one might even say, for certain moments, destroyed
+digestion, excited such symptoms, that, in great tribulation, I thought
+I should lose my life; and none of the remedies applied would produce
+any further effect. In this last extremity my distressed mother
+constrained the embarrassed physician with the greatest vehemence to
+come out with his universal medicine. After a long refusal, he hastened
+home at the dead of night, and returned with a little glass of
+crystallized dry salt, which was dissolved in water, and swallowed by
+the patient. It had a decidedly alkaline taste. The salt was scarcely
+taken than my situation appeared relieved; and from that moment the
+disease took a turn which, by degrees, led to my recovery. I need not
+say how much this strengthened and heightened our faith in our
+physician, and our industry to share in such a treasure.
+
+My friend, who, without parents or brothers and sisters, lived in a
+large, well-situated house, had already before this begun to purchase
+herself a little air-furnace, alembics, and retorts of moderate size,
+and, in accordance with the hints of Welling, and the significant signs
+of our physician and master, operated principally on iron, in which the
+most healing powers were said to be concealed, if one only knew how to
+open it. And as the volatile salt which must be produced made a great
+figure in all the writings with which we were acquainted; so, for these
+operations, alkalies also were required, which, while they flowed away
+into the air, were to unite with these superterrestrial things, and at
+last produce, /per se/, a mysterious and excellent neutral salt.
+
+No sooner was I in some measure restored, and, favored by the change in
+the season, once more able to occupy my old gable-chamber, than I also
+began to provide myself with a little apparatus. A small air-furnace
+with a sand-bath was prepared; and I very soon learned to change the
+glass alembics, with a piece of burning match-cord, into vessels in
+which the different mixtures were to be evaporated. Now were the strange
+ingredients of the macrocosm and microcosm handled in an odd, mysterious
+manner; and, before all, I attempted to produce neutral salts in an
+unheard-of way. But what, for a long time, kept me busy most, was the
+so-called /Liquor Silicum/ (flint-juice), which is made by melting
+down pure quartz-flint with a proper proportion of alkali, whence
+results a transparent glass, which melts away on exposure to the air,
+and exhibits a beautiful clear fluidity. Whoever has once prepared this
+himself, and seen it with his own eyes, will not blame those who believe
+in a maiden earth, and in the possibility of producing further effects
+upon it by means of it. I had become quite skilful in preparing this
+/Liquor Silicum/; the fine white flints which are found in the Main
+furnished a perfect material for it: and I was not wanting in the other
+requisites, nor in diligence. But I wearied at last, because I could not
+but remark that the flinty substance was by no means so closely combined
+with the salt as I had philosophically imagined, for it very easily
+separated itself again; and this most beautiful mineral fluidity, which,
+to my greatest astonishment, had sometimes appeared in the form of an
+animal jelly, always deposited a powder, which I was forced to pronounce
+the finest flint dust, but which gave not the least sign of any thing
+productive in its nature from which one could have hoped to see this
+maiden earth pass into the maternal state.
+
+Strange and unconnected as these operations were, I yet learned many
+things from them. I paid strict attention to all the crystallizations
+that might occur, and became acquainted with the external forms of many
+natural things: and, inasmuch as I well knew that in modern times
+chemical subjects were treated more methodically, I wished to get a
+general conception of them; although, as a half-adept, I had very little
+respect for the apothecaries and all those who operated with common
+fire. However, the chemical "Compendium" of Boerhaave attracted me
+powerfully, and led me on to read several of his writings, in which
+(since, moreover, my tedious illness had inclined me towards medical
+subjects) I found an inducement to study also the "Aphorisms" of this
+excellent man, which I was glad to stamp upon my mind and in my memory.
+
+Another employment, somewhat more human, and by far more useful for my
+cultivation at the moment, was reading through the letters which I had
+written home from Leipzig. Nothing reveals more with respect to
+ourselves, than when we again see before us that which has proceeded
+from us years before, so that we can now consider ourselves as an object
+of contemplation. But, of course, I was as yet too young, and the epoch
+which was represented by those papers was still too near. As in our
+younger years we do not in general easily cast off a certain self-
+complacent conceit, this especially shows itself in despising what we
+have been but a little time before; for while, indeed, we perceive, as
+we advance from step to step, that those things which we regard as good
+and excellent in ourselves and others do not stand their ground, we
+think we can best extricate ourselves from this dilemma by ourselves
+throwing away what we cannot preserve. So it was with me also. For as in
+Leipzig I had gradually learned to set little value on my childish
+labors, so now my academical course seemed to me likewise of small
+account; and I did not understand, that, for this very reason, it must
+be of great value to me, as it elevated me to a higher degree of
+observation and insight. My father had carefully collected and sewed
+together the letters I had written to him, as well as those to my
+sister; nay, he had even corrected them with attention, and improved the
+mistakes, both in writing and in grammar.
+
+What first struck me in these letters was their exterior: I was shocked
+at an incredible carelessness in the handwriting, which extended from
+October, 1765, to the middle of the following January. But, in the
+middle of March, there appeared all at once a quite compressed, orderly
+hand, such as I used formerly to employ in writing for a prize. My
+astonishment resolved itself into gratitude towards good Gellert, who,
+as I now well remembered, whenever we handed in our essays to him,
+represented to us, in his hearty tone of voice, that it was our sacred
+duty to practise our hand as much, nay, more, than our style. He
+repeated this as often as he caught sight of any scrawled, careless
+writing, on which occasion he often said that he would much like to make
+a good hand of his pupils the principal end in his instructions; the
+more so as he had often remarked that a good hand led the way to a good
+style.
+
+I could further notice that the French and English passages in my
+letters, although not free from blunders, were nevertheless written with
+facility and freedom. These languages I had likewise continued to
+practise in my correspondence with George Schlosser, who was still at
+Treptow; and I had remained in constant communication with him, by which
+I was instructed in many secular affairs (for things did not always turn
+out with him quite as he had hoped), and acquired an ever increasing
+confidence in his earnest, noble way of thinking.
+
+Another consideration which could not escape me in going over these
+letters, was that my good father, with the best intentions, had done me
+a special mischief, and had led me into that odd way of life into which
+I had fallen at last. He had repeatedly warned me against card-playing;
+but Frau Hofrath Böhme, as long as she lived, contrived to persuade me,
+after her own fashion, by declaring that my father's warnings were only
+against the abuse. Now, as I likewise saw the advantages of it in
+society, I readily submitted to being led by her. I had indeed the sense
+of play, but not the spirit of play: I learned all games easily and
+rapidly, but I could never keep up the proper attention for a whole
+evening. Therefore, however good a beginning I would make, I invariably
+failed at the end, and made myself and others lose; through which I went
+off, always out of humor, either to the supper-table or out of the
+company. Scarcely had Madame Böhme died, who, moreover, had no longer
+kept me in practice during her tedious illness, when my father's
+doctrine gained force: I at first begged to be excused from joining the
+card-tables; and, as they now did not know what else to do with me, I
+became even more of a burden to myself than to others, and declined the
+invitations, which then became more rare, and at last ceased altogether.
+Play, which is much to be recommended to young people, especially to
+those who incline to be practical, and wish to look about in the world
+for themselves, could never, indeed, become a passion with me; for I
+never got any farther, no matter how long I might have been playing. Had
+any one given me a general view of the subject, and made me observe how
+here certain signs and more or less of chance form a kind of material,
+at which judgment and activity can exercise themselves; had any one made
+me see several games at once,--I might sooner have become reconciled.
+With all this, at the time of which I am now speaking, I had, from the
+above considerations, come to the conviction, that one should not avoid
+social games, but should rather strive after a certain skill in them.
+Time is infinitely long; and each day is a vessel into which a great
+deal may be poured, if one would actually fill it up.
+
+Thus variously was I occupied in my solitude; the more so, as the
+departed spirits of the different tastes to which I had from time to
+time devoted myself had an opportunity to re-appear. I then again took
+up drawing: and as I always wished to labor directly from nature, or
+rather from reality, I made a picture of my chamber, with its furniture,
+and the persons who were in it; and, when this no more amused me, I
+represented all sorts of town-tales, which were told at the time, and in
+which interest was taken. All this was not without character and a
+certain taste; but unfortunately the figures lacked proportion and the
+proper vigor, besides which the execution was extremely misty. My
+father, who continued to take pleasure in these things, wished to have
+them more distinct, wanting every thing to be finished and properly
+completed. He therefore had them mounted and surrounded with ruled
+lines; nay, the painter Morgenstern, his domestic artist,--the same who
+afterwards made himself known, and indeed famous, by his church-views,--
+had to insert the perspective lines of the rooms and chambers, which
+then, indeed, stood in pretty harsh contrast with those cloudy looking
+figures. In this manner he thought he would make me gain greater
+accuracy; and, to please him, I drew various objects of still life, in
+which, since the originals stood as patterns before me, I could work
+with more distinctness and precision. At last I took it into my head to
+etch once more. I had composed a tolerably interesting landscape, and
+felt myself very happy when I could look out for the old receipts given
+me by Stock, and could, at my work, call to mind those pleasant times. I
+soon bit the plate and had a proof taken. Unluckily the composition was
+without light and shade, and I now tormented myself to bring in both;
+but, as it was not quite clear to me what was really the essential
+point, I could not finish. Up to this time I had been quite well, after
+my own fashion; but now a disease attacked me which had never troubled
+me before. My throat, namely, had become completely sore, and
+particularly what is called the "uvula" very much inflamed: I could only
+swallow with great pain, and the physicians did not know what to make of
+it. They tormented me with gargles and hair-pencils, but could not free
+me from my misery. At last it struck me that I had not been careful
+enough in the biting of my plates, and that, by often and passionately
+repeating it, I had contracted this disease, and always revived and
+increased it. To the physicians this cause was plausible, and very soon
+certain on my leaving my etching and biting, and that so much the more
+readily as the attempt had by no means turned out well, and I had more
+reason to conceal than to exhibit my labors; for which I consoled myself
+the more easily, as I very soon saw myself free from the troublesome
+disease. Upon this I could not refrain from the reflection, that my
+similar occupations at Leipzig might have greatly contributed to those
+diseases from which I had suffered so much. It is, indeed, a tedious,
+and withal a melancholy, business to take too much care of ourselves,
+and of what injures and benefits us; but there is no question but that,
+with the wonderful idiosyncrasy of human nature on the one side, and the
+infinite variety in the mode of life and pleasure on the other, it is a
+wonder that the human race has not worn itself out long ago. Human
+nature appears to possess a peculiar kind of toughness and many-
+sidedness, since it subdues every thing which approaches it, or which it
+takes into itself, and, if it cannot assimilate, at least makes it
+indifferent. In case of any great excess, indeed, it must yield to the
+elements in spite of all resistance, as the many endemic diseases and
+the effects of brandy convince us. Could we, without being morbidly
+anxious, keep watch over ourselves as to what operates favorably or
+unfavorably upon us in our complicated civil and social life, and would
+we leave off what is actually pleasant to us as an enjoyment, for the
+sake of the evil consequences, we should thus know how to remove with
+ease many an inconvenience which, with a constitution otherwise sound,
+often troubles us more than even a disease. Unfortunately, it is in
+dietetics as in morals,--we cannot see into a fault till we have got rid
+of it; by which nothing is gained, for the next fault is not like the
+preceding one, and therefore cannot be recognized under the same form.
+
+While I was reading over the letters which had been written to my sister
+from Leipzig, this remark, among others, could not escape me,--that,
+from the very beginning of my academical course, I had esteemed myself
+very clever and wise, since, as soon as I had learned any thing, I put
+myself in the place of the professor, and so became didactic on the
+spot. I was amused to see how I had immediately applied to my sister
+whatever Gellert had imparted or advised in his lectures, without
+seeing, that, both in life and in books, a thing may be proper for a
+young man without being suitable for a young lady; and we both together
+made merry over these mimicries. The poems also which I had composed in
+Leipzig were already too poor for me; and they seemed to me cold, dry,
+and, in respect of all that was meant to express the state of the human
+heart or mind, too superficial. This induced me, now that I was to leave
+my father's house once more, and go to a second university, again to
+decree a great high /auto-da-fé/ against my labors. Several
+commenced plays, some of which had reached the third or the fourth act,
+while others had only the plot fully made out, together with many other
+poems, letters, and papers, were given over to the fire: and scarcely
+any thing was spared except the manuscript by Behrisch, "Die Laune des
+Verliebten" and "Die Mitschuldigen," which latter play I constantly went
+on improving with peculiar affection; and, as the piece was already
+complete, I again worked over the plot, to make it more bustling and
+intelligible. Lessing, in the first two acts of his "Minna," had set up
+an unattainable model of the way in which a drama should be developed;
+and nothing was to me of greater importance than to thoroughly enter
+into his meaning and views.
+
+The recital of whatever moved, excited, and occupied me at this time, is
+already circumstantial enough; but I must nevertheless recur to that
+interest with which supersensuous things had inspired me, of which I,
+once for all, so far as might be possible, undertook to form some
+notion.
+
+I experienced a great influence from an important work that fell into my
+hands: it was Arnold's "History of the Church and of Heretics." This man
+is not merely a reflective historian, but at the same time pious and
+feeling. His sentiments chimed in very well with mine; and what
+particularly delighted me in his work was, that I received a more
+favorable notion of many heretics, who had been hitherto represented to
+me as mad or impious. The spirit of contradiction and the love of
+paradoxes are inherent in us all. I diligently studied the different
+opinions: and as I had often enough heard it said that every man has his
+own religion at last, so nothing seemed more natural to me than that I
+should form mine too; and this I did with much satisfaction. The Neo-
+Platonism lay at the foundation; the hermetical, the mystical, the
+cabalistic, also contributed their share; and thus I built for myself a
+world that looked strange enough.
+
+I could well represent to myself a Godhead which has gone on producing
+itself from all eternity; but, as production cannot be conceived without
+multiplicity, so it must of necessity have immediately appeared to
+itself as a Second, which we recognize under the name of the Son: now,
+these two must continue the act of producing, and again appear to
+themselves in a Third, which was just as substantial, living, and
+eternal as the Whole. With these, however, the circle of the Godhead was
+complete; and it would not have been possible for them to produce
+another perfectly equal to them. But, since the work of production
+always proceeded, they created a fourth, which already fostered in
+himself a contradiction, inasmuch as it was, like them, unlimited, and
+yet at the same time was to be contained in them and bounded by them.
+Now, this was Lucifer, to whom the whole power of creation was committed
+from this time, and from whom all other beings were to proceed. He
+immediately displayed his infinite activity by creating the whole body
+of angels,--all, again, after his own likeness, unlimited, but contained
+in him and bounded by him. Surrounded by such a glory, he forgot his
+higher origin, and believed that he could find himself in himself; and
+from this first ingratitude sprang all that does not seem to us in
+accordance with the will and purposes of the Godhead. Now, the more he
+concentrated himself within himself, the more painful must it have
+become to him, as well as to all the spirits whose sweet uprising to
+their origin he had embittered. And so that happened which is intimated
+to us under the form of the Fall of the Angels. One part of them
+concentrated itself with Lucifer, the other turned itself again to its
+origin. From this concentration of the whole creation--for it had
+proceeded out of Lucifer, and was forced to follow him--sprang all that
+we perceive under the form of matter, which we figure to ourselves as
+heavy, solid, and dark, but which, since it is descended, if not even
+immediately, yet by filiation, from the Divine Being, is just as
+unlimited, powerful, and eternal as its sire and grandsire. Now, the
+whole mischief, if we may call it so, having arisen merely through the
+one-sided direction of Lucifer, the better half was indeed wanting to
+this creation; for it possessed all that is gained by concentration,
+while it lacked all that can be effected by expansion alone: and so the
+entire creation might have been destroyed by everlasting concentration,
+become annihilated with its father Lucifer, and have lost all its claims
+to an equal eternity with the Godhead. This condition the Elohim
+contemplated for a time: and they had their choice, to wait for those
+eons, in which the field would again have become clear, and space would
+be left them for a new creation; or, if they would, to seize upon that
+which existed already, and supply the want, according to their own
+eternity. Now, they chose the latter, and by their mere will supplied in
+an instant the whole want which the consequence of Lucifer's undertaking
+drew after it. They gave to the Eternal Being the faculty of expansion,
+of moving towards them: the peculiar pulse of life was again restored,
+and Lucifer himself could not avoid its effects. This is the epoch when
+that appeared which we know as light, and when that began which we are
+accustomed to designate by the word creation. However much this
+multiplied itself by progressive degrees, through the continually
+working vital power of the Elohim, still a being was wanting who might
+be able to restore the original connection with the Godhead: and thus
+man was produced, who in all things was to be similar, yea, equal to the
+Godhead, but thereby, in effect, found himself once more in the
+situation of Lucifer, that of being at once unlimited and limited; and
+since this contradiction was to manifest itself in him through all the
+categories of existence, and a perfect consciousness, as well as a
+decided will, was to accompany his various conditions, it was to be
+foreseen that he must be at the same time the most perfect and the most
+imperfect, the most happy and the most unhappy, creature. It was not
+long before he, too, completely acted the part of Lucifer. True
+ingratitude is the separation from the benefactor; and thus that fall
+was manifest for the second time, although the whole creation is nothing
+and was nothing but a falling from and returning to the original.
+
+One easily sees how the Redemption is not only decreed from eternity,
+but is considered as eternally necessary,--nay, that it must ever renew
+itself through the whole time of generation [Footnote: "Das Werden," the
+state of becoming, as distinguished from that of being. The word, which
+is most useful to the Germans, can never be rendered properly in
+English.--TRANS.] and existence. In this view of the subject, nothing is
+more natural than for the Divinity himself to take the form of man,
+which had already prepared itself as a veil, and to share his fate for a
+short time, in order, by this assimilation, to enhance his joys and
+alleviate his sorrows. The history of all religions and philosophies
+teaches us, that this great truth, indispensable to man, has been handed
+down by different nations, in different times, in various ways, and even
+in strange fables and images, in accordance with their limited
+knowledge: enough, if it only be acknowledged that we find ourselves in
+a condition which, even if it seems to drag us down and oppress us, yet
+gives us opportunity, nay, even makes it our duty, to raise ourselves
+up, and to fulfil the purposes of the Godhead in this manner, that,
+while we are compelled on the one hand to concentrate ourselves (/uns
+zu verselbsten/), we, on the other hand, do not omit to expand
+ourselves (/uns zu entselbstigen/) in regular pulsation. [Footnote:
+If we could make use of some such verbs as "inself" and "unself," we
+should more accurately render this passage.--TRANS.]
+
+
+
+NINTH BOOK.
+
+"The heart is often affected, moreover, to the advantage of different,
+but especially of social and refined, virtues; and the more tender
+sentiments are excited and unfolded in it. Many touches, in particular,
+will impress themselves, which give the young reader an insight into the
+more hidden corner of the human heart and its passions,--a knowledge
+which is more worth than all Latin and Greek, and of which Ovid was a
+very excellent master. But yet it is not on this account that the
+classic poets, and therefore Ovid, are placed in the hands of youth. We
+have received from a kind Creator a variety of mental powers, to which
+we must not neglect giving their proper culture in our earliest years,
+and which cannot be cultivated, either by logic or metaphysics, Latin or
+Greek. We have an imagination, before which, since it should not seize
+upon the very first conceptions that chance to present themselves, we
+ought to place the fittest and most beautiful images, and thus accustom
+and practise the mind to recognize and love the beautiful everywhere,
+and in nature itself, under its determined, true, and also in its finer,
+features. A multitude of conceptions and general knowledge is necessary
+to us, as well for the sciences as for daily life, which can be learned
+out of no compendium. Our feelings, affections, and passions should be
+advantageously developed and purified."
+
+This significant passage, which is found in "The Universal German
+Library," was not the only one of its kind. Similar principles and
+similar views manifested themselves in many directions. They made upon
+us lively youths a very great impression, which had the more decided
+effect, as it was strengthened besides by Wieland's example; for the
+works of his second brilliant period clearly showed that he had formed
+himself according to such maxims. And what more could we desire?
+Philosophy, with its abstruse questions, was set aside; the classic
+languages, the acquisition of which is accompanied by so much drudgery,
+one saw thrust into the background; the compendiums, about the
+sufficiency of which Hamlet had already whispered a word of caution into
+our ears, came more and more into suspicion. We were directed to the
+contemplation of an active life, which we were so fond of leading; and
+to the knowledge of the passions, which we partly felt, partly
+anticipated, in our own bosoms, and which, if though they had been
+rebuked formerly, now appeared to us as something important and
+dignified, because they were to be the chief object of our studies; and
+the knowledge of them was extolled as the most excellent means of
+cultivating our mental powers. Besides, such a mode of thought was quite
+in accordance with my own conviction,--nay, with my poetical mode of
+treatment. I therefore, without opposition, after I had thwarted so many
+good designs, and seen so many fair hopes vanish, reconciled myself to
+my father's intention of sending me to Strasburg, where I was promised a
+cheerful, gay life, while I should prosecute my studies, and at last
+take my degree.
+
+In spring I felt my health, but still more my youthful spirits,
+restored, and once more longed to be out of my father's house, though
+with reasons far different from those on the first time. The pretty
+chambers and spots where I had suffered so much had become disagreeable
+to me, and with my father himself there could be no pleasant relation. I
+could not quite pardon him for having manifested more impatience than
+was reasonable at the relapse of my disease, and at my tedious recovery;
+nay, for having, instead of comforting me by forbearance, frequently
+expressed himself in a cruel manner, about that which lay in no man's
+hand, as if it depended only on the will. And he, too, was in various
+ways hurt and offended by me.
+
+For young people bring back from the university general ideas, which,
+indeed, is quite right and good; but, because they fancy themselves very
+wise in this, they apply them as a standard to the objects that occur,
+which must then, for the most part, lose by the comparison. Thus I had
+gained a general notion of architecture, and of the arrangement and
+decoration of houses, and imprudently, in conversation, had applied this
+to our own house. My father had designed the whole arrangement of it,
+and carried out its construction with great perseverance; and,
+considering that it was to be exclusively a residence for himself and
+his family, nothing could be objected to it: in this taste, also, very
+many of the houses in Frankfort were built. An open staircase ran up
+through the house, and touched upon large ante-rooms, which might very
+well have been chambers themselves, as, indeed, we always passed the
+fine season in them. But this pleasant, cheerful existence for a single
+family--this communication from above to below--became the greatest
+inconvenience as soon as several parties occupied the house, as we had
+but too well experienced on the occasion of the French quartering. For
+that painful scene with the king's lieutenant would not have happened,
+nay, my father would even have felt all those disagreeable matters less,
+if, after the Leipzig fashion, our staircase had run close along the
+side of the house, and a separate door had been given to each story.
+This style of building I once praised highly for its advantages, and
+showed my father the possibility of altering his staircase also; whereat
+he got into an incredible passion, which was the more violent as, a
+short time before, I had found fault with some scrolled looking-glass
+frames, and rejected certain Chinese hangings. A scene ensued, which,
+indeed, was again hushed up and smothered; but it hastened my journey to
+the beautiful Alsace, which I accomplished in a newly contrived
+comfortable diligence, without delay, and in a short time.
+
+I had alighted at the Ghost (/Geist/) tavern, and hastened at once
+to satisfy my most earnest desire and to approach the minster, which had
+long since been pointed out to me by fellow-travellers, and had been
+before my eyes for a great distance. When I first perceived this
+Colossus through the narrow lanes, and then stood too near before it, in
+the truly confined little square, it made upon me an impression quite of
+its own kind, which I, being unable to analyze on the spot, carried with
+me only indistinctly for this time, as I hastily ascended the building,
+so as not to neglect the beautiful moment of a high and cheerful sun,
+which was to disclose to me at once the broad, rich land.
+
+And now, from the platform, I saw before me the beautiful country in
+which I should for a long time live and reside: the handsome city; the
+wide-spreading meadows around it, thickly set and interwoven with
+magnificent trees; that striking richness of vegetation which follows in
+the windings of the Rhine, marks its banks, islands, and aits. Nor is
+the level ground, stretching down from the south, and watered by the
+Iller, less adorned with varied green. Even westward, towards the
+mountains, there are many low grounds, which afford quite as charming a
+view of wood and meadow-growth, just as the northern and more hilly part
+is intersected by innumerable little brooks, which promote a rapid
+vegetation everywhere. If one imagines, between these luxuriantly
+outstretched meads, between these joyously scattered groves, all land
+adapted for tillage, excellently prepared, verdant, and ripening, and
+the best and richest spots marked by hamlets and farmhouses, and this
+great and immeasurable plain, prepared for man, like a new paradise,
+bounded far and near by mountains partly cultivated, partly overgrown
+with woods, he will then conceive the rapture with which I blessed my
+fate, that it had destined me, for some time, so beautiful a dwelling-
+place.
+
+Such a fresh glance into a new land in which we are to abide for a time,
+has still the peculiarity, both pleasant and foreboding, that the whole
+lies before us like an unwritten tablet. As yet no sorrows and joys
+which relate to ourselves are recorded upon it; this cheerful, varied,
+animated plain is still mute for us; the eye is only fixed on the
+objects so far as they are intrinsically important, and neither
+affection nor passion has especially to render prominent this or that
+spot. But a presentiment of the future already disquiets the young
+heart; and an unsatisfied craving secretly demands that which is to come
+and may come, and which at all events, whether for good or ill, will
+imperceptibly assume the character of the spot in which we find
+ourselves.
+
+Having descended the height, I still tarried a while before the face of
+the venerable pile; but what I could not quite clearly make out, either
+the first or the following time, was, that I regarded this miracle as a
+monster, which must have terrified me, if it had not, at the same time,
+appeared to me comprehensible by its regularity, and even pleasing in
+its finish. Yet I by no means busied myself with meditating on this
+contradiction, but suffered a monument so astonishing quietly to work
+upon me by its presence.
+
+I took small, but well-situated and pleasant, lodgings, on the north
+side of the Fish-market, a fine, long street, where the everlasting
+motion came to the assistance of every unoccupied moment. I then
+delivered my letters of introduction, and found among my patrons a
+merchant, who, with his family, was devoted to those pious opinions
+sufficiently known to me, although, as far as regarded external worship,
+he had not separated from the Church. He was a man of intelligence
+withal, and by no means hypocritical in his conduct. The company of
+boarders which was recommended to me, and, indeed, I to it, was very
+agreeable and entertaining. A couple of old maids had long kept up this
+boarding-house with regularity and good success: there might have been
+about ten persons, older and younger. Of these latter, one named Meyer,
+a native of Lindau, is most vividly present to my mind. From his form
+and face he might have been considered one of the handsomest of men, if,
+at the same time, he had not had something of the sloven in his whole
+appearance. In like manner his splendid natural talents were marred by
+an incredible levity, and his excellent temper by an unbounded
+dissoluteness. He had an open, jovial face, rather more round than oval:
+the organs of the senses, the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, could be
+called rich; they showed a decided fulness, without being too large. His
+mouth was particularly charming, owing to his curling lips; and his
+whole physiognomy had the peculiar expression of a rake, from the
+circumstance that his eyebrows met across his nose, which, in a handsome
+face, always produces a pleasant expression of sensuality. By his
+jovialness, sincerity, and good nature, he made himself beloved by all.
+His memory was incredible; attention at the lectures was no effort for
+him; he retained all he heard, and was intellectual enough to take an
+interest in every thing, and this the more easily, as he was studying
+medicine. All his impressions remained vivid; and his waggery in
+repeating the lectures and mimicking the professors often went so far,
+that, when he had heard three different lectures in one morning, he
+would, at the dinner-table, interchange the professors with each other,
+paragraphwise, and often even more abruptly, which motley lecture
+frequently entertained us, but often, too, became troublesome.
+
+The rest were more or less polite, steady, serious people. A pensioned
+knight of the order of St. Louis was one of these: but the majority were
+students, all really good and well-disposed; only they were not allowed
+to go beyond their usual allowance of wine. That this should not be
+easily done was the care of our president, one Doctor Salzmann. Already
+in the sixties and unmarried, he had attended this dinner-table for many
+years, and maintained its good order and respectability. He possessed a
+handsome property, kept himself close and neat in his exterior, even
+belonging to those who always go in shoes and stockings, and with their
+hat under their arm. To put on the hat was with him an extraordinary
+action. He commonly carried an umbrella, wisely reflecting that the
+finest summer-days often bring thunder-storms and passing showers over
+the country.
+
+With this man I talked over my design of continuing to study
+jurisprudence at Strasburg, so as to be able to take my degree as soon
+as possible. Since he was exactly informed of every thing, I asked him
+about the lectures I should have to hear, and what he generally thought
+of the matter. To this he replied, that it was not in Strasburg as in
+the German universities, where they try to educate jurists in the large
+and learned sense of the term. Here, in conformity with the relation
+towards France, all was really directed to the practical, and managed in
+accordance with the opinions of the French, who readily stop at what is
+given. They tried to impart to every one certain general principles and
+preliminary knowledge, they compressed as much as possible, and
+communicated only what was most necessary. Hereupon he made me
+acquainted with a man, in whom, as a /repetent/, [Footnote: A
+repetent is one of a class of persons to be found in the German
+universities, and who assist students in their studies. They are
+somewhat analogous to the English tutors, but not precisely: for the
+latter render their aid /before/ the recitation; while the repetent
+/repeats/ with the student, in private, the lectures he has
+previously heard from the professor. Hence his name, which might be
+rendered /repeater/, had we any corresponding class of men in
+England or America, which would justify an English word.--/American
+Note/.] great confidence was entertained; which he very soon managed
+to gain from me also. By way of introduction, I began to speak with him
+on subjects of jurisprudence; and he wondered not a little at my
+swaggering: for, during my residence at Leipzig, I had gained more of an
+insight into the requisites for the law than I have hitherto taken
+occasion to state in my narrative, though all I had acquired could only
+be reckoned as a general encyclopedical survey, and not as proper
+definite knowledge. University life, even if in the course of it we may
+not exactly have to boast of industry, nevertheless affords endless
+advantages in every kind of cultivation, because we are always
+surrounded by men who either possess or are seeking science, so that,
+even if unconsciously, we are constantly drawing some nourishment from
+such an atmosphere.
+
+My repetent, after he had had patience with my rambling discourse for
+some time, gave me at last to understand that I must first of all keep
+my immediate object in view, which was, to be examined, to take my
+degree, and then, perchance, to commence practice. "Regarding the
+former," said he, "the subject is by no means investigated at large. It
+is inquired how and when a law arose, and what gave the internal or
+external occasion for it: there is no inquiry as to how it has been
+altered by time and custom, or how far it has perhaps been perverted by
+false interpretation or the perverted usage of the courts. It is in such
+investigations that learned men quite peculiarly spend their lives,
+whereas we inquire into that which exists at present: this we stamp
+firmly on our memory, that it may always be ready when we wish to employ
+it for the use and defence of our clients. Thus we qualify our young
+people for their future life, and the rest follows in proportion to
+their talents and activity." Hereupon he handed me his pamphlets, which
+were written in question and answer, and in which I could have stood a
+pretty good examination at once; for Hopp's smaller law-catechism was
+yet perfectly in my memory: the rest I supplied with some diligence,
+and, against my will, qualified myself in the easiest manner as a
+candidate.
+
+But since in this way all my own activity in the study was cut off,--for
+I had no sense for any thing positive, but wished to have every thing
+explained historically, if not intelligibly,--I found for my powers a
+wider field, which I employed in the most singular manner by devoting
+myself to a matter of interest which was accidentally presented to me
+from without.
+
+Most of my fellow-boarders were medical students. These, as is well
+known, are the only students who zealously converse about their science
+and profession, even out of the hours of study. This lies in the nature
+of the case. The objects of their endeavors are those most obvious to
+the senses, and at the same time the highest, the most simple, and the
+most complicated. Medicine employs the whole man, for it occupies itself
+with man as a whole. All that the young man learns refers directly to an
+important, dangerous indeed, but yet in many respects lucrative,
+practice. He therefore devotes himself passionately to whatever is to be
+known and to be done, partly because it is interesting in itself, partly
+because it opens to him the joyous prospect of independence and wealth.
+
+At table, then, I heard nothing but medical conversations, just as
+formerly in the boarding-house of Hofrath Ludwig. In our walks and in
+our pleasure-parties likewise not much else was talked about: for my
+fellow-boarders, like good fellows, had also become my companions at
+other times; and they were always joined on all sides by persons of like
+minds and like studies. The medical faculty in general shone above the
+others, with respect both to the celebrity of the professors and the
+number of the students; and I was the more easily borne along by the
+stream, as I had just so much knowledge of all these things that my
+desire for science could soon be increased and inflamed. At the
+commencement of the second half-year, therefore, I attended Spielmann's
+course on chemistry, another on anatomy by Lobstein, and proposed to be
+right industrious, because, by my singular preliminary or rather extra
+knowledge, I had already gained some respect and confidence in our
+society.
+
+Yet this trifling and piecemeal way of study was even to be once more
+seriously disturbed; for a remarkable political event set every thing in
+motion, and procured us a tolerable succession of holidays. Marie
+Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of France, was to pass
+through Strasburg on her road to Paris. The solemnities by which the
+people are made to take notice that there is greatness in the world were
+busily and abundantly prepared; and especially remarkable to me was the
+building which stood on an island in the Rhine between the two bridges,
+erected for her reception and for surrendering her into the hands of her
+husband's ambassadors. It was but slightly raised above the ground; had
+in the centre a grand saloon, on each side smaller ones; then followed
+other chambers, which extended somewhat backward. In short, had it been
+more durably built, it might have answered very well as a pleasure-house
+for persons of rank. But that which particularly interested me, and for
+which I did not grudge many a /büsel/ (a little silver coin then
+current) in order to procure a repeated entrance from the porter, was
+the embroidered tapestry with which they had lined the whole interior.
+Here, for the first time, I saw a specimen of those tapestries worked
+after Raffaelle's cartoons; and this sight was for me of very decided
+influence, as I became acquainted with the true and the perfect on a
+large scale, though only in copies. I went and came, and came and went,
+and could not satiate myself with looking; nay, a vain endeavor troubled
+me, because I would willingly have comprehended what interested me in so
+extraordinary a manner. I found these side-chambers highly delightful
+and refreshing, but the chief saloon so much the more shocking. This had
+been hung with many larger, more brilliant and richer, hangings, which
+were surrounded with crowded ornaments, worked after pictures by the
+modern French.
+
+Now, I might perhaps have become reconciled to this style also, as my
+feelings, like my judgment, did not readily reject any thing entirely;
+but the subject was excessively revolting to me. These pictures
+contained the history of Jason, Medea, and Creusa, and therefore an
+example of the most unhappy marriage. To the left of the throne was seen
+the bride struggling with the most horrible death, surrounded by persons
+full of sympathizing woe; to the right was the father, horrified at the
+murdered babes before his feet; whilst the Fury, in her dragon-car,
+drove along into the air. And, that the horrible and atrocious should
+not lack something absurd, the white tail of that magic bull flourished
+out on the right hand from behind the red velvet of the gold-embroidered
+back of the throne; while the fire-spitting beast himself, and the Jason
+who was fighting with him, were completely covered by the sumptuous
+drapery.
+
+Here all the maxims which I had made my own in Oeser's school were
+stirring within my bosom. It was without proper selection and judgment,
+to begin with, that Christ and the apostles were brought into the side-
+halls of a nuptial building; and doubtless the size of the chambers had
+guided the royal tapestry-keeper. This, however, I willingly forgave,
+because it had turned out so much to my advantage; but a blunder like
+that in the grand saloon put me altogether out of my self-possession,
+and with animation and vehemence I called on my comrades to witness such
+a crime against taste and feeling. "What!" cried I, without regarding
+the by-standers, "is it permitted so thoughtlessly to place before the
+eyes of a young queen, at her first setting foot in her dominions, the
+representation of the most horrible marriage that perhaps ever was
+consummated? Is there among the French architects, decorators,
+upholsterers, not a single man who understands that pictures represent
+something, that pictures work upon the mind and feelings, that they make
+impressions, that they excite forebodings? It is just the same as if
+they had sent the most ghastly spectre to meet this beauteous and
+pleasure-loving lady at the very frontiers!" I know not what I said
+besides: enough, my comrades tried to quiet me and to remove me out of
+the house, that there might be no offence. They then assured me that it
+was not everybody's concern to look for significance in pictures; that
+to themselves, at least, nothing of the sort would have occurred; while
+the whole population of Strasburg and the vicinity, which was to throng
+thither, would no more take such crotchets into their heads than the
+queen herself and her court.
+
+I yet remember well the beauteous and lofty mien, as cheerful as it was
+imposing, of this youthful lady. Perfectly visible to us all in her
+glass carriage, she seemed to be jesting with her female attendants, in
+familiar conversation, about the throng that poured forth to meet her
+train. In the evening we roamed through the streets to look at the
+various illuminated buildings, but especially the glowing spire of the
+minster, with which, both near and in the distance, we could not
+sufficiently feast our eyes.
+
+The queen pursued her way: the country people dispersed, and the city
+was soon quiet as ever. Before the queen's arrival, the very reasonable
+regulation had been made, that no deformed persons, no cripples nor
+disgusting invalids, should show themselves on her route. People joked
+about this; and I made a little French poem in which I compared the
+advent of Christ, who seemed to wander upon earth particularly on
+account of the sick and the lame, with the arrival of the queen, who
+scared these unfortunates away. My friends let it pass: a Frenchman, on
+the contrary, who lived with us, criticised the language and metre very
+unmercifully, although, as it seemed, with too much foundation; and I do
+not remember that I ever made a French poem afterwards.
+
+No sooner had the news of the queen's happy arrival rung from the
+capital, than it was followed by the horrible intelligence, that, owing
+to an oversight of the police during the festal fireworks, an infinite
+number of persons, with horses and carriages, had been destroyed in a
+street obstructed by building materials, and that the city, in the midst
+of the nuptial solemnities, had been plunged into mourning and sorrow.
+They attempted to conceal the extent of the misfortune, both from the
+young royal pair and from the world, by burying the dead in secret; so
+that many families were convinced only by the ceaseless absence of their
+members that they, too, had been swept off by this awful event. That, on
+this occasion, those ghastly figures in the grand saloon again came
+vividly before my mind, I need scarcely mention; for every one knows how
+powerful certain moral impressions are when they embody themselves, as
+it were, in those of the senses.
+
+This occurrence was, however, destined moreover to place my friends in
+anxiety and trouble by means of a prank in which I indulged. Among us
+young people who had been at Leipzig, there had been maintained ever
+afterwards a certain itch for imposing on and in some way mystifying one
+another. With this wanton love of mischief I wrote to a friend in
+Frankfort (he was the one who had amplified my poem on the cake-baker
+Hendel, applied it to /Medon/, and caused its general circulation)
+a letter dated from Versailles, in which I informed him of my happy
+arrival there, my participation in the solemnities, and other things of
+the kind, but at the same time enjoined the strictest secrecy. I must
+here remark, that, from the time of that trick which had caused us so
+much annoyance, our little Leipzig society had accustomed itself to
+persecute him from time to time with mystifications, and this especially
+as he was the drollest man in the world, and was never more amiable than
+when he was discovering the cheat into which he had deliberately been
+led. Shortly after I had written this letter, I went on a little
+journey, and remained absent about a fortnight. Meanwhile the news of
+that disaster had reached Frankfort: my friend believed me in Paris, and
+his affection led him to apprehend that I might have been involved in
+the calamity. He inquired of any parents and other persons to whom I was
+accustomed to write, whether any letters had arrived; and, as it was
+just at the time when my journey kept me from sending any, they were
+altogether wanting. He went about in the greatest uneasiness, and at
+last told the matter in confidence to our nearest friends, who were now
+in equal anxiety. Fortunately this conjecture did not reach my parents
+until a letter had arrived announcing my return to Strasburg. My young
+friends were satisfied to learn that I was alive, but remained firmly
+convinced that I had been at Paris in the interim. The affectionate
+intelligence of the solicitude they had felt on my account affected me
+so much that I vowed to leave off such tricks forever; but,
+unfortunately, I have often since allowed myself to be guilty of
+something similar. Real life frequently loses its brilliancy to such a
+degree, that one is many a time forced to polish it up again with the
+varnish of fiction.
+
+This mighty stream of courtly magnificence had now flowed by, and had
+left in me no other longing than after those tapestries of Raffaelle,
+which I would willingly have gazed at, revered, nay, adored, every day
+and every hour. Fortunately, my passionate endeavors succeeded in
+interesting several persons of consequence in them, so that they were
+taken down and packed up as late as possible. We now gave ourselves up
+again to our quiet, easy routine of the university and society; and in
+the latter the Actuary Salzmann, president of our table, continued to be
+the general pedagogue. His intelligence, complaisance, and dignity,
+which he always contrived to maintain amid all the jests, and often even
+in the little extravagances, which he allowed us, made him beloved and
+respected by the whole company; and I could mention but few instances
+where he showed his serious displeasure, or interposed with authority in
+little quarrels and disputes. Yet among them all I was the one who most
+attached myself to him; and he was not less inclined to converse with
+me, as he found me more variously accomplished than the others, and not
+so one-sided in judgment. I also followed his directions in external
+matters; so that he could, without hesitation, publicly acknowledge me
+as his companion and comrade: for, although he only filled an office
+which seems to be of little influence, he administered it in a manner
+which redounded to his highest honor. He was actuary to the Court of
+Wards (/Pupillen-Collegium/); and there, indeed, like the perpetual
+secretary of a university, he had, properly speaking, the management of
+affairs in his own hands. Now, as he had performed the duties of this
+office with the greatest exactness for many years, there was no family,
+from the first to the last, which did not owe him its gratitude; as
+indeed scarcely any one in the whole administration of government can
+earn more blessings or more curses than one who takes charge of the
+orphans, or, on the contrary, squanders or suffers to be squandered
+their property and goods.
+
+The Strasburgers are passionate walkers, and they have a good right to
+be so. Let one turn his steps as he will, he will find pleasure-grounds,
+partly natural, partly adorned by art in ancient and modern times, all
+of them visited and enjoyed by a cheerful, merry little people. But what
+made the sight of a great number of pedestrians still more agreeable
+here than in other places, was the various costume of the fair sex. The
+middle class of city girls yet retained the hair twisted up and secured
+by a large pin, as well as a certain close style of dress, in which any
+thing like a train would have been unbecoming: and the pleasant part of
+it was, that this costume did not differ violently according to the rank
+of the wearer; for there were still some families of opulence and
+distinction who would not permit their daughters to deviate from this
+costume. The rest followed the French fashion, and this party made some
+proselytes every year. Salzmann had many acquaintances and an entrance
+everywhere: a very pleasant circumstance for his companion, especially
+in summer, for good company and refreshment were found in all the public
+gardens far and near, and more than one invitation for this or that
+pleasant day was received. On one such occasion I found an opportunity
+to recommend myself very rapidly to a family which I was visiting for
+only the second time. We were invited, and arrived at the appointed
+hour. The company was not large: some played and some walked as usual.
+Afterwards, when they were to go to supper, I saw our hostess and her
+sister speaking to each other with animation, and as if in a peculiar
+embarrassment. I accosted them, and said, "I have indeed no right,
+ladies, to force myself into your secrets; but perhaps I may be able to
+give you good counsel, or even to serve you." Upon this they disclosed
+to me their painful dilemma; namely, that they had invited twelve
+persons to table, and that just at that moment a relation had returned
+from a journey, who now, as the thirteenth, would be a fatal /memento
+mori/, if not for himself, yet certainly for some of the guests. "The
+case is very easily mended," replied I: "permit me to take my leave, and
+stipulate for indemnification." As they were persons of consequence and
+good breeding, they would by no means allow this, but sent about in the
+neighborhood to find a fourteenth. I suffered them to do so; yet when I
+saw the servant coming in at the garden-gate without having effected his
+errand, I stole away and spent my evening pleasantly under the old
+linden-trees of the Wanzenau. That this self-denial was richly repaid me
+was a very natural consequence.
+
+A certain kind of general society is not to be thought of without card-
+playing. Salzmann renewed the good instructions of Madame Böhme; and I
+was the more docile as I had really seen, that by this little sacrifice,
+if it be one, one may procure one's self much pleasure, and even a
+greater freedom in society than one would otherwise enjoy. The old
+piquet, which had gone to sleep, was again looked out; I learned whist;
+I made myself, according to the directions of my Mentor, a card-purse,
+which was to remain untouched under all circumstances; and I now found
+opportunity to spend most of my evenings with my friend in the best
+circles, where, for the most part, they wished me well, and pardoned
+many a little irregularity, to which, nevertheless, my friend, though
+kindly enough, used to call my attention.
+
+But that I might experience symbolically how much one, even in
+externals, has to adapt one's self to society, and direct one's self
+according to it, I was compelled to something which seemed to me the
+most disagreeable thing in the world. I had really very fine hair; but
+my Strasburg hair-dresser at once assured me that it was cut much too
+short behind, and that it would be impossible to make a /frizure/
+of it in which I could show myself, since nothing but a few short curls
+in front were decreed lawful; and all the rest, from the crown, must be
+tied up in a cue or a hair-bag. Nothing was left but to put up with
+false hair till the natural growth was again restored according to the
+demands of the time. He promised me that nobody should ever remark this
+innocent deception (against which I objected at first very earnestly),
+if I could resolve upon it immediately. He kept his word, and I was
+always looked upon as the young man who had the best and the best-
+dressed head of hair. But as I was obliged to remain thus propped up and
+powdered from early morning, and at the same time to take care not to
+betray my false ornament by heating myself or by violent motions, this
+restraint in fact contributed much to my behaving for a time more
+quietly and politely, and accustomed me to going with my hat under my
+arm, and consequently in shoes and stockings also; however I did not
+venture to neglect wearing understockings of fine leather, as a defence
+against the Rhine gnats, which, on the fine summer evenings, generally
+spread themselves over the meadows and gardens. Under these
+circumstances, violent bodily motion being denied me, our social
+conversations grew more and more animated and impassioned; indeed, they
+were the most interesting in which I had hitherto ever borne part.
+
+With my way of feeling and thinking, it cost me nothing to let every one
+pass for what he was,--nay, for that which he wished to pass for; and
+thus the frankness of a fresh, youthful heart, which manifested itself
+almost for the first time in its full bloom, made me many friends and
+adherents. Our company of boarders increased to about twenty persons;
+and, as Salzmann kept up his accustomed order, every thing continued in
+its old routine,--nay, the conversation was almost more decorous, as
+every one had to be on his guard before several. Among the new-comers
+was a man who particularly interested me: his name was Jung, the same
+who afterwards became known under the name of Stilling. In spite of an
+antiquated dress, his form had something delicate about it, with a
+certain sturdiness. A bag-wig did not disfigure his significant and
+pleasing countenance. His voice was mild, without being soft and weak:
+it became even melodious and powerful as soon as his ardor was roused,
+which was very easily done. On becoming better acquainted with him, one
+found in him a sound common sense, which rested on feeling, and
+therefore took its tone from the affections and passions; and from this
+very feeling sprang an enthusiasm for the good, the true, and the just,
+in the greatest possible purity. For the course of this man's life had
+been very simple, and yet crowded with events and with manifold
+activity. The element of his energy was indestructible faith in God, and
+in an assistance flowing immediately from him, which evidently
+manifested itself in an uninterrupted providence, and in an unfailing
+deliverance out of all troubles and from every evil. Jung had made many
+such experiences in his life, and they had often been repeated of late
+in Strasburg: so that, with the greatest cheerfulness, he led a life
+frugal indeed, but free from care, and devoted himself most earnestly to
+his studies; although he could not reckon upon any certain subsistence
+from one quarter to another. In his youth, when on a fair way to become
+a charcoal-burner, he took up the trade of a tailor; and after he had
+instructed himself, at the same time, in higher matters, his knowledge-
+loving mind drove him to the occupation of schoolmaster. This attempt
+failed; and he returned to his trade, from which, however, since every
+one felt for him confidence and affection, he was repeatedly called
+away, again to take a place as private tutor. But for his most internal
+and peculiar training he had to thank that wide-spread class of men who
+sought out their salvation on their own responsibility, and who, while
+they strove to edify themselves by reading the Scriptures and good
+books, and by mutual exhortation and confession, thereby attained a
+degree of cultivation which must excite surprise. For while the interest
+which always accompanied them and which maintained them in fellowship
+rested on the simplest foundation of morality, well-wishing and well-
+doing, the deviations which could take place with men of such limited
+circumstances were of little importance; and hence their consciences,
+for the most part, remained clear, and their minds commonly cheerful: so
+there arose no artificial, but a truly natural, culture, which yet had
+this advantage over others, that it was suitable to all ages and ranks,
+and was generally social by its nature. For this reason, too, these
+persons were, in their own circle, truly eloquent, and capable of
+expressing themselves appropriately and pleasingly on all the tenderest
+and best concerns of the heart. Now, good Jung was in this very case.
+Among a few persons, who, if not exactly like-minded with himself, did
+not declare themselves averse from his mode of thought, he was found,
+not only talkative but eloquent: in particular, he related the history
+of his life in the most delightful manner, and knew how to make all the
+circumstances plainly and vividly present to his listeners. I persuaded
+him to write them down, and he promised to do so. But because, in his
+way of expressing himself, he was like a somnambulist, who must not be
+called by name lest he should fall from his elevation, or like a gentle
+stream, to which one dare oppose nothing lest it should foam, he was
+often constrained to feel uncomfortable in a more numerous company. His
+faith tolerated no doubt, and his conviction no jest. "While in friendly
+communication he was inexhaustible, every thing came to a standstill
+with him when he met with contradiction. I usually helped him through on
+such occasions, for which he repaid me with honest affection. Since his
+mode of thought was nothing strange to me, but on the contrary I had
+already become accurately acquainted with it in my very best friends of
+both sexes; and since, moreover, it generally interested me with its
+naturalness and /naïveté/,--he found himself on the very best terms
+with me. The bent of his intellect was pleasing to me; nor did I meddle
+with his faith in miracles, which was so useful to him. Salzmann
+likewise behaved towards him with forbearance,--I say with forbearance,
+for Salzmann, in conformity with his character, his natural disposition,
+his age arid circumstances, could not but stand and continue on the side
+of the rational, or rather the common-sense, Christians, whose religion
+properly rested on the rectitude of their characters, and a manly
+independence, and who therefore did not like to meddle or have any thing
+to do with feelings which might easily have led them into gloom, or with
+mysticism, which might easily have led them into the dark. This class,
+too, was respectable and numerous: all men of honor and capacity
+understood each other, and were of the like persuasion, as well as of
+the same mode of life. Lerse, likewise our fellow-boarder, also belonged
+to this number: a perfectly upright young man, and, with limited gifts
+of fortune, frugal and exact. His manner of life and housekeeping was
+the closest I ever knew among students. He was, of us all, the most
+neatly dressed, and yet always appeared in the same clothes; but he
+managed his wardrobe with the greatest care, kept every thing about him
+clean, and required all things in ordinary life to go according to his
+example. He never happened to lean anywhere, or to prop his elbow on the
+table; he never forgot to mark his table-napkin; and the maid always had
+a bad time of it when the chairs were not found perfectly clean. With
+all this, he had nothing stiff in his exterior. He spoke cordially, with
+precise and dry liveliness, in which a light ironical joke was very
+becoming. In figure he was well built, slender, and of fair height: his
+face was pock-pitted and homely, his little blue eyes cheerful and
+penetrating. As he had cause to tutor us in so many respects, we let him
+be our fencing-master besides, for he drew a very fine rapier; and it
+seemed to give him sport to play off upon us, on this occasion, all the
+pedantry of this profession. Moreover, we really profited by him, and
+had to thank him for many sociable hours, which he induced us to spend
+in good exercise and practice.
+
+By all these peculiarities, Lerse completely qualified himself for the
+office of arbitrator and umpire in all the small and great quarrels
+which happened, though but rarely, in our circle, and which Salzmann
+could not hush up in his fatherly way. Without the external forms, which
+do so much mischief in universities, we represented a society bound
+together by circumstances and good feeling, which others might
+occasionally touch, but into which they could not intrude. Now, in his
+judgment of internal piques, Lerse always showed the greatest
+impartiality; and, when the affair could no longer be settled by words
+and explanations, he knew how to conduct the desired satisfaction, in an
+honorable way, to a harmless issue. In this no man was more clever than
+he: indeed, he often used to say, that since heaven had destined him for
+a hero neither in war nor in love, he would be content, both in romances
+and fighting, with the part of second. Since he remained the same
+throughout, and might be regarded as a true model of a good and steady
+disposition, the conception of him stamped itself as deeply as amiably
+upon me; and, when I wrote "Götz von Berlichingen," I felt myself
+induced to set up a memorial of our friendship, and to give the gallant
+fellow, who knew how to subordinate himself in so dignified a manner,
+the name of Franz Lerse.
+
+While, by his constant humorous dryness, he continued ever to remind us
+of what one owed to one's self and to others, and how one ought to
+behave in order to live at peace with men as long as possible, and thus
+gain a certain position towards them, I had to fight, both inwardly and
+outwardly, with quite different circumstances and adversaries, being at
+strife with myself, with the objects around me, and even with the
+elements. I was then in a state of health which furthered me
+sufficiently in all that I would and should undertake; only there was a
+certain irritability left behind, which did not always let me be in
+equilibrium. A loud sound was disagreeable to me, diseased objects
+awakened in me loathing and horror. But I was especially troubled with a
+giddiness which came over me every time I looked down from a height. All
+these infirmities I tried to remedy, and, indeed, as I wished to lose no
+time, in a somewhat violent way. In the evening, when they beat the
+tattoo, I went near the multitude of drums, the powerful rolling and
+beating of which might have made one's heart burst in one's bosom. All
+alone I ascended the highest pinnacle of the minster spire, and sat in
+what is called the neck, under the nob or crown, for a quarter of an
+hour, before I would venture to step out again into the open air, where,
+standing upon a platform scarce an ell square, without any particular
+holding, one sees the boundless prospect before; while the nearest
+objects and ornaments conceal the church, and every thing upon and above
+which one stands. It is exactly as if one saw one's self carried up into
+the air in a balloon. Such troublesome and painful sensations I repeated
+until the impression became quite indifferent to me; and I have since
+then derived great advantage from this training, in mountain travels and
+geological studies, and on great buildings, where I have vied with the
+carpenters in running over the bare beams and the cornices of the
+edifice, and even in Rome, where one must run similar risks to obtain a
+nearer view of important works of art. Anatomy, also, was of double
+value to me, as it taught me to endure the most repulsive sights, while
+I satisfied my thirst for knowledge. And thus I also attended the
+clinical course of the elder Dr. Ehrmann, as well as the lectures of his
+son on obstetrics, with the double view of becoming acquainted with all
+conditions, and of freeing myself from all apprehension as to repulsive
+things. And I have actually succeeded so far, that nothing of this kind
+could ever put me out of my self-possession. But I endeavored to harden
+myself, not only against these impressions on the senses, but also
+against the infections of the imagination. The awful and shuddering
+impressions of the darkness in churchyards, solitary places, churches,
+and chapels by night, and whatever may be connected with them, I
+contrived to render likewise indifferent; and in this, also, I went so
+far that day and night, and every locality, were quite the same to me:
+so that even when, in later times, a desire came over me once more to
+feel in such scenes the pleasing shudder of youth, I could hardly compel
+this, in any degree, by calling up the strangest and most fearful
+images.
+
+In my efforts to free myself from the pressure of the too gloomy and
+powerful, which continued to rule within me, and seemed to me sometimes
+as strength, sometimes as weakness, I was thoroughly assisted by that
+open, social, stirring manner of life, which attracted me more and more,
+to which I accustomed myself, and which I at last learned to enjoy with
+perfect freedom. It is not difficult to remark in the world, that man
+feels himself most freely and most perfectly rid of his own feelings
+when he represents to himself the faults of others, and expatiates upon
+them with complacent censoriousness. It is a tolerably pleasant
+sensation even to set ourselves above our equals by disapprobation and
+misrepresentation; for which reason good society, whether it consists of
+few or many, is most delighted with it. But nothing equals the
+comfortable self-complacency, when we erect ourselves into judges of our
+superiors, and of those who are set over us,--of princes and statesmen,
+--when we find public institutions unfit and injudicious, only consider
+the possible and actual obstacles, and recognize neither the greatness
+of the invention, nor the co-operation which is to be expected from time
+and circumstances in every undertaking.
+
+Whoever remembers the condition of the French kingdom, and is accurately
+and circumstantially acquainted with it from later writings, will easily
+figure to himself how, at that time, in the Alsatian semi-France, people
+used to talk about the king and his ministers, about the court and
+court-favorites. These were new subjects for my love of instructing
+myself, and very welcome ones to my pertness and youthful conceit. I
+observed every thing accurately, noted it down industriously; and I now
+see, from the little that is left, that such accounts, although only put
+together on the moment, out of fables and uncertain general rumors,
+always have a certain value in after-times, because they serve to
+confront and compare the secret made known at last with what was then
+already discovered and public, and the judgments of contemporaries, true
+or false, with the convictions of posterity.
+
+Striking, and daily before the eyes of us street-loungers, was the
+project for beautifying the city; the execution of which according to
+draughts and plans, began in the strangest fashion to pass from sketches
+and plans into reality. Intendant Gayot had undertaken to new-model the
+angular and uneven lanes of Strasburg, and to lay the foundations of a
+respectable, handsome city, regulated by line and level. Upon this,
+Blondel, a Parisian architect, drew a plan, by which an hundred and
+forty householders gained in room, eighty lost, and the rest remained in
+their former condition. This plan accepted, but not to be put into
+execution at once, now, should in course of time have been approaching
+completion; and, meanwhile, the city oddly enough wavered between form
+and formlessness. If, for instance, a crooked side of a street was to be
+straightened, the first man who felt disposed to build moved forward to
+the appointed line, perhaps, too, his next neighbor, but perhaps, also,
+the third or fourth resident from him; by which projections the most
+awkward recesses were left, like front court-yards, before the houses in
+the background. They would not use force, yet without compulsion they
+would never have got on: on which account no man, when his house was
+once condemned, ventured to improve or replace any thing that related to
+the street. All these strange accidental inconveniences gave to us
+rambling idlers the most welcome opportunity of practising our ridicule;
+of making proposals, in the manner of Behrisch, for accelerating the
+completion, and of constantly doubting the possibility of it, although
+many a newly erected handsome building should have brought us to other
+thoughts. How far that project was advanced by the length of time, I
+cannot say.
+
+Another subject on which the Protestant Strasburgers liked to converse
+was the expulsion of the Jesuits. These fathers, as soon as the city had
+fallen to the share of the French, had made their appearance and sought
+a /domicilium/. But they soon extended themselves and built a
+magnificent college, which bordered so closely on the minster that the
+back of the church covered a third part of its front. It was to be a
+complete quadrangle, and have a garden in the middle: three sides of it
+were finished. It is of stone, and solid, like all the buildings of
+these fathers. That the Protestants were pushed hard, if not oppressed
+by them, lay in the plan of the society which made it a duty to restore
+the old religion in its whole compass. Their fall, therefore, awakened
+the greatest satisfaction in the opposite party; and people saw, not
+without pleasure, how they sold their wines, carried away their books:
+and the building was assigned to another, perhaps less active, order.
+How glad are men when they get rid of an opponent, or only of a
+guardian! and the herd does not reflect, that, where there is no dog, it
+is exposed to wolves.
+
+Now, since every city must have its tragedy, at which children and
+children's children shudder; so in Strasburg frequent mention was made
+of the unfortunate Praetor Klingling, who, after he had mounted the
+highest step of earthly felicity, ruled city and country with almost
+absolute power, and enjoyed all that wealth, rank, and influence could
+afford, had at last lost the favor of the court, and was dragged up to
+answer for all in which he had been indulged hitherto,--nay, was even
+thrown into prison, where, more than seventy years old, he died an
+ambiguous death.
+
+This and other tales, that knight of St. Louis, our fellow-boarder, knew
+how to tell with passion and animation; for which reason I was fond of
+accompanying him in his walks, unlike the others, who avoided such
+invitations, and left me alone with him. As with new acquaintances I
+generally took my ease for a long time without thinking much about them
+or the effect which they were exercising upon me, so I only remarked
+gradually that his stories and opinions rather unsettled and confused
+than instructed and enlightened me. I never knew what to make of him,
+although the riddle might easily have been solved. He belonged to the
+many to whom life offers no results, and who, therefore, from first to
+last, exert themselves on individual objects. Unfortunately he had with
+this a decided desire, nay, even passion, for meditating, without having
+any capacity for thinking; and in such men a particular notion easily
+fixes itself fast, which may be regarded as a mental disease. To such a
+fixed view he always came back again, and was thus in the long run
+excessively tiresome. He would bitterly complain of the decline of his
+memory, especially with regard to the latest events, and maintained, by
+a logic of his own, that all virtue springs from a good memory, and all
+vice, on the contrary, from forgetfulness. This doctrine he contrived to
+carry out with much acuteness; as, indeed, any thing may be maintained
+when one has no compunction to use words altogether vaguely, and to
+employ and apply them in a sense now wider, now narrower, now closer,
+now more remote.
+
+At first it was amusing to hear him; nay, his persuasiveness even
+astonished us. We fancied we were standing before a rhetorical sophist,
+who for jest and practice knew how to give a fair appearance to the
+strangest things. Unfortunately this first impression became blunted but
+too soon; for at the end of every discourse, manage the thing as I
+would, the man came back again to the same theme. He was not to be held
+fast to older events, although they interested him,--although he had
+them present to his mind with their minutest circumstances. Indeed, he
+was often, by a small circumstance, snatched out of the middle of a wild
+historical narrative, and thrust into his detestable favorite thought.
+
+One of our afternoon walks was particularly unfortunate in this respect:
+the account of it may stand here instead of similar cases, which might
+weary if not vex the reader.
+
+On the way through the city we were met by an old female mendicant, who,
+by her beggings and importunities, disturbed him in his story. "Pack
+yourself off, old witch!" said he, and walked by. She shouted after him
+the well-known retort,--only somewhat changed, since she saw well that
+the unfriendly man was old himself,--"If you did not wish to be old, you
+should have had yourself hanged in your youth!" He turned round
+violently, and I feared a scene. "Hanged cried he, "have myself hanged!
+No: that could not have been,--I was too honest a fellow for that; but
+hang myself--hang up my own self--that is true--that I should have done:
+I should have turned a charge of powder against myself, that I might not
+live to see that I am not even worth that any more." The woman stood as
+if petrified; but he continued, "You have said a great truth, witch-
+mother; and, as they have neither drowned nor burned you yet, you shall
+be paid for your proverb." He handed her a /büsel/, a coin not
+usually given to a beggar.
+
+We had crossed over the first Rhine-bridge, and were going to the inn
+where we meant to stop; and I was trying to lead him back to our
+previous conversation, when, unexpectedly, a very pretty girl met us on
+the pleasant foot-path, remained standing before us, bowed prettily, and
+cried, "Eh, eh, captain, where are you going?" and, whatever else is
+usually said on such an occasion. "Mademoiselle," replied he, somewhat
+embarrassed, "I know not"--"How?" said she, with graceful astonishment,
+"do you forget your friends so soon?" The word "forget" fretted him: he
+shook his head and replied, peevishly enough, "Truly, mademoiselle, I
+did not know!"--She now retorted with some humor, yet very temperately,
+"Take care, captain: I may mistake you another time!" And so she hurried
+past, taking huge strides, without looking round. At once my fellow-
+traveller struck his forehead with both his fists: "Oh, what an ass I
+am!" exclaimed he, "what an old ass I am! Now, you see whether I am
+right or not." And then, in a very violent manner, he went on with his
+usual sayings and opinions, in which this case still more confirmed him.
+I can not and would not repeat what a philippic discourse he held
+against himself. At last he turned to me, and said, "I call you to
+witness! You remember that small-ware woman at the corner, who is
+neither young nor pretty? I salute her every time we pass, and often
+exchange a couple of friendly words with her; and yet it is thirty years
+ago since she was gracious to me. But now I swear it is not four weeks
+since this young lady showed herself more complaisant to me than was
+reasonable; and yet I will not recognize her, but insult her in return
+for her favors! Do I not always say, that ingratitude is the greatest of
+vices, and no man would be ungrateful if he were not forgetful?"
+
+We went into the inn; and nothing but the tippling, swarming crowd in
+the ante-rooms stopped the invectives which he rattled off against
+himself and his contemporaries. He was silent, and I hoped pacified,
+when we stepped into an upper chamber, where we found a young man pacing
+up and down alone, whom the captain saluted by name. I was pleased to
+become acquainted with him; for the old fellow had said much good of him
+to me, and had told me that this young man, being employed in the war-
+bureau, had often disinterestedly done him very good service when the
+pensions were stopped. I was glad that the conversation took a general
+turn; and, while we were carrying it on, we drank a bottle of wine. But
+here, unluckily, another infirmity which my knight had in common with
+obstinate men developed itself. For as, on the whole, he could not get
+rid of that fixed notion; so did he stick fast to a disagreeable
+impression of the moment, and suffer his feelings to run on without
+moderation. His last vexation about himself had not yet died away; and
+now was added something new, although of quite a different kind. He had
+not long cast his eyes here and there before he noticed on the table a
+double portion of coffee, and two cups, and might besides, being a man
+of gallantry, have traced some other indication that the young man had
+not been so solitary all the time. And scarcely had the conjecture
+arisen in his mind, and ripened into a probability, that the pretty girl
+had been paying a visit here, than the most outrageous jealousy added
+itself to that first vexation, so as completely to perplex him.
+
+Now, before I could suspect any thing,--for I had hitherto been
+conversing quite harmlessly with the young man,--the captain, in an
+unpleasant tone, which I well knew, began to be satirical about the pair
+of cups, and about this and that. The young man, surprised, tried to
+turn it off pleasantly and sensibly, as is the custom among men of good
+breeding: but the old fellow continued to be unmercifully rude; so that
+there was nothing left for the other to do but to seize his hat and
+cane, and at his departure to leave behind him a pretty unequivocal
+challenge. The fury of the captain now burst out the more vehemently, as
+he had in the interim drunk another bottle of wine almost by himself. He
+struck the table with his fist, and cried more than once, "I will strike
+him dead!" It was not, however, meant quite so badly as it sounded; for
+he often used this phrase when any one opposed or otherwise displeased
+him. Just as unexpectedly the business grew worse on our return; for I
+had the want of foresight to represent to him his ingratitude towards
+the young man, and to remind him how strongly he had praised to me the
+ready obligingness of this official person. No! such rage of a man
+against himself I never saw again: it was the most passionate conclusion
+to that beginning to which the pretty girl had given occasion. Here I
+saw sorrow and repentance carried into caricature, and, as all passion
+supplies the place of genius, to a point really genius-like. He then
+went over all the incidents of our afternoon ramble again, employed them
+rhetorically for his own self-reproach, brought up the old witch at last
+before him once more, and perplexed himself to such a degree, that I
+could not help fearing he would throw himself into the Rhine. Could I
+have been sure of fishing him out again quickly, like Mentor his
+Telemachus, he might have made the leap; and I should have brought him
+home cooled down for this occasion.
+
+I immediately confided the affair to Lerse; and we went the next morning
+to the young man, whom my friend in his dry way set laughing. We agreed
+to bring about an accidental meeting, where a reconciliation should take
+place of itself. The drollest thing about it was, that this time the
+captain, too, had slept off his rudeness, and found himself ready to
+apologize to the young man, to whom petty quarrels were of some
+consequence. All was arranged in one morning; and, as the affair had not
+been kept quite secret, I did not escape the jokes of my friends, who
+might have foretold me, from their own experience, how troublesome the
+friendship of the captain could become upon occasion.
+
+But now, while I am thinking what should be imparted next, there comes
+again into my thoughts, by a strange play of memory, that reverend
+minster-building, to which in those days I devoted particular attention,
+and which, in general, constantly presents itself to the eye, both in
+the city and in the country.
+
+The more I considered the /façade/, the more was that first
+impression strengthened and developed, that here the sublime has entered
+into alliance with the pleasing. If the vast, when it appears as a mass
+before us, is not to terrify; if it is not to confuse, when we seek to
+investigate its details,--it must enter into an unnatural, apparently
+impossible, connection, it must associate to itself the pleasing. But
+now, since it will be impossible for us to speak of the impression of
+the minster except by considering both these incompatible qualities as
+united, so do we already see, from this, in what high value we must hold
+this ancient monument; and we begin in earnest to describe how such
+contradictory elements could peaceably interpenetrate and unite
+themselves.
+
+First of all, without thinking of the towers, we devote out
+considerations to the /façade/ alone, which powerfully strikes the
+eye as an upright, oblong parallelogram. If we approach it at twilight,
+in the moonshine, on a starlight night, when the parts appear more or
+less indistinct and at last disappear, we see only a colossal wall, the
+height of which bears an advantageous proportion to the breadth. If we
+view it by day, and by the power of the mind abstract from the details,
+we recognize the front of a building which not only encloses the space
+within, but also covers much in its vicinity. The openings of this
+monstrous surface point to internal necessities, and according to these
+we can at once divide it into nine compartments. The great middle door,
+which opens into the nave of the church, first meets the eye. On both
+sides of it lie two smaller ones, belonging to the cross-ways. Over the
+chief door our glance falls upon the wheel-shaped window, which is to
+spread an awe-inspiring light within the church and its vaulted arches.
+At its sides appear two large, perpendicular, oblong openings, which
+form a striking contrast with the middle one, and indicate that they
+belong to the base of the rising towers. In the third story are three
+openings in a row, which are designed for belfries and other church
+necessities. Above them one sees the whole horizontally closed by the
+balustrade of the gallery, instead of a cornice. These nine spaces
+described are supported, enclosed, and separated into three great
+perpendicular divisions by four pillars rising up from the ground.
+
+Now, as it cannot be denied that there is in the whole mass a fine
+proportion of height to breadth, so also in the details it maintains a
+somewhat uniform lightness by means of these pillars and the narrow
+compartments between them.
+
+But if we adhere to our abstraction, and imagine to ourselves this
+immense wall without ornaments, with firm buttresses, with the necessary
+openings in it, but only so far as necessity requires them, we even then
+must allow that these chief divisions are in good proportion: thus the
+whole will appear solemn and noble indeed, but always heavily
+unpleasant, and, being without ornament, unartistical. For a work of
+art, the whole of which is conceived in great, simple, harmonious parts,
+makes indeed a noble and dignified impression; but the peculiar
+enjoyment which the pleasing produces can only find place in the
+consonance of all developed details.
+
+And it is precisely here that the building we are examining satisfies us
+in the highest degree, for we see all the ornaments fully suited to
+every part which they adorn: they are subordinate to it, they seem to
+have grown out of it. Such a manifoldness always gives great pleasure,
+since it flows of its own accord from the suitable, and therefore at the
+same time awakens the feeling of unity. It is only in such cases that
+the execution is prized as the summit of art.
+
+By such means, now, was a solid piece of masonry, an impenetrable wall,
+which had moreover to announce itself as the base of two heaven-high
+towers, made to appear to the eye as if resting on itself, consisting in
+itself, but at the same time light and adorned, and, though pierced
+through in a thousand places, to give the idea of indestructible
+firmness.
+
+This riddle is solved in the happiest manner. The openings in the wall,
+its solid parts, the pillars, every thing has its peculiar character,
+which proceeds from its particular destination: this communicates itself
+by degrees to the subdivisions; hence every thing is adorned in
+proportionate taste, the great as well as the small is in the right
+place, and can be easily comprehended, and thus the pleasing presents
+itself in the vast. I would refer only to the doors sinking in
+perspective into the thickness of the wall, and adorned without end in
+their columns and pointed arches; to the window with its rose springing
+out of the round form; to the outline of its framework, as well as to
+the slender reed-like pillars of the perpendicular compartments. Let one
+represent to himself the pillars retreating step by step, accompanied by
+little, slender, light-pillared, pointed structures, likewise striving
+upwards, and furnished with canopies to shelter the images of the
+saints, and how at last every rib, every boss, seems like a flower-head
+and row of leaves, or some other natural object transformed into stone.
+One may compare, if not the building itself, yet representations of the
+whole and of its parts, for the purpose of reviewing and giving life to
+what I have said. It may seem exaggerated to many; for I myself, though
+transported into love for this work at first sight, required a long time
+to make myself intimately acquainted with its value.
+
+Having grown up among those who found fault with Gothic architecture, I
+cherished my aversion from the abundantly overloaded, complicated
+ornaments which, by their capriciousness, made a religious, gloomy
+character highly adverse. I strengthened myself in this repugnance,
+since I had only met with spiritless works of this kind, in which one
+could perceive neither good proportions nor a pure consistency. But here
+I thought I saw a new revelation of it, since what was objectionable by
+no means appeared, but the contrary opinion rather forced itself upon my
+mind.
+
+But the longer I looked and considered, I all the while thought I
+discovered yet greater merits beyond that which I have already
+mentioned. The right proportion of the larger divisions, the ornamental,
+as judicious as rich, even to the minutest, were found out; but now I
+recognized the connection of these manifold ornaments amongst each
+other, the transition from one leading part to another, the enclosing of
+details, homogeneous indeed, but yet greatly varying in form, from the
+saint to the monster, from the leaf to the dental. The more I
+investigated, the more I was astonished; the more I amused and wearied
+myself with measuring and drawing, so much the more did my attachment
+increase, so that I spent much time, partly in studying what actually
+existed, partly in restoring, in my mind and on paper, what was wanting
+and unfinished, especially in the towers.
+
+Finding that this building had been based on old German ground, and
+grown thus far in genuine German times, and that the name of the master,
+on his modest gravestone, was likewise of native sound and origin, I
+ventured, being incited by the worth of this work of art, to change the
+hitherto decried appellation of "Gothic architecture," and to claim it
+for our nation as "German architecture;" nor did I fail to bring my
+patriotic views to light, first orally, and afterwards in a little
+treatise dedicated to the memory of Ervinus a Steinbach.
+
+If my biographical narrative should come down to the epoch when the said
+sheet appeared in print, which Herder afterwards inserted in his
+pamphlet, "Von Deutscher Art und Kunst" ("Of German Manner and Art"),
+much more will be said on this weighty subject. But, before I turn from
+it this time, I will take the opportunity to vindicate the motto
+prefixed to the present volume with those who may have entertained some
+doubt about it. I know indeed very well, that in opposition to this
+honest, hopeful old German saying, "Of whatever one wishes in youth, he
+has abundance in old age," many would quote contrary experience, and
+many trifling comments might be made; but much, also, is to be said in
+its favor: and I will explain how I understand it.
+
+Our wishes are presentiments of the capabilities which lie within us,
+and harbingers of that which we shall be in a condition to perform.
+Whatever we are able and would like to do, presents itself to our
+imagination, as without us and in the future. We feel a longing after
+that which we already possess in secret. Thus a passionate anticipating
+grasp changes the truly possible into a dreamed reality. Now, if such a
+bias lies decidedly in our nature, then, with every step of our
+development will a part of the first wish be fulfilled,--under favorable
+circumstances in the direct way, under unfavorable in the circuitous
+way, from which we always come back again to the other. Thus we see men
+by perseverance attain to earthly wealth. They surround themselves with
+riches, splendor, and external honor. Others strive yet more certainly
+after intellectual advantages, acquire for themselves a clear survey of
+things, a peacefulness of mind, and a certainty for the present and the
+future.
+
+But now there is a third direction, which is compounded of both, and the
+issue of which must be the most surely successful. When a man's youth
+falls into a pregnant time; when production overweighs destruction, and
+a presentiment is early awakened within him as to what such an epoch
+demands and promises,--he will then, being forced by outward inducements
+into an active interest, take hold now here, now there, and the wish to
+be active on many sides will be lively within him. But so many
+accidental hinderances are associated with human limitation, that here a
+thing, once begun, remains unfinished: there that which is already
+grasped falls out of the hand, and one wish after another is dissipated.
+But had these wishes sprung out of a pure heart, and in conformity with
+the necessities of the times, one might composedly let them lie and fall
+right and left, and be assured that these must not only be found out and
+picked up again, but that also many kindred things, which one has never
+touched and never even thought of, will come to light. If, now, during
+our own lifetime, we see that performed by others, for which we
+ourselves felt an earlier call, but had been obliged to give it up, with
+much besides, then the beautiful feeling enters the mind that only
+mankind combined is the true man, and that the individual can only be
+joyous and happy when he has the courage to feel himself in the whole.
+
+This contemplation is here in the right place; for when I reflect on the
+affection which drew me to these antique edifices, when I reckon up the
+time which I devoted to the Strasburg minster alone, the attention with
+which I afterwards examined: the cathedral at Cologne, and that at
+Freyburg, and more and more felt the value of these buildings, I could
+even blame myself for having afterwards lost sight of them altogether,--
+nay, for having left them completely in the background, being attracted
+by a more developed art. But when now, in the latest times, I see
+attention again turned to those objects; when I see affection, and even
+passion, for them appearing and flourishing; when I see able young
+persons seized with this passion, recklessly devoting powers, time,
+care, and property to these memorials of a past world,--then am I
+reminded with pleasure that what I formerly would and wished had a
+value. With satisfaction I see that they not only know how to prize what
+was done by our fore-fathers, but that, from existing unfinished
+beginnings, they try to represent, in pictures at least, the original
+design, so as thus to make us acquainted with the thought, which is ever
+the beginning and end of all undertakings; and that they strive with
+considerate zeal to clear up and vivify what seems to be a confused
+past. Here I especially applaud the brave Sulpiz Boisserée, who is
+indefatigably employed in a magnificent series of copper-plates to
+exhibit the cathedral of Cologne as the model of those vast conceptions,
+the spirit of which, like that of Babel, strove up to heaven, and which
+were so out of proportion to earthly means that they were necessarily
+stopped fast in their execution. If we have been hitherto astonished
+that such buildings proceeded only so far, we shall learn with the
+greatest admiration what was really designed to be done.
+
+Would that literary-artistical undertakings of this kind were duly
+patronized by all who have power, wealth, and influence; that the great
+and gigantic views of our fore-fathers may be presented to our
+contemplation; and that we may be able to form a conception of what they
+dared to desire. The insight resulting from this will not remain
+fruitless; and the judgment will, for once at least, be in a condition
+to exercise itself on these works with justice. Nay, this will be done
+most thoroughly if our active young friend, besides the monograph
+devoted to the cathedral of Cologne, follows out in detail the history
+of our mediaeval architecture. When whatever is to be known about the
+practical exercise of this art is further brought to light, when the art
+is represented in all its fundamental features by a comparison with the
+Graeco-Roman and the Oriental Egyptian, little can remain to be done in
+this department. And I, when the results of such patriotic labors lie
+before the world, as they are now known in friendly private
+communications, shall be able, with true content, to repeat that motto
+in its best sense, "Of whatever one wishes in youth, he will have enough
+in old age."
+
+But if, in operations like these, which belong to centuries, one can
+trust one's self to time, and wait for opportunity, there are, on the
+contrary, other things which in youth must be enjoyed at once, fresh,
+like ripe fruits. Let me be permitted, with this sudden turn, to mention
+dancing, of which the ear is reminded, as the eye is of the minster,
+every day and every hour in Strasburg and all Alsace. From early youth
+my father himself had given my sister and me instruction in dancing, a
+task which must have comported strangely enough with so stern a man. But
+he did not suffer his composure to be put out by it: he drilled us in
+the positions and steps in a manner the most precise; and, when he had
+brought us far enough to dance a minuet, he played for us something
+easily intelligible in three-four time, on a /flute-douce/, and we
+moved to it as well as we could. On the French theatre, likewise, I had
+seen from my youth upwards, if not ballets, yet /pas seuls/ and
+/pas de deux/, and had noticed in them various strange motions of
+the feet, and all sorts of springs. When we had had enough of the
+minuet, I requested my father to play some other dance-music, of which
+our music-books, in their jigs and murkies, [Footnote: A "murki" is
+defined as an old species of short composition for the harpsichord, with
+a lively murmuring accompaniment in the bass.--TRANS.] offered us a rich
+supply; and I immediately found out, of myself, the steps and other
+motions for them, the time being quite suitable to my limbs, and, as it
+were, born with them. This pleased my father to a certain degree;
+indeed, he often, by way of joke for himself and us, let the "monkies"
+dance in this way. After my misfortune with Gretchen, and during the
+whole of my residence in Leipzig, I did not make my appearance again on
+the floor: on the contrary, I still remember, that when, at a ball, they
+forced me into a minuet, both measure and motion seemed to have
+abandoned my limbs, and I could no longer remember either the steps or
+the figures; so that I should have been put to disgrace and shame if the
+greater part of the spectators had not maintained that my awkward
+behavior was pure obstinacy, assumed with the view of depriving the
+ladies of all desire to invite me and draw me into their circle against
+my will.
+
+During my residence in Frankfort I was quite cut off from such
+pleasures; but in Strasburg, with other enjoyments of life, there soon
+arose in my limbs the faculty of keeping time. On Sundays and week-days
+one sauntered by no pleasure-ground without finding there a joyous crowd
+assembled for the dance, and for the most part revolving in the circle.
+Moreover, there were private balls in the country houses; and people
+were already talking of the brilliant masquerades of the coming winter.
+Here, indeed, I should have been out of my place, and useless to the
+company, when a friend, who waltzed very well, advised me to practise
+myself first in parties of a lower rank, so that afterwards I might be
+worth something in the highest. He took me to a dancing-master, who was
+well known for his skill. This man promised me, that, when I had in some
+degree repeated the first elements and made myself master of them, he
+would then lead me farther. He was one of your dry, ready French
+characters, and received me in a friendly manner. I paid him a month in
+advance, and received twelve tickets, for which he agreed to give me
+certain hours' instruction. The man was strict and precise, but not
+pedantic; and, as I already had some previous practice, I soon gave him
+satisfaction, and received his commendation.
+
+One circumstance, however, greatly facilitated the instruction of this
+teacher: he had two daughters, both pretty, and both not yet twenty.
+Having been instructed in this art from their youth upwards, they showed
+themselves very skilful, and might have been able, as partners, soon to
+help even the most clumsy scholars into some cultivation. They were both
+very polite, spoke nothing but French; and I, on my part, did my best,
+that I might not appear awkward or ridiculous before them. I had the
+good fortune that they likewise praised me, and were always willing to
+dance a minuet to their father's little violin, and, what indeed was
+more difficult for them, to initiate me by degrees into waltzing and
+whirling. Their father did not seem to have many customers, and they led
+a lonely life. For this reason they often asked me to remain with them
+after my hour, and to chat away the time a little, which I the more
+willingly did, as the younger one pleased me well; and generally they
+both altogether behaved very becomingly. I often read aloud something
+from a novel, and they did the same. The elder, who was as handsome as,
+perhaps even handsomer than, the second, but who did not correspond with
+my taste so well as the latter, always conducted herself towards me more
+obligingly, and more kindly in every respect. She was always at hand
+during the lesson, and often protracted it: hence I sometimes thought
+myself bound to offer back a couple of tickets to her father, which,
+however, he did not accept. The younger, on the contrary, although never
+showing me any ill will, was more reserved, and waited till she was
+called by her father before she relieved the elder.
+
+The cause of this became manifest to me one evening; for when, after the
+dance was done, I was about to go into the sitting-room with the elder,
+she held me back, and said, "Let us remain here a little longer; for I
+will confess to you that my sister has with her a woman who tells
+fortunes from cards, and who is to reveal to her how matters stand with
+an absent lover, on whom her whole heart hangs, and upon whom she has
+placed all her hope. Mine is free," she continued, "and I must accustom
+myself to see it despised." I thereupon said sundry pretty things to
+her, replying that she could at once convince herself on that point by
+consulting the wise woman likewise; that I would do so myself, for I had
+long wished to learn something of the kind, but lacked faith. She blamed
+me for this, and assured me that nothing in the world was surer than the
+responses of this oracle; only it must be consulted, not out of sport
+and mischief, but solely in real affairs. However, I at last compelled
+her to go with me into that room, as soon as she had ascertained that
+the consultation was over. We found her sister in a very cheerful humor:
+and even towards me she was kinder than usual, sportive, and almost
+witty; for, since she seemed to be secure of an absent friend, she may
+have thought it no treachery to be a little gracious with a present
+friend of her sister's, which she thought me to be. The old woman was
+now flattered, and good payment was promised her if she would tell the
+truth to the elder sister and to me. With the usual preparations and
+ceremonies she began her business, in order to tell the fair one's
+fortune first. She carefully considered the situation of the cards, but
+seemed to hesitate, and would not speak out what she had to say. "I see
+now," said the younger, who was already better acquainted with the
+interpretation of such a magic tablet, "you hesitate, and do not wish to
+disclose any thing disagreeable to my sister; but that is a cursed
+card!" The elder one turned pale, but composed herself, and said, "Only
+speak out: it will not cost one's head!" The old woman, after a deep
+sigh, showed her that she was in love; that she was not beloved; that
+another person stood in the way; and other things of like import. We saw
+the good girl's embarrassment. The old woman thought somewhat to improve
+the affair by giving hopes of letters and money. "Letters," said the
+lovely child, "I do not expect; and money I do not desire. If it is
+true, as you say, that I love, I deserve a heart that loves me in
+return."--"Let us see if it will not be better," replied the old woman,
+as she shuffled the cards and laid them out a second time; but before
+the eyes of all of us it had only become still worse. The fair one
+stood, not only more lonely, but surrounded with many sorrows. Her lover
+had moved somewhat farther, and the intervening figures nearer. The old
+woman wished to try it a third time, in hopes of a better prospect; but
+the beautiful girl could restrain herself no longer,--she broke out into
+uncontrollable weeping, her lovely bosom heaved violently, she turned
+round, and rushed out of the room. I knew not what to do. Inclination
+kept me with the one present: compassion drove me to the other. My
+situation was painful enough. "Comfort Lucinda," said the younger: "go
+after her." I hesitated. How could I comfort her without at least
+assuring her of some sort of affection? and could I do that at such a
+moment in a cool, moderate manner? "Let us go together," said I to
+Emilia. "I know not whether my presence will do her good," replied she.
+Yet we went, but found the door bolted. Lucinda made no answer, we might
+knock, shout, entreat, as we would. "We must let her have her own way,"
+said Emilia: "she will not have it otherwise now." And, indeed, when I
+called to my mind her manner from our very first acquaintance, she
+always had something violent and unequal about her, and chiefly showed
+her affection for me by not behaving to me with rudeness. What was I to
+do? I paid the old woman richly for the mischief she had caused, and was
+about to go, when Emilia said, "I stipulate that the cards shall now be
+cut for you too." The old woman was ready. "Do not let me be present,"
+cried I, and hastened down stairs.
+
+The next day I had not courage to go there. The third day, early in the
+morning, Emilia sent me word by a boy,--who had already brought me many
+a message from the sisters, and had carried back flowers and fruits to
+them in return,--that I should not fail that day. I came at the usual
+hour, and found the father alone, who, in many respects, improved my
+paces and steps, my goings and comings, my bearing and behavior, and,
+moreover, seemed to be satisfied with me. The younger daughter came in
+towards the end of the hour, and danced with me a very graceful minuet,
+in which her movements were extraordinarily pleasing, and her father
+declared that he had rarely seen a prettier and more nimble pair upon
+his floor. After the lesson, I went as usual into the sitting-room; the
+father left us alone; I missed Lucinda. "She is in bed," said Emilia,
+"and I am glad of it: do not be concerned about it. Her mental illness
+is first alleviated when she fancies herself bodily sick: she does not
+like to die, and therefore she then does what we wish. We have certain
+family medicines which she takes, and reposes; and thus, by degrees, the
+swelling waves subside. She is indeed too good and amiable in such an
+imaginary sickness; and as she is in reality very well, and is only
+attacked by passion, she imagines various kinds of romantic deaths, with
+which she frightens herself in a pleasant manner, like children when we
+tell them ghost-stories. Thus, only last night, she announced to me with
+great vehemence, that this time she should certainly die; and that only
+when she was really near death, they should bring again before her the
+ungrateful, false friend, who had at first acted so handsomely to her,
+and now treated her so ill; she would reproach him bitterly, and then
+give up the ghost."--"I know not that I am guilty," exclaimed I, "of
+having expressed any sort of affection for her. I know somebody who can
+best bear me witness in this respect." Emilia smiled, and rejoined, "I
+understand you; and, if we are not discreet and determined, we shall all
+find ourselves in a bad plight together. What will you say if I entreat
+you not to continue your lessons? You have, I believe, four tickets yet
+of the last month: and my father has already declared that he finds it
+inexcusable to take your money any longer, unless you wish to devote
+yourself to the art of dancing in a more serious manner; what is
+required by a young man of the world you possess already."--"And do you,
+Emilia, give me this advice, to avoid your house?" replied I. "Yes, I
+do," said she, "but not of myself. Only listen! When you hastened away,
+the day before yesterday, I had the cards cut for you; and the same
+response was repeated thrice, and each time more emphatically. You were
+surrounded by every thing good and pleasing, by friends and great lords;
+and there was no lack of money. The ladies kept themselves at some
+distance. My poor sister in particular stood always the farthest off:
+one other advanced constantly nearer to you, but never came up to your
+side; for a third person, of the male sex, always came between. I will
+confess to you that I thought that I myself was meant by the second
+lady, and after this confession you will best comprehend my well-meant
+counsel. To an absent friend I have promised my heart and my hand; and,
+until now, I loved him above all: yet it might be possible for your
+presence to become more important to me than hitherto; and what kind of
+a situation would you have between two sisters, one of whom you had made
+unhappy by your affection, and the other by your coldness, and all this
+ado about nothing and only for a short time? For, if we had not known
+already who you are and what are your expectations, the cards would have
+placed it before my eyes in the clearest manner. Fare you well!" said
+she, and gave me her hand. I hesitated. "Now," said she, leading me
+towards the door, "that it may really be the last time that we shall
+speak to each other, take what I would otherwise have denied you." She
+fell upon my neck, and kissed me most tenderly. I embraced her, and
+pressed her to my bosom.
+
+At this moment the side-door flew open; and her sister, in a light but
+becoming night-dress, rushed out and cried, "You shall not be the only
+one to take leave of him!" Emilia let me go; and Lucinda seized me,
+clung close to my heart, pressed her black locks upon my cheeks, and
+remained in this position for some time. And thus I found myself between
+the two sisters, in the dilemma Emilia had prophesied to me a moment
+before. Lucinda let me loose, and looked earnestly into my face. I was
+about to grasp her hand and say something friendly to her; but she
+turned herself away, walked with violent steps up and down the room for
+some time, and then threw herself into a corner of the sofa. Emilia went
+to her, but was immediately repulsed; and here began a scene which is
+yet painful to me in the recollection, and which, although really it had
+nothing theatrical about it, but was quite suitable to a lively young
+Frenchwoman, could only be properly repeated in the theatre by a good
+and feeling actress.
+
+Lucinda overwhelmed her sister with a thousand reproaches. "This is not
+the first heart," she cried, "that was inclining itself to me, and that
+you have turned away. Was it not just so with him who is absent, and who
+at last betrothed himself to you under my very eyes? I was compelled to
+look on; I endured it; but I know how many thousand tears it has cost
+me. This one, too, you have now taken away from me, without letting the
+other go; and how many do you not manage to keep at once? I am frank and
+good natured; and every one thinks he knows me soon, and may neglect me.
+You are secret and quiet, and people think wonders of what may be
+concealed behind you. Yet there is nothing behind but a cold, selfish
+heart that can sacrifice every thing to itself; this nobody learns so
+easily, because it lies deeply hidden in your breast: and just as little
+do they know of my warm, true heart, which I carry about with me as open
+as my face."
+
+Emilia was silent, and had sat down by her sister, who became constantly
+more and more excited in her discourse, and let certain private matters
+slip out, which it was not exactly proper for me to know. Emilia, on the
+other hand, who was trying to pacify her sister, made me a sign from
+behind that I should withdraw; but, as jealousy and suspicion see with a
+thousand eyes, Lucinda seemed to have noticed this also. She sprang up
+and advanced to me, but not with vehemence. She stood before me, and
+seemed to be thinking of something. Then she said, "I know that I have
+lost you: I make no further pretensions to you. But neither shall you
+have him, sister!" So saying, she took a thorough hold of my head,
+thrusting both her hands into my locks and pressing my face to hers, and
+kissed me repeatedly on the mouth. "Now," cried she, "fear my curse! Woe
+upon woe, for ever and ever, to her who kisses these lips for the first
+time after me! Dare to have any thing more to do with him! I know Heaven
+hears me this time. And you, sir, hasten now, hasten away as fast as you
+can!"
+
+I flew down the stairs, with the firm determination never again to enter
+the house.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Autobiography, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
+
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