New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-08-28

certainly was loved by sometimes, anu ny
women and children much, and there was some
thing gentle and acctionate in his disposition, and
even in his genius. If no was not thorough-goihg
devote to truth in its highest sphere lao certainty
gave his life to what he thought to be ts study, and
no man can be named who followed moro loyalty
truth in its relations TO beauty, and made of tho
beautiful serious faith and devOut service he
earnestly tried to see and to show the beauty in all
things. and he who made tho best of nature and
man in his portraits deserves gentle usage from
those who undertake to take his portrait now that
he is gone; and he at least should have the beneht
OF that great artist. Time who is such pooress col
orist and costumer, and who paints and dresses even
the old rock and stump with richness and grace.
Look upon him in the kindly light and mate and
group him with the characters that belong to his SET
and that help him by harmony or by contrast. fnt
Schiller with him, not against him, and remember
that Goethe's purest and most perfect work the
Hermann and Dorothoa" came from the electric
touch of his friendship with Schiller and if we con-
trast his frequent cgotism with Shakespeares u'i-
consciousness Of SELF let not forget that the au-
| thor of Hamlet" has had more earnest disciple
| and luminous critic than the author of " Faust.
Goethe has drawn his own portrait fully and WELL
and when he said that his forto was Anschaatn, or
seeing things, ard seeing into them rather than
logic or arguing about Them and that his object was
synthess rather than analysis, the putting OF things
! together rather than taking them into pieces, we
have fair idea of his dominant traits Defects he
| lad, and IN the will-power and its philosophy he
was defective. Synthetic contemplation o! nature
anu LIE with an absorbing love of the beautiful and
search for the Kosmos throughout all beng, 'hat
he might write il out in essays and stories and sing
il in songs and plays-tls the character OF the
man and such p man we need in these new times,
when analysis il thrusing its murderous dissectng
knife into every thing that lives and the last pail
| osophy that comes from the poets countrymch ASKS
Us TO look upon the the growth OF blind
and hcartless necessity, Iiic a tragedy, death the
| only REDEMPTION and conscious being in itseif a
curse Tyndall may have cause for not being wholly
satisfied with Goethes philosophy OF nature, Dnt
! even Tyudall cannot deny that the poets vision
has sights rs good and true tie scientists
| microscope, and we surely need the whole
Of mans mind to study well the whole
of Man and Nature In fact Nature itself needs not
ONLY tho finest taste, but tho highest moral ana
spirtual force to interpret its meaning, and all
things have q certain force which illustrates mans
will and eliminates in the Will Supreme and Eter-
nal II il quite remarkable that sGDe of the sever
est thinkers of our time wiling and earnest 10
ALLOW large place in the science OF Nature Tor tne
heautv which Goethe found every where in creation,
ard traced upward to its fountain head in God !;
| and 40 hard q head Edward Won Hartmann oHcnus
The atheists by affirming that this element i'll things
cannot be accounted for without final cause III the
eternal power Goethe affirmed that the reasonable
is ever lovely and that the spirit OF the rea! Is the
true ideal We certainly in America need To see ana
seek the beautiful i'll its higher relations, ami TO rise
above daintiness and vOlupucIsnesS to the serious
sonse Of beauty in art and living We need this in
Guence for the refinement of private lie and for The
harmony Of public relations. We have the clemens
| of great nation TO aSSniiatc toSeIhor
| aud our poets and artists can hcip Us 10
shane orr Kosmos from the threatening Chaos
The last verses of Longfclow and Lowell nave
reached the heart of the nation, and they ard their
| fellows are bringing Homer and Dante. Goethe and
Schiller into line to help great work Of cy-
| cation. Goethe just now has timely word Tor us
Americans, and in his Second Fart of Faust lie
| hits hard at the very paper money swindle winch
uoy threatens us, and ascribes its paternity 10 the
devil the father OF lies. Would not the cap ami the
cocks feather OF Mephistopheles be fitting crest
for the imitation party, who trying TO play the
devils game of enrichng the nation by destroying
all values aud multiplying promises that mean
nothing except the devil to payf
| Let us then welcome Goethe TO America, ard
Will, the statue of Hermann is this month set UP i'll
the forest Of Teutcberg. give place to :hc s!atuc
OF the greatest of Teutonic poets In our P&rh. we
like 10 have more iron, indeed in our manhood than
this high priest Of the beautiful gives us, and the
stout nationality rising III Germany and America
asks for stronger code of ethics and is not likely 20
Lack more iron nerve Bryant and Bayard Taylor may
! fairly add couplct to the close Of Fsrs" and join
the ever manly with the ever wOmanly il their song.
SAMUEL O5GOoD.
| Fatfeld Conn, Aug 81, 1873.