New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-07


II I. said in this volume that Prince b'e'i'"i'"
conversations are more interesting ina" '.oo
Iuther. Goethe or Coleridge. Ihere Is NON"
nroverb about the proof Of prdd'ns' VIM.
.,,oah,e ~ the case. Taking 1t for granted
that Mr.. Lowe has selected the ono ,.o.
49,. ~. massive German works which he CITES
as his source 1t can safely ne assert
900 a, least Prince Biomarck's admirers nave
nut him into class to which "e 80 so,,,.
ing His overwhelming physical vigor oouo'.
49,. 80. GIVEN him all his life through presence
=. -,,a md q readiness Of repartee winch su'
-, "a r,oler,dee or even Luther. might nave
..,,,.a put IN the case Of Coleridgc throughout
.,d for whole pages In Luthers conserVa'io','
oro NAV read without thinking OF the persona"
=, the takers absorbed in the strange ieai"'"''
IN the marvellous philosophy. In the uheApeo..u
g,,mnses of life which they present. ihe' "0.
deenlv ON a wide range Of topics. Ihe'' ''N
,.,. stored with rare and curious Kho"'euee
a,aun in Coleridge's case almost "hoii! ''0
hooks IN Luthers often from the uao'"o
tho nlain people whom he knew 30 wen a"N
whom he sympathized 50 deeply A"eie
brief phases and single words seemingly ."'
.,..a IN The remarks Of Luther, ana SUN
.s~. ,raou.ntlv in the talk Of Coleridge. which
o,.r before A person not 80 learned MOI 81
,,,.d,tat,ve as they vistas of study and thought
u,h,cb he never dreamed Of before. Ihere d.
h,,s NJ criticism in Coeridge's conversation anu
IN the more recent extracts from MS no'eoooN'
which estimate whole lteratures IN a Nhe' a"u
so truly that they will probably be quo'eu WHICH,
the literatures are forgotten
M. contrast with Goethe is even more striking
than that suggested with Colerloge anu o
rh.r. was a man who was second only to Shake
81
h,s canac,tv to think the thoughts of all hu.
u,anity. There is not turn IL 'he '"u,
no nor IN the life Of the race that may not nave
~. eosbed ON II from something which
Goethe wrote or said. To feel sure OF this 1act II
=, ,,,, recessarv to have read many books. ana
- .ee how every one who has command Oh
coethe.s work from Mommsen, touching the re-
rootest affairs OF old Rome, down 10 the last
loader writer or novelist who feels line from
"Faust'' tingling at the ends OF his fingers ready
,or b,e men. uses the words Of his master IL mas
heen said of other poets that they were sage
hut Goethe was as expert IN pnhosophy as "e
VS. IN the study Of metre. OF some II mas oeen
said that their writings show accurate scie"'e'
hut Goethe was scientific man whose yer.
errors still provoke discussion he mVesusa'eo
nature with the same skill that he showed IN
the study Of humanity He had the training VI
hooks. of experiment, CT social life HIS talk re-
,,..,ad tho wide diversity of his interests. one
r,ov consult the record of it for an infinite num-
her Of things and never be disappointed ~
think Of his apothegms is to rank him with Con-
frcius: of hts knowledge OF popular traoi'ioi''
with Luther; or. better, with one VINO mas given
. no N such things like Grimm or Sir Walter
Scott; Of philosophy. and he is to be named Win
coleridee or Spinoza or Of the Greek mas
ttof1 ~ humanity
him next to Shakespeare. 1t is rot necessary
"a disparage Prince Bismarck In order to show
that comparison between him and Goethe has
IN II an unavoidable touch Of irony
II gives an additional chill to this irony 10
note the only allusion to a phrase OF Goethe
made by Prince Bismarck in the conversations
which Mr. Lowe selects. Everybody remembers
that Goethe uses the phrase "Ewig-W elolche
with real devoutness. Not everybody can SYM
pathize with the sentiment embodied IN MS
verses but even those who cannot may still feei
the thrill that always attends heartfelt worship
But nobody would ever guess without being toid
In what way the phrase required to Prince BIS
marck He was talking after his retirement
II is said with Macmillan Harden. news
paper man Of Berlin and among other things
referred to his efforts to strengthen the mon
archy in the past 1t was time he said, to
take thought Tor StrenBtHeIlIS the po"ci VI
Parliament. 1T would indeed, be misfortune"
he added, for monarchy and our national
unity II we were made to lapse in absoutist
reaction. even Of transient kind; for then we
should be ruled by a camarilla, worse still. by
the 'Ewig-Weibliche' Uhe Everlasting femi-
nine''). May We be spared all that" If he had
not thought Of Goethe's phrase so inopportunely,
one could easily forgive his misogyny.
He naturally hates the feminine in politics as
bitterly as the first Napoleon did. His outspoken
dislike for the French is explained by himself on
the rather fanciful theory that the feminine ele-
ment predominates in the French nature. as
compared with the German. 1T may sound
fantastical to you. Herr Professor" he once said
to the scholarly Buntschli Of Heidelberg. III
assert that nations like individuals. are either
male or female The Germans are SO very mascu-
line that by themselves they are simply inca
pable Of being ruled. Each Of them tries TO live
In his own peculiar way. But bind them all to-
gether and then they are like an irresistible tor
rent that levels all before 1t. On the other hand,
the Slavs and the Cets are feminine-non-pro-
ductive The Russians can do nothing without
the Germans" Again. he said to Signor Crspi,
There is something feminine in the French char
acter. Women have two weapons which they
can use to perfection--their tongues and their
nails ! don't know how II Is with the nails but
the French are very fond Of using their tongue
and It's equivalent the pen. They have a great
faculty for satire. SANDER and malediction-whch
was recommended to them by one of their great
est geniuses-hm. mean. who was himself the
best incorporation Of their light and brilliant in
tellect. and said OF calumny that some OF It al
ways took effect" Then by way Of explanation
he spoke Of the way the French had expressed
their hatred of him. One would almost think
him sensitive TO such attacks. II any man could
really be made uncomfortable by bitter language
that hattered his vanity and was really trib-
ute paid to his power.
Most OF Prince Bismarck's conversations. as ex-
emplifed in this book recur to himself as the
tonic sooner or later For the. great majority OF