The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-01-21

A~- - 49, HAs1 "OCAssN AtA 49,
social position at this time Q770 to find
that Re felt IKE q fish out OF wnter In the
circles to which To was induced 10 follow
her.
After a time his interest began 20 Tag:
ard. Towi7g eternal fidelity all the while.
he SEIZED the occasion OF the Stoib"rcs pass
inG through Frau:for: to Join them r. an
expedition to Switzerland.
lie says that the project was particu-
larry welcome to him AZ Il moment when thu
great point WAS 70 make an experiment
whether he could renounCe LIZ. Here We
have Goethe ell over and 10 the l!fe. The
bare fact OF his contemplating such an ex-
pertinent proved that no experiment was
necessary-that the problem was already
solved. HIS love. his notion Of the binding
force Il betrothal. were clearly not such
as are commonly found IN novels-n0r. # IS
TO he hoped. in actual life. But they were
the utmost hc was capable % feeling; IN no
case before or after Is the faculty of self
examination impcded by warmth. and al
though his inCliuations for LII fuctuated
with circumstances. and were controlled by
reason. Il by no means follows that II was
not las he told ECkermanuJ marked by feat
ures of d~eliracy and refinement peculiar 10
Il. she was :he first woman Of the higher
class, Of Nwhat he terms that greater and
brilliant s~orle,y.' 10 whom he had stood IN
the relation OF an accepted lover: and MS
reflections. on seeing her iashionahly
dressed IN the midst OF rival ador"rs. show
ta4; the position enhanced her charms.
Arriving at WeimRr CNovember 9. l7T0, IN
his tweUty-slxth year. Goethe Was received
with the most fartering attentions by all
the principal peTsouages. The Duke could
not move without him. The Duchesses We'd
with each other in making him talk The
briiliancy Of his conversation set of by his
personal advantages and unaffected cor
GIaii.y rf manner. took everybody 10y storm.
The lady who had already replaced Lii.
was n striking coutr5s: 10 her. and to all
the preceding objects % hts fugitive at
tachmeut. IN one poiut-the important point
OF age. Charlotte Won Stein daughter or
the Court Marshal Won Schardp. born De-
Cember I7i2, was seven years Older than
Goethe. She was married 10 the Master
Of the Horse. Won Stein. IN 1854. and was
the mother Of seven children when the
Intimacy with Goethe commenced. She
was q refined. graceful. highly cultivated,
woman: and Goethe $50 thinner
'old herr. after seeing her silhouette
at Strasburg. was so haunted by her Image
that he could not sleep FOR three days and
II We Taay rely on his letters to
this lady, and forget his language of and
to others. We should infer that the In
teus.ty e he attachment was IN keeping
with that first impression.
Christine Vulpine. the mother Of Goethe's
children. all OF whom. save the Oldest son,
died IL infancy. became tho wife
ut the poet In 1906, after & CompaniOnship
% eighteen years.
"Goctke's marriage took place on October
e. 1Sg8. About this time (oeing then 81.
he was falling desperately In love with a
young gil whom he had known from a
child, Minnie EIerzlieb. ;he adopted daugh-
ter of u Jena bookseller His novel "Wahl-
ye:wauatscuafteu Elective AtfinitiesD
was composed by way OF a safety valve.
according 10 bis ayowea practice of let
ting of oppressive sensations by q poem
or d book. In IL lie SAYS. as IN a burial
urn. have deposited with deep emotion
q sad experience. The %rd Of OCto-
Der. 1909, set mo free from the work; but
the feeling Il embyG.cs can never quite de-
part from me
q his Wilhelm MoIster' Carlyle does
not hesitate 70 say that It is one Of the most
perfect pieces OF composition Goethe ever
produced Il cOheres so beautifully
itself
Mr. Leves says: 7 quarre! with no
man who finds leigh IN the book; but
,audor compeiS ms 10 own that / find In
aImOs; every fault a work can have.
il IS uniutelligibie. X Is tiresome. Il IS frag-
ueutary. It is duh and it IS often ih-writ-
Ten The truth lies bctW"en the two; but
Lcwes comes much the nearest 20 II.
AZ ho admits tho excellence Of detached
passages, whilst NJ. Ca:!y!e's estimate is
one Of those extravaEant para
ioxes which sadly impair the weight Of his
authority.
"Goethc's contributions to science would
made Il high reputation for any man
who did not ALREADY occupy II
g. E. l. rs.-- 49,. srh4. nm tFA- nf - ~ :
las thrown the author of Metamorphoses
Plants into the shade. But his claim
10 rank amougs, the most profound and
original thinkers on SCIENTIFIC subjects IS
universally acknowledged; aud 1t is
Iot without ground that his countrymen
declared him tie precursor OF Oar
Siu. |
Faust considered as Il whole. belongs
o 10 particular period. 1t was the work Of
he authors literary HE. Nearly sixty /
-eaTs interviewed between the commence
nent and the completion. He seated It up, |
l finished work. shortly before his last
birthday: and there i reason 10 believe that
he convention was in his mind as early |
IS 1863. although he may not nave begun TO |
bodily form t. Il before lT3.
"Goethe's reputation. constantly on the
Increase, stands higher. and on q moro
old foundation now than at any preceding |
,eriOd. a. The only vices against him |
worth counting were those raised on the
'ocre Of his want of public spirit He con- |
rasts most disadvaHtasecusiy with SchiI- |
er in this respect. lie had none Of the |
hatred of WRONG which made Swift |
acclaim DO not the 1ii!ainies Of mankind |
make your blood bOil:' lie had no broad, !
.xpInsive philanthropy, no sympathy with
elf-saCridc!ng virtue or heroism. The en-
husi.sn Of united Germany for indepen-
.ence when the Napolconic grasp was be-
inning to relax rather annoyed than graf
him. lie condemned the impulse which
aTTied Byron TO Greece.
"Self-culture was Goethe's paramount OBJ
ct through life. and intellectual esotism
normal condition - his mind. -.
.Goethe's title to the exalted place as
10 him amongst poets must rest
nainIy. If not exclusively. on Faust II
: not a perfect poem mainly. il not ex-
iuSiveiy, Eut il = one which only the
highest order Of Feuiu. could have pro-
.uced. There are things in it which dive
: deep. soar as high. into the infinite I'M
.uown. as the human mind can reach. The
anse and variety are marvellous. . L.
here is no other work Of Goethe which
lie called nrst-rate Of its kind: but take
hem all together. and where shall We find
richer cluster. a brighter constellation Of
+ poetry. romance, science, art. philosophy
nd thought?
Goethe died March -, 1882. His last
-. - ,oGs