New-York tribune., 1906-04-11
"a Good Study of Goethe's PhiIo-
sophioal Ideas.
PHITOsoPHIF


30 many who believe with Carlyle
,-ue poet is also philosopher and
:, the earliest Greek thought poetry was
- -oarelv the vehicle for presenting a theory
Parmenides and Empedocles are
- nv their doctrines rather than by their
N Lucretius alone OF all ancient and
- philosophers is 20 be found the union
-ss-1v scientific exposition with great po-
V ,-,,,s For. as a rule a poets philosophy
~ tr,piIcitly conveyed in his writings. It
-. be disengaged from the complex struct-
=, =. narrative, imagery and human interest.
.,...,, critics have been attracted by such an
.,-4,c task. They have traced in Dante the
a,-.,,o-scsl and philosophical teaching OF ST.
,-~.-,as Aouinas. From the variety OF Shake
--..-ss plays they have deduced more or less
-rs+,-natio theory OF ethics. In Corneille they
s-e--,-. the ideas OF Descartes. and in Schiller
80. n Kant Browning's philosophy seems to
80. as much attention as his poetry. In
y-.rcs Renouvier has written on the philosophy
:. --,c,or Hugo. and Citoleaux on that OF La
- ~ Heynacher has collected from
---..h.,s works such passages as exhibit his
Ssu,sonbiosl opinions. and has published them
.,-s+bsr with an Introductory essay on THE
-,.velopnent Of Goethes Philosophy"
:, nv Goethe's philosophy be meant the ideas
=, .pe subject which are explicitly contained in
t,s writings, Dr. Heynacher has executed his
-asn With care and fidelity. Some OF the extracts
cofatsd refer 70 subjects lying beyond the field
~ philosophy. such those relating to botany
.r6 zoology, 10 the criticism OF poetry and the
-lsstic arts, 70 religious practice and TO social
intercourse But philosophy IS. after all. very
elastic term Compendiums which present TO
the reader fragments OF the works Of great
writer must always be rather unsatisfactory.
But while more serious students may not be
content with these passages. taken out Of their
setting and separated from the context, there
are many who VIII appreciate the labor saving
results of DR.. Heynachers industry.
The Introductory essay occupies q little more
.han one hundred pages of the book II gives
an account OF the objective occurrences IN
Goethe's Hfe which turned his mind toward
philosophy and supplements this narrative by
frequent references 10 the poets own writings.
Naturally the sources from which most Of this
external evidence Is derived are the 'wahrheit
und Dichtung'' and the poets letters The
chronological order is pretty closely followed
from Goethes early youth to the period OF ma
tur1ty and old age II could be wished that the
editor had set forth the results o. his study in a
more coherent form, and that the exposition
were nor SO disjointed and fragmentary. In the
twenty short chapters are presented many as
poets OF Goethes philosophical development, but
nowhere ara the conclusions clearly stated which
the facts q whole seem to warrant
Gosthe's interest in philosophy began during
his student life at strassburg. where he came
under the influence Of Herder. This influence
was manifested in two ways-frst in Goethe's
view OF the organic unity Of nature, and. second,
in the place which he gave to feeling in psychol-
ogy. Herder was an ennpiTicist, and afterward
actively opposed the e prfori teaching of Kant.
Like Rousseau. he gave feeling and faith q
place Of supreme importance in character and
life, and with Faust he might have said. "Gafuhl
sst allies" Dr. Heynacher says that Rousseau.
who put in antthesis 10 the world Of under
standing and convention that OF feeling and
nature was. with Shakespeare and Herder,
The Spiritual father OF the period OF storm and
stress" Il may be added that II Herders con-
cepuon OF nature and Of man there is a sim
picity and breadth which made his phiIos-
ophy easy Of comprehension TO Goethe in his
university DAYS
A more important critical point discussed by
the author is the influence Of Spinoza upon
Goethe AS 10 the reality and extent Of this in
huence there can be doubt; but We are in
clined 10 believe that Il has been greatly exag-
gerated. Goethe the poet OF Spinozisnr" has
become stock term Of certain literary and
philosophical critics, but II is far from being a
faithful denotement. Both Lessing and Goethe,
Il is true, did & great deal 10 make Germany
familiar with Spinozas philosophy. But there is
striking contrast between the philosopher and
The poet. Goethe freely admitted that he had
no thorough knowledge Of spinozas system. He
Seems hrst 10 have been attracted by its doc
trine Of God and af+erward by its noble ethics
The calm ard orderly exposition Of philosophical
n Er-ir f..
lhe passionate enthusiasm OF one fresh from
The emotional influences OF Rousseau and
herder. II seems clear that Goethe passed from
lie atmosphere of storm and stress to a calmer
ard more rational view OF nature largely
through the guiding inspiration OF Spinoza's
oocTiaes. Their are, indeed two Spinozas, and
Goethe, Fl spite OF his abundant reading, knew
only one The superficial reader OF the Ethics
finds The philosophy Of Spinoza as clea- and
Simple as the propositions Of the first book of
Euclid. L was IN this way that Goethe learned
the system. His poetic mind so transhgured the
epinozistic doctrine Of God that man appeared
10 him as godlike while organic nature became
Instinct with divina life But this pantheism
vas aesthetic rather than metaphysical. Goethe
pTofessed 70 be bound by no particular theory Of
God When he wrote OF classical antiquity he
was for the time polytheist. just as he was
theist In hts practical religious life. Even If
ne understood he failed 10 accept Spinoza's
pentheisrn; nor did he follow the latter's prin-
cples 70 their logical conclusions He clung TO
NE doctrine of human freedom and II was in no
stinozistic sense that he declared that whatever
Is natural is good
The truth is that speculative philosophy was
4epngnant 70 Goethe, except in far IL
hight lend itself 70 poetic treatment or be fer
ue IN scientific suggestion. His correspond
ehce with Schiller shows that philosophy
70 hin an object OF the imagination rather than