The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23

and branches to burst forth with now life.S
Schiller's was q most energetic, dynamic
nature. which progressed rapidly, As be
drove himself from one undertaking to
another, 30 did he drive Goethe. By stimu.
lating interest. by enticing. cheering and
pointing out the way, he drew from bis
friend a surprising wealth Of most beautiful
and valuable work. We now behold a
productivity such - bad been observed
only In the best years Of Goethe'S youth.
Dramatic, epic, lyric, serious, humorous,
s~atirlcal poems alternate with each other.
Tho highest and the lowest subjects, the
most vulgar and the most sublime, assume
felicltous form under his magic touch,
Every chord that he strikes responds with
full. rich tone. Our author shows that
Schiller's inspiring influence extended
far beyond the realm Of poetry. He was
most helpful TO Goethe's scientific study an
we'll. Goethe said Of him that not only
did he grasp quickly the essential points Of
even so difficult a subject as the theory Of
oolors, but when he himself; Ia bis peculiar
contemplative way, was about to halt,
Schiller forced him by his reflective, specu-
lative faculty to hasten forward, dragging
him, as 1t were, to the goal.
One Of the earliest products Of Goethe's
intimacy with Schiller was wilhelm Meis.
ter" which from some points OF view has
been considered an autobiography. Goethe
himself once called Wilhelm his beloved
double. Was Wilhelm not rather, asks tho
present ~biographer, his opposite? Where
in Wilhelm do we find Goethe's pleasure in
action, his perseverance, energy, sense Of
duty, his enlightenment and knowledge Of
the world? Are not the uncle, in whom
Schiller recognized Goethe, and Lothario,
in whose mouth the author placed his own
strict maxim concerning the conscientious
fulflment Of the task which falls to one
by choice or fate, the images Of himself?s
1t is, at the same time, conceded that Will
helm also is Goethe's image. THE weak.
yielding, contemplative, passive. somnam.
bulistic, fantastic tendencies. which are ODE
servable in wilhelm, Goethe also possessed,
and these seemed to him absolutely neces-
sary ingredients OF his hero"
One feels in reading wilhelm Meister'
that the writer's attention is concentrated
wholly on the characters. And what a
variety OF human beings he has created!
From the purely matter Of fact and cal
c~ulating Werner and Melina TO the SELF
absorbed dreamers, Wilhelm INC the
Harpist; from the sly. complacent. sinful
Philine and the clear headed, r~esolute,
thoroughly sane Therese to the sanity
Beautiful Soul, and the ethereal Mignon.
hardly a shade Of character is lacking OF
the great diversity in the world" The
opinion is expressed in the book before
us that one who had lived from childhood
on a lonely island in the Pacific Ocean
and had read nothing but wilhelm Meister'
would yet have a sufficient knowledge
of mankind. Attention is directed TO the
fact that the persons Of the novel are
especially true to nature in hat none OF
them is absolutely bad, while none Of them.
with the exception OF Natalie. lie abso-
lutely good. The writer OF thisb biography
has arrived at the conviction that from no
other work can one learn 90 we'll what q
profound observer of men and women
Goethe was. and with what extreme nicely
he was able to make every trivial act and
every careless word reveal vital elements
of character.
How many such clever strokes, for in-
stance. he applied to Philine to make her
reall Almost the greatest triumphs Of
the author of wilhelm Meister" are won
in his portrayal Of ordinary average people,
whom writer's as a usual thing prefer to
to one side because they 80 poorly
the pains spent upon them. The
b%iographer cites an example Of such an
mar in Melina. Polite, obliging,
engaging, when any one does him a favor.
or is in a position to help him; good ma
turedly indif erent when he has nothing to
gain; malicious. hateful. deceitful when
does anything prejudicial 70 hia
interests. or even but stands in his way"
The figures in wilhelm Meister' are
German types Of the close Of the
eighteenth century. Especially lie the
hero a faithful reflection OF the humane
bellelettrist Of that time, warm hearted
everything good and beautiful;
after the noblest humanity. but
no definite purpose with seri-
business and energy, above all no prac-
tical pursuit. In its form also the novel
the stamp OF the times. All OF
.oethe's other literary creations have.
Rs a rule. a form which towers far above
their time, 80 that even to-day-and ap-
for all time to oome-this form,
with their substance, which Is
of time. produces an impress
sion Of immortal freshness. Here Goethe
chung to the pedantic fiction introduced
by Rousseau, that the author is merely pub
fishing discovered manuscripts. memoirs
letters. He had done, to be sure.
he same thing in "Werther." but there
ne only rarely allowed the supposed editor
% say a word. In Wilhelm, " on the other
hand, he is constantly interrupting the
narration without producing q serious
Improvement. Only too often the in
'ertions are superfuous and affect the
leader as burdensome and annoying, The
Interruptions are least Objectionable when
he author appears merely as a critic 10
or ~disapprove Of something or
Is a chorus to accompany an event with
he expression Of his personal emotion.
Even though, however, the form. the tech
OF the novel be archaic and long since
10 the past, its substance will
endure forever.
An account OF Hermann und Dorothea,'
" Elective Afinities," OF Faust Of
Pandora" and Of all the achievements
md experiences OF Goethe's later life must
,e reserved for a notice Of the third volume