The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23
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N J O ~@
tique. 1t afforded him a charming pastime
involving no serious intellectual effort, as
making love to a great lady does. after the
burdens and cares Of the day. Even after a
year had passed he wished. as may be learned
from a letter TO Frau Won Stein. that his rela-
ton to the young girl might remain on this
basis and not degenerate" He begged
Nine, Won Stein to help him with her love to
keep It 30. AS she naturally was unable to
comply with such a request. Goethe entered
into a conscience" marriage with Chris
tiane, looking upon the relation and speak
ing Of It as a true marriage. In the course
Of time his pleasure in her pretty form and
features and In her unaffected, cheerful
robust nature. and above all else the birth
of his son, August December, 1880, created
In him a tender affection which he at times
mistook for love. though In the case Of this
daughter Of the people a real love passion
dominating his whole life, such az he had
felt for Nine. Won Stein, was utterly out Of
the question. The biographer says that in
order to be convinced Of this one need only
compare the letters and poems addressed
TO Christiane with the earlier or later docu-
ments bearing on Goethe's real love affairs.
1t is indeed impossible to read the CORE
spondence between Goethe and Christiane
without a feeling of sorrow and sympathy
for the great man. There is no free out
pouring Of the t~housapdfold thoughts
and feelings which occupied him as a poet,
investigator and statesman; not a word
about his reading; no explanations OF the
real value Of his important personal associa-
tons; nc exalted reports OF his happy poetic
inventions. On the contrary, his letters
to her are filled with nothing but the COM
mon earthly things Of everyday life. For
instance, he writes in March, 1877: AS
soon as the poem l'Hermann und Dorothea1
Is finished, thou shalt have the soap, and
something else besides, 80 that thou may'st
rejoice with me in thine own way About
all things higher than soap Goethe was
silent to Christiane. because he knew that
the fner emotions Of his spirit would call
forth no response. Frequently C~hristiane's
lack Of appreciation for and OF responsive
ness to the best things that filled his breast
would entirely destroy his mood for work
in her immediate presence, Then he would
fee for weeks and months to Jena or some
other o~ongenial place. 1t might lave been
supposed that association with Goethe
would have exercised on the young woman
e~levating influence, but she seems never
to have risen very far above her original
level. One a understand. therefore. how
heavily the relation must at times have
weighed upon Goethe. and why he should
have waited seventeen years before legiti-
his marriage. doing it lever then only
Of the pressure Of extraordinary
events, whereas the consciousness that his
August was growing up into young
manhood should have been enough OF itself
TO cause him to take this step,
In January, 1870, when Goethe had I'm
the scientific task to which he attached
much importance, the presentation OF his
theory of plant metamorphosis, there woke
in him an irresistible longing to get away
for a time from the atmosphere OF Weimar,
moe more he spent three months in
northern Italy. He tried 10 persuade him.
self that his heart would not permit him
long to be absent from Christiane. He
declared that "a magnet. greater in force
than my will. draweth me back to the
and again:
Wide and fair is the world. but. oh, how grateful
10 heaven
me back TO my home. What need hath q
gardener TO wAnder1
and happy he'll be II 20 the garden he
looks.
As a matter Of fact the magnet was hardly
able TO hold him five weeks, so eager was
he again to desert his little garden and 20
tut into the beautiful wide world. AT the
invitation OF the Duke Of Saxe-Weimar he
accompanied that sovereign in a journey
Silesia, and at Breslau made the |
acquaintance of Won Sohuckmann, later
Minister OF the Interior. The
quotes Won Schuckmann's dis
account OF the impression which
le received Of the poet. Il have become"
Re writes, very closely and intimately
with NJ, de Goethe, and nave
'ound him to be a superior man. His diff
in expressing himself, OF which l
wrote you, was entirely gone the moment
le became cordial and cast aside oohven-
ionalities in his intercourse with me.
When he feels Indifferent he really cannot
peak, and yet with strangers he seeks to
'orce himself TO, m that doubtless for
rood reasons. In a oongenial mood he
iollows his natural bent, and from his rich
reasure throws out whole masses Of ideas.
might say that he speaks. as the algebra
SITS calculate, not with numbers, but with '
Quantities. and his vivid presentation is
FEVER the jugglery Of fancy. His pictures
IRE always the true companion pieces that
nature has given TO real entities, TO which
not away from them-they lead the
In this Characterization by a con-
temporary the author OF this book finds a
proof Of how much Goethe's spirits
lad been broadened In Italy, how greatly
he difficulty had increased OF introducing
into his intellectual world and
low, on short acquaintance or when he was
approached with too small a measure of
md understanding or Of devoted attention. he
TO ooufne his conversation 70
onventionalities or TO short. half obscure
uggestions, and how in this way he gave
he impression Of being cold. vain and
oompous.
v,
Goethe, OF course has often been accused