The Washington herald., 1912-07-28
BY A. d. JACOBSON.


GOETHE; THE MAN AND HIS CHARACTER
BY Joseph McCsbe. J. B. Lippincott Co.
Philadelphia.
The author does not represent the
great poet OF Germany as Of perfect and
admirable character or of infallibifty In
his achievements. But he is altogether
impartial showing, an enforced admira.
ton, for all that is great in Goethe,
paired with an ability to discriminate
between the merits and faults Of his
work and Of his character.
Goethe has always interested the y>rld
for his own sake. He is more thar an
artist whom We study merely as q
tribute to his art. But what surprises
is that so little should have been writ
ten about him in English. The life OF
Goethe, written by the husband of
George Elliot. G. III. Lewes, hitherto has
about the great German genius. The rea-
son for this may be that there is such a
yoluminous literature on hand for the
student on the comments of score of
writer's. sources from which any one In.
tsrested easily may construct his own
Goethe biography for himself.
Yet, considering who Goethe was, there
was room IN the literary world for jus,
such a work as Mr.. McCabe's book
Some of Mr.. Lewes' statements have
been disproved by later researches. We
may even add that his Interpretation OF
some phases of Goethe's character show
a lack of sufficient insight.
The most important original contribu-
tons to the present work are Judgments
based upon careful study of facts.
either not accessible to Mr.. Lewes or
perhaps misinterpreted by him. Mr.. Nc
Cabe might have written these new dis
coveries in the form of essays. meant for
the eyes CT a few biological students:
but the author desired to reach a larger
audience, and. therefore. he gave his
views and interpretations a larger set
ting. He has shown us the defects in
PREVIOUS portraits OF Goethe and he has
painted others, superior sketches OF his
own. in which attempt he was success
ful
Typical OF the former misapprehension
into which the English reader was led
was the commonly accepted version OF
the character OF Goethe's parents and
his relations to them. We have been
used to see a stern. irritable father. a
martinez and domestic despot; and a
mother, naturally imaginative. devoted
to children. bearing up bravely In the
presence Of the "Geheimrath," her DOM
ineering spouse. Young Goethe has been
pictured as cherishing little respect. or
even regard. for his father. but with
great loyalty for his mother. The poe,
himself is largely responsible for this
impression. as the first part OF the biog-
raphy. entitled ''wahrheit und Dfch.
tung." contain more poetry Dichtung)
than truth CwahrheiD.
According to the present biographer
Goethe's father was a well-meanng but
narrow-minded man. incapable OF COM
pretending hk brilliant son. but gener-
Gus and patient with the latter's ex-
travaganzas. The mother. on the other
hand. as we know her now. was cheer
full but shallow and frivolous. and her
children were not greatly attached to
her. We go not amiss in stating that
her middle age was protected from scan-
dal by the forbearance OF a good hus-
band.
Goethe rarely wrote to her, visited her
only once In her declining years. and
nowhere names her with the warmth OF
affection, not even in his autobiography.
Mr. McCabe eNplodes another poetic
fction-the lovely Friedericke Of Sesen-
helm, so greatly adored. 1t seems, was
no better than she should have been.
Goethe's love affairs quite naturally
play a large part in the description 1t
is a pity that a biography Of the great
man cannot he written without emitting
them. The one way 10 endure them is
to remember that Goethe grew up in the
results OF the teachings Of Rousseau.
There are still men of middle age-or even
cid men-who philander with young girls,
but it is TO longer considered a fit SUBJ
ject to boast about. The commentaries
of Goethe's contemporaries upon this
part of the poets life is very exhaustive.
Besides. Goethe put himself on record in
many letters TO and about his inamoratas
as we'll as in his ''recollections" written
in his later years.
But Goethe as the immortal poet with
the God-given genius. stidd treads the
worlds stage m the character OF Faust.
The true story OF his life is far more
attractive than the melodramatic mutt
lation of his great tragedy which an
nually Is in the theaters Of every land.
We have from his own hand a minute
and mastery description of the boyhood
of a genius; We behold the eNquisitively
sensitive youth awakening TO. a world
that is a century too old for him, and
while wavering between love and learn
ing time after time, we find his developed
nature so many-sided that he attracts
into his life nearly every person of con-
sequence. and even in his later years We
behold his genius linked in rare assocla-
tion with n passion that holds him to the
common rank of men.
The greatest literary artist since
Shakespeare, a most conspicuous figure
in the scientific culture of a world. help
ing 1t to emerge from benighted medic
valism. he is nevertheless so profoundly