humoured Yes, yes,' or 'Ay, ay.' I could not leave before I had finished a bottle of wine with him, and partaken of some fine white bread. Obliged to quit at one o'clock, I left in every respect delighted and exhilarated."

The neatness which characterized Göthe's room extended itself action. Dr. Carus, after describing a little apparatus made by him to illustrate his theory of colours, says,

to every

"I must remark that in Göthe's constant habit of observing a certain neatness and accuracy in the arrangement of these trifles, one could almost recognise the father, who could not bear the drawings of his son in their different unequal shapes, but nicely cut them all with scissors into a certain regular form. Of all the things I received from Göthe, such as books, small remittances for engravers, &c., I do not remember one that was not packed in the neatest manner; and thus was this little box, which had been made to illustrate the origin of colour, simple indeed, but most regularly and neatly packed and arranged. No less had I observed how in his rooms and portfolios, a strict order and cleanliness almost bordering on pedantry prevailed; and, far removed from those disorderly characteristics which are supposed to belong to genius, the order and neatness of all that surrounded him gave a wholesome symbol of the delicate order and polished beauty of his spiritual life."

There is something very kindly in this allusion of Dr. Carus to the formality of Göthe's father, and its descent to the great poet. In the autobiography, called 'Dichtung and Wahrheit,' it is almost painful to observe the tone of disrespect in which Göthe constantly speaks of his father; while it is impossible not to perceive how much he was indebted to the old Göthe's eccentric tastes for all that he himself achieved in the fields of literature and art. Dr. Carus afterwards considers the obligation of Göthe to both his parents, showing how much the healthiness that pervades his works, is to be ascribed to the healthy stock of which he comes. The pedantic, but always dignified nature of the father, the truly feminine nature of the mother, vivacious and animated to a late period of her life, were the foundation of the poet's character, and therefore, says Dr. Carus, he may fittingly be called a 'wohlgeborner' (well-born)—an appellation which is so often given from

mere ceremony.

The interview with Göthe, of which we have extracted the description, was the only one that Dr. Carus had; the acquaintance being kept up by letters, and not by personal meetings. All that belongs to this relation to Göthe, Dr. Carus has given in the first portion of the work; the rest, which consists of four additional sections, being devoted to a consideration of Göthe, apart from his own personal experience. These sections severally treat of' Göthe's

individuality'-' his relation to nature and natural science'-' his relation to men and to mankind'-and the use of understanding Göthe's individuality in understanding his works.'

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In considering Göthe's individuality, Dr. Carus points out the exact circumstances which worked together, and the exact nature which was worked upon, to produce such a result as the great poet of Germany. Already we have seen, Dr. Carus observes, this hero come into the world, a healthy man: the foundation is healthy. But yet, the mind is not purely healthyotherwise, how should we have the Sorrows of Werther?' Our physiologist solves the difficulty, by observing that the mind of Göthe had on some occasions a healthy sickness' (gesunde Krankheit). Some bodily illnesses there are which steadily proceed to their crisis, and then dying at it were a natural death, leave the constitution stronger than before. So was it with Göthe. We have his own 'Dichtung and Wahrheit' to show how in his youth he contemplated suicide; how he tried the effect of a sharp knife against his breast, and found it unpleasant; and how accordingly he wrote a book, in which he flung off his own morbidity to the world, and thus made himself a sound man. They say, some unlucky youths took it it into their heads to kill themselves after reading Werther.' But who, says Dr. Carus, shall blame Göthe on that account. It was not his fault that other people had not so strong a mental constitution as his own, and broke down where he could proceed with safety. Shall we blame the man, who, sick of a fever, infects the air by getting rid of the morbid matter? Göthe has his mental fever; gets rid of it the only way he can; and as for the two or three miserables, who made away with themselves, they are to be blamed for not taking proper precautions. Let us not pity them, but rejoice to see the chosen one of the gods escape unscathed, and philosophize quietly on the event with Dr. Carus.

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The egoism of Göthe-that complete living for himself which has caused so many expressions of dislike, is well defended by his admirer; who calls upon us to observe how entirely the poet was occupied in a career of self-cultivation, how he could adopt nothing till he had made it a part of himself, how expedient it was for him to shun hostile influences, if he would not be interrupted in that great art which he pursued unremittingly during the whole of his earthly existence the art of life. All that was foreign to his nature he shunned. Polemics he hated; if objections were made to his utterings, he left them unanswered; a contest would have occupied him too much. To the same cause is to be attributed his repelling manners towards those with whom he felt he had nothing in common. His own path was clearly defined; he

might turn neither to the right nor the left; he could not afford to encourage a number of useless acquaintance; they would have impeded him in his great occupation. The assistance he gave to poor Jung Stilling, his conduct to Eckermann, will show that his nature was a kindly one. Only he did not like to waste himself by a collision with unprofitable people, who could merely irritate. Who shall blame him? The system worked admirably, as is proved by the picture of the septuagenarian, with faculties not in the least impaired, still calmly pursuing his course, still devoted to art and science, still thirsting after new materials of cultivation. Dr. Carus tells us that many who disliked Göthe from report, felt bound to honour him, when they saw the representation of his venerable countenance.

His relations to the fair sex, which obtained him such a reputation for utter heartlessness, Dr. Carus would account for much on the same principle as his repulsion of unwelcome acquaintance. Göthe constantly pursuing his career of self-study, must know so much of love as to gain an experience; but he must not allow himself to be carried away by the torrent of passion as to lose all control over his own being. Between the apathetic stoic, and the man of ardent temperament who is the slave of every impulse, he must form the happy medium. He must just know how far his feelings will carry him without peril, and manage accordingly. Hence we find this all-fascinating man give small return for the love he awakened; and many a little heart must be made to ache, that we may have such beautiful feminine sketches as the Clärchens and the Gretchens. Although Dr. Carus here as elsewhere is the zealous apologist of Göthe, he evidently does not quite like his conduct to the ladies. Besides using his general theory, he glady takes refuge in the supposition that Göthe did not find a woman that was really worthy of him.

The side on which Dr. Carus principally knew Göthe, was that which was least familiar even to most of his ardent admirers: namely, the interest he took in natural science. Those who loved him as a poet, often uttered the regret that he did not follow poetry alone, and favour the world with a few more dramas and songs in the place of his scientific treatises. The parties who regretted the scientific tendency were not generally such as even professed to understand what he had done in this direction, and therefore the testimony of so eminent a physiologist as Dr. Carus to his scientific merits, is highly valuable. He attributes to him the discovery that the skull is in fact a continuation of the vertebræ, the honour of which is generally given to Oken. The principle of his theory of the metamorphosis of plants, which at first could not even make its way into the press, is now so universally acknow

ledged, that Dr. Carus says no scientific botanist can deny his obligations to the fundamental idea of Göthe. Nevertheless he would rather regard him as the poetical connoisseur of nature, than the patient investigator of her details. It is a worship of the beautiful universe and its pervading spirit, which lies at the foundation of his science. The singular story which Göthe tells in his Dichtung and Wahrheit'-how when a boy he erected an altar to the "God who stood in immediate connexion with nature," heaping together all sorts of natural curiosities for the act of devotion-this story reveals at once the secret of that scientific tendency, which the admirers of the mere poet have found so unaccountable.

We have not pursued this little book into its minutiæ, but we think we have said enough to show the principle on which Dr. Carus has acted; and we would add that the principle, with respect to Göthe, is unquestionably a right one. Göthe is not merely an author whose works are to be read, but he is a character to be studied. We may say the character is even of more importance than the works themselves, and that it is from their being so fully illustrative of their author's mind, that they derive their chief value. So remarkable a person is Göthe-the man unremittingly pursuing his one course of self-instruction—so unlike is he to any other whom we are able to approach, that no study can be more fascinating than that of his mental development. Fortunately, too, the means of pursuing that study are abundant. With the great poets of an early date, if we are lucky enough to obtain some information respecting their external existence, all attempts to penetrate the inmost recesses of the mind are vain indeed. Göthe stands revealed to all who will take the trouble to contemplate him; his works are his confessions;' not indeed under that name, but confessions' of a deeper truth than those of the morbid Swiss, Rousseau. What a difference in the egoism of these two men! The man of Geneva whining and going mad because he can find nothing in the world to correspond to his one-sided idea; the man of Weimar looking around upon all the littleness of his age, and still seeing a foundation on which he might stand, and live for his own thoughts. He did not wish to be something that he could not be, but made himself that which he wished. The contrast between the two egoists is as great, as that between a child crying for the moon, and a Jupiter calmly smiling at the world below him.

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We cannot conclude better than with some excellent remarks of Dr. Carus on the egoism of Göthe, and his intimate relation to his works.

"There are works on reading which it never occurs to us to inquire

His own Relation to his Works.

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after the individuality of him to whom we owe them; the matter is every thing. A dictionary, a carefully descriptive treatise on the works of nature and art and the like, leaves us quite unconcerned as to the inner individuality of the author; while on the other hand, with a high philosophical contemplation, with a grand poem, with a profound historical investigation, an interest is essentially awakened for the individuality of the mind, from which these works proceeded. They are, we may say, transparent works; the spirit from which they flow shines through them, as the light of festive tapers through the windows of a palace; and we are concerned, not so much on account of that which is immediately presented to us, but because the individuality of the author, his peculiarly grand disposition, his clear far-seeing mind, his poetically creative power are completely palpable: ay even penetrate us, and as it were, magnetically advance us, and develop us within. Thus do these works operate more powerfully, the more powerful the mind from which they proceed. Göthe's works belong to this class in the fullest sense of the word, and it was because he felt this himself, that almost unconsciously, and quite regardless whether or not it was reckoned the worst species of egoism, he represented himself, his own essence, his ego, more and more clearly and perfectly in those works, and reflected himself in them. To receive nothing that was foreign to himself, decisively to repel contradictions, to avoid all reply to opposition, was for him absolutely necessary, that he might not be disturbed in his course of development. Whoever dislikes him for this trait, and wishes his life had been free from it, is far from having approached the real understanding of his nature.

"How many do we see spoiling, or imperfectly carrying out, the work of life, because they are unable to distinguish that which suits them from that which does not. Now from an erroneous notion that they will gain some advantage, now with the fallacious view of being especially useful to others by becoming unfaithful to their own proper being, they leave what Göthe very prettily calls the fortificationlines of our existence, and thus so far mar their own progress in cultivation, that it becomes impossible for them to become for others in future that which they might have been, had their own development attained its natural goal. I have often reflected on the old naïve work of Giotto at Assisi, which shows the pure soul, dwelling in a sort of fortress, holding communion with none but the angels that float around, while the corrupt soul is lured out of its castle by demons into the abyss of hell. This gives much room for thought, especially with reference to the self-purification of the soul; but even the fort which guards the more beautiful soul is not without significance. Its represents symbolically that which Göthe calls the fortification-lines of our existence, and thus partly self-restraint, partly a decisive repulsion of that which is not suited to us but which would impair our real essence, is distinctly portrayed."