LXXIV. Johann Wolfgang Goethe
1749-1832. The long-gathering promise of a German literary renascence was splendidly fulfilled in the genius of Goethe. In all the genres he wrought with high and peculiar distinction; and so intensely and fully did he live the life of his epoch that he has come to be regarded as the representative of the modern spirit. A great critic has called him ‘the clearest, largest, and most helpful thinker of modern times.’ The scope of this book is such that only the youthful Goethe is represented in the selections.
- 1 Mailied.
- 4 Rastlose Liebe.
- 5 Meeres Stille.
- 6 Glückliche Fahrt.
- 7 Wandrers Nachtlieder.
- 8 Der König in Thule.
- 9 From ‘Prometheus,’ Act 3: The Titan’s defiance.
- 10 From the ‘Sufferings of Young Werther’: Werther’s communion with the All.
- Homer as an anodyne for a sick heart.
- Werther excited by the reading of Ossian.
- Werther in the depths of despair.
- 11 From ‘Letters from Switzerland.’1
- 12 From ‘Faust’: ‘Feeling is everything.’
