Let me have some news of it, and inform
me also whether my present enclosure prove
of any use.
me also whether my present enclosure prove
of any use.
Thomas Carlyle
We passed
hours after hours there, and night after night with the
pleasantest talk and music. We read over endless novels
and poems in French, English, and German. My delight in
those days was to make caricatures for children. I was
touched to find that they were remembered, and some
even kept until the present time; and very proud to be
told, as a lad, that the great Goethe had looked at some
of them.
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 61
"He remained in his private apartments, where only a
very few privileged persons were admitted; but he liked to
know all that was happening, and interested himself about
all strangers. . . . Of course I remember very well the
perturbation of spirit with which, as a lad of nineteen,
I received the long-expected intimation that the Herr
Geheimrath would see me on such a morning. This
notable audience took place in a little antechamber of his
private apartments, covered all round with antique casts
and bas-reliefs. He was habited in a long grey or drab
redingot, with a white neckcloth and a red ribbon in his
buttonhole. He kept his hands behind his back, just as in
Rauch's statuette. His complexion was very bright, clear,
and rosy. His eyes extraordinarily dark, piercing, and
brilliant. I felt quite afraid before them, and recollect
comparing them to the eyes of the hero of a certain
romance called Melmoth the Wanderer, which used to alarm
us boys thirty years ago; eyes of an individual who had
made a bargain with a certain Person, and at an extreme
old age retained these eyes in all their awful splendour. I
fancied Goethe must have been still more handsome as an
old man than even in the days of his youth. His voice
was very rich and sweet. He asked me questions about
myself, which I answered as best I could. I recollect I
was at first astonished, and then somewhat relieved, when
I found he spoke French with not a good accent.
"Vidi tantum. I saw him but three times. Once walk-
ing in the garden of his house in the Frauenplan; once
going to step into his chariot on a sunshiny day, wearing a
cap and a cloak with a red collar. He was caressing at the
time a beautiful little golden-haired granddaughter, over
whose sweet fair face the earth has long since closed too.
"Any of us who had books or magazines from England
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? 62 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
sent them to him, and he examined them eagerly. Fraser^s
Magazine had lately come out, and I remember he was
interested in those admirable outline portraits which ap-
peared in its pages. But there was one, a very ghastly
caricature of Mr. R[ogers], which, as Madame de Goethe
told me, he shut up and put away from him angrily. 'They
would make me look like that,' he said; though in truth I
can fancy nothing more serene, majestic, and healthy look-
ing than the grand old Goethe.
"Though his sun was setting, the sky round about was
calm and bright, and that little Weimar illumined by it.
In every one of those kind salons the talk was still of Art
and Letters. The theatre, though possessing no very extra-
ordinary actors, was still conducted with a noble intelligence
and order. The actors read books, and were men of letters
and gentlemen, holding a not unkindly relationship with the
Adel. At Court the conversation was exceedingly friendly,
simple, and polished. The Grand Duchess (the present
Grand Duchess Dowager), a lady of very remarkable en-
dowments, would kindly borrow our books from us, lend
us her own, and graciously talk to us young men about our
literary tastes and pursuits. In the respect paid by this
Court to the Patriarch of letters, there was something en-
nobling, I think, alike to the subject and sovereign. With
a five and twenty years' experience since those happy days
of which I write, and an acquaintance with an immense
variety of human kind, I think I have never seen a society
more simple, charitable, courteous, gentlemanlike than that
of the dear little Saxon city, where the good Schiller and
the great Goethe lived and lie buried. " *
1 Life and Works of Goethe, by G. H. Lewes (London,
1855), ii. pp. 442-446.
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? 1828 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 63
IX. --CARLYLE to GOETHE.
EDINBURGH, 21 COMLEY BANK,
11th January 1828.
RESPECTED SIR--In addition to the valued
marks of your regard already conferred on me, I
have now to solicit a favour of a more practical,
and as I may justly fear, of a more questionable
nature. If the liberty I take is too great, let me
hope that I shall find in your goodness an excuse.
I am at present a candidate for the Profes-
sorship of Moral Philosophy in our ancient
Scottish University of St. Andrews; a situation
of considerable emolument and respectability,
in which certain of my friends flatter me that I
might be useful to myself and others. The
Electors to the Office are the Principal and
actual Professors of the College; who promise
in this instance, contrary indeed to their too
frequent practice, to be guided solely by
grounds of a public sort; preferring that appli-
cant who shall, by reference perhaps to his
previous literary performances, or by Testi-
monials from men of established note, approve
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? 64 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 1828
himself the ablest. The qualifications required,
or at least expected, are not so much any pro-
found scientific acquaintance with Philosophy
properly so called, as a general character for
intelligence, integrity, and literary attainment;
all proofs of talent and spiritual worth of any
kind being more or less available. To the
Electors personally I am altogether a stranger.
Of my fitness for this, or any other office, it
is indeed little that I can expect you to know.
Nevertheless, if you have traced in me any sense
for what is True and Good, and any symptom,
however faint, that I may realise in my own
literary life some fraction of what I love and
reverence in that of my Instructors, you will
not hesitate to say so; and a word from you
may go further than many words from another.
There is also a second reason why I ask this
favour of you: the wish to feel myself connected
by still more and still kinder ties with a man
to whom I must reckon it among the pleasures
of my existence that I stand in any relation
whatever. For the rest, let me assure you that
good or ill success in this canvass is little likely
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? 1828 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 65
to affect my equanimity unduly; I have studied
and lived to little purpose, if I have not, at the
age of two-and-thirty, learned in some degree
"to seek for that consistency and sequence
within myself, which external events will for
ever refuse me. " I need only add, on this sub-
ject, that the form of such a document as I
solicit is altogether unimportant; that of a
general Certificate or Testimonial, not specially
addressed at all, being as common as any other.
The main purpose of my letter is thus
accomplished; but I cannot conclude without
expressing my satisfaction at the good news
we continue to hear from Weimar, and the
interest which all of us feel in your present so
important avocations. By returning travellers
and Friends resident in Germany we often get
some tidings of you. A younger Brother of
mine, at present studying Medicine and Philo-
sophy in Mu? nchen, has the honour of an
acquaintance with your correspondent, Dr.
Sulpiz Boisseree ;l through whose means I
1 Dr. John A. Carlyle sent to his Brother extracts which Bois-
serde had allowed him to make from Goethe's Letters. These
F
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? 66 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 1828
have just learned that you proceed with un-
abated diligence in the correction of your Works:
and what especially contents me, that we are
soon to expect some further improvement, per-
haps enlargement of the Wanderjahre; and at
all events a Second Part of Faust. In the
Wanderjahre, so choice a piece of composition
does it seem to me, I confess I see not well
what improvements are to be made: so beauti-
ful, so soft, and gracefully expressive an
embodiment of all that is finest in the Philo-
sophy of Art and Life, has almost assumed the
aspect of perfection in my thoughts; every
word has meaning to me; there are sentences
which I could write in letters of gold. Enlarge-
ment, indeed, I could desire without limit: and
yet the work, as it stands, has the singular
character of a completed fragment, so lightly yet
so cunningly is it joined together, and then the
concluding chapter, with its Bleibe nicht am
Boden haftcn? as it were, scatters us all into
contain high praise of Carlyle, especially of his Life of Schiller
and German Romance; as well as an account of Goethe's
labours on the Second Part of Faust.
1 Carlyle translates it:"Keep not standing fix'd and rooted. "
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? 18z8 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 67
infinite space; and leaves the work lying like
some fair landscape of an unknown wondrous
region, bounded on this side with bright clouds,
or melting on that into the vacant azure! May
I ask if there is any hope that these clouds
will roll away, and show us the undiscovered
country that lies beneath them? Of Faust I
am taught to expect with confidence, not only a
continuation but a completion, and share in the
general curiosity of Europe to see what it is.
Will you pardon me for speaking so freely
of what I know so slightly? I may well feel
an interest in your labours such as few do. My
wife unites with me, as in all honest things, so
in this, in warmest regards to you and yours.
Nay, your Ottilie1 is not unknown to her; with
the sharp sight of female criticism she had
already detected a lady's hand in the tasteful
arrangement of that Packet, not yet under-
standing to whom it might be due. Will Ottilie
von Goethe accept the friendly and respectful
compliments of Jane Welsh Carlyle, who hopes
1 Madame von Goethe, wife of Goethe's only surviving son,
August, who died in 1830. See infra, p. 247, n.
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? 68 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
one day to know her better? For it is among our
settled wishes, I might almost say projects, some
time to see Germany, and its Art and Artists,
and the man who more than any other has made
it dear and honourable to us. We even paint
out to ourselves the too hollow day-dream of
spending next winter, or if this Election prosper,
the summer which will follow it, in Weimar!
Alas, that Space cannot be contracted nor Time
lengthened out, and so many must not meet,
whose meeting could have been desired! Mean-
while we will continue hoping; and pray that,
seen or unseen, all good may ever abide with you.
Trusting soon to have the honour of a letter,
I remain, Respected Sir, yours with affection-
ate reverence, ^ ~
THOMAS CARLYLE.
X. -- GOETHE to CARLYLE.
March 1828. ]
Wenn Beykommendes schon vor acht
Wochen Gewu? nschtes noch zu rechter Zeit
ankommt so soil es mich freuen. Das lange
Aussenbleiben zu entschuldigen mu? sste ich viel
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 69
von verketteten Arbeiten und Anforderungen,
berichten und beschreiben und ko? nnte Ihnen
doch keinen Begriff von allen den Obliegen-
heiten geben die sich durch so lange Jahre an
mir herangeha? uft und sich noch ta? glich eher
vermehren als vermindern.
Ein Ka? stchen mannigfaltigen Inhalts, abge-
gangen von hier den 20 Januar d. J. von
Hamburg durch Vermittlung der Hn. Parish
den 1 Febr. wird la? ngst in Ihren Ha? nden und
ich hoffe gut aufgenommen seyn.
Geben Sie mi einige Nachricht deshalb, wie
auch ob Gegenwa? rtiges einigermassen gefruchtet.
Gru? ssen Sie mir Ihre liebe Gattinn von
mir und den Meinigen und erhalten mir Ihre
treuen Gesinnungen wie ich sie auch lebens-
la? nglich zu hegen gewiss nicht unterlasse.
Theilnehmend u. mitwirkend,
f. W. v. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, d. 14 Ma? rz 1828.
[Translation. ]
I shall be glad if the enclosed [Testimonial],
which you asked for more than eight weeks
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? 70 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
ago, should yet arrive in good time. To excuse
my prolonged delay I should be obliged to make
a long story of an unbroken chain of labours and
engagements, and, even then, I should give you
no idea of the multitude of duties that have
been heaped upon me these many years, and
which still day by day rather increase than
diminish.
A little box containing a variety of ob-
jects, which left here on the 20th of January,
and Hamburg on the 1st of February, for-
warded thence by Messrs. Parish, must have
reached you long since, and I hope proved
welcome.
Let me have some news of it, and inform
me also whether my present enclosure prove
of any use. Greet your dear wife from me and
mine, and maintain kind feelings towards me,
such as on my part I shall certainly not cease
to cherish for you so long as I live.
In fellowship, heart and hand,
J. W. v. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, 1^th March 1828.
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 71
XI. --Goethe's Testimonial to CARLYLE.
[I4//4 March 1828. ]
Wahre Ueberzeugung geht vom Herzen
aus, das Gemu? th, der eigentliche Sitz des
Gewissens, richtet u? ber das Zula? ssige und
Unzula? ssige weit sicherer als der Verstand,
der gar manches einsehen und bestimmen wird
ohne den rechten Punct zu treffen.
Ein wohlwollender auf sich selbst merkender
Character, der sich selbst zu ehren, mit sich
selbst in Frieden zu leben wu? nscht und doch
so manche Unvollkommenheit die sein Inneres
verwirrt empfinden muss, manchen Fehler zu
bedauern hat, der die Person nach aussen com-
promittirt, wodurch er sich denn nach beyden Seiten hin beunruhigt und bestritten findet,
wird sich von diesen Beschwernissen auf alle
Weise zu befreyen suchen.
Sind nun aber diese Misshelligkeiten in
treuer Beharrlichkeit durchgefochten, hat der
Mensch erkannt, dass man sich von Leiden und
Dulden nur durch ein Streben und Thun zu
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? 72 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
erholen vermag, dass fu? r den Mangel ein
Verdienst, fu? r den Fehler ein Ersatz zu suchen
und zu finden sey, so fu? hlt er sich behaglich
als einen neuen Menschen.
Dann aber dra? ngt ihn sogleich eine ange-
borene Gu? te auch anderen gleiche Mu? he,
gleiche Beschwerden zu erleichtern, zu ersparen,
seine Mitlebenden u? ber die innere Natur, u? ber
die a? ussere Welt aufzukla? ren, zu zeigen woher
die Widerspru? che kommen, wie sie zu ver-
meiden und auszugleichen sind. Dabey aber
gesteht er dass dem allen ungeachtet im Laufe
des Lebens sowohl Aeusseres als Inneres un-
abla? ssig im Conflict befangen bleibe und wie
man sich deshalb ru? sten mu? sse ta? glich solchen
Kampf wiederholt zu bestehen.
Wie sich nun ohne Anmassung behaupten
la? sst dass die deutsche Literatur in diesem
humanen Bezug viel geleistet hat, dass durch
sie eine sittlich psychologische Richtung
durchgeht, nicht in ascetischer Aengstlichkeit,
sondern eine freye naturgema? sse Bildung und
heitere Gesetzlichkeit einleitend, so habe ich
Herrn Carlyle's bewundernswu? rdig tiefes
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 73
Studium der deutschen Literatur mit Ver-
gnu? gen zu beobachten gehabt und mit Antheil
bemerkt, wie er nicht allein das Scho? ne und
Menschliche, Gute und Grosse bey uns zu finden
gewusst, sondern auch von dem Seinigen,
reichlich heru? bergetragen und uns mit den
Scha? tzen seines Gemu? thes begabt hat. Man
muss ihm ein klares Urtheil u? ber unsere
a? sthetisch sittlichen Schriftsteller zugestehen,
und zugleich eigene Ansichten, wodurch er an den
Tag giebt dass er auf einem originalen Grund
beruhe und aus sich selbst die Erfordernisse des
Guten und Scho? nen zu entwickeln das Ver-
mo? gen habe.
In diesem Sinne darf ich ihn wohl fu? r einen
Mann halten, der eine Lehrstelle der Moral
mit Einfalt und Reinheit, mit Wirkung und
Einfluss bekleiden werde, indem er nach eigen
gebildeter Denkweise, nach angebornen Fa? hig-
keiten und erworbenen Kenntnissen, die ihm
anvertraute Jugend u? ber ihre wahrhaften
Pflichten erkla? ren, Einleitung und Antrieb der
Gemu? ther zu sittlicher Tha? tigkeit sich zum
Augenmerk nehmen, und sie dadurch einer
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? 74 GOETHE TO CARLVLE 1828
religio? sen Vollendung unabla? ssig zufu? hren
werde.
Dem Vorstehenden darf man wohl nunmehr
einige Erfahrungsbetrachtungen hinzufu? gen.
Ueber das Princip woraus die Sittlichkeit
abzuleiten sey, hat man sich nie vollkommen
vereinigen ko? nnen. Einige haben den Eigen-
nutz als Triebfeder aller sittlichen Handlungen
angenommen; andere wollten den Trieb nach
Wohlbehagen, nach Glu? ckseligkeit als einzig
wirksam finden; wieder andere setzten das
apodiktische Pflichtgebot oben an, und keine
dieser Voraussetzungen konnte allgemein aner-
kannt werden, man musste es zuletzt am
gerathensten finden aus dem ganzen Complex
der gesunden menschlichen Natur das Sittliche
so wie das Scho? ne zu entwickeln.
In Deutschland hatten wir schon vor
sechzig Jahren das Beyspiel eines glu? cklichen
Gelingens der Art. Unser Gellert, welcher
keine Anspru? che machte ein Philosoph von Fach zu seyn, aber als ein grundguter, sittlicher
und versta? ndiger Mann durchaus anerkannt
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? GOETHE TO CARLYLE 75
werden musste, las in Leipzig unter dem
gro? ssten Zulauf eine ho? chst reine, ruhige,
versta? ndige und versta? ndliche Sittenlehre mit
grossem Beyfall und mit dem besten Erfolg;
sie war den Bedu? rfnissen seiner Zeit gema? ss
und wurde erst spa? t durch den Druck bekannt.
Die Meynungen eines Philosophen greifen
sehr oft nicht in die Zeit ein, aber ein ver-
sta? ndiger wohlwollender Mann, frey von
vorgefassten Begriffen, umsichtig auf das was
eben seiner Zeit Noth thut, wird von seinen
Gefu? hlen, Erfahrungen und Kenntnissen gerade
dasjenige mittheilen was in der Epoche wo er
auftritt die Jugend sicher und folgerecht in das
gescha? ftige und thatfordernde Leben hinein-
fu? hrt. 1
J. W. F. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, den 14th Ma? rz, 1828.
[Translation. ]
True conviction proceeds from the heart;
the Soul, the real seat of the Conscience, judges
1 MS. , "hineingefuhrt. "
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? 76 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
concerning what may be permitted and what
may not be permitted far more surely than the
Understanding, which will see into and determine
many things without hitting the right mark. A well-disposed and self - observant man,
wishing to respect himself and to live at peace
with himself, and yet conscious of many an
imperfection perplexing his inner life, and
grieved by many a fault compromising him in
the eyes of others, whereby he finds himself
disturbed and opposed from within and from
without, will seek by all methods to free him-
self from such impediments.
When once, however, he has fought his way
faithfully and perseveringly through these dis-
cordant elements, and has recognised that only
by striving and by doing can he vanquish his
sorrow and suffering, that for each defect a
merit, for each fault an amends must be sought
and found, then does he feel himself at peace,
as a new man.
But then, too, does an innate good impulse
at once impel him to lighten the burden for
others and to save them from like sufferings,
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 77
to enlighten his fellow-creatures as to their
inner nature, and the outer world, to show
them whence contradictions come in and how
they are to be avoided and reconciled. At the
same time, however, notwithstanding all this,
he must confess that in the course of life, the
outer and the inner remain in incessant conflict,
and that one must therefore daily arm himself
to maintain the ever-renewed struggle.
It may now without arrogance be asserted
that German Literature has effected much for
humanity in this respect, that a moral-psycho-
logical tendency pervades it, introducing not
ascetic timidity, but a free culture in accordance
with nature, and in cheerful obedience to law,
and therefore I have observed with pleasure
Mr. Carlyle's admirably profound study of this
literature, and I have noticed with sympathy
how he has not only been able to discover
the beautiful and human, the good and great
in us, but has also contributed what was his
own, and has endowed us with the treasures
of his genius. It must be granted that he has
a clear judgment as to our Esthetic and Ethic
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? 78 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
Writers, and, at the same time, his own way
of looking at them, which proves that he
rests on an original foundation and has the
power to develop in himself the essentials of
what is good and beautiful.
In this sense, I may well regard him as a
man who would fill a Chair of Moral Philo-
sophy, with single-heartedness, with purity,
effect and influence; enlightening the youth en-
trusted to him as to their real duties, in accord-
ance with his disciplined thought, his natural
gifts and his acquired knowledge, aiming at
leading and urging their minds to moral activity,
and thereby steadily guiding them towards a
religious completeness.
One may now be permitted to add to the
above, some considerations based on ex-
perience.
In regard to the original principle of
morality, men have never been able com-
pletely to agree. Some have considered self-
interest as the mainspring of all moral action;
others have been disposed to consider the
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 79
desire for ease and comfort, for happiness, as
alone effective; others again have made the
apodictic law of duty supreme: but none of
these hypotheses having been able to gain
general acceptance, it was at last found most
advisable to deduce the development of Morals
as well as of /Esthetics out of the whole Com-
plex of healthy human nature.
We already had in Germany, more than
sixty years ago, an example of a happy suc-
cess of this kind. Our Gellert, who made no
claim to be a Philosopher, but was univer-
sally regarded as a thoroughly good, moral
and sensible man, delivered at Leipzig before
the greatest audiences, a most pure, sensible
and intelligible Course of Lectures on Moral
Philosophy, with great acceptance, and with
the best success; it was adapted to the needs
of his time, and did not become known through
the Press till later on. 1
1 "En 1758, il [Gellert] donna un cours de morale dont le
succes fut prodigieux: ce n'dtait point un traite philosophique de
morale, mais une suite de reflexions, bien enchainees et bien
prdsentdes, sur la nature et la destination de l'homme, sur
I'importance et la beaute de la vertu; toute pddanterie scolas-
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? So GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
It often happens that the opinions of a
philosopher do not influence his own time; but
a sensible, genial man, free from preconceived
ideas, looking about him for what his time
specially needs, will communicate from his feel-
ings, experiences and knowledge, exactly what
is required, in his own epoch, to guide youth
surely and logically into practical and active
life.
J. W. v. Goethe.
Carlyle writes to his Brother John, from Craigen-
puttock, 16th April 1828:
"Goethe's certificate arrived while I was in the country:
mustard after dinner; which these rough feeders shall not
so much as smell! It also is a magnanimous Testimonial,
beautifully written, and may elsewhere avail me. The old
Sage fills a whole sheet with his Aeusserungen; of which not
quite one leaf belongs directly to me, the rest being as it
were Erkldntngsbetrachtungen. Many things are mentioned
wodurch er an den Tag giebt, dass er auf einem originalen
Grund beruhe, und die Erfordernisse des Guten und Schonen
aus sich selbst zu entwickeln das Vermogen habe; a praise
which He, could he appropriate it rightly, ought to value
more than any Professorship in these parts. To-morrow I am
tique en dtait bannie: cette maniere simple et sans pretention
de science etait alors un phdnomtne ; aussi fut-elle universelle-
ment goutee. "--Biog. Universelle. This course of Lectures
was published in 1770, the year after Gellert's death.
? ?
hours after hours there, and night after night with the
pleasantest talk and music. We read over endless novels
and poems in French, English, and German. My delight in
those days was to make caricatures for children. I was
touched to find that they were remembered, and some
even kept until the present time; and very proud to be
told, as a lad, that the great Goethe had looked at some
of them.
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 61
"He remained in his private apartments, where only a
very few privileged persons were admitted; but he liked to
know all that was happening, and interested himself about
all strangers. . . . Of course I remember very well the
perturbation of spirit with which, as a lad of nineteen,
I received the long-expected intimation that the Herr
Geheimrath would see me on such a morning. This
notable audience took place in a little antechamber of his
private apartments, covered all round with antique casts
and bas-reliefs. He was habited in a long grey or drab
redingot, with a white neckcloth and a red ribbon in his
buttonhole. He kept his hands behind his back, just as in
Rauch's statuette. His complexion was very bright, clear,
and rosy. His eyes extraordinarily dark, piercing, and
brilliant. I felt quite afraid before them, and recollect
comparing them to the eyes of the hero of a certain
romance called Melmoth the Wanderer, which used to alarm
us boys thirty years ago; eyes of an individual who had
made a bargain with a certain Person, and at an extreme
old age retained these eyes in all their awful splendour. I
fancied Goethe must have been still more handsome as an
old man than even in the days of his youth. His voice
was very rich and sweet. He asked me questions about
myself, which I answered as best I could. I recollect I
was at first astonished, and then somewhat relieved, when
I found he spoke French with not a good accent.
"Vidi tantum. I saw him but three times. Once walk-
ing in the garden of his house in the Frauenplan; once
going to step into his chariot on a sunshiny day, wearing a
cap and a cloak with a red collar. He was caressing at the
time a beautiful little golden-haired granddaughter, over
whose sweet fair face the earth has long since closed too.
"Any of us who had books or magazines from England
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? 62 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
sent them to him, and he examined them eagerly. Fraser^s
Magazine had lately come out, and I remember he was
interested in those admirable outline portraits which ap-
peared in its pages. But there was one, a very ghastly
caricature of Mr. R[ogers], which, as Madame de Goethe
told me, he shut up and put away from him angrily. 'They
would make me look like that,' he said; though in truth I
can fancy nothing more serene, majestic, and healthy look-
ing than the grand old Goethe.
"Though his sun was setting, the sky round about was
calm and bright, and that little Weimar illumined by it.
In every one of those kind salons the talk was still of Art
and Letters. The theatre, though possessing no very extra-
ordinary actors, was still conducted with a noble intelligence
and order. The actors read books, and were men of letters
and gentlemen, holding a not unkindly relationship with the
Adel. At Court the conversation was exceedingly friendly,
simple, and polished. The Grand Duchess (the present
Grand Duchess Dowager), a lady of very remarkable en-
dowments, would kindly borrow our books from us, lend
us her own, and graciously talk to us young men about our
literary tastes and pursuits. In the respect paid by this
Court to the Patriarch of letters, there was something en-
nobling, I think, alike to the subject and sovereign. With
a five and twenty years' experience since those happy days
of which I write, and an acquaintance with an immense
variety of human kind, I think I have never seen a society
more simple, charitable, courteous, gentlemanlike than that
of the dear little Saxon city, where the good Schiller and
the great Goethe lived and lie buried. " *
1 Life and Works of Goethe, by G. H. Lewes (London,
1855), ii. pp. 442-446.
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? 1828 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 63
IX. --CARLYLE to GOETHE.
EDINBURGH, 21 COMLEY BANK,
11th January 1828.
RESPECTED SIR--In addition to the valued
marks of your regard already conferred on me, I
have now to solicit a favour of a more practical,
and as I may justly fear, of a more questionable
nature. If the liberty I take is too great, let me
hope that I shall find in your goodness an excuse.
I am at present a candidate for the Profes-
sorship of Moral Philosophy in our ancient
Scottish University of St. Andrews; a situation
of considerable emolument and respectability,
in which certain of my friends flatter me that I
might be useful to myself and others. The
Electors to the Office are the Principal and
actual Professors of the College; who promise
in this instance, contrary indeed to their too
frequent practice, to be guided solely by
grounds of a public sort; preferring that appli-
cant who shall, by reference perhaps to his
previous literary performances, or by Testi-
monials from men of established note, approve
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? 64 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 1828
himself the ablest. The qualifications required,
or at least expected, are not so much any pro-
found scientific acquaintance with Philosophy
properly so called, as a general character for
intelligence, integrity, and literary attainment;
all proofs of talent and spiritual worth of any
kind being more or less available. To the
Electors personally I am altogether a stranger.
Of my fitness for this, or any other office, it
is indeed little that I can expect you to know.
Nevertheless, if you have traced in me any sense
for what is True and Good, and any symptom,
however faint, that I may realise in my own
literary life some fraction of what I love and
reverence in that of my Instructors, you will
not hesitate to say so; and a word from you
may go further than many words from another.
There is also a second reason why I ask this
favour of you: the wish to feel myself connected
by still more and still kinder ties with a man
to whom I must reckon it among the pleasures
of my existence that I stand in any relation
whatever. For the rest, let me assure you that
good or ill success in this canvass is little likely
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? 1828 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 65
to affect my equanimity unduly; I have studied
and lived to little purpose, if I have not, at the
age of two-and-thirty, learned in some degree
"to seek for that consistency and sequence
within myself, which external events will for
ever refuse me. " I need only add, on this sub-
ject, that the form of such a document as I
solicit is altogether unimportant; that of a
general Certificate or Testimonial, not specially
addressed at all, being as common as any other.
The main purpose of my letter is thus
accomplished; but I cannot conclude without
expressing my satisfaction at the good news
we continue to hear from Weimar, and the
interest which all of us feel in your present so
important avocations. By returning travellers
and Friends resident in Germany we often get
some tidings of you. A younger Brother of
mine, at present studying Medicine and Philo-
sophy in Mu? nchen, has the honour of an
acquaintance with your correspondent, Dr.
Sulpiz Boisseree ;l through whose means I
1 Dr. John A. Carlyle sent to his Brother extracts which Bois-
serde had allowed him to make from Goethe's Letters. These
F
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? 66 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 1828
have just learned that you proceed with un-
abated diligence in the correction of your Works:
and what especially contents me, that we are
soon to expect some further improvement, per-
haps enlargement of the Wanderjahre; and at
all events a Second Part of Faust. In the
Wanderjahre, so choice a piece of composition
does it seem to me, I confess I see not well
what improvements are to be made: so beauti-
ful, so soft, and gracefully expressive an
embodiment of all that is finest in the Philo-
sophy of Art and Life, has almost assumed the
aspect of perfection in my thoughts; every
word has meaning to me; there are sentences
which I could write in letters of gold. Enlarge-
ment, indeed, I could desire without limit: and
yet the work, as it stands, has the singular
character of a completed fragment, so lightly yet
so cunningly is it joined together, and then the
concluding chapter, with its Bleibe nicht am
Boden haftcn? as it were, scatters us all into
contain high praise of Carlyle, especially of his Life of Schiller
and German Romance; as well as an account of Goethe's
labours on the Second Part of Faust.
1 Carlyle translates it:"Keep not standing fix'd and rooted. "
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? 18z8 CARLYLE TO GOETHE 67
infinite space; and leaves the work lying like
some fair landscape of an unknown wondrous
region, bounded on this side with bright clouds,
or melting on that into the vacant azure! May
I ask if there is any hope that these clouds
will roll away, and show us the undiscovered
country that lies beneath them? Of Faust I
am taught to expect with confidence, not only a
continuation but a completion, and share in the
general curiosity of Europe to see what it is.
Will you pardon me for speaking so freely
of what I know so slightly? I may well feel
an interest in your labours such as few do. My
wife unites with me, as in all honest things, so
in this, in warmest regards to you and yours.
Nay, your Ottilie1 is not unknown to her; with
the sharp sight of female criticism she had
already detected a lady's hand in the tasteful
arrangement of that Packet, not yet under-
standing to whom it might be due. Will Ottilie
von Goethe accept the friendly and respectful
compliments of Jane Welsh Carlyle, who hopes
1 Madame von Goethe, wife of Goethe's only surviving son,
August, who died in 1830. See infra, p. 247, n.
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? 68 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
one day to know her better? For it is among our
settled wishes, I might almost say projects, some
time to see Germany, and its Art and Artists,
and the man who more than any other has made
it dear and honourable to us. We even paint
out to ourselves the too hollow day-dream of
spending next winter, or if this Election prosper,
the summer which will follow it, in Weimar!
Alas, that Space cannot be contracted nor Time
lengthened out, and so many must not meet,
whose meeting could have been desired! Mean-
while we will continue hoping; and pray that,
seen or unseen, all good may ever abide with you.
Trusting soon to have the honour of a letter,
I remain, Respected Sir, yours with affection-
ate reverence, ^ ~
THOMAS CARLYLE.
X. -- GOETHE to CARLYLE.
March 1828. ]
Wenn Beykommendes schon vor acht
Wochen Gewu? nschtes noch zu rechter Zeit
ankommt so soil es mich freuen. Das lange
Aussenbleiben zu entschuldigen mu? sste ich viel
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 69
von verketteten Arbeiten und Anforderungen,
berichten und beschreiben und ko? nnte Ihnen
doch keinen Begriff von allen den Obliegen-
heiten geben die sich durch so lange Jahre an
mir herangeha? uft und sich noch ta? glich eher
vermehren als vermindern.
Ein Ka? stchen mannigfaltigen Inhalts, abge-
gangen von hier den 20 Januar d. J. von
Hamburg durch Vermittlung der Hn. Parish
den 1 Febr. wird la? ngst in Ihren Ha? nden und
ich hoffe gut aufgenommen seyn.
Geben Sie mi einige Nachricht deshalb, wie
auch ob Gegenwa? rtiges einigermassen gefruchtet.
Gru? ssen Sie mir Ihre liebe Gattinn von
mir und den Meinigen und erhalten mir Ihre
treuen Gesinnungen wie ich sie auch lebens-
la? nglich zu hegen gewiss nicht unterlasse.
Theilnehmend u. mitwirkend,
f. W. v. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, d. 14 Ma? rz 1828.
[Translation. ]
I shall be glad if the enclosed [Testimonial],
which you asked for more than eight weeks
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? 70 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
ago, should yet arrive in good time. To excuse
my prolonged delay I should be obliged to make
a long story of an unbroken chain of labours and
engagements, and, even then, I should give you
no idea of the multitude of duties that have
been heaped upon me these many years, and
which still day by day rather increase than
diminish.
A little box containing a variety of ob-
jects, which left here on the 20th of January,
and Hamburg on the 1st of February, for-
warded thence by Messrs. Parish, must have
reached you long since, and I hope proved
welcome.
Let me have some news of it, and inform
me also whether my present enclosure prove
of any use. Greet your dear wife from me and
mine, and maintain kind feelings towards me,
such as on my part I shall certainly not cease
to cherish for you so long as I live.
In fellowship, heart and hand,
J. W. v. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, 1^th March 1828.
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 71
XI. --Goethe's Testimonial to CARLYLE.
[I4//4 March 1828. ]
Wahre Ueberzeugung geht vom Herzen
aus, das Gemu? th, der eigentliche Sitz des
Gewissens, richtet u? ber das Zula? ssige und
Unzula? ssige weit sicherer als der Verstand,
der gar manches einsehen und bestimmen wird
ohne den rechten Punct zu treffen.
Ein wohlwollender auf sich selbst merkender
Character, der sich selbst zu ehren, mit sich
selbst in Frieden zu leben wu? nscht und doch
so manche Unvollkommenheit die sein Inneres
verwirrt empfinden muss, manchen Fehler zu
bedauern hat, der die Person nach aussen com-
promittirt, wodurch er sich denn nach beyden Seiten hin beunruhigt und bestritten findet,
wird sich von diesen Beschwernissen auf alle
Weise zu befreyen suchen.
Sind nun aber diese Misshelligkeiten in
treuer Beharrlichkeit durchgefochten, hat der
Mensch erkannt, dass man sich von Leiden und
Dulden nur durch ein Streben und Thun zu
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? 72 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
erholen vermag, dass fu? r den Mangel ein
Verdienst, fu? r den Fehler ein Ersatz zu suchen
und zu finden sey, so fu? hlt er sich behaglich
als einen neuen Menschen.
Dann aber dra? ngt ihn sogleich eine ange-
borene Gu? te auch anderen gleiche Mu? he,
gleiche Beschwerden zu erleichtern, zu ersparen,
seine Mitlebenden u? ber die innere Natur, u? ber
die a? ussere Welt aufzukla? ren, zu zeigen woher
die Widerspru? che kommen, wie sie zu ver-
meiden und auszugleichen sind. Dabey aber
gesteht er dass dem allen ungeachtet im Laufe
des Lebens sowohl Aeusseres als Inneres un-
abla? ssig im Conflict befangen bleibe und wie
man sich deshalb ru? sten mu? sse ta? glich solchen
Kampf wiederholt zu bestehen.
Wie sich nun ohne Anmassung behaupten
la? sst dass die deutsche Literatur in diesem
humanen Bezug viel geleistet hat, dass durch
sie eine sittlich psychologische Richtung
durchgeht, nicht in ascetischer Aengstlichkeit,
sondern eine freye naturgema? sse Bildung und
heitere Gesetzlichkeit einleitend, so habe ich
Herrn Carlyle's bewundernswu? rdig tiefes
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 73
Studium der deutschen Literatur mit Ver-
gnu? gen zu beobachten gehabt und mit Antheil
bemerkt, wie er nicht allein das Scho? ne und
Menschliche, Gute und Grosse bey uns zu finden
gewusst, sondern auch von dem Seinigen,
reichlich heru? bergetragen und uns mit den
Scha? tzen seines Gemu? thes begabt hat. Man
muss ihm ein klares Urtheil u? ber unsere
a? sthetisch sittlichen Schriftsteller zugestehen,
und zugleich eigene Ansichten, wodurch er an den
Tag giebt dass er auf einem originalen Grund
beruhe und aus sich selbst die Erfordernisse des
Guten und Scho? nen zu entwickeln das Ver-
mo? gen habe.
In diesem Sinne darf ich ihn wohl fu? r einen
Mann halten, der eine Lehrstelle der Moral
mit Einfalt und Reinheit, mit Wirkung und
Einfluss bekleiden werde, indem er nach eigen
gebildeter Denkweise, nach angebornen Fa? hig-
keiten und erworbenen Kenntnissen, die ihm
anvertraute Jugend u? ber ihre wahrhaften
Pflichten erkla? ren, Einleitung und Antrieb der
Gemu? ther zu sittlicher Tha? tigkeit sich zum
Augenmerk nehmen, und sie dadurch einer
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? 74 GOETHE TO CARLVLE 1828
religio? sen Vollendung unabla? ssig zufu? hren
werde.
Dem Vorstehenden darf man wohl nunmehr
einige Erfahrungsbetrachtungen hinzufu? gen.
Ueber das Princip woraus die Sittlichkeit
abzuleiten sey, hat man sich nie vollkommen
vereinigen ko? nnen. Einige haben den Eigen-
nutz als Triebfeder aller sittlichen Handlungen
angenommen; andere wollten den Trieb nach
Wohlbehagen, nach Glu? ckseligkeit als einzig
wirksam finden; wieder andere setzten das
apodiktische Pflichtgebot oben an, und keine
dieser Voraussetzungen konnte allgemein aner-
kannt werden, man musste es zuletzt am
gerathensten finden aus dem ganzen Complex
der gesunden menschlichen Natur das Sittliche
so wie das Scho? ne zu entwickeln.
In Deutschland hatten wir schon vor
sechzig Jahren das Beyspiel eines glu? cklichen
Gelingens der Art. Unser Gellert, welcher
keine Anspru? che machte ein Philosoph von Fach zu seyn, aber als ein grundguter, sittlicher
und versta? ndiger Mann durchaus anerkannt
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? GOETHE TO CARLYLE 75
werden musste, las in Leipzig unter dem
gro? ssten Zulauf eine ho? chst reine, ruhige,
versta? ndige und versta? ndliche Sittenlehre mit
grossem Beyfall und mit dem besten Erfolg;
sie war den Bedu? rfnissen seiner Zeit gema? ss
und wurde erst spa? t durch den Druck bekannt.
Die Meynungen eines Philosophen greifen
sehr oft nicht in die Zeit ein, aber ein ver-
sta? ndiger wohlwollender Mann, frey von
vorgefassten Begriffen, umsichtig auf das was
eben seiner Zeit Noth thut, wird von seinen
Gefu? hlen, Erfahrungen und Kenntnissen gerade
dasjenige mittheilen was in der Epoche wo er
auftritt die Jugend sicher und folgerecht in das
gescha? ftige und thatfordernde Leben hinein-
fu? hrt. 1
J. W. F. GOETHE.
WEIMAR, den 14th Ma? rz, 1828.
[Translation. ]
True conviction proceeds from the heart;
the Soul, the real seat of the Conscience, judges
1 MS. , "hineingefuhrt. "
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? 76 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
concerning what may be permitted and what
may not be permitted far more surely than the
Understanding, which will see into and determine
many things without hitting the right mark. A well-disposed and self - observant man,
wishing to respect himself and to live at peace
with himself, and yet conscious of many an
imperfection perplexing his inner life, and
grieved by many a fault compromising him in
the eyes of others, whereby he finds himself
disturbed and opposed from within and from
without, will seek by all methods to free him-
self from such impediments.
When once, however, he has fought his way
faithfully and perseveringly through these dis-
cordant elements, and has recognised that only
by striving and by doing can he vanquish his
sorrow and suffering, that for each defect a
merit, for each fault an amends must be sought
and found, then does he feel himself at peace,
as a new man.
But then, too, does an innate good impulse
at once impel him to lighten the burden for
others and to save them from like sufferings,
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? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 77
to enlighten his fellow-creatures as to their
inner nature, and the outer world, to show
them whence contradictions come in and how
they are to be avoided and reconciled. At the
same time, however, notwithstanding all this,
he must confess that in the course of life, the
outer and the inner remain in incessant conflict,
and that one must therefore daily arm himself
to maintain the ever-renewed struggle.
It may now without arrogance be asserted
that German Literature has effected much for
humanity in this respect, that a moral-psycho-
logical tendency pervades it, introducing not
ascetic timidity, but a free culture in accordance
with nature, and in cheerful obedience to law,
and therefore I have observed with pleasure
Mr. Carlyle's admirably profound study of this
literature, and I have noticed with sympathy
how he has not only been able to discover
the beautiful and human, the good and great
in us, but has also contributed what was his
own, and has endowed us with the treasures
of his genius. It must be granted that he has
a clear judgment as to our Esthetic and Ethic
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? 78 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
Writers, and, at the same time, his own way
of looking at them, which proves that he
rests on an original foundation and has the
power to develop in himself the essentials of
what is good and beautiful.
In this sense, I may well regard him as a
man who would fill a Chair of Moral Philo-
sophy, with single-heartedness, with purity,
effect and influence; enlightening the youth en-
trusted to him as to their real duties, in accord-
ance with his disciplined thought, his natural
gifts and his acquired knowledge, aiming at
leading and urging their minds to moral activity,
and thereby steadily guiding them towards a
religious completeness.
One may now be permitted to add to the
above, some considerations based on ex-
perience.
In regard to the original principle of
morality, men have never been able com-
pletely to agree. Some have considered self-
interest as the mainspring of all moral action;
others have been disposed to consider the
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/mdp. 39015030186517 Public Domain in the United States, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-us-google
? 1828 GOETHE TO CARLYLE 79
desire for ease and comfort, for happiness, as
alone effective; others again have made the
apodictic law of duty supreme: but none of
these hypotheses having been able to gain
general acceptance, it was at last found most
advisable to deduce the development of Morals
as well as of /Esthetics out of the whole Com-
plex of healthy human nature.
We already had in Germany, more than
sixty years ago, an example of a happy suc-
cess of this kind. Our Gellert, who made no
claim to be a Philosopher, but was univer-
sally regarded as a thoroughly good, moral
and sensible man, delivered at Leipzig before
the greatest audiences, a most pure, sensible
and intelligible Course of Lectures on Moral
Philosophy, with great acceptance, and with
the best success; it was adapted to the needs
of his time, and did not become known through
the Press till later on. 1
1 "En 1758, il [Gellert] donna un cours de morale dont le
succes fut prodigieux: ce n'dtait point un traite philosophique de
morale, mais une suite de reflexions, bien enchainees et bien
prdsentdes, sur la nature et la destination de l'homme, sur
I'importance et la beaute de la vertu; toute pddanterie scolas-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:12 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/mdp. 39015030186517 Public Domain in the United States, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-us-google
? So GOETHE TO CARLYLE 1828
It often happens that the opinions of a
philosopher do not influence his own time; but
a sensible, genial man, free from preconceived
ideas, looking about him for what his time
specially needs, will communicate from his feel-
ings, experiences and knowledge, exactly what
is required, in his own epoch, to guide youth
surely and logically into practical and active
life.
J. W. v. Goethe.
Carlyle writes to his Brother John, from Craigen-
puttock, 16th April 1828:
"Goethe's certificate arrived while I was in the country:
mustard after dinner; which these rough feeders shall not
so much as smell! It also is a magnanimous Testimonial,
beautifully written, and may elsewhere avail me. The old
Sage fills a whole sheet with his Aeusserungen; of which not
quite one leaf belongs directly to me, the rest being as it
were Erkldntngsbetrachtungen. Many things are mentioned
wodurch er an den Tag giebt, dass er auf einem originalen
Grund beruhe, und die Erfordernisse des Guten und Schonen
aus sich selbst zu entwickeln das Vermogen habe; a praise
which He, could he appropriate it rightly, ought to value
more than any Professorship in these parts. To-morrow I am
tique en dtait bannie: cette maniere simple et sans pretention
de science etait alors un phdnomtne ; aussi fut-elle universelle-
ment goutee. "--Biog. Universelle. This course of Lectures
was published in 1770, the year after Gellert's death.
? ?
