Carlyle, of
heartfelt
thanks.
Thomas Carlyle
org/access_use#pd-us-google
? Al'PENDIX II 337
come to Weimar, you would find eager readers here. I
send my most cordial greetings to Mrs. Carlyle, and close
with the hope of receiving a letter from you very soon.
Your faithful friend,
ECKERMANN.
The original of the following Letter is said to be
lost; in any case it is not discoverable. Eckermann printed a translation of it; and from his translation'
it is here rendered back into English.
Carlyle to ECKERMANN.
CRAIGENPUTTOCK, 6th May 1834.
MY DEAR ECKKRMANN--Your kind Letter of the loth of
November 1833 reached me at last, after our long stormy
winter, a few days ago,--a belated but highly welcome
arrival. It is painful to think how our Correspondence has
gone astray of late: your Letter of last summer never ar-
rived here and two of mine seem to have been lost. My
last from you was the Weimar Packet of the previous winter,
which, as I very well remember, reached me (by the hands
of a rustic on his way to us) one stormy day, among the
mountains, in the valley of Glenessland. I hurriedly opened
it, and in spite of the wind, took a hasty glance. I found
there the things you mention: a Letter from you, the last
part of Kunst und Alterthum, Herr von Mu? ller's interesting
Brochure, both of these with an extremely friendly inscrip-
tion in his own hand, and lastly Herr Schwerdgeburth's
1 Republished in the Grenzboten, iii. 562-564, 1885.
Z
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 338 APPENDIX II
Engraving and the Medal from Frau von Goethe. A
grateful, copious answer failed not to leave by the next post;
which, it seems, was an answer spoken to the winds. In
truth, you Weimar friends have had need of faith, and I
am most happy to see it has certainly not been wanting.
And now, dear Eckermann, will you, after such an interval,
accept yourself and present to the others, all the thanks
you can imagine me to have expressed. Say to Frau von
Goethe that her Medal, still wrapped in your handwriting and
reposited in a little Roman porphyry box . . . lies on our
mantelpiece, and daily reminds us of her, moreover that we
have not forgotten her promise of a Letter, and we hope it
is likewise remembered by herself. Say to the Geheimrath
[von Mu? ller] that I have read, and am again reading in more
than one language, his valuable piece of writing, with real
pleasure, and that I feel myself richer by his regard. And
now let us hope that no such interruption and delay in our
Correspondence will occur again as long as there is nothing
to divide us but mere physical distance: nay, I am about
to come nearer to you, if not a great deal nearer in actual
miles, much nearer in social facilities.
For this, my friend, is in all probability the last letter
you will receive from Craigenputtock. With Whitsuntide
we are to be in London; in two days I set out to make
our arrangements on the spot: and there in future we are
to have our habitation. That this will make a great differ-
ence in our external affairs you can imagine, but you can
hardly realise how very great this change will be: from the
deepest, stillest solitude in this world to the most huge,
tumultuous, never-resting Babel that ever the sun looked
down upon. The thought fills me with a nameless, vague
foreboding, but the step is unavoidable, indeed is plainly
necessary. I comfort myself, however, with the saying of
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? APPENDIX II 339
our Goethe, grounded on clear insight and ever again recur-
ring to one's mind with a new application: "We look upon
our scholars as so many swimmers who in the element
which threatened to swallow them, feel with astonishment
that they are lighter, that it bears and carries them for-
ward. "1 True, how true! Let us swim then, so long as
life lasts, in this or other water, with more room or less,
and, provided our course be right, bless our fate. I used
to call the London stream Phlegethon Fleetditch; but I find,
however delirious the condition of Literature is becoming
and has become, that it cannot be carried on by an Eng-
lishman in any other place than London. So through Phlege-
thon Fleetditch lies our way, and, with God's help, we will
follow it as blamelessly as possible. Thus henceforth the
old stone mansion of Craigenputtock is to be left deserted,
or inhabited only by men, with double-barrelled guns,
intent on shooting the moorfowl, and who know nothing
of Weimar. So now you will have to figure us in quite
another kind of environment.
Add to all these external confusions, that I have for a
long time been in a kind of spiritual crisis,--of which con-
dition you will no doubt have had experience and will know
how horrible it is to speak of it until its issue has become
clear,--and you will not think it singular that I should this
year have written less than in any of the last ten, and that
of what I have written I should have been able to publish
nothing. But when Heaven favours me, I shall still have
one and another thing to say. With German Literature in
particular I have had as good as no concern; the few books
that have reached me are nothing of more consequence
than Heyne and Borne and the like, of no worth or of less
1 Wilhetm Meisters Tr9vels (Library Edition, 1871), p. 267.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 340 APPENDIX II
than none. My Goethe on the other hand, with all that
pertains to him, grows greater and ever truer the more I
attain to clearness in myself. And yet he stands there, a
completed subject, as one might say, to which there will be
nothing further added,--like a granite promontory, high
and serene, stretching far out into the waste chaos, but not
through it. Through it the world seems to be seeking out
for itself another path, or else to have given up all zeal after
such. To me highly significant! With him and his work,
it appears that my labours in the field of German Literature
may with advantage be brought to an end, or at any rate, to a pause. And moreover, as to my own England, my
mission, in so far as it can be called my mission, may be
regarded as fulfilled; as witness merely this, that we have
had within the last twelve months no fewer than three new
translations of Faust, of which two appeared in Edinburgh
on one and the same day. In truth the fire is kindled, and
we have enough of smoke, and more than enough--there
is here and there, even a little flame, as in Mrs. Austin's
Characteristics of Goethe which you will no doubt have seen.
All this is in the common course of things; it will at some
time be all flame and clear light, on which account we will
for the present cheerfully welcome the smoke. "And do
thou take thy bellows and go elsewhere! " This is one of
the aspects of the spiritual crisis I spoke of. How it will
end, or if it is already ending, I will give you some signal
when I have succeeded in putting together, in London,
some patchwork of recent Essays; which latter are likely
for a long time to be our only vehicle of publication, at
least the only one for me, much as I hate it
.
In such an attitude towards my old favourites, you may
judge whether the Correspondence of Goethe and Zelter,
which you announce in your last communication, is likely
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? APPENDIX II 341
to be welcome to me. Zelter himself, the solid man and
mason, is a figure on whom I look with almost filial love.
That Goethe so loved him is to me another beautiful proof
of his universal geniality. The book will, I think, have
already come to England; but this I shall not learn for
certain till I get to London. Of the Nachgelassene Werke I
possess no copy and have only seen the first Section,--in
which I read the continuation of Faust, with deeper reflec-
tions than I have yet been able to express. Many thanks
for your kind offer to send it to me; I shall receive the
packet with pleasure, no matter what the cost of carriage
may be. The whole of the Werke which I have here, are
a present from him; and I should like to have all the
volumes uniform. But in any case I should think the cost of
carriage will not be much. What our address in London
will be we do not yet know; meanwhile, that of Messrs.
Black, Young and Young, Foreign Booksellers, Tavistock
Street, Covent Garden, London, will always find me; and
for everything, except post-letters, is probably the best.
They have an agent in Leipzig (a certain Herbig, I think,
probably known to your Weimar Bookseller); once in his
hands any parcel will reach me in a few weeks.
When we have cast anchor in London you shall hear
from me again. Let us hope that the present letter may
not go astray also!
If you think of writing to me soon, as I hope you will
do, the above address may be employed, or better still, the
following: " Care of Mrs. Austin, 5 Orme Square,Bayswater,
London. " Tell me, I beg of you, fully and minutely, what
you are about and what your outlooks are. Are we not to
see you face to face in the modern Babel? A bedroom and
a hearty welcome will await you there. From your letters
l gather that I shall see you. --You to^ nie also of Con-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 342 APPENDIX II
versations with Goethe, which you were about to write
down. Falk, I should think, was a failure, almost a
scandal: but yours will certainly be one of the most
interesting books ever written. Do you know our English
UosuieH's Life of Johnson? If not, read it. There
are not ten books of the eighteenth century so valuable.
Farewell, my friend. The lady returns your kind greeting.
Think of me as yours most faithfully,
T. Carlyle.
P. S. -- London, 14th May. --Have arrived safe; expect
amongst other things to see Mrs. Jameson here, and to
hear from her a great deal about Weimar. No house found
as yet. Ora pro nobis.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? SUMMARY AND INDEX
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? ? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF CONTENTS OF
EACH LETTER
Carlyle to Goethe, 24th June 1824. --Permit me, in soliciting
your acceptance of this Translation (Wilhelm Meister's Ap-
prenticeship), to return you my sincere thanks for the profit
which, in common with many millions, I have derived from
the Original. I have long hoped that I might one day see
you, and pour out, as before a Father, the woes and wander-
ings of my heart. (Pages I, 2. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 30th October. -- Accept my sincere
thanks for your hearty sympathy in my literary work. Per-
haps I may hereafter come to know much of you. I send
copy of a set of poems which you can hardly have seen. (2-5. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 15th April 1827. --Above two years ago
I received your kind letter and present, which I value with a
regard which can belong to nothing else. If I have been
delivered from darkness into any measure of light, it is to you
more than any other man that I am indebted. I now take
the liberty to offer you some further poor products of my
endeavours (Schiller and German Romance). Ere long your
name and doctrines will be English as well as German. If
there be any gift in me, I may yet send you some work of my
own. My young wife, who sympathises with me in most
things, agrees also in my admiration of you; and begs you to
accept the accompanying purse, the work of her own hands.
May I hope to hear from you again? (6-11. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 1 7^ May. --Let me hastily announce the
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 346 SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
arrival of your welcome packet and kind letter. Most sincere
thanks to the dear husband and wife. A packet will speedily
be despatched in testimony of my sympathetic interest. (l 1,12. )
The same, 2oth July. --Let me, first of all, commend most
highly your Biography of Schiller. It is evident that the
efforts of the best writers in all nations are now being directed
to what is universal in humanity. Every translator is a kind
of middle-man in this universal spiritual commerce. Gratify
me soon with some reply; and permit me to greet your dear
wife, for whom I give myself the pleasure of adding some
trifles, in return for her charming gift. Accept my thanks
for the pains expended on my Works. (13-27. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 2oth August. --No royal present could
have gratified us more than yours. This little drawing-room
may now be said to be full of you. For your ideas on the
tendency of modern poetry to promote freer intercourse among
nations, I must also thank you. You are kind enough to
inquire about my bygone life; and often I have longed to pour
out the whole history before you. I was once an unbeliever,
not in religion only ; but now, thank Heaven, all this is altered.
I can now look forward with cheerfulness to a life spent in
Literature, hoping little and fearing little from the world.
Postscript, by Mrs.
Carlyle, of heartfelt thanks. (30-35. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 1st January 1828. --Another packet of
books, etc. , goes to you, via Hamburg. What may be the
merit of Des Voeux's English translation of Tasso? It is
precisely the bearing of an orignal to a translation, which most
clearly indicates the relations of nation to nation. Be so good
as give your dear wife the parcel addressed to her. I send
also six Medals, two for Sir Walter Scott; the others please
distribute to my well-wishers. Am greatly interested in the
English appreciation of, and contact with, German Literature.
"Little children, love one another! " (36-45. )
The same, I5th January. --Message to Sir Walter Scott,
and admiration of his Life of Napoleon. Cultured society in
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 347
Weimar: such free bondage perhaps hardly exists anywhere
else. Contents of parcel sent. (48-59. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 17th January. --I have now to solicit a
favour of a more practical, and as I may justly fear, of a more
questionable nature; that of a testimonial of fitness for the
Professorship of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews. Have just
heard of your intended enlargement of the Wanderjahre, but
confess I see not well what improvements could be made.
Will Ottilie von Goethe accept the friendly compliments ot
Jane Welsh Carlyle? We even paint day-dreams of spending
next winter, or the following summer, in Weimar. (63-68. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 14th March. --I shall be glad if the
enclosed (the Testimonial), unfortunately delayed, should arrive
in time. A little box was sent from here on the 2oth of
January, and I hope proved welcome. Let me have news
of it, and greet your dear wife from me and mine. (68-70. )
Carlyle to Goethe, l 8th April. --The box was long delayed
by the severe winter, but is now here in perfect safety: our
best thanks are heartily yours. I have already written to Sir
Walter Scott, announcing your delightful message. Within
the last six years, the readers of your language here must have
increased tenfold. Sorry am I to tell you that Des Voeux's
translation of Tasso is unequivocally trivial: instances of its
insufficiency. I shall never cease to value your Testimonial,
although for the present occasion it was too late. A Captain
Skinner called here with your card, and delighted us by sing-
ing Kennst du das Land. (81-90. )
Mrs. Carlyle to Goethe, loth June. --I embrace the oppor-
tunity of sending you by Mr. May the continued assurance of
our affection and grateful regard. (91. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 15th June. ---Your richly filled letter
reached me in due time. Mr. Skinner is again with us, and
gives us good and pleasant news of you and your surroundings.
Perhaps never before did one nation take such pains to under-
stand another as Scotland now does in respect to Germany.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 34>> SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
The unlucky Werner. Am greatly pleased with your treatment
of Helena. Dr. Eckermann almost one of my family. The
translation of Wallenstein has made a quite peculiar impression
upon me: pray tell me the name of the translator. A trans-
lator works not only for his own nation, but also for the one
from whose language he translates. A letter enclosed from
the good Eckermann. Alas, as I close this letter, there comes
upon us the sad news of our excellent Prince's death. (91-
104. )
Eckermann to Carlyle, 1 5lh June. --You live much in our
thoughts at this moment, through your criticism of Helena.
French and Russian criticisms of the same. Your translation
convinced me, for the first time, that it may be possible to
render Faust perfectly in a foreign language. It could, I am
sure, find no better translator than yourself. You will go on
prospering in your studies, and England will owe you gratitude
for them. I hope soon to hear direct from you how you and
your amiable lady have settled yourselves in your new home
in the country. (104-111. )
Goethe to Carlyle (continuation of preceding letter). --
Ottilie sends her most cordial greetings to Mrs. Carlyle. A
piece of embroidery should have gone with this despatch. We Germans, like you, are occupying ourselves with foreign litera-
ture. Greet your dear wife from me, and give me soon some
clear idea of your present abode (Craigenputtock). (1 I 1-1 I 5. )
The same, 8th August. -- The most sad calamity has
befallen us in the death of our estimable Prince, as I have
already announced. You will sympathise with me in the con-
dition in which, after more than fifty years of life together, I
am left by the loss. Meanwhile it is a necessity diligently to
maintain all my remaining connections with life. Fare you
well, and let me hear from you soon. (115-117. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 25th September 1828. --The book-parcel
arrived last night: all in perfect safety, Books, Music, and
Manuscript. One dainty little article I already notice, your
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 349
translation of our ancient Scottish "Schwank," Get up and bar
the door. Scotland is very rich in popular songs. In trying
bereavements, when old friends are snatched away from you,
it must be a consolation to think that, neither in this age nor
in any other, can you ever be alone. Sir Walter Scott received
the Medals several months ago. George Moir is the name of
the translator of Wallenstein. Articles on German Literature.
Burns. Description of Craigenputtock. Jane unites with me
in affectionate respects to your Ottilie, whom in many a day-
dream we still hope to see and know in her Father's circle.
Pray assure Dr. Eckermann of my regard, and purpose to
express it directly. (117-127. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 25th June 1829. --Were an echo to
reach you as often as we think and speak of you, you would
often be aware of a friendly presence. I am now addressing
a written conversation from my "fireside" to yours. When
I visit distant friends in thought, I do not like to let my
imagination wander in space. I therefore beg for myself a
sketch of your dwelling and its surroundings. With your
countryman, Burns, I am sufficiently acquainted to prize him,
but the Scotch dialect is very perplexing to us. I now
announce the speedy despatch of a box, containing the Fourth
and Fifth Sections of my Works, with something pleasant from
the ladies of my household. (127-138. ) Eckermann to Carlyle, 2d July. --Your valued letter of
December last gave me much pleasure. Your article on
Goethe in the Foreign Review has excited great interest in
Germany. I could say a great deal about the new and
extended edition of the Wanderjahre. If you had courage to
pull your volume to pieces, and, on this new basis, reconstruct
the whole, one might hope your country would be grateful to
you. Goethe enjoys most excellent health, and we have the
joyful hope that he may live and work amongst us for many
years to come. (139-145. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 6th July. --The parcel already announced
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 3JO SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
is only now being despatched. It contains the final proof-
sheets of a translation of your Life of Schiller. On the 28th
of August I beg you quietly to keep my eightieth birthday.
At the bottom of the little box there is lying a gift sent by
the ladies of my family, with the friendliest feelings. (145-
151. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 3d November. --Your much prized letter
and packet have both arrived in perfect safety and entireness.
Six years ago, the possibility of a Letter, of a Present from
Goethe to me, would have seemed little less wondrous and
dreamlike than from Shakespeare or Homer. My wife bids
me say that she intends to read your entire Works this winter:
she sends her best thanks to your Ottilie for the beautiful
gift. Thanks also for the volume sent, in which I can already
discover no little matter for reflection. The Farbenlehre I
have never seen, and shall thankfully accept and study. I
still remember that it was the desire to read Werner's Miner-
alogical Doctrines in the original, that first set me on studying
German. A little packet, chiefly for your Ottilie, is getting
ready. In regard to my employments, I am still but an
Essayist, and longing more than ever to be a Writer in a far
better sense. (152-159. )
The same, 22d December. --The promised packet at length
sets out, with true wishes on our part that it may find you
happy and busy, and bring kind remembrances of friends that
love you. The Craigenputtock Sketches are from the pencil
of Mr. Moir, the translator of Wallenstein, to whom I have
presented the last of the four Medals. The portfolio is of
my wife's manufacture, who sends among other love-tokens a
lock of her hair. She begs and hopes that you will send her
a lock of yours in return. The Cawper's Poems you are to
accept as a New-year's gift from me. A knowledge of German
literature is fast spreading over all the domains of the English
tongue. Have almost decided to write a History of German
Literature; but still purpose to try something infinitely greater.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 351
Alas, the huge formless Chaos is here, but no creative voice to
say, " Let there be light. " (159-165. )
Carlyle to Eckermann, 20th March 1830. --No spot on
the globe is at present so significant to me as Weimar. We are still speculating on a winter's residence there. A little
box recently despatched. Was shocked to hear of Mu? liner's
death. Increasing attention amongst us to the Literature of
neighbouring nations. My projected History of German
Literature. A few words from you might save me much
groping. My wife sends her kind regards, and continued hope
of one day seeing you. (165-173. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 13th April. --The precious casket, after
long delay owing to the extreme severity of the winter, at last
arrived safely. I will mention first the incomparable lock of
hair. I did not need to touch my skull to become aware that
only stubble was left there. The impossibility of making the
desired return smote my heart. The elegant Scotch Bonnet,
I can assure you, has given much pleasure. Ottilie sends her
most grateful thanks. Let me announce the despatch of another
parcel in return, which will contain, with other books, the final
proof-sheets of the translation of your Schiller. I trust you
will not regard the use I have made of some portions of our
correspondence as an indiscretion. Tell me how you propose
to introduce German literature amongst your people, and I will
gladly give you my thoughts on the sequence of its epochs. Dr.
Eckermann is making a journey south with my son. (173-184. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 23d May. --Our long-cherished hope of
seeing you in person now assumes some faint shape of possi-
bility. We have been pondering together over that glorious
Mahrchen of yours, and I have promised my wife some day to
write a commentary on it. In regard to my History of Ger-
man Literature, I need not say that no words of yours can be
other than valuable.
? Al'PENDIX II 337
come to Weimar, you would find eager readers here. I
send my most cordial greetings to Mrs. Carlyle, and close
with the hope of receiving a letter from you very soon.
Your faithful friend,
ECKERMANN.
The original of the following Letter is said to be
lost; in any case it is not discoverable. Eckermann printed a translation of it; and from his translation'
it is here rendered back into English.
Carlyle to ECKERMANN.
CRAIGENPUTTOCK, 6th May 1834.
MY DEAR ECKKRMANN--Your kind Letter of the loth of
November 1833 reached me at last, after our long stormy
winter, a few days ago,--a belated but highly welcome
arrival. It is painful to think how our Correspondence has
gone astray of late: your Letter of last summer never ar-
rived here and two of mine seem to have been lost. My
last from you was the Weimar Packet of the previous winter,
which, as I very well remember, reached me (by the hands
of a rustic on his way to us) one stormy day, among the
mountains, in the valley of Glenessland. I hurriedly opened
it, and in spite of the wind, took a hasty glance. I found
there the things you mention: a Letter from you, the last
part of Kunst und Alterthum, Herr von Mu? ller's interesting
Brochure, both of these with an extremely friendly inscrip-
tion in his own hand, and lastly Herr Schwerdgeburth's
1 Republished in the Grenzboten, iii. 562-564, 1885.
Z
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 338 APPENDIX II
Engraving and the Medal from Frau von Goethe. A
grateful, copious answer failed not to leave by the next post;
which, it seems, was an answer spoken to the winds. In
truth, you Weimar friends have had need of faith, and I
am most happy to see it has certainly not been wanting.
And now, dear Eckermann, will you, after such an interval,
accept yourself and present to the others, all the thanks
you can imagine me to have expressed. Say to Frau von
Goethe that her Medal, still wrapped in your handwriting and
reposited in a little Roman porphyry box . . . lies on our
mantelpiece, and daily reminds us of her, moreover that we
have not forgotten her promise of a Letter, and we hope it
is likewise remembered by herself. Say to the Geheimrath
[von Mu? ller] that I have read, and am again reading in more
than one language, his valuable piece of writing, with real
pleasure, and that I feel myself richer by his regard. And
now let us hope that no such interruption and delay in our
Correspondence will occur again as long as there is nothing
to divide us but mere physical distance: nay, I am about
to come nearer to you, if not a great deal nearer in actual
miles, much nearer in social facilities.
For this, my friend, is in all probability the last letter
you will receive from Craigenputtock. With Whitsuntide
we are to be in London; in two days I set out to make
our arrangements on the spot: and there in future we are
to have our habitation. That this will make a great differ-
ence in our external affairs you can imagine, but you can
hardly realise how very great this change will be: from the
deepest, stillest solitude in this world to the most huge,
tumultuous, never-resting Babel that ever the sun looked
down upon. The thought fills me with a nameless, vague
foreboding, but the step is unavoidable, indeed is plainly
necessary. I comfort myself, however, with the saying of
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? APPENDIX II 339
our Goethe, grounded on clear insight and ever again recur-
ring to one's mind with a new application: "We look upon
our scholars as so many swimmers who in the element
which threatened to swallow them, feel with astonishment
that they are lighter, that it bears and carries them for-
ward. "1 True, how true! Let us swim then, so long as
life lasts, in this or other water, with more room or less,
and, provided our course be right, bless our fate. I used
to call the London stream Phlegethon Fleetditch; but I find,
however delirious the condition of Literature is becoming
and has become, that it cannot be carried on by an Eng-
lishman in any other place than London. So through Phlege-
thon Fleetditch lies our way, and, with God's help, we will
follow it as blamelessly as possible. Thus henceforth the
old stone mansion of Craigenputtock is to be left deserted,
or inhabited only by men, with double-barrelled guns,
intent on shooting the moorfowl, and who know nothing
of Weimar. So now you will have to figure us in quite
another kind of environment.
Add to all these external confusions, that I have for a
long time been in a kind of spiritual crisis,--of which con-
dition you will no doubt have had experience and will know
how horrible it is to speak of it until its issue has become
clear,--and you will not think it singular that I should this
year have written less than in any of the last ten, and that
of what I have written I should have been able to publish
nothing. But when Heaven favours me, I shall still have
one and another thing to say. With German Literature in
particular I have had as good as no concern; the few books
that have reached me are nothing of more consequence
than Heyne and Borne and the like, of no worth or of less
1 Wilhetm Meisters Tr9vels (Library Edition, 1871), p. 267.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 340 APPENDIX II
than none. My Goethe on the other hand, with all that
pertains to him, grows greater and ever truer the more I
attain to clearness in myself. And yet he stands there, a
completed subject, as one might say, to which there will be
nothing further added,--like a granite promontory, high
and serene, stretching far out into the waste chaos, but not
through it. Through it the world seems to be seeking out
for itself another path, or else to have given up all zeal after
such. To me highly significant! With him and his work,
it appears that my labours in the field of German Literature
may with advantage be brought to an end, or at any rate, to a pause. And moreover, as to my own England, my
mission, in so far as it can be called my mission, may be
regarded as fulfilled; as witness merely this, that we have
had within the last twelve months no fewer than three new
translations of Faust, of which two appeared in Edinburgh
on one and the same day. In truth the fire is kindled, and
we have enough of smoke, and more than enough--there
is here and there, even a little flame, as in Mrs. Austin's
Characteristics of Goethe which you will no doubt have seen.
All this is in the common course of things; it will at some
time be all flame and clear light, on which account we will
for the present cheerfully welcome the smoke. "And do
thou take thy bellows and go elsewhere! " This is one of
the aspects of the spiritual crisis I spoke of. How it will
end, or if it is already ending, I will give you some signal
when I have succeeded in putting together, in London,
some patchwork of recent Essays; which latter are likely
for a long time to be our only vehicle of publication, at
least the only one for me, much as I hate it
.
In such an attitude towards my old favourites, you may
judge whether the Correspondence of Goethe and Zelter,
which you announce in your last communication, is likely
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? APPENDIX II 341
to be welcome to me. Zelter himself, the solid man and
mason, is a figure on whom I look with almost filial love.
That Goethe so loved him is to me another beautiful proof
of his universal geniality. The book will, I think, have
already come to England; but this I shall not learn for
certain till I get to London. Of the Nachgelassene Werke I
possess no copy and have only seen the first Section,--in
which I read the continuation of Faust, with deeper reflec-
tions than I have yet been able to express. Many thanks
for your kind offer to send it to me; I shall receive the
packet with pleasure, no matter what the cost of carriage
may be. The whole of the Werke which I have here, are
a present from him; and I should like to have all the
volumes uniform. But in any case I should think the cost of
carriage will not be much. What our address in London
will be we do not yet know; meanwhile, that of Messrs.
Black, Young and Young, Foreign Booksellers, Tavistock
Street, Covent Garden, London, will always find me; and
for everything, except post-letters, is probably the best.
They have an agent in Leipzig (a certain Herbig, I think,
probably known to your Weimar Bookseller); once in his
hands any parcel will reach me in a few weeks.
When we have cast anchor in London you shall hear
from me again. Let us hope that the present letter may
not go astray also!
If you think of writing to me soon, as I hope you will
do, the above address may be employed, or better still, the
following: " Care of Mrs. Austin, 5 Orme Square,Bayswater,
London. " Tell me, I beg of you, fully and minutely, what
you are about and what your outlooks are. Are we not to
see you face to face in the modern Babel? A bedroom and
a hearty welcome will await you there. From your letters
l gather that I shall see you. --You to^ nie also of Con-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 342 APPENDIX II
versations with Goethe, which you were about to write
down. Falk, I should think, was a failure, almost a
scandal: but yours will certainly be one of the most
interesting books ever written. Do you know our English
UosuieH's Life of Johnson? If not, read it. There
are not ten books of the eighteenth century so valuable.
Farewell, my friend. The lady returns your kind greeting.
Think of me as yours most faithfully,
T. Carlyle.
P. S. -- London, 14th May. --Have arrived safe; expect
amongst other things to see Mrs. Jameson here, and to
hear from her a great deal about Weimar. No house found
as yet. Ora pro nobis.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? SUMMARY AND INDEX
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? ? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF CONTENTS OF
EACH LETTER
Carlyle to Goethe, 24th June 1824. --Permit me, in soliciting
your acceptance of this Translation (Wilhelm Meister's Ap-
prenticeship), to return you my sincere thanks for the profit
which, in common with many millions, I have derived from
the Original. I have long hoped that I might one day see
you, and pour out, as before a Father, the woes and wander-
ings of my heart. (Pages I, 2. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 30th October. -- Accept my sincere
thanks for your hearty sympathy in my literary work. Per-
haps I may hereafter come to know much of you. I send
copy of a set of poems which you can hardly have seen. (2-5. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 15th April 1827. --Above two years ago
I received your kind letter and present, which I value with a
regard which can belong to nothing else. If I have been
delivered from darkness into any measure of light, it is to you
more than any other man that I am indebted. I now take
the liberty to offer you some further poor products of my
endeavours (Schiller and German Romance). Ere long your
name and doctrines will be English as well as German. If
there be any gift in me, I may yet send you some work of my
own. My young wife, who sympathises with me in most
things, agrees also in my admiration of you; and begs you to
accept the accompanying purse, the work of her own hands.
May I hope to hear from you again? (6-11. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 1 7^ May. --Let me hastily announce the
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 346 SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
arrival of your welcome packet and kind letter. Most sincere
thanks to the dear husband and wife. A packet will speedily
be despatched in testimony of my sympathetic interest. (l 1,12. )
The same, 2oth July. --Let me, first of all, commend most
highly your Biography of Schiller. It is evident that the
efforts of the best writers in all nations are now being directed
to what is universal in humanity. Every translator is a kind
of middle-man in this universal spiritual commerce. Gratify
me soon with some reply; and permit me to greet your dear
wife, for whom I give myself the pleasure of adding some
trifles, in return for her charming gift. Accept my thanks
for the pains expended on my Works. (13-27. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 2oth August. --No royal present could
have gratified us more than yours. This little drawing-room
may now be said to be full of you. For your ideas on the
tendency of modern poetry to promote freer intercourse among
nations, I must also thank you. You are kind enough to
inquire about my bygone life; and often I have longed to pour
out the whole history before you. I was once an unbeliever,
not in religion only ; but now, thank Heaven, all this is altered.
I can now look forward with cheerfulness to a life spent in
Literature, hoping little and fearing little from the world.
Postscript, by Mrs.
Carlyle, of heartfelt thanks. (30-35. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 1st January 1828. --Another packet of
books, etc. , goes to you, via Hamburg. What may be the
merit of Des Voeux's English translation of Tasso? It is
precisely the bearing of an orignal to a translation, which most
clearly indicates the relations of nation to nation. Be so good
as give your dear wife the parcel addressed to her. I send
also six Medals, two for Sir Walter Scott; the others please
distribute to my well-wishers. Am greatly interested in the
English appreciation of, and contact with, German Literature.
"Little children, love one another! " (36-45. )
The same, I5th January. --Message to Sir Walter Scott,
and admiration of his Life of Napoleon. Cultured society in
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 347
Weimar: such free bondage perhaps hardly exists anywhere
else. Contents of parcel sent. (48-59. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 17th January. --I have now to solicit a
favour of a more practical, and as I may justly fear, of a more
questionable nature; that of a testimonial of fitness for the
Professorship of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews. Have just
heard of your intended enlargement of the Wanderjahre, but
confess I see not well what improvements could be made.
Will Ottilie von Goethe accept the friendly compliments ot
Jane Welsh Carlyle? We even paint day-dreams of spending
next winter, or the following summer, in Weimar. (63-68. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 14th March. --I shall be glad if the
enclosed (the Testimonial), unfortunately delayed, should arrive
in time. A little box was sent from here on the 2oth of
January, and I hope proved welcome. Let me have news
of it, and greet your dear wife from me and mine. (68-70. )
Carlyle to Goethe, l 8th April. --The box was long delayed
by the severe winter, but is now here in perfect safety: our
best thanks are heartily yours. I have already written to Sir
Walter Scott, announcing your delightful message. Within
the last six years, the readers of your language here must have
increased tenfold. Sorry am I to tell you that Des Voeux's
translation of Tasso is unequivocally trivial: instances of its
insufficiency. I shall never cease to value your Testimonial,
although for the present occasion it was too late. A Captain
Skinner called here with your card, and delighted us by sing-
ing Kennst du das Land. (81-90. )
Mrs. Carlyle to Goethe, loth June. --I embrace the oppor-
tunity of sending you by Mr. May the continued assurance of
our affection and grateful regard. (91. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 15th June. ---Your richly filled letter
reached me in due time. Mr. Skinner is again with us, and
gives us good and pleasant news of you and your surroundings.
Perhaps never before did one nation take such pains to under-
stand another as Scotland now does in respect to Germany.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 34>> SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
The unlucky Werner. Am greatly pleased with your treatment
of Helena. Dr. Eckermann almost one of my family. The
translation of Wallenstein has made a quite peculiar impression
upon me: pray tell me the name of the translator. A trans-
lator works not only for his own nation, but also for the one
from whose language he translates. A letter enclosed from
the good Eckermann. Alas, as I close this letter, there comes
upon us the sad news of our excellent Prince's death. (91-
104. )
Eckermann to Carlyle, 1 5lh June. --You live much in our
thoughts at this moment, through your criticism of Helena.
French and Russian criticisms of the same. Your translation
convinced me, for the first time, that it may be possible to
render Faust perfectly in a foreign language. It could, I am
sure, find no better translator than yourself. You will go on
prospering in your studies, and England will owe you gratitude
for them. I hope soon to hear direct from you how you and
your amiable lady have settled yourselves in your new home
in the country. (104-111. )
Goethe to Carlyle (continuation of preceding letter). --
Ottilie sends her most cordial greetings to Mrs. Carlyle. A
piece of embroidery should have gone with this despatch. We Germans, like you, are occupying ourselves with foreign litera-
ture. Greet your dear wife from me, and give me soon some
clear idea of your present abode (Craigenputtock). (1 I 1-1 I 5. )
The same, 8th August. -- The most sad calamity has
befallen us in the death of our estimable Prince, as I have
already announced. You will sympathise with me in the con-
dition in which, after more than fifty years of life together, I
am left by the loss. Meanwhile it is a necessity diligently to
maintain all my remaining connections with life. Fare you
well, and let me hear from you soon. (115-117. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 25th September 1828. --The book-parcel
arrived last night: all in perfect safety, Books, Music, and
Manuscript. One dainty little article I already notice, your
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 349
translation of our ancient Scottish "Schwank," Get up and bar
the door. Scotland is very rich in popular songs. In trying
bereavements, when old friends are snatched away from you,
it must be a consolation to think that, neither in this age nor
in any other, can you ever be alone. Sir Walter Scott received
the Medals several months ago. George Moir is the name of
the translator of Wallenstein. Articles on German Literature.
Burns. Description of Craigenputtock. Jane unites with me
in affectionate respects to your Ottilie, whom in many a day-
dream we still hope to see and know in her Father's circle.
Pray assure Dr. Eckermann of my regard, and purpose to
express it directly. (117-127. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 25th June 1829. --Were an echo to
reach you as often as we think and speak of you, you would
often be aware of a friendly presence. I am now addressing
a written conversation from my "fireside" to yours. When
I visit distant friends in thought, I do not like to let my
imagination wander in space. I therefore beg for myself a
sketch of your dwelling and its surroundings. With your
countryman, Burns, I am sufficiently acquainted to prize him,
but the Scotch dialect is very perplexing to us. I now
announce the speedy despatch of a box, containing the Fourth
and Fifth Sections of my Works, with something pleasant from
the ladies of my household. (127-138. ) Eckermann to Carlyle, 2d July. --Your valued letter of
December last gave me much pleasure. Your article on
Goethe in the Foreign Review has excited great interest in
Germany. I could say a great deal about the new and
extended edition of the Wanderjahre. If you had courage to
pull your volume to pieces, and, on this new basis, reconstruct
the whole, one might hope your country would be grateful to
you. Goethe enjoys most excellent health, and we have the
joyful hope that he may live and work amongst us for many
years to come. (139-145. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 6th July. --The parcel already announced
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? 3JO SUMMARY OF THE CHIEF
is only now being despatched. It contains the final proof-
sheets of a translation of your Life of Schiller. On the 28th
of August I beg you quietly to keep my eightieth birthday.
At the bottom of the little box there is lying a gift sent by
the ladies of my family, with the friendliest feelings. (145-
151. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 3d November. --Your much prized letter
and packet have both arrived in perfect safety and entireness.
Six years ago, the possibility of a Letter, of a Present from
Goethe to me, would have seemed little less wondrous and
dreamlike than from Shakespeare or Homer. My wife bids
me say that she intends to read your entire Works this winter:
she sends her best thanks to your Ottilie for the beautiful
gift. Thanks also for the volume sent, in which I can already
discover no little matter for reflection. The Farbenlehre I
have never seen, and shall thankfully accept and study. I
still remember that it was the desire to read Werner's Miner-
alogical Doctrines in the original, that first set me on studying
German. A little packet, chiefly for your Ottilie, is getting
ready. In regard to my employments, I am still but an
Essayist, and longing more than ever to be a Writer in a far
better sense. (152-159. )
The same, 22d December. --The promised packet at length
sets out, with true wishes on our part that it may find you
happy and busy, and bring kind remembrances of friends that
love you. The Craigenputtock Sketches are from the pencil
of Mr. Moir, the translator of Wallenstein, to whom I have
presented the last of the four Medals. The portfolio is of
my wife's manufacture, who sends among other love-tokens a
lock of her hair. She begs and hopes that you will send her
a lock of yours in return. The Cawper's Poems you are to
accept as a New-year's gift from me. A knowledge of German
literature is fast spreading over all the domains of the English
tongue. Have almost decided to write a History of German
Literature; but still purpose to try something infinitely greater.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:13 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
? CONTENTS OF EACH LETTER 351
Alas, the huge formless Chaos is here, but no creative voice to
say, " Let there be light. " (159-165. )
Carlyle to Eckermann, 20th March 1830. --No spot on
the globe is at present so significant to me as Weimar. We are still speculating on a winter's residence there. A little
box recently despatched. Was shocked to hear of Mu? liner's
death. Increasing attention amongst us to the Literature of
neighbouring nations. My projected History of German
Literature. A few words from you might save me much
groping. My wife sends her kind regards, and continued hope
of one day seeing you. (165-173. )
Goethe to Carlyle, 13th April. --The precious casket, after
long delay owing to the extreme severity of the winter, at last
arrived safely. I will mention first the incomparable lock of
hair. I did not need to touch my skull to become aware that
only stubble was left there. The impossibility of making the
desired return smote my heart. The elegant Scotch Bonnet,
I can assure you, has given much pleasure. Ottilie sends her
most grateful thanks. Let me announce the despatch of another
parcel in return, which will contain, with other books, the final
proof-sheets of the translation of your Schiller. I trust you
will not regard the use I have made of some portions of our
correspondence as an indiscretion. Tell me how you propose
to introduce German literature amongst your people, and I will
gladly give you my thoughts on the sequence of its epochs. Dr.
Eckermann is making a journey south with my son. (173-184. )
Carlyle to Goethe, 23d May. --Our long-cherished hope of
seeing you in person now assumes some faint shape of possi-
bility. We have been pondering together over that glorious
Mahrchen of yours, and I have promised my wife some day to
write a commentary on it. In regard to my History of Ger-
man Literature, I need not say that no words of yours can be
other than valuable.
