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The Early Life of Goethe; Books I.-Ix. of the Autobiography
The Early Life of Goethe Books I-Ix of the Autobiography Author:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1904 Original Publisher: Hutchinson Subjects: Authors, German Literary Criticism / European / German Poetry / Continental European Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy th... more »e General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: AUTHOR'S PREFACE As a preface to the present work, which, perhaps, more than another requires one, I adduce the letter of a friend, by which so serious an undertaking was occasioned. " We have now, my dear friend, collected the twelve parts of your poetical works, and on reading them through, find much that is known, much that is unknown ; while much that had been forgotten is revived by this collection. These twelve volumes, standing before us, in uniform appearance, we cannot refrain from regarding as a whole ; and one would like to sketch therefrom some image of the author and his talents. But it cannot be denied, considering the vigour with which he began his literary career, and the length of time which has since elapsed, that a dozen small volumes must appear incommensurate. Nor can one forget that, with respect to the detached pieces, they have mostly been called forth by special occasions, and reflect particular external objects, as well as distinct grades of inward culture ; while it is equally clear, that temporary moral and aesthetic maxims and convictions prevail in them. As a whole, however, these productions remain without connection ; nay, it is often difficult to believe that they emanate from one and the same writer. " Your friends, in the meantime, have not relinquished the inquiry, and try, as they become more closely acquainted with your mode of life and thought, to guess many a riddle, to solve many a problem ; indeed, with the assistance of an old lik...« less