The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Volume Ii Part 51

[Footnote 12: The German phrase "Freund des Bestehenden," which, for want of a better expression, has been rendered above "friend of the powers that be," literally means "friend of the permanent," and was used by the detractors of Goethe to denote the "enemy of the progressive."--_Trans._]

[Footnote 13: Poetry and Truth, the t.i.tle of Goethe's autobiography.--Trans.]

[Footnote 14: This, doubtless, means the "Deformed Transformed," and the fact that this poem was not published till January, 1824, rendering it probable that Goethe had not actually seen it, accounts for the inaccuracy of the expression.--Trans.]

[Footnote 15: It need scarcely be mentioned that this is the name given to a collection of sarcastic epigrams by Goethe and Schiller.--Trans.]

[Footnote 16: "Die Naturliche Tochter" (the Natural Daughter).--_Trans._]

[Footnote 17: Vide p. 185, where a remark is made on the word _nature_, as applied to a person.--_Trans._]

[Footnote 18: These plays were intended to be in the Shakesperian style, and Goethe means that by writing them he freed himself from Shakespeare, just as by writing _Werther_ he freed himself from thoughts of suicide.--_Trans._]

[Footnote 19: This doubtless refers to the Heath country in which Eckermann was born.--Trans.]

[Footnote 20: This poem is simply ent.i.tled "Ballade," and begins "Herein, O du Guter! du Alter herein!"--_Trans_.]

[Footnote 21: A It must be borne in mind that this was said before the appearance of "Robert le Diable," which was first produced in Paris, in November, 1831.--_Trans._]

[Footnote 22: B That is, the second act of the second part of "Faust,"

which was not published entire till after Goethe's death.--_Trans._]

[Footnote 23: In the original book this conversation follows immediately the one of December 21, 1831, and with the remainder of the book is prefaced thus:--"The following I noted down shortly afterwards (that is, after they took place) from memory."--Trans.]

[Footnote 24: A distinguished die-cutter in Rome.]

[Footnote 25: Giovanni Hamerani was papal die-cutter from 1675 to 1705.]

[Footnote 26: A C. A. Bottiger had surrendered his position as director of the Gymnasium of Weimar and had gone to Dresden, while Heinrich Voss (1779-1822), an enthusiastic young admirer of Goethe, had come to the gymnasium.]

[Footnote 27: An a.s.sociation of civil officials of Mannheim had intrusted to Goethe a sum of money to erect a memorial to Count von Dalberg, but the plan was never carried out.]

[Footnote 28: a Theodor Korner (1791-1813), at that time a dramatist in Vienna, and closely connected with the Humboldt family through Wilhelm's friendship for Christian G. Korner.]

[Footnote 29: J. H. Voss, although his translation of aeschylus was not printed until 1826.]

[Footnote 30: Humboldt's translation of the _Agamemnon of aeschylus_.]

[Footnote 31: Voss and his son.]

[Footnote 32: August, who went to Italy, in March, 1830, and died there eight days after this letter was written.]

[Footnote 33: Schiller died May 9, 1805]

[Footnote 34: By Calderon]

[Footnote 35: Zelter's eldest son had shot himself.]