Mit Henry Crabb Robinson

Voigt and I left Jena before seven, and in three hours were at Weimar. Having left our cards at Goethe's dwelling-house, we proceeded to the gardenhouse in the park, and were at once admitted to the great man, I was aware, by the present of medals from him, that I was not forgotten, and I had heard from Hall and others that I was expected. Yet I was oppressed by the kindness of his reception. We found the old man in his cottage in the [103] park, to which he retires for solitude from his town house, where are his son, his daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren ..... Twenty-seven years ago ..... he never honoured me with a look after the first haughty bow; now he was all courtesy. »Well, you are come at last,« he said, »we have waited years for you. How is my old friend Knebel? You have given him youth again; I have no doubt.« In his room .... hung two large engravings: one, the well-known panoramic view of Rome; the other, the old square engraving, an imaginary restoration of the ancient public buildings ..... He spoke of the old engraving as what delighted him, as showing what the scholars thought in the fifteenth century. The opinion of scholars is now changed. In like manner he thought favourably of the panoramic view, though it is incorrect, including objects which cannot be seen from the same spot.

I had a second chat with him late in the evening. We talked much of Lord Byron, and the subject was renewed afterwards. To refer to detached subjects of conversation, I ascertained that he was unacquainted with Burns's »Vision«. This is most remarkable, on account of its close resemblance to the Zueignung (dedication) to his own works, because the whole logic of the two poems is the same. Each poet confesses his infirmities; each is consoled by the Muse – the hollyleaf of the [104] Scotch poet being the ›veil of dew and sunbeams‹ of the German. I pointed out this resemblance to Frau von Goethe, and she acknowledged it.

This evening I gave Goethe an account of de Lamennais, and quoted from him a passage importing that all truth comes from God, and is made known to us by the Church. He held at the moment a flower in his hand, and a beautiful butterfly was in the room. He exclaimed: »No doubt all truth comes from God; but the Church! There's the point. God speaks to us through this flower and that butterfly; and that's a language these Spitzbuben don't understand.« – Something led him to speak of Ossian with contempt. I remarked: »The taste for Ossian is to be ascribed to you in a great measure. It was Werter that set the fashion.« He smiled and said: »That's partly true; but it was never perceived by the critics that Werter praised Homer while he retained his senses, and Ossian when he was going mad. But reviewers do not notice such things.« I reminded Goethe that Napoleon loved Ossian »It was the contrast with his own nature,« Goethe replied. »He loved soft and melancholy music. ›Werter‹ was among his books at St. Helena.«

We spoke of the emancipation of the Catholics. Goethe said: »My daughter will be glad to talk about it; I take no interest in such matters.« On [105] leaving him the first evening, he kissed me three times .... Voigt never saw him do so much to any other. He pressed me to spend some days at Weimar on my return.