with her in the company of other persons. Her sad life wore on in seclusion. Other "fancies " were continually leading him abroad; and into his house came the gay and aspiring, almost daily, to enjoy caresses which he denied to her. This manner of life caused Goethe no selfreproaches, for it grew logically out of his philosophical views. It was not wrong, but right, he would claim. It was the spirit of the universe coming to consciousness in him, and to let it act freely was obedience to the highest law. All the impulses of humanity are divine, was the major premise of his conduct; and he carried the reasoning out into his practice, in the direction now shown, even to old age. This appears in the story of Bettine, who came to Weimar while yet a child. Goethe's fame attracted her. She felt the spell of his intellectual greatness; to be his friend was the summit of her ambition. He saw to what her enthusiasm was carrying her, yet encouraged her love of his now superannuated person. He luxuriated in her affection for him, neither checking it nor seeking to elevate and chasten it, though it was wearing away the foundations of her moral nature. No sigh escaped him, but he smiled only the more blandly, while her brilliant but unschooled nature was breaking from its early moorings, and drifting far out from the lights of Christian faith, where the storm which no one rules beat down upon her. It was Mrs. Browning, with her pure woman's heart, who had pity on the young girl, loving so unwisely, and who, in her poem bewailing Bettine's fate, exclaims, —

"The bird thy childhood's playing

Sent onward o'er the sea,

FOR WHITESS AND THE TRUTH.

Is mit wing no sun can dry,
Stil a ty husum secretly.”

Is suit that something should be pardoned,
She's lift, to his artistic spirit. His adven-
tures were sades preparatory to the exercise
Tunction. He needed to experience all those

nmd the ancien ist, who said that one cannot
imes what he would describe. He held the
1.in: 2 horse without first becoming a horse. It would be
★ KHW that some of Goethe's doings were for
zus objez, arī Mc simply for the gratification of his
natural desires, that they were experienced only in sym-
puzly, by the heŋ đ us imagination, though told as facts
it is
we could grant this, then we should use
it so expan what is noliest in his conduct as well as that
with denis is. Thus his whole life becomes purely
histrict. When he is generous, when he gives to the
poor and vistas the wretched, just as when he trifles with
the too eceng, he is not moved by a benevolent pur-
pose,
but is simply gathering material for the next story,
play, or poem. He must become a suicide, in order to
write Werther; mast go into the woods, and live like a
obber, in order to do the character of Goetz full justice;
wet become a stage-manager, and know actors and

...alousies, and quarrels. This artistic zeal made him intimately, in order to describe their rivalries, all the amusements of the theatre.

He wrote

court-theatre at Weimar, and he aided

only at home, but in the country all along, in Wilhelm Meister, is est schooling in the experiences

of a theatrical career.

Not in the sense of Shakespeare, but literally and seriously, he would have all the world a stage, and men and women merely players. Even though this be not the general rule, he at least is an artist, whose business is to paint life in all its phases; and what he would paint, he must somehow first make a part of himself.

The obliga

artist.

But we join issue with Goethe on this definition. It is not the function of art, but of history tions of the and criticism, to deal with actual life. He who portrays life to us should discriminate between the bad and good; should make his representations honor the right always, and condemn whatsoever is wrong. Thus only is he a trustworthy teacher, guarding us against evil, and begetting in us a love of what is pure, and true, and of good report. The ideal realm is that which belongs to art, and its moral purpose should be the same as that of criticism and history, — the ennobling of our better nature. It is therefore bound to avoid all subjects which are low, vile, or degrading in their nature, and to give us only such representations as shall appeal to our upward and godlike tendencies. Here it was that Goethe sadly failed. He puts before his readers, painted in colors wholly sympathetic, scenes which stimulate what is most grovelling in human nature. To his deep dishonor it must be said, that he does not teach us to abhor the vices of society; he does not limit his studies to what is worthy of imitation in life; he does not take what is best in man, lift it up into the ideal realm, make it the material of his conceptions, and clothe it with especial charms, so as to draw us away from all that is vile and sinful, towards that life of pure and holy

Allowance to be made to art.

Its cold wing no sun can dry,

Still in thy bosom secretly."

It is said that something should be pardoned, in Goethe's life, to his artistic spirit. His adventures were studies preparatory to the exercise of his literary function. He needed to experience all those human feelings which he would describe. He held the maxim of the ancient artist, who said that one cannot paint a horse without first becoming a horse. It would be a relief to know that some of Goethe's doings were for this object, and not simply for the gratification of his natural desires; that they were experienced only in sympathy, by the help of his imagination, though told as facts in his history. If we could grant this, then we should use it to explain what is noblest in his conduct as well as that which offends us. Thus his whole life becomes purely histrionic. When he is generous, when he gives to the poor and visits the wretched, just as when he trifles with the too confiding, he is not moved by a benevolent purpose, but is simply gathering material for the next story, play, or poem. He must become a suicide, in order to write Werther; must go into the woods, and live like a robber, in order to do the character of Goetz full justice; must become a stage-manager, and know actors and actresses intimately, in order to describe their rivalries, and jealousies, and quarrels. This artistic zeal made him partial to all the amusements of the theatre. He wrote many plays for the court-theatre at Weimar, and he aided in them as an actor, not only at home, but in the country around. The impression all along, in Wilhelm Meister, is

of a theatrical career.

Not in the sense of Shakespeare, but literally and seriously, he would have all the world a stage, and men and women merely players. Even though this be not the general rule, he at least is an artist, whose business is to paint life in all its phases; and what he would paint, he must somehow first make a part of himself.

The obligations of the

artist.

But we join issue with Goethe on this definition. It is not the function of art, but of history and criticism, to deal with actual life. He who portrays life to us should discriminate between the bad and good; should make his representations honor the right always, and condemn whatsoever is wrong. Thus only is he a trustworthy teacher, guarding us against evil, and begetting in us a love of what is pure, and true, and of good report. The ideal realm is that which belongs to art, and its moral purpose should be the same as that of criticism and history, - the ennobling of our better nature. It is therefore bound to avoid all subjects which are low, vile, or degrading in their nature, and to give us only such representations as shall appeal to our upward and godlike tendencies. Here it was that Goethe sadly failed. He puts before his readers, painted in colors wholly sympathetic, scenes which stimulate what is most grovelling in human nature. To his deep dishonor it must be said, that he does not teach us to abhor the vices of society; he does not limit his studies to what is worthy of imitation in life; he does not take what is best in man, lift it up into the ideal realm, make it the material of his conceptions, and clothe it with especial charms, so as to draw us away from all that is vile and sinful, towards that life of pure and holy