HOW TO GET STRONG
till it became a German Athens. From twenty-five to thirty-five he did not write much though he made great preparations; at thirty-six, wrote Egmont; at thirty-seven, Iphigenie; at thirty-nine, Römische Elegien; at forty, Tasso; at forty-one, Faust; at forty-seven, Wilhelm Meister and Hermann und Dorothea. The variety of these works is not more astonishing than their perfection; at forty-five began an intimacy with Schiller which lasted till the death of the latter, eleven years later; and this friendship was the baptism of Schiller's genius. His studies were comprehensive and assiduous; his critical sallies on the extravagances of his own pupils were most effective; and through his direction of the ducal theatre at Weimar he exercised a lasting and ennobling influence on the theatrical art of Germany; at fifty-seven he married Christiane Vulpius.
"Goethe had now ceased to be merely an influence; he had become an authority. Civilized life in Germany, and in foreign countries too, was deeply indebted to him. He had loosened the narrow ties of the old order, and in the wild fermentation of all the elements of civilization he had established a law which prevented chaos from breaking in. He had brought another conception of freedom into the German civilization. There was in German life and character a hardness and narrowness which, although intimately allied to energy and honesty, hindered the free movement of human nature, and constrained it within the boundaries of the most singular prejudices. These were melted down by Goethe's influence, and human nature breathed more freely; to his time his was a gospel of freedom, progress, power, and happiness. It will hold a certain authority in every age, because it contains a certain proportion of truth. Its effect on civilized life was most wonderful; it gave much more than it promised. Thus it was quite natural that the whole age bowed to its bringer with the deepest gratitude and reverence.
"Outside of his autobiography, he wrote little in his later life, giving it up to practical business and scientific research. He died at Weimar in his eighty-third year."— Johnston's Universal Cyclopædia.
And this noble soul, to whom Napoleon said, when he saw him, "You are a man," lived in a noble temple. Indeed it would be strange if it had done otherwise.
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