38 THE LIFE OF GO E THE. BY GEORGE HENRY LEWES. Goethe's heart, which few knew, was as great as his intellect, which all knew. SECOND EDITION. PARTLY REWRITTEN. JUNG STILLING. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER, AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 1864. PREFACE. THERE was, perhaps, some temerity in attempting a Life of Goethe at a time when no German author had undertaken the task; but the reception which my work has met with, even after the appearance of the biographies by Viehoff and Schäfer, is a justification of the temerity. The sale of thirteen thousand copies in England and Germany, and the sympathy generously expressed, not unmingled, it is true, with adverse and even angry criticism, are assurances that my labours were not wholly misdirected, however far they may have fallen short of their aim. For the expressions of sympathy, public and private, I cannot but be grateful; and I have done my best to profit by criticism even when it was most hostile. I wish to make special mention of the assistance tendered me by the late Mr. Franz Demmler. Although a stranger to me, this accomplished student of Goethe kindly volunteered, amid many and pressing avocations, to re-read my book with the express purpose of annotating it; and he sent me several sheets of notes and objections, all displaying the vigour of his mind and the variety of his reading. Some of these I was glad to use; and even those which I could not 294834 |