163 



GUTHK, JOHANN WOLFGANG, VON. 



GOTHOFREDUS. JACQUES GODEFROY. 



1M 



are exhibited with a graphic accuracy which, considering the age of 

 the author, is wonderful. The character of Gbtz, an old German 

 knight, who lives to see civil rights overpower the old club-law, is 

 most interesting, while his fate excites our deepest sympathy. The 

 characters of Adelaide, an intriguing court-lady, and Francis, an 

 amor jua page, display great knowledge of human nature. A transla- 

 tion of this piece was one of Sir W. Scott's earliest works. 



The drama of ' Egmont ' is immortalised by the character of 

 Clara, which is a most beautiful picture of feminine constancy and 

 devotion. 



These works, together with a variety of small poems, may be 

 reckoned as the prototypes of one class of his writings. The small 

 poems are the exact illustration of that habit which has been already 

 noticed. A single thought, and that a very trivial one, often forms 

 the sole subject of a lyrical piece ; yet these thoughts are so true to 

 nature, and are so perfectly suited to the subject, as to render these 

 little effusions perhaps the most delightful of all his works. To the 

 same class may be referred ' Clavigo,' a domestic tragedy, and ' Stella,' 

 a sentimental comedy with rather an equivocal moral. 



The second order of works consists of those which were written at 

 a later period of life, the prototypes of which are classical models. 

 ' Iphigenia auf Tauris' stands at the head of this class, and is univer- 

 sally admitted to breathe a more truly Greek spirit than any work of 

 modern times. It is a master-piece of its kind ; tha antiquity of its 

 aspect does not consist in a blind regard for ancient forms, for it has 

 not even the chorus of the aucient drama, but the very thoughts are 

 cast in a classic mould. Professor Hermann, of Leipzig, has turned 

 parts of this drama into Greek. ' Torquato Tasao ' is another piece 

 of the same kind, which represents the contrary positions of a poet 

 and a man of the world. His 'Epigram* from Venice' and his 

 ' Elegies ' also bear the classic stamp, and, though frequently licentious, 

 ire excellent as being a repetition of the spirit of the Roman elegaic 

 and amatory poet*. 



Three works of Gothe stand prominently forth, which it is difficult 

 to place in any class ; these are ' Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship,' 

 ' Hermann and Dorothea,' and ' Faust.' The first is a novel, which 

 contains many valuable critical remarks (particularly on Shakapere's 

 ' Hamlet '), but its main purpose is to exhibit the progress of a young 

 man who, though at first ignorant of the world and filled with the 

 most romantic ideas, ends with being an accomplished gentleman. It 

 exhibits a wonderful insight into the springs of action, and many of 

 the scenes give curious pictures of German life. The character of 

 Mignon has been the origin of Sir W. Scott's Fenella in ' Peveril of 

 the Peak,' and of Esmeralda in Hugo's ' Notre Dame.' In some respects 

 it is the most remarkable of Gothe'a works. To English readers it 

 U well-known by Carlyle's eharicteriitic translation. 



'Hermann and Dorothea' is a kind of idyllic epos; the subject is 

 merely a love story in a small town ; the pictures are drawn from 

 humble life, but the style is Homeric, and tha plot artfully interwoven 

 with the French Revolution. J. H. Von had previously written his 

 idyll ' Luise ' also in hexameters, and in imitation of tha Greek style ; 

 but Hegel, professor of philosophy at Berlin, ingeniously pointed out 

 the difference between the two works, and showed that ' Luise ' is a 

 mere domestic idyl, while the subject of ' Hermann and Dorothea ' 

 is not so exclusively confined to family life as to shut out the prospect 

 of the important events of Europe. 



' Faust' is a work too generally known, and requires too particular 

 a comment to be dwelt on here. It is sufficient to say that it repre- 

 sents the agony of a student who is toiling after knowledge beyond 

 his reach, and who afterwards deserts bis studies aud plunges into a 

 course of sensuality. This remarkable work exhibits all Gothe'a 

 various tendencies as it were concentrated into one focus ; and beyond 

 any other recent work has exercised the skill of commentators and 

 critics. 



A new form of the old poem of ' Reynard the Fox,' in hexameter 

 verse, a number of small dramatic pieces, and, above all, the delightful 

 biography entitled 'Dichtung und Wahrheit: Aus meinem Leben,' 

 (Truth and Poetry : from my Life), possess the highest merit 



The later writings of Gothe, such as the second part of ' Faust,' 

 ' Pandora,' 4c., differ widely from his earlier works. They are gene- 

 rally imitations of antique forms, whether or not they possess the 

 true poetic spirit is a matter of warm dispute. Oriental scholars 

 greatly admire his ' West-eastern Divan,' a collection of poems in 

 the Persian style; and there are some beauties in the novel 'Die 

 Wablverwandschaften ' (' The Affinities'). 



To understand Gothe's greatness, we must observe that he may 

 almost be regarded as the creator of German literature. Before his 

 time little bid been written in the language that was characterised by 

 a decided superiority of thought or style. During the whole of his 

 long life he was in correspondence with the chief authors of his day, 

 and he thus exercised no small direct influence on the literary labours 

 of others. 



The universality of Gothe's genius is one of the most striking parts 

 of his literary character. No writer ever attempted such a variety of 

 kind*, and succeeded in all In ' Gbtz ' we find an historical dramatist 

 going beyoud Shmkupere in irregularity ; in ' YVerther,' that species of 

 sentiment which me I to be called ' German ' some thirty years ago ; 

 and in ' Iphigenia,' the strictest attention to Greek rules of art, and 



a polished elegance which an Athenian would have admired. Not- 

 withstanding his ardent pursuit of every branch of literature, he was 

 scarcely less distinguished for proficiency in every species of natural 

 science, to which a number of scientific works, with his ' Theory of 

 Colours ' at their head, bear testimony ; aud not only was he a writer 

 on science, his speculations on the metamorphoses in plants, and on 

 osteology, are now admitted to be suggestive of truths as important 

 as they were original. 



Gothe was enthusiastic in his admiration of the beautiful wherever 

 it could be found, whether in poetry, painting, architecture, music, 

 engravings, statues, or gems, and has left numberless aphorisms of 

 the jgreatest value to those who cultivate the fine arts. No petty 

 jealousy seems to have stood in the way of this admiration for the 

 beautiful ; to the works of every class and of every country he gave 

 what he considered their due tribute of praise. 



Gothe has been blamed for having mingled too little in practical 

 life, and for not attending sufficiently to the interests of his country ; 

 but probably he knew his capacities better than his judges, and felt 

 that by cultivating the taste of his countrymen he was conferring a 

 more important benefit than by mixing in politics. A very good poet 

 may be a very bad politician. In life and opinions he was a decided 

 aristocrat, though raised from a comparatively humble station. While 

 he admitted tue insincerity, he admired the elegance of the court ; 

 aud as he always shone in polished society, it is no great wonder that 

 he preferred it. 



Though many of his poems are highly metaphysical, he had never 

 penetrated deeply into the philosophical writings of his countrymen. 

 The works of Spinosa had a great influence on his religious opinions : 

 he loved to consider the Deity rather in than beyond nature, and of 

 this pantheistic tendency many of his works are exponents. 



There is perhaps no author in the world whose mind we have such 

 an opportunity of studying accurately aa that of Gothe. Not only 

 have we his numerous works, every one of which illustrates some 

 peculiar mental state ; not only have we a biography by himself, which 

 has been elucidated and annotated by singularly minute and painstaking 

 commentators, but there is also a host of publications containing corre- 

 spondences, characteristics, and conversations, all throwing light on 

 this great man's character, and exhibiting him in every possible relation. 

 His correspondence with Schiller, with Zelter, with a child (Bet tine 

 Brentano), the little tracts which have been translated by Mrs. Austin 

 and published under the name of ' Characteristics of Gothe,' and the 

 conversations with Eckermaun (a sort of German Boswell), are replete 

 with amusement and instruction. 



Several complete editions of Gothe's works have been published by 

 Cotta of Stuttgardt and others ; and an excellent and cheap edition, iu 

 5 vols. royal Svo, at Paris. 



GOTHOFRE'DUS. DENTS GODEFROY, born at Paris in 1549, 

 studied at Louvain, Cologne, and other universities, and was made 

 councillor of the Chatelet at Paris. Being obliged to leave France 

 on account of the persecutions against the followers of the reformed 

 religion, which he professed, he went to Geneva, where he was made 

 professor of law in 1580. la 1589 Henri IV. appointed him bailli, or 

 governor, of the district of Gex, bordering on Geueva ; but he was 

 driven thence by the arms of the Duke of Savoy, on which occasion 

 he lost his books and other property. In 1591 he was appointed to 

 the chair of law at Strasbourg, aud in 1604 he removed to Heidelberg, 

 where he filled the same professorship. In 1621, being driven from 

 Heidelberg by the war in the Palatinate, he withdrew to Strasbourg, 

 where he died iu the following year, with the reputation of being the 

 first jurist of hia age. His edition of the ' Corpus Juris Civilis,' 2 vols. 

 fol., has often been reprinted : the notes are valuable. Among his 

 numerous other works on law the following deserve mention: 1, 

 ' Fontes Juris Canonic! ;' 2, ' Praxis Civilis ex AntiquU et Recentioribus 

 Scriptoribus ;' 3, ' Index Chronologicus Legum et Novellaruin a Jus- 

 tiniauo Imp. Compositarum ;' 4, ' Quxstiones Politico ex Jure Communi 

 et Historia abaumptse;' 5, ' Dissertatio de Nobilitate;' 6, 'Consuetu- 

 dines Civitatum et Provinciarum Gallue, cum Notis ;' 7, ' Statuta Regni 

 Gallue, juxta Francorum et Burgundionum Consuetudines cum Jure 

 Communi collata et Commentariis illustrata ;' 8, a Greek and Latin 

 edition of the ' Promptuarium Juris ' of Harmenopulus. He wrote 

 also on classical literature : 9, ' Notie in Ciceronem ;' 10, ' Conjecture, 

 variso Lectiones, et Loci Communes in Seneca;' 11, ' Auctores Lingua? 

 Latime in unuui redacti Corpus,' with notes; 12, ' Antique Historic 

 libri sex,' being a compilation from Berosus, Manetho, C ito, aud other 

 ancient historians. He wrote likewise a controversial work on a 

 subject of peculiar interest in his time, ' Mauitenue et Defense des 

 Etnpereurs, Rois, Princes, JJtats, et Rdpubliques, centre les Censures, 

 Mouitoires, et Excommunications des Papes.' His minor works, 

 ' Opuscula,' were published together in 1 vol. fol. S^nebier, ' Histoire 

 Littc'rairo de Geneve,' gives a catalogue of all the works of Deuys 

 Uodi-fi oy, with a biographical notice of the writer. 



GOTHOFRE'DUS. JACQUES GODEFROY, son of Denys, was 

 born at Geueva in 1587. In 1619 he was appointed professor of law 

 at Geneva, aud afterwards was made councillor of state ; he alao filled 

 various other important offices of that republic, and was sent upon 

 several foreign missions, all of which he discharged to the satisfaction 

 of his countrymen. He was deeply versed in the study and history of 

 jurisprudence in all its branches was an accomplished classical 



