GOETHE'S "FARBEXLEHRE." 51 



with Physical or Prismatic Colours, and with Chemical 

 Colours and Pigments. To these are added a fourth 

 part, bearing the German title, " Allgemeine Ansichten 

 nach innen ; " a fifth part, entitled " Xachbarliche Yer- 

 haltnisse," neighbouring relations; and a sixth part, 

 entitled " Sinnlich-sittliche Wirkung der Farbe," sen- 

 suously-moral effect of colours. It is hardly necessary to 

 remark that some of these titles, though doubtless preg- 

 nant with meaning to the poet himself, are not likely to 

 commend themselves to the more exacting man of sci- 

 ence. 



The main divisions of Goethe's book are subdivided 

 into short sections, bearing titles more or less shadowy 

 from a scientific point of view Origin of white : Origin 

 of black; Excitement of colour; Heightening; Culmina- 

 tion; Balancing; Keversion; Fixation; Mixture real; 

 Mixture apparent; Communication actual; Communi- 

 cation apparent. He describes the colours of minerals, 

 plants, worms, insects, fishes, birds, mammals, and 

 men. Hair on the surface of the human body he con- 

 siders indicative rather of weakness than of strength. 

 The disquisition is continued under the headings How 

 easily colour arises; How energetic colour may be; 

 Heightening to red; Completeness of manifold phe- 

 romena ; Agreement of complete phenomena ; How easily 

 colour disappears; How durable colour remains; Rela- 

 tion to philosophy ; Relation to mathematics ; Relation to 

 physiology and pathology; Relation to natural history; 

 Relation to general physics; Relation to tones. Then 

 follows a series of sections dealing with the primary 

 colours and their mixtures. These sections relate less 

 to science than to art. The writer treats, among other 

 things, of ^Esthetic effects; Fear of the Theoretical; 

 Grounds and Pigments; Allegorical, Symbolical, and 

 Mystical use of colours. The headings alone indicate 



