PRINCIPLE OF METAMORPHOSED SYMMETRY. 477 



But though we cannot but remark the pecu- 

 liarity of our being indebted to a poet for the, 

 discovery of a scientific principle, we must not forget 

 that he himself held, that in making this step, he 

 had been guided, not by his invention, but by ob- 

 servation. He repelled, with extreme repugnance, 

 the notion that he had substituted fancy for fact, 

 or imposed ideal laws on actual things. While he 

 was earnestly pursuing his morphological specula- 

 tions, he attempted to impress them upon Schiller. 

 " I expounded to him, in as lively a manner as pos- 

 sible, the metamorphosis of plants, drawing on 

 paper, with many characteristic strokes, a symbolic 

 plant before his eyes. He heard me," Gothe says 8 , 

 " with much interest and distinct comprehension ; 

 but when I had done, he shook his head, and said, 

 'That is not experience; that is an idea:' I stopt 

 with some degree of irritation ; for the point which 



Dich verwirret, geliebte, die tausendfaltige mrschung 



Dieses blumengewiihls liber dem garten umher ; 

 Viele namen horest du an, and immer verdranget, 



Mit barbarischem klang, einer den andern im ohr. 

 Alle gestalten sind ahnlich und keine gleichet der andern; 



Und so deutet das chor auf ein geheimes gesetz, 

 Auf ein heiliges rathsel. O ! konnte ich dich, liebliche freundinn, 



Ueberliefern so gleich gliicklich das losende wort. 



Thou, my love, art perplext with the endless seeming confusion 



Of the luxuriant wealth which in the garden is spread ; 

 Name upon name thou hearest, and in thy dissatisfied hearing, 



With a barbarian noise one drives another along. 

 All the forms resemble, yet none is the same as another; 



Thus the whole of the throng points at a deep hidden law, 

 Points at a sacred riddle. Oh ! could I to thee, my beloved friend, 



Whisper the fortunate word by which the riddle is read ! 



8 Zur Morphologic, p. 24. 



