us. He appeared to take an interest in what had been
exhibited; but observed, with great acuteness and good
sense, and much to my satisfaction, that such a disconnected
way of treating Nature was by no means grateful to the
exoteric, who desired to penetrate her mysteries.

'I answered, that perhaps the initiated themselves were
never rightly at their ease in it, and that there surely was
another way of representing Nature, not separated and
disunited, but active and alive, and expanding from the
whole into the parts. On this point he requested
explanations, but did not hide his doubts; he would not
allow that such a mode, as I was recommending, had been
already pointed out by experiment.

'We reached his house; the talk induced me to go in. I then
expounded to him with as much vivacity as possible, the
_Metamorphosis of Plants_,[71] drawing out on paper, with
many characteristic strokes, a symbolic Plant for him, as I
proceeded. He heard and saw all this with much interest and
distinct comprehension; but when I had done, he shook his
head and said: "This is no experiment, this is an idea." I
stopped with some degree of irritation; for the point which
separated us was most luminously marked by this expression.
The opinions in _Dignity and Grace_ again occurred to me;
the old grudge was just awakening; but I smothered it, and
merely said: "I was happy to find that I had got ideas
without knowing it, nay that I saw them before my eyes."

[Footnote 71: A curious physiologico-botanical theory by
Goethe, which appears to be entirely unknown in this country;
though several eminent continental botanists have noticed it
with commendation. It is explained at considerable length in
this same _Morphologie_.]

'Schiller had much more prudence and dexterity of management
than I: he was also thinking of his periodical the _Horen_,
about this time, and of course rather wished to attract than
repel me. Accordingly he answered me like an accomplished
Kantite; and as my stiff necked Realism gave occasion to
many contradictions, much battling took place between us,
and at last a truce, in which neither party would consent to
yield the victory, but each held himself invincible.
Positions like the following grieved m