deality is welcome to them; for every Ideal is
serviceable to revolutionary aims.

"The French have understanding and _esprit_, but neither a solid basis
nor piety. What serves the moment, what helps his party, seems right to
the Frenchman. Hence they praise us, never from an acknowledgment of our
merits, but only when they can strengthen their party by our views."

We then talked about our own literature, and of the obstacles in the way
of some of our latest young poets.

"The majority of our young poets," said Goethe, "have no fault but this,
that their subjectivity is not important, and that they cannot find
matter in the objective. At best, they only find a material, which is
similar to themselves, which corresponds to their own subjectivity; but
as for taking the material on its own account, when it is repugnant to
the subjectivity, merely because it is poetical, such a thing is never
thought of.

"Still, as I have said, if we only had important personages, formed by
great studies and situations in life, it might still go well with us,
at least as far as our young lyric poets are concerned."

1825

_Monday, January 10._--Goethe, consistently with his great interest for
the English, has desired me to introduce to him the young Englishmen who
are here at present.

After we had waited a few minutes, Goethe came in, and greeted us
cordially. He said to Mr. H., "I presume I may address you in German, as
I hear you are already well versed in our language." Mr. H. answered
with a few polite words, and Goethe requested us to be seated.

Mr. H.'s manners and appearance must have made a good impression on
Goethe; for his sweetness and mild serenity were manifested towards the
stranger in their real beauty. "You did well," said he "to come hither
to learn German; for here you will quickly and easily acquire, not only
a knowledge of the language, but also of the elements on which it rests,
our soil, climate, mode of life, manners, social habits, and
constitution, and carry it away with you to England."

Mr. H. replied, "The interest taken in the German language is now great,
so that there is now scarcely a young Englishman of good family who does
not learn German."

"We Germans," said Goethe, good-humoredly, "have, however, been half a
century before your nation in this respect. For fifty years I have been
busy with the English language and literature; so that I am well
acquainted with your writers, your ways of li