ows now drunken."

And now I had to take heart to seal the stitched copy in which printed
and unprinted are thrust side by side, lest I might possibly be led into
temptation to elaborate it here and there; at the same time I regret
that I cannot communicate it to, my most valued friends, as the poet so
gladly does.

I will not send my _Metamorphosis of Plants_, translated, with an
appendix, by M. Soret, unless certain confessions of life would satisfy
your friendship. Recently I have become more and more entangled in these
phenomena of nature; they have enticed me to continue my labors in my
original field, and have finally compelled me to remain in it. We shall
see what is to be done there likewise, and shall trust the rest to the
future, which, between ourselves, we burden with a heavier task than
would be supposed.

From time to time let us not miss on either side an echo of continued
existence.

G.

GOETHE TO WILHELM VON HUMBOLDT

Weimar, March 17, 1832.

After a long, involuntary pause I begin as follows, and yet simply on
the spur of the moment. Animals, the ancients said, were taught by their
organs. I add to this, men also, although they have the advantage of
teaching their organs in return.

For every act, and, consequently, for every talent, an innate tendency
is requisite, working automatically, and unconsciously carrying with
itself the necessary predisposition; yet, for this very reason, it works
on and on inconsequently, so that, although it contains its laws within
itself, it may, nevertheless, ultimately run out, devoid of end or aim.
The earlier a man perceives that there is a handicraft or an art which
will aid him to attain a normal increase of his natural talents, the
more fortunate is he. Moreover, what he receives from without does not
impair his innate individuality. The best genius is that which absorbs
everything within itself, which knows how to adapt everything, without
prejudicing in the least the real fundamental essence--the quality which
is called character--so that it becomes the element which truly elevates
that quality and endows it throughout so far as may be possible.

Here, now, appear the manifold relations between the conscious and the
unconscious. Imagine a musical talent that is to compose an important
score; consciousness and unconsciousness will be related like the warp
and the woof, a simile that I am so fond of using. Through practice,
teaching, reflection, failur