Goethe and Schiller: An Historical RomanceMühlbach, L. (Luise)
General
Goethe and Schiller: An Historical Romance
Mühlbach, L. (Luise)
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749-1832 -- Fiction; Schiller, Friedrich, 1759-1805 -- Fiction
"No," cried Schiller, vehemently, "no renown for me! Translated into
good German, renown means thorns, hunger, want! I intend to have my
portion of the viands with which the table of life is richly provided.
And do you know what my purpose is?"
"No, but I should like to learn it."
"I intend to become a jurist," cried Schiller, emptying his second
glass. "Yes, that is it. I will begin a new life and make a jurist
of myself. My old life is ended, and when I enter the stage-coach
to-night to go to Leipsic, it will not contain the poet Schiller,
the author of 'The Robbers,' and other absurdities, but the student,
Frederick Schiller, on his way to Leipsic to study jurisprudence at the
university. Don't shake your wise head and look so horrified, Andrew.
I tell you I will become a jurist; I am tired of journeying on the
thorny path of the poet, with bleeding feet and a hungry stomach. All
my illusions are vanished. My vision of a golden meteor sparkling in
the sun, proves to have been only a soap-bubble; and this bubble called
renown has now bursted."
"You are again talking wildly and romantically, like Charles Moor, in
'The Robbers,'" cried Streicher; "and yet you are not in earnest!"
"But I am in earnest, my friend! The sad experience of my past life
has made me wise and practical. I will not discard poetry altogether,
but will indulge in it at times only, as one indulges in oysters and
champagne on great and festive occasions. My ordinary life will be that
of a jurist. I have given the matter much thought and consideration.
Fortunately, I have a clear head and quick comprehension, I will,
therefore, with a firm will and untiring diligence, study and learn
as much in one year as others do in three. The university in Leipsic
is rich in resources, and I will know how to avail myself of them. If
an ordinary head, by ordinary application, can acquire in three years
sufficient knowledge to enable a man to earn a comfortable living in
the practice of his profession, I can certainly attain the same end in
a shorter time. My attention has been directed to the study of systems
since my earliest youth; and in our Charles School, of blessed memory,
I have at least learned to express myself as fluently in Latin as in
German. Study, thought, and reflection, is a delight to me, and the
explication of difficult subjects a pleasure; and, therefore, I am
convinced that I can become a good jurist, and, with bold strides,
swiftly overtake the snail-moving pace of others, and in a brief time
attain that which the most sanguine would scarcely imagine could be
achieved in years."
"Then you, at least, admit that you are no ordinary man," said Andrew
Streicher, shrugging his shoulders. "And, nevertheless, you propose
to confine this extraordinary man in the strait-jacket of practical
science. Truly, I lose my appetite, and even this punch seems sour,
when I reflect that the poet of 'The Robbers' is to become an advocate!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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