Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thoughts and ideas from the versatile and brilliant German writer and statesman. The German author of Faust takes a detour from his usual literary endeavors and offers snippets of his musings on life, literature, science, nature, politics, and the human condition. Essential for fans of Goethe's works, it provides a unique insight into the mind of the last true Renaissance man. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability...

Con frac azul y chaleco amarillo, muchos jóvenes en el reino de Prusia (actual Alemania), paseaban por las calles imitando la vestimenta del personaje en el libro sensación de la época, Las penas del joven Werther. Asimismo, la exaltación de las emociones y la trágica culminación, hacía que el suicidio fuera un fenómeno social sin precedentes... y todo por amor. Un libro que sirve de catarsis al mismo Goethe, autor de este libro, en donde...

In "Egmont", Goethe relates the fight of Count Egmont (1522-1568) against the despotic Duke of Alba. Egmont is a famous Dutch warrior and the Duke of Alba represents the Spanish invader. Though under threat of arrest, Egmont refuses to run away and give up his ideal of liberty. Imprisoned and abandoned because of the cowardice of his people, and despite the desperate efforts of his mistress Klaerchen, he is sentenced to death. Thus, faced with her...

Aus einem Zirkus entlaufen zwei Raubtiere - ein Tiger und ein Löwe. Als eine Fürstin von dem Tiger angegriffen wird, wird dieser von einem Begleiter erschossen. Die Schaustellerfamilie fürchtet nun um das Leben des Löwen. Tatsächlich gelingt es dem Sohn der Familie, den Löwen aus seinem Versteck zu locken und ihn damit vor dem gewaltsamen Tod zu bewahren. Parabelhaft birgt diese Geschichte die Erkenntnis, dass der Mächtige durch Kunst und Liebe...

Short excerpt: "Were, then, these Switzers free? Free, these opulent burghers in their little pent-up towns-free, those poor devils on their rocks and crags? What is it that man cannot be made to believe, especially when he cherishes in his heart the memory of some old tale of marvel? Once, forsooth, they did break a tyrant's yoke, and might for the moment fancy themselves free; but out of the carcase of the single oppressor the good sun, by a strange...

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge. The meaning of the word and name has been, reinterpreted through the ages. "Faust" has taken on a connotation distinct from its original use, and is often, used today to describe a person whose headstrong desire for self-fulfillment leads him or her in a diabolical direction.

Loosely based on Goethe's personal experiences, the novel is written mostly in the form of letters in which Werther recounts his unrequited love for a married woman. Its Sturm und Drang style, portraying the rebellion of youthful genius against conventional standards, makes it a perennial favorite with readers of every era.

The wavelength theory of light and color had been firmly established by the time the great German poet published his Theory of Colours in 1810. Nevertheless, Goethe believed that the theory derived from a fundamental error, in which an incidental result was mistaken for a elemental principle. Far from affecting a knowledge of physics, he maintained that such a background would inhibit understanding. The conclusions Goethe draws here rest entirely...

Um dos primeiros livros de Goethe, provavelmente de caráter autobiográfico, este romance caracteriza-se por seu teor epistolar, pois se trata da reprodução de cartas que o Jovem Werther teria escrito ao narrador por muito tempo. A obra, narrada na primeira pessoa, com economia de personagens, tem em suas notas de rodapé a indicação de que nomes e locais foram substituídos por dados fictícios, o que contribui para que se acredite na transposição...