JUAN ANDRES

.
.
translations of Arabic and Hebrew works made. m

b Italian scholars such as Ludovico Murator1,

ain On the other hand, the controversy fueled

Bettinelli and Girolamo Tiraboschi, who

Chapter 2

11

the decay of Italian literatt:re into India. The Avesta is a collection of

th curse of several centuries. The Zand-i-Avesta lS ;:e

texts of Zoroastrianism composed be c transmitted in this case including
manuscript form in which the
are a large body of te."<ts originating in India, w
Shascah is Brahm.ins' first sacre . e ture
,
nstitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit litera
.
di
. . of Chinese literature in Sur Jes anaeos
Etienne Mignot ( 1698-1771) orientalist and
h.Jloso hes de J'Inde. Joseph de Gwgnes . .
. E
tian colonization. Anne-Claude-P . ppe
p . :ined that the Chinese nation had ongmated
archaeologist his principal work is the
;eai;ubieres, count de Caylus (1692-1765)', W'"..S a ues romaines. et,9aulolses (1752-67).
,

U1e Sadder is a verse-history of the flight

hi;

:;esta r:

Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe

&Yt

10

11
12

14

ON WORLD LITERATURE (1827)

seven-volume Recueil d'antiqujtbs C8.Jrptiennes, archiuls l'lrorum clari.ssimorum

Joachim Johann Mader biebli:heds antediluulanls (1666), which is considere
e
ct cowmentadones cum praefauone e scripri.
.
fi t anthology on libraries and library sClence. th
theologian who wrote De blbllotheca Adanu

pr:u Christian Hilscher (1666-1730) was a Lu eran

.
b F edrich Reunann
a
(1711).
n theolo "an and bibliographer Jaco n
ares makes reference here to the
k/gih . entiooing. It may be either Versuch einer
An

t clear which wor s e 15 m
h e second
(1668-1743); however, it is no
3)
th C talo9us bibliothecae tbeolo9icae, w os
El leitun9 in die Hlstoriam litcrariam (1708-1 or 1;3

is titled Bibliotheca bist:oriae literariae cri.tJca ).

:dres makes reference here to
Andrb Dacier ( 1651-1722) was a French c ssu::a s o a
of Hebrew.

founder of the Acta Philosophorum.

Jubb (1717-87) was a Professor

HE GERMAN WRITER JOHANN WOLFGANG (vonl Goethe (1749-1832) did

not coin the term "world literature" or, in Goethe's own language, Weltliteratur,
though for the longest time he was thought to have done so. Undeniably, though, his use
of it gained term the wide currency it has ever since enjoyed.
Goethe had gained legendary fame with the publication of his Sorrows of Young
Werther (Die Leiden des jungen Werthers, 17741. This epistolary novel became the rage
all through Europe, and helped pave the way for Romanticism throughout the continent.
First and foremost, though, it confirmed Goethe as one of the main exponents, next to
Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), of the short-lived "Storm and Stress" <Sturm und
Orang) movement in Germany. This movement is usually considered a precursor of
Romanticism proper. Preferring the emotions to reason, the Storm and Stress authors
rebelled against the values usually associated with the Enlightenment. As the latter was
seen as primarily the work of a number of French, and by the 1770s already rather aged,
philosophers and writers, Storm and Stress saw itself as speaking up for both youth and
Germany. In 1775 Goethe was called to the court of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar.
In Weimar, and following an extended trip to Italy from 1786 to 1788, Goethe
reneged on his early Romanticism and became, again with Schiller, one of the leading
lights of so-called Weimar Classicism. The adherents of this movement tried to reach a
harmonious blend of classical, Enlightenment and Romantic elements in their search for
a new humanism fit for the turn of the nineteenth century. During this period Goethe wrote
his Faust, part I (1808, the complete play, including part II, was only published after
Goethe's death) and Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre,
1795-96), a-some would say the-typical aildurrgsroman.
In later life Goethe enjoyed the status of Europe's most famous man of letters, and
his residence in Weimar became a place of literary pilgrimage. Goethe, however, was not
only a writer of literature, but also a scientist with a lively interest in geology, botany and
the study of nature in general. He wrote extensively on these subjects, and he himself
considered his Theory of Colours <Zur Farbenlehre, 1810) his most important work.
Because of Goethe's fame his statements on Weltliteraturspread rapidly in European
literary circles. In all, Goethe used the term Weltliteratur or world literature twenty-one

lO

ON WORLD LITERATURE

12

11

JOHANN WOLFGANG (VON) GOETHE

times: in conversations with

Conversations with "!'t

Arl and Antiquity cOber

.

We experience the same thing from our own conntrymen, and why should the nations

Kunst und

various addressees, articles in his own 1ourna 1 .

Altertuml, an
to a
the published version of, an intro uc ion

misrepresent us, open or close their hearts to us. All this we must accept with equanimity,
since this attitude, taken as a whole, is of great value to us.

ded in the latter's

diary, letters to

agree among themselves if fellow citizens do not understand how to unite and cooperate with

nd drafts for, and

of Thomas
All of them are

a:.

he
N0 wonder then that subsequent

v:ry ';idely in theitr

have
the
tions in the presen vo ume.
h t th ugh and remain so
inevitable starting point for all subsequent reflections on t e op1c, o
,
to this day.
d .
Broadly speaking, Goethe at various time:
seems to have associated the
t
Most commonly Goethe 1s assume o ave
themes and forms b.etween the

th

n which he used the term

ideas with world litera world lite'rature as the circulation

d

'bl

rise and spread of literary journals

oEpmen , This he saw as a positive development, knitting the peoples of Europe c oser
urope.
d'
d t 1 ance among them These same
together, or at least promoting understan ing an o ce;mmercialization. Goethe balked
developments, however, also held thhe dange.r learned not the rabble. His ideals
t th' . he saw world literature as t e province
,
.
b th
:f

and tolerance wer.e intima:ely

death with the rise of literary historiography as of

the middle of the nineteenth century.

In what follows we publish Goethe's statements on .world lite:;turelas

d' to Fritz Strich's Goethe and World Literature rans. . .
appen ix

assa es numbered 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, lE>,

17

'

of the more important passages (2, 4, 7, , , , / L'terature The Early Years (Chapel Hill:
Joachim Schulz and Philip H. Rhein, eds., Compara ive .' trans;ation (with some minor amendThe University of North Carolina Press, 1973, pp. 5-11), ma.
E
(New York Harcourt
ments by Schulz & Rhein) by Joel E. Spingarn, Goethe's Literary ssays
.
,
Brace and Company, 1921).
1. Diary, 15th January 1827: "Dictated to Schuchardt on the subject of French literature

t Vol 6 part! 1827 (Le Tasse, dramehistorique encinq

2. Uber un
ter um,
. .'"I re about French journals not only to draw
actes, par Monsieur Alexandre Duval)'. . P
thin higher which, for the time being,
g
attention to myself and my work. I am = g at some
1 will

and read of the progress of the human race, of the broader view of

intern::::i and human relations. Since it is : t

:r

::;

an ::norable is reserved for us Germansd.

iorme a UIUVe a
All the nations review our work;

they praise, censure, accep ' an

d reject imitate an
'

each other? In a literary sense we have a good start on the other nations; they will always be
learning to prize us more, even if they only show it by borrowing from us without thanks,
and making use of us without giving recognition of the fact.
As the military and physical strength of a nation develops from its internal unity and
cohesion, so must its aesthetic and ethical strength grow gradually from a similar unanimity
of feeling and ideas. This, however, can only.be accomplished with time. I look back as a
cooperator in this work over many years and reflect how a German literature has been
brought together out of heterogeneous, if not conflicting, elements,-a literature.which for
that reason is only peculiarly one in the sense that it is composed in one language,-which,
however, out of a variety of wholly different talents and abilities, minds and actions,
criticisms and nndertakings, gradually draws out to the light of day the true inner soul of a
people."
3. Letter to Streckfuss, 27th January 1827: "I am convinced that a world literature is in
process of formation, that the nations are in favour of it and for this reason make friendly
overtures. The German can and should be most active in this respect; he has a fine part to play
in this great mutual approach."
4. Conversation with Edcennann, 31st January 1827: "It is becoming more and more
obvious to me that poetry is the common property of all mankind and that it is manifest
everywhere and mall ages in hnndreds and hnndreds of people. The only difference is that
some express themselves a little better and are on top a little longer. Herr van Matthison
should not consider himself the poet, as I should not think that 1 am; everyone should be
aware of the fact that the poetic talent is not very rare and should not pride himself on having
composed a good poem. But of course, when we Germans do not look beyond the narrow
confines of our immediate surronndings, we easily develop this pedantic pride. I therefore
like to keep informed about foreign productions, and I advise everybody to do the same.
National literature means little now, the age ofW eltliteratur has begun; and everyone should
further its course. But this esteem for foreign pr'oductions should not stop >vith specific characteristics and declare them models. We should not think that the truth is in Chinese or
Serbian literature, in Calderon or the Nibelnngen. In our pursuit of models, we ought always
to return to the Greeks of antiquity in whose works beautiful man is represented. The rest
we contemplate historically and assimilate from it the best as far as we can."

5. Conversation with Eckennann, I 5th July 1827: "It really is a very good thing that
with this close intercourse between Frenchmen> Englishmen and Germans we have a chance

of correcting each other's errors. This is the great advantage that world literature affords,
one which will in time become more and more obvious. Carlyle has written the life of Schiller
and has estimated him throughout as it would have been difficult for a German to do. On the
other hand we can judge Shakespeare and Byron, and know how to evaluate their merits
perhaps better than the English themselves."
6. Letter to Boisseree, 12th October 1827: "In this connection it might be added that
what I call world literature develops in the first place when the differences that prevail >vithin
one nation are resolved through the understanding and judgment of the rest."
7. Letter to Carlyle, 1st January 1828: "Now I should like to have your opinion on how
far this Tasso can be considered English. You will greatly oblige me by informing me on this
point; for it is just this connection between the original and the translation that e>cpresses
most clearly the relationship of nation to nation and that one must above all know if one
wishes to encourage a common world literature transcending national limits."

ON WORLD LITERATURE

12

JOHANN WOLFGANG (VON) GOETHE

..
2 1828 (Relations to Other Countries):
8. Uber Kunst und Altertum, Vol. 6, part '
h with its increasing communication
.
sti that our present active epoc
b
n h e for a world literature has been taken up approvingly y
"My sangume
Ji h eat things in this same direction .
between the nations rrug t soo op
. hbors of the west, who indeed can accomp s gr
themselves on the subject in the follo,ving manner:

hi h like
Le Globe Tome V., No. 91.
'
. . d d h 'ts turn comes, feels that tens10n w c '
'Every nation m ee , w en l .
wards the other, and eventhe attractive power of phys'.cal balodies, dr;:s races of which humanity
ll will unite in one uruvers sympa Y
:,:,Jsts. The endeavor of scholars to olne anoth.er ;:,:;;mJ::S :::
'
k . b no means new the Latin anguage ill
anoti:derds abyle vehicle for purpose. But however they labored and
di 'd th
lso
provi e an a
the barriers by which peoples were separated began to V1 e emd a '
strove,
h .
t of which they ma e use
and hurt their intellectual intercourse. T e rnstrumen th th
ch d ach
.
.
e and course of ideas, so at ey tau e e
c:id instead of directly through the feellngstakand
o er o
d oflan a es eriodical literature' have
en
. .
dh
ous
through poetry. Travel, the stu Y
gu g 'P
versallan a e andestabllshmanyilltirnatean armoru
the p:ace oft.hat.um uld
gu Even the nations that devote themselves
never
d with this exchange of ideas.
relations which it co
fl
d
d industry are most conceme
ctivi is so tremendous, whose life is so busy, that it
chie Y to tra e
England, ;hose able study nothing but itself, at the present time is
seems as it wo
f thi
ed and desire to broaden its horizon. Its existing
h g symptom o
s ne
aJl
s owrn a
hf them two new periodicals, devoted espeo y to
reviews are not enoug or
'
d
ear
. Ji
d operating together towards that en ' are to app
foreign terature, an co
regularly.'
.h .
ls The Foreign Qyarterly Review' there are already two
Of the first of these Englls . iouma '
dir l
d we shall in the course of these pages
. h
d
.
h d . the third we expect ect y, an
volumes ill our an s,
h
.. g proof with so much insig t an
often refer to the views of important men w o are givm

'

industry, of' their interest in smile to see, at the end of the old year,
But first of all we must co ess
..
alr d
ti din an English journal-not
alm acs(Tascbenbucber), ea yno ce
];
more than thirty terary
an
d
'th
characteristic comments._lt is pleasant

d b t t least referre to W1 some

indeed reviewe , u a
'th
al d find a market over there, since we
rt meet W1 approv an
.
f thi
ks f
d
ey Little by little we shall discover'
that our pro ducttons o
s so
are also obliged to buy their similar wor or goo mon . d tage
b1
f this trade turns out to our a van
.
.
lace to more serious ones. Left to itself every
I suppose, whether the ". ance
But these trivial considerations give Pfr h db th interest and contributions of a
ts tality if it is not re es e Y e
'
k 1
. the wonderful things that he sees
literature will exhaust 1 VI
h
t all t does not ta e P easure rn
foreign one. W at na ur s
N
ha
.. or'rnthefieldofideasandmoralsmeans,
efl m orl ow w ta nurr
produced by r ectt.on illd'_ rrrhi
lf and once his attention is aroused, he will understand
everyone has expenence m rose ,

how much of his note that the world literature I have called
9. Letter to Zelter'
ay dr .
like the sorcerer's apprentice: Scotland and
. d 1 .
d threatening to own me
d 1
for is e uging an
.
. Mil the are ubllshing a most important ai Ypaper
France pour forth almost daily, and m
an
Y P

s:

calledl'Eco."
th .
al L'E
31 st May 1828 ''The first forty-seven
10. Letter to the Editor of e Jloum hi ::'wlan have most pleasant surprise
numbers of the journal which you are aunc ng

13

13

to me; with their content, and the attractive form you have given them, they will make the
most pleasing contribution to the universal world literature which is spreading with increasing
energy> and I sincerely assure you of my interest."
11. Uber Kunst tmd Aitertum, Vol. 6, part 2, 1828 (Edinburgh Reviews): "The Edinburgh
Rel'ie:, as well as the current Foreign and Foreign QgarterfJ' Reviews, we can only mention briefly

here.
These journals, as they \Vin an ever vvider public, will contribute in the most effective
way towards that universal world literature for which we are hoping. Only, we repeat, the
idea is not that the nations shall think alike, but that they shall learn how to understand each
other, and, if they do not care to love one another, at least that they will learn to tolerate one
another. Several societies now exist for the purpose of making the British Isles acquainted
with the continent, and are working effectively and 'vith a practical unanimity of opinion.
We continentals can learn from them the intellectual background of the time across the
channel, what they are thinking and what their judgments about things are. On the whole, we
acknowledge gladly that they go about the work with intense with industry and
tolerance and general goodwill. The result for us will be that we shall be compelled to think
again of our own recent literature, which we have in some measure already put to one side,

and to consider and examine it anew. Especially worthy of notice is their profitable method
of starting with any considerable author, and going over the whole field in which he worked.
[...]
The methods and maimers of these critics deserve our consideration in many ways.
Although varying on many points, yet there is an agreement in criticism upon the main issues,
which seems to indicate, if not a coterie, yet a number of contemporary critics who have
come to a similar attitude and point of view. Worthy of our admiration are the honest and
sincere application, the careful labors, which they devote to surveying our complex artistic
and literary world, and to looking over it with a just and fair attitude and vision. We shall
hope often to be able to return to them and their work.
12. The Congress of Natural Scientists in Berlin, 1828: "In venturing to announce a
European, in fact a universal, world literature, we did not mean merely to say that the
different nations should get to know each other and each other's productions; for in this sense
it has long since been in existence, is itself, and is constantly being added to. No,
indeed! The matter is rather this-that the living, striving men of letters should learn to
know each other, and through their own inclination and similarity of tastes, find the moti;e
for corporate action."

13. From Makarie' s Archives (probably 1829): "Now, in the first stages of world literature, if we look closely we can see that the Getman stands to lose most; he would do well to
ponder this warning."

14. Letter to Zelter, 4th May 1829: "The exaggerations forced upon the theatres of
Paris, that great wide-spread city, do harm to us who are still far from finding them necessary
ourselves. Yet these are the consequences of advancing world literature, and we can find

comfort only in the fact that though the common cause comes off badly yet individuals are
helped and benefited; from time to time I receive very gratifying proofs of this."
15. Letter to C. F. v. Reinhard, 18th June 1829: "For some time now I have devoted
myself almost exdusively to French books. To go through the eight volumes of the Revue
franraise,

which I have received only now, is no small endeavor, considering the variety and

great significance of its articles. The authors use recent publications only as a pretext, so to
speak, to air their well-founded opinions and honest attitudes. The acknowledgement of all
merit suits the liberal well, particularly the kind of acknowledgement we find here. It offers
us proofs of the sort of free and elevated point of view on diverse matters which; after all,
alone characterizes objectivity.

14

JOHANN WOLFGANG (VON) GOETHE

14 It is truly amazing how far the French have advanced since they stopped being narrow
and exclusive in outlook. How well they know their Germans, their Englislunen, better than
those do themselves. How precisely they describe the egoistical man of the world in the
former, the good-natured private citizen in the latter. The Globe too is dear to me, although
its special political tendency makes me feel uneasy. But one does not have to be in complete
agreement with excellent people to feel affection and admiration for them.
[... )
The mutual relationships between the elements of world literature are very forceful and
strange; if I am not greatly mistaken, the French will profit most from them in terms of a
higher perspective. They already have a certain self-confident feeling that their literature will
again have the same influence upon Europe that it enjoyed in the first half of the eighteenth
century--even in a more profound way than formerly."
16. Scheme for Kunst undAitertum, Vol. 6, part 3, 1829: First Version: "World literature". Second Version: "European, in other words, World Llteruture".

17. Conversation with Willi bald Alexis, 12th August 1829: "In this conversation also
there appeared references to a common European or World literature, one of the favourite
themes of the winter of his life which is still haunted by spirits of his imagination."
18. Introduction to Thomas Carlyle's Life ef Schiller, 1830: "There has for some time
been talk of a Universal World literature, and indeed not without reason: for all the nations
that had been flung together by frightful wars and had then settled down again became aware
of having imbibed much that was foreign, and conscious of spiritual needs hitherto unknown.
Hence arose a sense of their relationship as neighbours, and, instead of shutting themselves
up as heretofore, the desire gradually awoke within them to become associated in a more or
less free commerce." [Translation by C. E. Norton, Correspondence between Goethe and Carlyle,
London, 1837.J
19. From the draft of the above lntroduction (see 18) and, the passage beyond the second
row of dots, from the published lntroduction : "If a world literature, such as is inevitable with
the ever-increasing facility of communication, is to be formed in the near future, we must
expect from it nothing more and nothing different from what it can and does accomplish.
The wide world, extensive as it is, is only an expanded fatherland, and will, if looked at
aright, be able to give us no more than what our ho111e soil can endow us with also. What
pleases the crowd spreads itself over a limitless field, and, as we already see, meets approval
in all countries and regions. The serious and intellectual meets with less success, but those
who are devoted to higher and more profitable things will learn to know each other more
quickly and more intimately. For there are everywhere in the world such men, to whom the
truth and the progress of humanity are of interest and concern. But the road which they
pursue, the pace which they keep, is not to everybody's lil<lng; the particularly aggressive
wish to advance faster, and so turn aside, and prevent the furthering of that which in turn
could further them. The serious-minded must therefore form a quiet, almost secret,
company, since it would be futile to set themselves against the current of the day; rather must
they manfully strive to maintain their position till the flood has passed.
Their principal consolation, and indeed encouragement, such men must find in the fact
that truth is serviceable. If they can discover this relation, and exhibit its meaning and influence in a vital way, they will not fail to produce a powerful effect, indeed one that will extend
over a range of years.
[ ... ]

Not only what such men say about us should be of the greatest importance to us, but we
should consider all their relations to other nations, the French and the Italians.
General world literature can only develop when nations get to know all the relations
among all the nations. The inevitable result \vill be that they will find in each other

ON WORLD LITERATURE

something likeable and somethin

..
rejected.
g repulsive, something to be imitated and so
.

bing

met

15
b

to e

Trus too will contribute to the ex

.
.
common convictions will furth
panding economic relations, for the reco .ti
f
when we are dealing with a hprothinkmpter and deeper coniidence. On the do
well
1
w o
very differ tl
an ,
as more to erant and foroiving
en y, we will be more cautious


.
as
There has been talk for some tim f
justice. For the nations, after they had .world lite".'ture, and indeed not without
temble wars, could not return t th .
aken mto confusion and mutual conllict b th
that th h d 1
err settled and inde
d
1,c
Y e
ey a earned many forei .d
.
pen ent lire again without noticin
and had come to feel here and the;: i
ways, they had unconsciously ado tel
Out of this arose the feeling of neighh Y. unrecogruzed spiritual and intellectual/ d ,
before, they gradually came to desireo:::e and, instead of shutting themselves

a a sorne sort of more or Jess free spllitual
This movement, it is true has lasted
considerable speculation, and t; ac uire fr only a short time, but still long enough to start
trade, both profit and enjoyment ,, q
om it, as one must always from any kind of .
20 Draft
.
oreign

of the above Introducti (

menwritetousmustbeofBrst
on see18),5thAprill830:"Notmere1ywht ch
ti bi h
:unportance to us w h
al
a su
ons ps, ow they stand with "
, e ave so to consider their oth
1
n]
re1erence to the French d th
er re ao Yway towards a general world literature-for all an
e Italians. For that after all is the
to the other; and each is bound to find . th th nations to learn their relationships each
repellent, something worthy of emulati m d e o er something attractive and sometbin
21 Le
on an something to be
d d ,,
g
tter to Boisseree, 24th A ril 1831"
avoi e .
. .
1
botanical studies I have had th
P .
. In the case of the translation of
bich
fri
e same expenence as you So
my atest
w
my end Soret could not uncle sta d .
. me passages of capital importance
. French; he rewrote them in his o
n Jn my German, I translated into my kind
be more generally understood tha:"p';;: convinced that in that language
thought of thi
aps m erman A certain F
hl d
umng s system already; she has the Ge .
renc a y appears to have
ll
a y, then proceeds to endow it with a ace
translated to her simply and liter unmediate consequences of a to her language and her sex. These
ene ting by each other's advantages. I shall sa no erature; the nations will be quicker in
calls for a good deal of elabo1<1tion.,,
y
more on this subject, for it is one whic];

:s