GOETHE'S TORQUATO TASSO. EDITED FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS BY CALVIN THOMAS, PROFESSOR OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES IN THE BOSTON, U.S.A., D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS. EducT 1834,390. 4-49 HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY GIFT OF MR. & MCS. HENRY H. BOND Copyright, 1888, By D. C. HEATH & COMPANY. PREFACE. IN preparing this edition of Goethe's Tasso, I have addressed myself rather to the student of literature, the student of Goethe, than to the student of the German language in and for itself. The book is not intended for beginners in German, but for such readers as have already become familiar with the every-day facts of the language. The grammatical and lexical notes are therefore few in number, and deal only with what is peculiar or exceptional. Translations are also given but sparingly, it being the editor's opinion that much help of that sort is baneful. Usually, where it has seemed necessary to give assistance with regard to the meaning of a passage, I have preferred to do so by means of a paraphrase, leaving to the student the valuable exercise of working out for himself a correct and felicitous translation. But while in the grammatical and lexical notes the utmost brevity has been essayed, the historical and literary commentary will be found rather copious than scanty. The greater works of Goethe are, as is well-known, closely related to his life, and his Tasso is particularly so. To understand and enjoy it, one must be in a position to read between the lines, and to sympathize, intellectually at least, with the moods and the experiences that gave it birth. Hence the somewhat extended Introduction. Voir venir les choses, to see the thing coming, is, wherever it is practicable, the best method of literary study. If any are disposed to think that I have said more than enough upon the relation of the play to its author's personal experiences, I will only quote in self-defence the opinion of the lamented Wilhelm Scherer, that in matters of this kind we cannot go too far (Auffäße über Goethe, p. 126). iii |