[CXIII.] Berlin, 17th May, 1799.
… . In the meanwhile many things have happened; people have only to go away and something is sure to happen. Allow me to give you an account. First of all, Fichte’s Nicolai has been quietly printed in Jena. To save it from the censorship, Wilhelm Schlegel has put his name on the title-page as editor, and has written a sparkling preface. He gave me a copy when I went to see him. He assures me that not a word has been struck out, except a remark on the Saxon Government, and people have therefore told tremendous falsehoods in regard to the pasquinades and abuse it is said to have contained. You know my opinion upon such matters, yet there are only one or two passages that I should like to erase. In these a few abusive terms do indeed occur, but after the fuss that has been made about them every one will think them very moderate, and they will produce no effect. Secondly, Mary Stuart has been published, but I have not yet seen it. Thirdly, Schiller’s Macbeth is out, and Schlegel tells me wonderful things about it, so that my fingers itch to review it if I had but time! Fourthly, the second volume of the Characteristiken und Kritiken has also appeared, and really concludes with a notice of Boccaccio by Friedrich Schlegel, which gives evidence of much study. Fifthly—and this is a sore point with me—they have already begun to print Plato, and Friedrich knows already that the Phædrus will make six sheets. He always makes these calculations in advance. In this way he cannot possibly do the work thoroughly, and I am sadly afraid that the whole will not be very good. There is news for you. More I do not know, and trust that you have had enough.
Schleiermacher to his Sister Charlotte.
[CXIV.] Berlin, 23rd May, 1799.
I hope and trust, dear Lotte, that my letter has thoroughly convinced you that I have received yours in good part, and that I am truly glad that you have yielded to my wishes and frankly expressed your thoughts about me and my proceedings. You will understand the difference between taking in good part and assenting unconditionally. To take in good part is, according to my idea, to appreciate and reciprocate the love that dictates the words, and to take to heart what is said and reflect upon it. This I have done in real earnest, as you must have seen by my letter… … … . My feelings were more strongly affected than usual on the 5th of May this year, and memories of the dear departed stirred most wonderfully in my soul. Accidentally I found uppermost among my papers the first sermon preached by me at Landsberg, which I had wished to send to him. I thought of the points on which he and I would have disagreed, and of others on which we would have agreed; I had just been pouring out my heart in writing on various topics connected with religion, and I wished so much that I could have communicated them to him and have conversed with him about them; in short, my heart was full of yearning, and I was quite determined to write at least a few words to you in the evening. But afterwards I sank again into that state of apathy into which I always fall when I lead an isolated life, and thus the time passed by. Without friends, without communion of heart, without a pleasant alternation of work and social intercourse, there is no life for me, and if I were condemned to drag on existence a couple of years in this way, it would be very difficult for me to keep myself alive. For this reason I am delighted to be back in Berlin again, although I have not very pleasant prospects before me; Mrs. Herz intends to pay a visit to Dresden and the Harz Mountains; about the same time Schlegel will probably go to Jena for a few weeks, and in addition to this, I am engaged in several considerable undertakings, which absorb the greater part of my time, but which will contribute to form my style and to enrich my knowledge. Under these circumstances I shall not even be able to think of a journey to Landsberg before the winter. My health is also at present suffering from the consequences of my stay in Potsdam, and I shall be obliged to make up my mind to go through a regular cure during the summer, which will disagree very much with my work.
Once more I repeat my hearty prayer to you not to postpone your visit to a bath, although you may at this moment feel quite well. I could not allow another fortnight to pass over without sending you Carl’s letter, otherwise I should have deferred writing until I could send at the same time a contribution towards defraying the expenses of your journey, which I will forward in my next. Do not, therefore, neglect to make the necessary preparations, for much good may result from it.
I must break off if I would not lose the post. Hold me in your remembrance, and believe ever in my sincere love for you, and trust in my confidence in your love and your intentions. I see with alarm, by the conclusion of your last little letter, that you believe at least in the possibility of misunderstandings and constrained intercourse, as you speak of a cessation of correspondence being the best under such circumstances. Nay, dearest, that cannot and must not be; I have a firm and well-founded belief in our proximity to each other, although I am well aware of the distance that separates us.
I am not at all uneasy regarding the manner, in which you may have understood and received, the explanations concerning myself and the path which I have chosen. Let us continue to prove our love for each other by sincerity, and then we will not fail to see and feel our mutual affection through everything. Adieu for this time. I will soon write again.