The Correspondence between Goethe and Kaspar Graf Sternberg

Research project P 14773 The Correspondence between Goethe and Kasper Graf Sternberg W. KRIEGLEDER 27.11.2000 The presented project is aiming at the natural-philosophical and cultural-historical interpretation of the so far philologically unstudied correspondence between Goethe and Count Kaspar Sternberg, who was a Bohemian scientist and founder of the Bohemian National Muzeum in Prag. Goethe personally met him on the occasion of a visit in Marienbad in 1822. The investigation of these letters will fulfill the following targets: 1. They show the intellectual activity in Goethe`s friendship to the twelve years younger friend, who has hardly been mentioned so far in Goethe research. 2. They prove and supplement the scientific and natural-philosophical background in the modes of thought of the two equally intense scientists as different characters. 3. They document the cultural-historical situation in Bohemia in the first decades of the I 9th century. The following methods will be applied, in order to answer the proposed questions: a) the analysis of stile (1.2.3.) b) cultural-historically archival studies of relevant sources in the kingdom of Bohemia between 1820 and 1832 (1.2.4) c) the philological investigation of the natural-philosophical, background in Goethe`s and Sternberg`s letters and its comparison with Goethe`s scientific work (1.2.2.) d) the philological examination of diaries, notes of conversation and letters of the two corresponders with other addressees e) the inquiry of relevant editions in Sternberg`s library

The project The correspondence between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Kaspar Count Sternberg concerned the philological, scientific- and cultural historical comment of the late correspondence between Goethe (1749-1832) and the Bohemian scientist Sternberg (1761-1838), which lasted from 1820 to 1832. The following results have been achieved: 1) The two correspondents have been affected in their late years` life views and attitudes by the principles of late enlightenment, particularly in their scientific endeavours determining the correspondence. This proves in their coinciding judgement on the French Revolution ant its political consequences, in the optimistic belief in the progresses of scientific research and its moral valuation in terms of achieving an ideal in humanitarianism. 2) Consulting Sternberg`s private library and studying his autobiography revealed, that the Bohemian scientist had already been familiar with and impressed by the poet`s work before their personal acquaintance. 3) Three stays in Weimar during the summers in 1824, 1827 and 1830 introduced Sternberg at the Weimarian court. 4) The analysis of linguistic style in the correspondence revealed a progressive intimateness between the friends, especially after 1822, the year of their first personal meeting in Marienbad. It became evident, that Goethe`s style appears more inventive and exempt from the stilistic conventions in letters of the time than Sternberg`s. Goethe`s occasional poems, dedicated to Sternberg, have been integrated into the correspondence, which add to the letters` notable literary touch. Also when commenting scientific problems, Goethe repeatedly defied the relevant stylistic defaults of the respective disciplines in nomenclature, precision of description, etc., while Sternberg carefully retained them. The correspondents` stylistic habits are therefore spanning over the various discoursive modes and reflect their individual mindsets, which appear with Goethe also in scientific discourses as literary-creative and with Sternberg as strictly logical and systematical. 5) The economical and cultural political conditions during the Patriotic Museum`s foundation have been investigated. Goethe had contributed a collection of geological suites to the Museum and therefore first became a contributing member and later - just as did Duke Carl August of Weimar-Saxony-Eisenach - an honorary member of the association. 6) The investigation of the relevant sources in the "Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv" in Vienna and the correspondence with Sternberg, being preserved in various archives in Prague, elucidated his influence on the politics of science during the era of Restoration. Thus he was repeatedly asked for an expertise, for instance referring to the new organisation of the imperial natural cabinets in Vienna or to the foundation of an Austrian academy of sciences. He further promoted the publications on the expedition to Brasilia (1817-1835) and introduced the meetings of German scientists and medical doctors to the Habsburg region. In all these contexts new sources have been found. 7) By analysing the exchange of views in the correspondence on numerous scientific topics from various subjects Sternberg`s significance as Goethe`s mentor has become evident. There is therefore no doubt, that in most cases Goethe submitted his own knowledge to Sternberg`s. Goethe`s relation to the romantic views in his scientific understanding - for example to the thoughts of Fichte or Schelver - has been rethought in our project. We showed that Goethe at least approached in his late years the natural philosophy of Romanticism.